Heart Song Sunday Releases!

Yup, another Sunday already--wow time flies when you're crafting!
Leah has come up with some more adorable images this week, so without further ado.........say hello to Theodore Tulip and Butterfly Thistle. Both are now available at the Heart Song Designs shop here.

And here are the two cards that I came up with this week using these fabulous images:

I just love the tulip Theadore is holding. So springish!

The butterfly in the bottom right of this one is from another Heart Song stamp named Butterfly Duet.

Thanks for visiting my blog, and please visit the other Heart Song designer blogs listed on the right in my links bar for more terrific inspiration.

Goals 2011

This is a page I did for my Design Team Challenge today over at Scrapbook Challenges. Many of the members are working on an ABC's of me album. I personally wasn't going to do that because I'm just not comfortable scrapping myself. I guess that's the point of a challenge, but I just wasn't really up to doing the whole alphabet.

However, my DT assignment this month was to start off letter G for everyone. I was planning on doing a "Girly Girl" layout, because I am definitely one of those lol. But then one night I just woke up and this page was in my head. It happens that way sometimes for me. And, now I think an ABC's of me album is sort of a fun idea. But I don't think I'll use the words that the DT member gives me. I want to make it truly my own.

Anyway, I hope you like it. The best part about this whole layout is that everything I used was from my stash except the fabric for the flower. I didn't have any fabric at all so I had to buy that because I just had to have a fabric flower on there.

Papers are all from Graphic 45. I have such a love for these papers, but I find it hard to come up with things to use them on. So I was really happy to be able to use them on this.
Lace is BoBunny, flourishes are from Zva Creative, center brad in left flower is from BoBunny, red button is BoBunny, green button Sassafras, gingham green ribbon is Offray, ric rac is American Crafts, Sticker letters are My Minds Eye, and the black 2011 is done using a Dymo label maker. Phew. I thought the list was shorter lol.

I also used this for a challenge that a fellow DT member at Let's Scrap issued. To see that, please visit at here and look up Challenge85 in the photos tab. Basically, the challenge was to use three of the textured items on her list and include a handmade embellishment on your layout to add dimension to your pages. My items used from her list were fabric, buttons, flowers, ric rac, lace, ribbon, and metal. My handmade items were the flowers, stamped butterfly, and Cricut cut title frame.

Thanks for looking and for reading my super long post lol. I didn't mean to write a novel!

The Sky's the Limit!

Hey all! I am so excited to share my card with you today! I've been wanting to play with the Heart Song Hot Air Balloon image for a while now. Hot air balloons are so popular, along with clouds and things of the sky, and this one is just too adorable.

I also knew that this image was perfect to try out some paper piecing. I've never done that with a stamp--digi or otherwise, and I think this turned out quite nicely. It will probably come in handy for a graduation or promotion card--something of that nature. I think this is my favorite Heart Song Designs image now.

I just want to point out really quick, for those of you who may be new to digital stamping, that this digital stamp has been "squashed a bit". If you follow the link to the image above, you will see that it looks longer and skinnier in the Heart Song Designs shop. I like a nice, short, round hot air balloon lol. So, I simply manipulated it in Microsoft Word until it was shaped the way I wanted. Really cool thing about digis I tell ya! 

I then printed it three times over on the same paper (once for the image outline, once to get the orange top printed on, and once to print on the polka dot and basket papers of my choice), and once more on a new sheet to use on the card. If that's confusing, I'm sorry. I don't have a way with words lol. You could just print the entire image on all three papers and then cut out the pieces you need, but I was using scraps so I had to improvise.

Here is the recipe for my card:

Stamp: Hot Air Balloon by Heart Song Designs

Cardstock: Oatmeal color from local craft chain (they get it from Xpedx)

Patterned Paper: dark brown base is Paper Loft, polka dot and orange top on the balloon are the same sheet of paper from Cosmo Cricket, Basket paper is from SEI, Stripe is Crate Paper, Clouds is October Afternoon, Yellow Polka Dots is October Afternoon, and I don't know where I got the orange plaid. It's old lol.

Accessories: Stampin Up Brilliant Blue ink (sponged), Imaginisce I-Rock and Glam Rocks, Stampin Up marker in Tempting Turquoise (around the clouds), black Le Pen from Marvy for faux stitching, adhesive tape from EK Success, foam pop dots from 3L, ribbon from my stash (old & don't know what brand), computer generated sentiment (I'm sure I stole that from somewhere), and staples from office supply.

One more quick thing to say before I go. We now have a flickr gallery for Heart Song Designs. You can check out all of our card samples done with Heart Song images here.

Hope you like it, and thanks for stopping by!

New Release Sunday

It's that day again! Heart Song Designs released three new digital stamp designs today. They are St Patty Daydream, Blooming Stars, and a hand colored version of Butterfly Fancy. All are available at the Heart Song Designs shop here.

I only had time to play with two of them this week, but here are my samples. 

Thanks for visiting my blog today, and please leave a comment letting me know what you think?

Missing You Card

I made this card for my design team assignment over at Let's Scrap this week. I really liked this sketch. I'll probably end up using it a lot in the future. But at first, I had a hard time with it. Once I put the butterfly on though, it really looked a lot better.
So, here is the sketch for this week. It's a card sketch every third week of the month.

And, here is my take on the sketch. This card is one that will end up going to Operation Write Home. But I think it needs something. I think I'm going to stamp a little flourish under the sentiment before sending it.

Thanks for looking.

Daffodil card

I made this card for the Splitcoast Stampers color challenge today. As soon as I saw the colors I knew I wanted to use this image. I just love daffodils. They are my second favorite flower--next to tulips.  And, they are so springy.  I miss spring and sunshine so much.

It has been really nice the last couple days, although a bit windy. But I heard there is a storm moving in tonight or early tomorrow. I hope it is just rain, but I think it is supposed to snow some more. Blah!

Next week is looking good though.

Hmmmmph

My car is broken! I can still drive it short distances, but it leaks oil the whole time I'm driving, and it smokes oil stink out the front end. Shane thinks my oil pan gasket is just loose, but says there is a possibility that it could be worse. Like the main oil seal. Ugghh.........that could cost a lot of money to fix!  I guess it is good that it happened right around time for filing a tax return, but we were going to catch bills up. Something like this always happens around tax time. Grrrrrrrrrr...............

Heart Song New Release Sunday!

Today Leah is releasing three new stamp designs, and I'm really excited about all of them.
Just FYI, if you're not familiar with digital stamps, these images are watermarked for theft protection. When you purchase the stamps at the shop, they will come to you without the watermark.

So, here is what I came up with for each of these fun digital stamps. 

I love dogs, and this one is just too darn cute. This stamp is named Jasper With Bone.

I made this sweet card for my nephew, Ryan, for Valentine's Day. I needed a boy card, and he loves doggies too. I just printed the sentiment on my computer.

Then, if anyone knows me at all, you know I love butterflies! So, I made two cards with this one named Butterfly Duet.
I made this card with the butterfly stamp printed at about 3/4" (I think). I also used the October Marigold digi stamp printed at 4.5". I think my coloring leaves something to be desired here, but I will get better. This card was made for the Splitcoast Stampers color challenge this week (Daffodil Delight, Cajun Craze, and Not Quite Navy).

For this next card I printed the butterfly at 2", watercolored it with Stampin Up markers, and outlined it with a black Le Pen from Marvy. I really like this one.

And, the last one is a precolored stamp called Anemone Flower. This is the card I made using this image. I didn't really know if I'd like this because I like to color the stamps myself. But, this made for a quicker job of creating a card in a pinch. The color ink in my printer is running low, so this image isn't exactly what it should be. But, I still think it turned out quite nicely. 

Thanks for looking, and please visit the shop! 

Our Very Own Mountain Paradise

This is my design team project for Let's Scrap this week. I didn't have enough pictures, so I only did one side of the sketch. I didn't really know what to think of cutting one of my pictures up into fours, but I think the effect turned out awesome.

Here is the sketch:

And, here is my take:

Let me know what you think!

Birdie Delivery

This is a card I made for my design team assignment this week over at the Heart Song Inspirations blog today. Isn't that birdie cute? I don't normally like birds, but I love how this turned out. I saw this paper from American Crafts New Arrival line, and I just had to use it with this bird stamp from Heart Song Designs. I bought the pink version too, so you know I'm gonna have to make another one lol.

Bird Delivery

I'm also going to post a few other cards here real quick that I never did share on my blog for y'all to look at. Enjoy!

Ana&Flower

Water Lily

This water lily is actually free right now if you click on the link above. There are also instructions on how to save the image once you get there.

 Flowers in Vase

Watch for a Heart Song blog post here on Sunday--Leah is releasing two new digital stamps that I'm going to play with this week. They are really cute!

New Release at Heart Song Designs

There is a new release in the Heart Song Designs store this morning! This one is called Butterfly Fancy, and I just love it. I can't wait to start playing with this one soon. This little beauty is only $3 too!

Those of you who know me, know that I have a huge affinity for butterflies. I even got a tattoo a couple of years ago that is a butterfly with my mom's birth and death dates on it. In the Christian culture, butterflies symbolize your spirit leaving your body (much like a butterfly free from the cacoon) to go be with our heavenly father. So, I thought it appropriate to use as a memorial for my mom.
Anyway, I really love this image and you'll probably see something from me using it pretty soon!

Leah is also starting to add pre-colored images to her digi stamp offerings. This is great for those that are new to digi stamping or uncomfortable with coloring. When you purchase these you also get the uncolored image to practice with for yourself. Only $5 for the set of both! 

These can be found in the "Hand Colored Image Sets" section in the Hearts Songs store. I have links to the store and the inspiration blog in my sidebar if you want to check them out. Here are the pre-colored images she has to offer so far. Aren't they cute?

Exclusive Cricut Cartridge Giveaway

A friend and fellow DT member for Heart Song Designs, Peggy Timmerman, along with her partner in crime, Donna, are giving away an exclusive Cricut cartridge on their cardmaking blog!! The cartridge is Shall We Dance and has some amazing dance images on it.
You have until 6:00 pm on Saturday (not sure what time zone though) to get your name in the hat. This giveaway is strictly for followers, so you need to become one if you're not already. Peggy and Donna do some amazing cardmaking work, so I doubt you'll be sorry for it.
Here is the link.

Heart Song Designs Grand Opening Party!!

Hey all! Well today we are having a Grand Opening party for Heart Song Designs on CDAC (Crafter's Digital Art Center)! The party starts at 7:00 pm CST. That is 6:00 pm here in Utah, and you can find your own time zone by just googling time zones on your favorite internet browser.

I've been having so much fun playing with Leah's digi stamp images and wanted to post a couple  here on my blog before I send you on to party with us at CDAC.

Created using the Lovely Cupcake digi stamp

Created using the Wedding Bells digi stamp

 Created using the Love Birds digi stamp

You will need to be a member of CDAC to view the party discussions, but it is free and totally worth the five minutes to register. There is so much amazing talent on CDAC. And there are tons of tutorials on how to use digital stamp images if your new to that (like I was a mere three weeks ago). 

I will be sharing a couple of new cards with new digis during the party along with a couple of other Heart Song DT members, so don't miss it.
Oh and, a little birdie told me that Leah will be offering a couple of free images during the party too! Woo hoo!

First DT Layout for Let's Scrap

I'm really excited to share my very first Design Team project for Let's Scrap! I've had this layout completed for over a month, and it's been killing me not to share it. I usually like to take pictures and upload them as soon as I am done with things, so being on a few DTs might teach me a little patience hmmm......
I'm including the sketch as well as my layout created using the sketch. I only used the left side because I rarely do two-page layouts anymore. But, please jump on over to Let's Scrap to look at the layouts from the other DT members. Several of them did two-pagers, and all of the DT work is FABULOUS!
If you click my links, it will take you to the main page. You'll need to scroll down a little bit from the top to get to the sketch and DT layouts.
I think my nephew, Ryan, looks so darn handsome in these pictures. Look at those baby blues!

Thanks for looking, and let me know what you think! 

New Design Team for Heart Song Designs!

I'm so thrilled and excited to announce that I have been invited to join the first ever Design Team for Heart Song Designs.
Heart Song Designs is a new digital stamp company founded by Leah Cornelius, who was a designer for Sweet n Sassy stamps for just over a year. She decided to branch out on her own in order to fund the adoption of a new member to her family--an Ethiopian baby boy! We're all so happy for Leah and her family, and I'm really glad to be a part of making it happen for them!
These are a few cards I've made this week using Heart Songs Design images.  I decided to do all Valentine theme cards since the time is upon us. Aren't they cute?

Using Snowman Love Image

Be Mine Bears Image

Stitched With Love Image

Love You Tons Image

Now, I am really a die-hard rubber stamping fool (with a few clear stamps thrown in the mix). So, even I am surprised that I went for this. But, I found a website with a few free digital stamps, and I just loved using them. They can be resized to fit whatever you need, they are really economical in price, and they don't take up any space in your craft room. I've had such fun playing with these and coloring them over the last week.
Don't get me wrong, I will always love my rubber stamps. I just have a fun new craft to occupy all the time that none of us really have on our hands lol.

You can find a link the the Heart Song Inspiration Blog and store as well as the DT member blogs on my sidebar. Please go check out all of the fun new projects and leave the other DT girls some love. 

Check back with me tomorrow for a Let's Scrap DT sketch post, and on Friday Heart Song Designs is having a Grand Opening Party. I'll post a few new cards for that and a link to the Heart Song Designs group page on CDAC (Crafter's Digital Art Center) where all the party fun will be happening.