Sweet Music Note; card

Howdy!  Today I had a rough time getting started.  I have a list of paper crafting projects that I need to get done.  Get done in 4 weeks!  Yikes!  But to be honest, I feel overwhelmed.  Very overwhelmed.  So much so, I don't know where to begin, so I spent most of the morning looking @ Pinterest.  And its a love-hate relationship.  {smile}  I love the inspiration and ideas.  But boy is it a time sucker. Ugh.  At this point in my crafting, I just have to sit down and start.  Start somewhere.  Start with a theme, a color scheme, a layout, a project.  Just START!  

And so that is exactly what I did.  I picked up a digital image I just printed, and used that as my starting point.  Either way, I need to get stuff made, because time is running out.  My other obstacle is that I don't just throw stuff together.  Cards easily take 1 - 2 hours, and other paper crafting projects take more time.   I like balance, I like cohesiveness, I like shabby chic, and I like pretty things. 

So with my digital ATC card in hand, I picked up a sketch I had printed from a favorite sketch challenge site: Cardabilities.  I love their sketches, because they are super easy to work with, and the design team will certainly inspire you!

Before I show you what I created, I need to give a few explanations.  I used a whole doily, instead of a half doily.  I used a rectangle piece instead of the circle element.  I figured that the shapes were interchangeable.  And I used another rectangle piece instead of the leaves.  I kept the lines long to mimic the spray of the leaves.

here is my card:

I kept the colors of the card stock and pattern papers neutral, so they wouldn't compete with the digital ATC card, as my focal piece.  

Recipe:  I used vintage cream cardstock by Paper Trey Ink for the card base.  I just love the weight of this card stock.  The main panel is a ledger pattern paper by Melissa Frances.  I heat embossed some water spots on opposite corners of this pattern paper.  I added a strip of music paper.  I wanted to repeat the music script that is on the ATC card.  I layered a burlap doily over the music paper.  

For the trim, it's all machine stitched to the card front.  I first machine stitched the white cotton scallop trim.  Next, I machine stitched the rose pink scallop trim.  And finally, I did a zig zag stitch to attach the white crochet trim to the card front.  

I cut out an ATC size card, and used foam tape to adhere it over the layered card front.  I die cut a piece of card stock weight vellum, by Stampin' Up! for my sentiment piece.  I used a black ink and hand-stamped 'Just a Note' by Paper Trey Ink.  And then I added a white resin blossom, by Melissa Frances to the right of the sentiment piece.

To add a bit of sparkle, I added white, pale pink, and gold sequins to the card front.  

Thank you for looking.  This card will be for sale in my Etsy shop, HERE.  I hope that your weekend is going well, and that you get a chance to do a few fun things {smile}.

My card was selected as a winner for this sketch, on Sept. 29, 2015.
I'm super happy and proud! {smile}

Baby Girl Hoop

I am still crafting {smile}.  I am working on some 'home decor' items for the Mother's Day Craft Fair @ La Cueva High School.  This craft fair focuses on home decor items, and I always craft some special Mother's Day cards.

So, I was looking at some of my left over baby girl scrap papers and embellishments, from Carta Bella.  I just love pink, with other soft colors and a splash of red!  I was looking through some of hoard stash.  And came across a few embroidery hoops.  Interesting, because I don't embroider, cross stitch, or other many needle crafts.  But, I know I wanted I had an idea, just don't too sure today.  So, I used paper in place of the fabric.  And I did add some machine stitching {smile}.

Recipe:  I started with a 5" hoop.  I cut my paper just a bit larger than the hoop.  I used scor tape to adhere the pattern paper to the outside of the inner hoop.  I machine stitched the scrap piece of white cotton trim.  And then I used my hot glue gun to adhere the chipboard pieces.  I added a trio of buttons to the opposite side of the framed girl.  I used one string of cream twine and threaded it through the buttons.  I added cream pom pom trim to the outside of the larger hoop.  I used scor tape to adhere it to the outside of the hoop.  I used tea dyed and pink seam binding to create a 'hanger'.  I tied a multi-loop bow out of the pink seam binding, and then tied it to the tea dyed seam binding.  

This little  treasure was quite fun to create, so I believe that I will make another one later this weekend.  I haven't figured out the theme, but I know it will be sweet {smile}.