Paper crafting is works of heart

Paper crafting is works of heart!

Friday, April 8, 2022

2022 MTTC April 8 #479 Springtime Insects Theme DT card

 Welcome to Becca's Heart for Creativity blog! The 2 featured cards I've made are showing butterflies, my favorite insects! I've heard the quote many times calling butterflies as fluttering flowers or flying flowers! The complexity of color and design in their wings and how graceful they look has always fascinated me. So when as a DT member I learned about this theme, I knew I had many to choose from out of my stash. 

My Time To Craft challenge blog #479 theme is Springtime Insects.

Released on April 8, 2022 at 12am CST/6am UK and will be open for participants until April 21, 2022 at 12am CST/6am UK.

link for #479http://mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.com/2022/04/mttc-479-theme-is-springtime-insects.html

Card #1= Pink and Black It's a Beautiful Life Birthday card



Card #1 design notes:

1. base is black, top-folded, 4.25" wide x 5.5" high, Pen + Gear

2. pink background panel, Astrobrights/Neenah

3. pink and white stripe panel, pink with white Xs, and the white with pink scallops, Mint Berry paper pad from The Paper Studio (this is my 2022 selected papers to bash this year; read earlier posts made in late January and early February about this)

4. the pink tonal floral strip and the featured sentiment journal card that was trimmed down are from My Mind's Eye, a collection I bought several years ago

5. embellishments: pale pink crystal gem, message stamp, black ink pad, and the corrugated backed butterfly are all stash items; I took off the corrugated butterfly layer and stamped it black in order to disguise the kraft color since this card also fits for a Pink and Black card swap challenge that only allowed white as an additional neutral

Card #2: Hello and Happy Birthday card=



Isn't this lovely! I'm glad I kept the color combination simplified. When I started assembling items to make this, I thought I wanted the base to be a pale peach/blush pink or to go to a bold orange but the chocolate brown won the dilemma!

Design notes for Card #2=

1. brown cardstock base is about 6" wide and 4.25" high; 

2. the pale green and white floral cardstock; Mint Berry pack from The Paper Studio

3. the olive green and crinkled copper/bronze specialty paper are scraps; cut as 2" squares

4. the white hello is a 'dazzle' from Paper Wishes website

5. the butterflies, amber heart crystal gems, sentiment stamp, black ink pad; stash items

6. an aqua/teal blue marker was used to add outline contrast to the thin font lines of the stamp used to make 'happy birthday'

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other challenge blogs and FB groups for Card #1

A. Creative Moments challenge blog; theme= for a special lady; all 3 projects are/have been sent to women; the pink and black was for a card club swap with all women members....

link= https://carabbiemomentsofcraft.blogspot.com/2022/03/creative-moments-challenge-232-for.html

B. Seize the Birthday challenge blog; Card 1 has some stripes in the pink and white diagonal background cardstock, so it qualifies for the topping option

link= http://seizethebirthday.blogspot.com/2022/03/seize-birthday-235-stripe-it-up.html

C. Mixed Media Creativity group in FB; 

D. 100 Pattern Papers Challenge group in FB; cardstocks from the Mint Berry pack from The Paper Studio were used for this card

E. Card Crafting Club [has closed since I started this draft; 2 moderators started "For the Love of Cards" private group] in FB; Pink and Black card swap was a Feb 2022 event; another pink and black card was made for the swap; this 2nd one shown above was made at the same time but not revealed until this MTTC challenge 

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other challenge blogs and FB groups for Card #2

a. The Four Seasons Challenge blog; April 2022 is open to the 25th; anything spring season; Card 2 has the butterflies and the pretty sage green and white field of wildflowers patterned cardstock

link= https://thefourseasonschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/04/april-spring-challenge.html

b. The Crafter's Cafe Challenges blog; current March 15 monthly challenge is still open; theme=use some flowers; Card 2 has the pretty sage green and white floral/field of wildflowers patterned cardstock

link= https://crafterscafeblogchallenge.blogspot.com/2022/03/15-march-283-use-some-flowers.html

c. Mixed Media Creativity group in FB

d. 100 Pattern Papers Challenge group in FB; 1 cardstock from the Mint Berry pack from The Paper Studio was used for this card; I was able to use all but about a 1/2" side strip of a full sheet that this paper pad stack with horizontal print layouts have...the remaining sheets and scraps are my 2022 goal to bash this year!

e. Paper, Paper, Paper and DT Calls group in FB

f. Passionate Paper Creations and Friends group in FB; sharing site

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ATC--"What's buzzing?"


A few design notes about the ATC/artist trading card:

1. typical ATC size of 2.5" x 3.5"; thick kraft cardstock for base

2. the white with spring green Moroccan tile patterned paper is very old Colorbok bold print photo mat paper pad

3. the green and gold chevron stripe 'tag'--what's shown is only about half; the flower and bee are stash item embellishments; I just got a bunch of tag sets and I've already forgotten who the vendor is on this...sorry

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The ATC will be shared in 2 FB groups:

a. For the Love of Cards group; private greeting card and ATC making group; this is not for an April event but will share the ATC photo to the group

b. Homemade Card Making for Beginners group in FB; sharing site


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Crafting in the USA heartland,

Becca S


Design team members:

My Time To Craft challenge blog

My Time To Craft Christmas challenge blog


Personal paper-crafting blog: Becca's Heart for Creativity

Owner of 2 challenge blogs:

Heart's Quest Challenge Blog; Color #2 challenge is open to the wee hours of April 13th

FarmQuest Challenge Blog; Theme #1 challenge is open to the wee hours of April 13th, too





Saturday, April 2, 2022

Easter Card with floral and scalloped focal

 Welcome to Becca's Heart for Creativity blog!!! My heart's excited that I've made another Easter card! I love Easter Sunday almost as much as Christmas! My favorite Bible passage is John 14: 1-6. Such hope from those verses! We also became honorary grandparents this afternoon with the arrival of little Aubrey Bethany! My husband has been like a dad mentor figure and garage buddy to Aubrey's dad. Aubrey's mom is the former pet parent of our "Mr. Bennett". Little Aubrey weighs just under 6 pounds at 5 lbs. 10 oz., so I might have to shop for a few preemie outfits tomorrow. Not sure if they have any small stuff. We're hoping to meet Aubrey either tomorrow or Monday!!!! Exciting! 

But I've digressed. This Easter card is not for a DT commitment, so I will link it to other challenge blogs and share with several Facebook groups.

Floral Scalloped Focal Easter card=



Design notes: 
1. white cardstock base 5" wide x 7" high
2. pale pink cardstock inner base is 1/4" smaller than the white base
3. pink tonal stripe print paper has been in my stash for a long time
4. more white cardstock was used for the stenciled scalloped focal; stencils from Hot Off The Press/Paper Wishes website
5. pine green, grass green, magenta, purple markers
6. purple, red, and green glitter paint pens used on the center flower of the focal piece
7. gold cardstock scrap, fine black ink pen, and clear gems complete the card



Inspiration for pulling out the old stencil pack from HOTP/PW came from seeing Donna W's inspiration DT card at Four Seasons Challenge Blog. THANKS, Donna W!!!! I haven't used any of the stencils from the set for probably several years. Springtime is the perfect time to use the scalloped 'circle' and the flower (flipped to get opposite direction and then I altered it slightly to get a center straighter stem flower). 

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Challenge blogs and Facebook groups to share this beauty:

A. The Four Seasons Challenge Blog; April 2022; Anything Spring Season;

link= https://thefourseasonschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/04/april-spring-challenge.html


B. Crafting Happiness challenge blog; April 2022; Anything Goes

link= https://craftinghappinesschallenges.blogspot.com/2022/04/122-april-anything-goes-always.html


C. The Crafter's CafĂ© Challenge Blog; Use some flowers theme; 

link= https://crafterscafeblogchallenge.blogspot.com/2022/03/15-march-283-use-some-flowers.html


D. Mixed Media Creativity FB group; stenciling, glitter paint pens, markers, gems used besides paper/cardstock


E. Passionate Paper Creations and Friends group; sharing


F. The Seasonal Cardmaker FB group; spring season = pinks, flowers, Easter sentiment


G. Paper, Paper, Paper and DT Calls FB group; sharing


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Crafting in the USA heartland,

Becca S


owner of Becca's Heart for Creativity blog

Heart's Quest Challenge Blog (1st challenge was posted 2/28/2022; 3rd challenge is still open)

FarmQuest Challenge Blog (1st challenge started 3/28/2022 and is still open)


design team member:

My Time To Craft challenge blog

My Time To Craft Christmas challenge blog

Friday, April 1, 2022

1 April 2022 MTTCC #31 Use 3 or more patterned papers format Christmas cards

 Welcome to Becca's Heart for Creativity blog! It's that time in rotation to share the new challenge theme design team commitment for My Time To Craft Christmas challenge blog! At MTTCC the requirement will be how you format your Christmas card with 3 or more patterned papers. Yes!

There are lots of sketch layouts that suggest 2 by splitting on the diagonal, however what can you do with three? Use the link below to see what my teamies created. I chose to do snowy evening winter skies for 2 cards...actually I made 4!!! Only 2 are being shown at MTTCC. The only 2 you will see have more red on them. This challenge starts April 1st (no fooling) at 12 am Central Time/Chicago and goes to April 14th at same time. 

These are the 2 featured at MTTCC:


Design notes: White card base is 6" square or close to it. The black background is about 5.5" wide and 4.25" high. Silver and white embossed cardstock is from Martha Stewart. The navy blue with white stars cardstock is from Echo Park. The navy blue with snowflakes cardstock is from ..... The red Merry Christmas and the silver and blue dazzles are from Paper Wishes website. The 2 different ribbons that I overlapped were bought at Dollar Tree, I think. They both have a silver metallic stitching in the middle. The 2nd card has 3 blue crystal gems added for a corner accent. 


My Time To Craft Christmas challenge blog #31 competition link can be read here:
 

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Other challenge blogs and Facebook groups where I will link to:

1. The Holly and Ivy Christmas challenge blog; Anything Christmas Goes; 

2. ABC Christmas Challenge blog; Letters E, F, and G; my cards fit the Letter F (fussy and fancy); there is the shine of the foil dazzles and light bouncing off the gems; also the first card has the elegant ribbons...

3. Paper, Paper, Paper and DT Calls group in FB; sharing

4. The Seasonal Cardmaker group in FB; sharing for winter season

5. Passionate Paper Creations and Friends group on FB; sharing

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The other 2 which could be featured separately on their own posting =


Design notes: Red 6" square (or could be 6.5" high and 6" wide) cardstock bases with the smaller black backgrounds. Paper choices are more mixed here. Silver mirror foil pieces are on the top card. A navy blue constellation sky cardstock is from .... More blue and silver dazzles (and red Merry Christmas) from Paper Wishes were embellished more with blue crystal gems. And red glitter foam hearts from my stash box. 

This version below is different with the addition of the dark red tonal star cardstock from Echo Park. More dazzles from Paper Wishes. The large silver glitter snowflake is a thick wooden laser die-cut ornament. A red heart crystal gem covers the tiny circle opening for thread. In person, these last 2 cards are very vibrant and to me are more festive. The first two don't have as much visual contrast with the only red being the sentiment and sticking closely to the black, blue, white and silver combination. 




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Thanks for reading my post! I also appreciate all who take time to comment. It will be fun looking at the linked submissions of participants to see different layouts (proportions of paper choices) and their choices of winter holiday papers and topics. 

I kept mine to snowflakes and night sky papers that came from different Christmas paper pad collections. 

Heartfelt gratitude and still crafting in the USA heartland,
Becca S

Design Team member of MTTCC and its sister blog, MTTC

owner of 2 new challenge blogs:
Heart's Quest Challenge Blog (https://heartsquestchallenge.blogspot.com) 

and 

FarmQuest Challenge blog (https://farmquestchallenge.blogspot.com)

(Come on over and check these, too!!!)