Cruisin to Father's Day

It's been a while since I've had a chance to play along with the challenges at Heart 2 Heart, I've missed these ladies!  This week's challenge is to create something for Father's Day. 

I happened to be working on Father's Day cards, so this gave me the push to finish them early (Yay, I won't be scrambling the night before for a change!). I made 2 similar cards:

Why don't you join the fun at H2H?  Create a card for Dad using CTMH products, and link it up!

Have a great day!

Lorrinda

Supplies used:

CTMH Cruisin WOTG kit G1039

CTMH stamps: Born to Ride C1483

Stars, letters and shapes cut with CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge  Z1686

Jute ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon

If you can read this, THANK A TEACHER!

Today's post is sadly my last one as a member of the Heart 2 Heart Design Team :(

It has been such a great experience to be in the company of such fabulously talented ladies for the past 6 months.  Each week the challenges have pushed me out of my creative box, and being on a Design Team with these gals has motivated me to bring my A game!  We've all become friends through our little chats behind the scenes, and I really hope to get to meet them all face to face one day.  I feel so honored to have had this design team opportunity!  If you get a chance this week, pop in to their blogs for a visit, and sign up to be a follower if you aren't already:
Debbie: http://www.scrapmyheartout.blogspot.com/
Haley: http://inkyscrapper.blogspot.com/
Jessica: http://www.jessicaspaperpetals.blogspot.com/
Jody: http://cre8nmemories.blogspot.com/
Karen: http://www.kdaycreations.blogspot.com/
Mary: http://www.mbryt1.blogspot.com/
Melinda: http://www.ifyoublingittheywillcome.blogspot.com/

I will continue to stalk their blogs on a daily basis :), but I will really miss being a part of this team.  However, our term is up and it's time to pass the torch on to some new talent!  Keep your eye on the H2H challenge blog for the new Design Team introductions, and please give the new designers a warm welcome.

Before I get all choked up, I better share the details of  this week's challenge.

This week H2H has a color challenge for us:

My kids have had really great teachers again this year, and today is the last day of school (Yay!...? This used to be such a happy day for me, before I became a Mom... just kidding...I think...)

 I wanted to include a little something to thank them for being a part of my kids' lives.  I made them each this cute bookworm card to go with a little gift:

Recipe: All product CTMH:

Stamps: B1380 Mayberry WOTG, C1322 Gratitude (Retired), and D1290 August Word Puzzle (Retired)

Paper: Bamboo, Barn Red, Blue from X7137B Lucky Paper Pack

Inks: Barn Red, Indian Corn Blue, Desert Sand, Sunflower

Z1371 Blue Button Assortment

Z906 Bamboo Waxy Flax

Z1099 Twill Ribbon (Retired)

and googly eyes from my stash :) 

Want to play along with us?  Now it's your turn to use these fabulous colors on a project.  Don't forget you must use some CTMH products...then link it up at H2H so we can all pop by for a peek.  Each entry has a chance to win a fantastic prize from our lovely sponsors, and a place in our Top 10 at the end of the month.

One last thing:

I want to share the inside of my card with all of you today:

Summer is always so busy for us, the kids are home from school, the yard needs maintenance, weekends are spent in our camper (with no internet), and just to make it extra crazy around here we've decided to begin a complete kitchen renovation.  I have no idea when I will get a chance to get into my craft room for the next few weeks, so I may not be posting to my blog very much this summer.  I will keep checking in with some of my favorite blogs that are in my Google Reader, and will try to leave some comments along the way.  Don't worry, I'm not abandoning this little blog...I'm just taking it easy where I can this summer, and am giving you fair warning that I'm gonna be a lazy blogger for a couple of months. 

A big THANK YOU to all my followers and to everyone who has taken the time to leave me a comment here. 

HAVE  A  GREAT  SUMMER!

Lorrinda

H2H BINGO!

Hi there!

Today the Heart 2 Heart Challenge blog is playing BINGO! 
We would love to have you come by and play:)


Here is the bingo card:

Draw a straight line in any direction, and use those 3 elements on your project this week. I had fun with this challenge :)

My bingo line goes through DOILY, FLOWERS, LACE:

After I posted the photo, I'm thinking that this card could have used some stitching around the edges...but I was too busy this week to get back into my craft room to add it. (Summer activities are gearing up and I don't have a lot of spare time to craft.)  So now this looks unfinished to me. Oh well, sometimes I have to remind myself that it's just a card and the recipient really won't care!  (I found a sign on Pinterest that says "Done is better than perfect", I think I need to make one for my wall.)

Here's a close up of the flower cluster, they are just simple rolled paper roses sitting on top of crochet lace flowers:

Stop by H2H to see what the other DT gals did with their bingo cards. Wanna play too?  Pick a bingo in a straight line in any direction on the card above, and create something with those 3 elements on it using CTMH products.  Post it on your blog and link it up at H2H so we can all pop by for a peek. Each entry has a chance to win one of the prizes donated by our generous sponsors, and we'll be picking our faves for the Top 10 at the end of the month.

Not only did I get to play bingo, but I got to finally use this stamp set to make a card for the Moxie Fab World "I'm Sew Excited" challenge.  (I love it when I can get one card to fit more than one challenge:)  But I still think I should have added some stitching...

Thanks for stopping by today!

Lorrinda

Recipe:

(All materials CTMH unless noted)

Paper: X7133B Miracle Level 2 Paper Pack

Stamps: C1442 Tailor Made, D1472 Simple Memories (Doily)

Ink: White Daisy, Desert Sand and Bamboo

Z1136 Crochet flowers from White Daisy Mini Medley

Z673 White Daisy Embossing Powder

Z1127 Stitched brown ribbon from Chocolate Ribbon Rounds Collection

Eyelet lace scrap and stick pins from my stash

H2H From Our Heart to Yours...Creating Background Paper for Dad

Hello there!

This week's Heart 2 Heart challenge is to create your own background paper for a Father's Day card.  The Design Team has made some fabulous cards with their own background techniques, and since this is a 'From Our Heart to Yours' challenge...we're sharing tutorials of what we did :)
Their links are over on my sidebar, or you can see all of their projects at once HERE.

I used a couple of different background techniques on my card this week:

Random Stamping on the Hawaiian shirt:

Started with a 4x6" piece of paper.

I stuck 4 small stamps on my block to keep the pattern uniform, and then just filled the paper with it:

To fold the shirt, just google origami shirt-fold and you'll get an assortment of tutorials to choose from.

Sponged Background Scene:

Start with your piece of blank cardstock. Mask off the sun with a circle of scrap paper and a temp bond tape that can be easily removed.  Then mask off the horizon with post-its, cover the bottom edge of the sun too.

Then I used a sponge and Sunny Yellow ink and dabbed and rubbed until it was even.

Next I used Smoothie ink, and filled in the rest of the sky.

Then I grabbed the Sunny Yellow again and went over the entire sky to blend them together.

Remove the post-its and you should have this. Leave the circle mask on for now.

Now use post-its to mask the horizon line, line them up right along the edge of the sky.

I sponged Sunset ink for the water, leaving a strip of white beneath the sun to look like a reflection.  Remove the post-its mask.

Then I sponged the edge of the reflection with Sunny Yellow, and blended the colors.  The trick with this sponging technique is to build up the color in layers so you don't get smears/blotches of ink.

To make the waves, I just cut a random wavy edge on a scrap of paper, and held it in place while I sponged with Smoothie Ink. Randomly move the edge and ink along it until you have a wave pattern.

Now you can remove the circle mask...

Cover the horizon line with the edge of scrap paper, and lightly sponge on Sunset ink to get the water line.

And there is your sunset scene!

The rest of the Design Team have more 'From Our Heart to Yours' goodness for you here.  Do go to each of their blogs to learn what they did, and leave them some love while you are there...we all love getting comments :)

We'd love to see what you can come up with!  Create your own background paper for a Father's Day project, and link it up at H2H so we can all see!  Each entry has a chance to win a prize from our June sponsors, and yours could make it into our Top 10 for a crack at a future Guest Designer spot.

Thanks for visiting today!

Lorrinda

All supplies used from CTMH unless noted:

Paper for shirt: from X7129B Hooligans Level2 paper pack

Cardstock: White Daisy, Black, Lagoon

Inks: Black, Sunny Yellow, Sunset, Smoothie

Stamps: D1470 Dreams Come True (flowers), B1376 Wings (leaves), D1423 Happy Forever and D1288 June Word Puzzle (Sentiments, both stamps retired)

Z1393 Black Mini-Medley (mini button brads)

Black hemp string

Sponges

Post-It notes and removable tape for masking.

H2H Wedding Challenge

Did ya miss me?
Sorry for being MIA, I had a little boiling water accident and kind of melted my right hand, so was unable to do much of anything last week (except whine and swear, I'll admit it. Burns really hurt! especially on the soft parts between your fingers.)  That's what happens when you try to do 14 things at once, life has a way of forcing you to slow down sometimes.  For the record, I'm not a big fan of the 'Pasta Express', one big burnt thumbs down.  I'm all good now, just a little peeling but no more pain and shouldn't be any major scars.  I apologize for not leaving comments on everyone's blogs, but I suck at typing as it is, let alone doing it with just my left hand.  I'll try to get around to everyone's blogs this week to catch up.

H2H has a new challenge up today...and the theme is WEDDINGS!  I loved this challenge :)

I went all out with the bling, but kept my color scheme very muted. I think the end result is very elegant, which is the look I was going for:

(You can click the pics to see them in more detail.  I highly reommend it for this card because I had a tough time photographing all the shiny/sparkly details.)

This is the folded card, it fits in a standard A2 card envelope. Why yes, that is embossing on the envelope, thanks for noticing!  It just seems to make it more formal somehow.

And here it is open:

Just google tri-shutter card fold and you'll find several templates/tutorials to make one.  It looks difficult, but is really very simple to make.

Here are some close-ups of each section:

Don't you just love the bling on the ring?

I left the top edge of this white panel open to create a little pocket for a gift card or cash, I should have taken a better picture of this but I think you can visualize it:)  I purposely left this area blank so there is a spot to write on.

All the stamped sentiments and images are heat embossed with silver, and I used rhinestone and silver accents. I love the way this turned out! The pattern paper is from the CTMH Bliss Level 2 paper pack, one of my faves from the CTMH Spring/Summer Idea Book.  If you don't recognize it, it's because I used the reverse side of the colored pattern to showcase the coordinating gray pattern.  For a complete list of the supplies I used, a recipe is at the bottom of this post. 

You should check out what the rest of the DT has made for this challenge, awesome stuff!  And, we have a new Guest Designer joining us this month, Jena from Live, Love, Laugh, Scrapbook...welcome to the DT Jena!  (Jena was our Top Chick for April.  Want to get a guest spot on the DT?  You just have to play along!  If your entry makes it to the top of our Top 10 you are in!)

Now it's your turn to play along.  Create something for a wedding, and link it up at the Heart 2 Heart Challenge Blog so we can all see! 

We have new sponsors for June: Michelle Owen of Cutezie Creations and Romaine Rancier of Bumbles n Bees who have generously donated some fabulous prizes!  Head over to their blogs and leave them some love.  You have until the end of June to play along with all the challenges this month! The more you play, the more chances you have to be a random prize winner or a future guest designer Top Chick!  Remember, Heart to Heart is a CloseToMyHeart challenge blog, to be eligible for any prizes your project must include CTMH products.

Thanks for visiting my blog,

Lorrinda

Supplies all CTMH unless noted:

Paper: X7132B Bliss Level 2 Paper Pack

Stamps: D1337 Love Always, C1227 Our Wedding Day (retired, used the sentiment for the envelope)

Z669 Silver Embossing Powder

Z1104 Clear Sparkles

Z1263 Bitty Sparkles

Z1366 Metal Brad Assortment

White flowers by Petaloo

White satin edge with silver organdy ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon

ABC Challenge!

Happy Victoria Day!

If you live in Canada you get today off,  yay for long weekends!  I had to google it to learn that it was originally a holiday in honor of Queen Victoria's birthday (duh), but we now continue to celebrate our current Monarch's birthday on this day as well.  It is also the unofficial end of the winter social season and start of the summer social calendar.  I'm all over that. Notify my personal valet to bring 'round the WHITE town car, as I must consult Yves for a couture fitting  for the summer wardrobe as well as several new hats....um, not.

Guess how I spent my long weekend?  We had a pipe leading to an outside faucet burst, and got a minor flood in the basement.  It could have been much worse. At least it was clean water and we were home to catch it before it did any major damage, but the carpet and couch got soaked and there is some damage to the ceiling.   Best part? My 10 yr old son was sitting on the dry side of the couch playing on the xbox, totally oblivious to the sagging dripping ceiling or the splish splash of water dripping onto the soaked couch and carpet.  Seriously.  Yeah, color me impressed.  It's nothing we can't clean and repair ourselves, but not how I was planning to spend my long weekend! (And right at the start of the summer social season!  How will I ever explain this at the country club?  Oh my heavens, I feel positively faint, someone please pass me the smelling salts!)

I did make some time to create something for the
 Heart 2 Heart challenge this week,

which is an ABC or Anything But a Card challenge! 

Crafting really is a good way to de-stress :)

I made a mini journal. 

The finished size of this cute little notepad is just 3.5"x 4.5",

perfect size to keep in my purse or throw into the beach bag!

(I won't tell you the choice words I used this weekend

 to express myself! 

 Let's just say I threw 10 bucks in the swear jar.) 

The cover is made from one piece of cardstock, with a fancy fold to make a place to keep a matching pen. I fancied the front up with  some stamping, layering, and a bit of hand stitching:

I decorated the inside of the cover too:

Between the spring cleanup yard work and the stupid water leak in the basement, I didn't get a chance to make a template or a tutorial for this cute little notebook. I promise to get one done soon to share with you!

For some more Anything-But-a-Card inspiration, check out what the rest of the H2H design team has whipped up for you this week!  Then go and create you own project that isn't a card, and link it up at H2H so we can all admire it:)  Remember, to be eligible for prizes you must use some CTMH product on your project, and you have until this Saturday to play along with all of the challenges from this month! 

Thanks for popping by today!

May your basement be dry and your social calendar be full :)

Lorrinda

Recipe:

All product CTMH unless noted.

Paper: Z1375 Kraft Cardstock, X7137B Lucky Level 2

Stamps: B1376 Wings WOTG, D1477 Universal Backgrounds, D1495 You and Me (May promo)

Inks: Z2140 Outdoor Denim, Z2118 Desert Sand

Button Assortments: Z1371 Blue, Z1372 Green, Z1387 Wood

Z280 Natural Hemp

DMC Floss #3750

Techniques: piercing, stitching, distressing

What's YOUR Favorite Technique?

It's Monday again!  Is it just me or does time move faster as you get older?  I was so busy last week, spring cleaning and getting the yard ready for summer and cleaning out the camper...whew!  The weather has been warm but very windy, so I was glad to retreat into my craft room to create my project for this week's Heart 2 Heart challenge....which is show us your favorite technique!

I love to use fun and interesting techniques on my paper crafts, there are so many it was tough to choose just one, but if I have to pick I'd say embossing!  I love dry embossing to give a raised texture, and I love to watch embossing powder melt with a heat gun.

Here's my card featuring these 2 embossing techniques:

I had planned to do a tutorial for you, but the week just got away from me!  So I'll tell you what I did:

The background layer is embossed using my Cuttlebug and Oval (from Heritage Set) embossing folder.  I then sanded the raised image to reveal the white core of the CTMH cardstock.  I cut out another oval to fit so the center panel could be popped up.  I then stamped the image from CTMH D1455 Blessed stamp set using Versamark ink, used white embossing powder, and heat set it.  The sentiment from D1476 Card Chatter-Sympathy set was done the same way.  I thought it need a little wash of color, so I colored the bird and flowers using CTMH markers. Added white grosgrain ribbon and some half pearls to dress it up a bit.  So, this card is only 2 layers, but the embossing adds so much texture and dimension!

This week, we want to know what YOUR favorite techniques are!  Need some ideas?  Check out what the talented gals on the DT have to share with you.  They are always full of great ideas! 

Don't forget you must use some CTMH product on your creation. Link up your project to H2H for a chance at some great prizes from our generous sposors, Angel and Sharon at the end of the month, or possibly a spot on our Top 10, where you may get chosen to join us as a future Guest Designer!

Thanks for popping by today!

Lorrinda

Recipe:

All product CTMH

stamps: D1455 Blessed and D1476 Card Chatter-Sympathy

cardstock in White Daisy and Garden Green
Z1294 Sanding kit
Z673 White Daisy embossing powder
Z555 Craft heater
Z270 White Daisy Grosgrain ribbon
markers in Baby Pink, White Daisy and Desert Sand

Other product:
Provocraft Cuttlebug and embossing folder (Heritage Set-Oval)

Bling on the Buttons!

It's Monday again, where did last week go?

I hope all you Moms got spoiled yesterday.  For a funny look at what my Mother's Day usually is like, check out my post from yesterday.  No Hallmark commercial soundtrack, just...Real. Life. Wouldn't want it any other way.  You Moms know what I'm talking about :)
I got to spend the afternoon/evening with my Mom, the gang took us out for supper. Always a treat! She lives just 20 minutes away, so we get to see each other often. As a teenager, I never thought I'd enjoy spending extra time with my Mom, but the older I get, the smarter she is. Funny how that happens...


Today Heart 2 Heart has a new challenge for you...use BUTTONS on your project! 

I love buttons for paper crafting, but I have a problem with naked buttons (you know, where there is no thread or string in the button holes?) Is it just me?...I love looking at all the pretty projects with buttons on them, but when I go to make one I just can't leave the holes empty.  I'm obsessed, and that is why my simple card today took longer than 10 minutes to make:

See what I mean?  I had to compulsively fill all the button holes with something, and I'm glad I had CTMH waxy flax to match.  If you've never used waxy flax, you must try it! It is like a fine hemp string, but it has a waxy coating on it to make it sort of stiff and moldable. It is stiff enough to poke through button holes easily, and the waxy coating means you can just tie it once and it won't come undone.  Love this stuff so much I have it in every color:)  After I had all the buttons threaded, I just stuck them to the image with mini glue dots.  So, except for threading all of the buttons, this card would have taken just 5 min to make.  Doesn't this image just make you wish it was SUMMER already?

For some more fabulous ideas to use buttons on your projects, please check out what the talented gals on the H2H DT have for you this week!  I just love being on a design team with these gals, they blow me away every week!

We'd love you to play along with our button challenge :)  Just create something with buttons on it, post it to your blog or an online gallery where we can leave comments, and link it up at H2H!  You have until the end of the month to play along, and we have some awesome prizes up for grabs this month from our sponsors Angel of Angel's Moments and Sharon of Tucker Lover. Please take a moment to visit their blogs and leave them some love for offering up such wonderful prizes!

Important: This is a Close To My Heart challenge blog, so your project must include some CTMH products to be eligible for prizes. (It does not have to be 100% CTMH) Recently we've had several entries with no CTMH on it whatsoever, which is not following the rules, so they have been deleted.  We hate doing that, but it's only fair to those players who ARE following the challenge rules. 

If you have been living under a rock and don't know what CTMH is, you can view our current Idea Book online to see all that CTMH has to offer.  If you are Canadian, feel free to shop on my website.  (If you are American, or want to find a consultant in your area, please go here and click on 'Consultant Locator' at the top of the page. )  Presently, CTMH products are only available in North America through independent consultants.

Want to become a CTMH Consultant? (If you sign up in May, you get the new consultant kit for 50% off!) Kit details are on my website under your opportunities or on page 128 of the Idea Book.  For more info, contact me through my website.

Thank you for visiting my blog!
Lorrinda

Recipe:
All product CTMH unless noted:
Stamp Set: D1467 Trees & Things
Pattern paper: X7134B Sweetheart Level 2 paper pack
Cardstock: Black and White Daisy
Inks: Desert Sand, Black, Garden Green and Topiary
Waxy Flax in Z1089 Black and Z1086 Cranberry
Red buttons from CTMH retired
Black button from my stash/unknown
Green plaid ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon

H2H #54 Mother's Day!

Happy Monday!

Time for another Heart 2 Heart challenge...this time it is Mother's Day! 

If you're like me, you wait until the night before you need the card, then scramble to get it done.  This challenge will get you motivated to have your Mother's Day cards done with time to spare this year!

For the border, I stamped the roses in Vineyard Berry ink.  The dark ones are 1st generation stamped, and the lighter ones are just stamped a second time without reinking. I trimmed them with micro-scissors, then glued them to the card base.  Then I trimmed around the roses and the base together to get the pretty cut out edge, allowing the inside edge of the card to show through when it's closed.  Leaves were 1st and 2nd generation stamped with Juniper ink.  A bit of fussy cutting on this card, but other than that it is pretty simple.

Pop on over to H2H to see what the rest of the Design Team has created to inspire you this week! 

Sadly, this is the last challenge that Lisa and Corina will be on the DT for...but they have a really good excuse for leaving...they were both chosen to be Extravaganza instructors at the CTMH Convention this summer!!! Corina and Lisa, I will sure miss having you both on the team, but hope to catch you playing along with us once in a while.  I'll be keeping up with you on your blogs, so I won't say goodbye:) 

I want to welcome our new DT members, Jody Gustafson and Haley Dyer, and our Guest Designer joining us for May is Joelle H.  You may recognize these names as they are all super talented and are frequent H2H challenge players. Be sure to check out their blogs and leave them a warm welcome.

We also have 2 new prize sponsors this month, Sharon Holmes and Angel Shifflett.  Link up your Mother's Day card to H2H this week, and be sure to play along all month for more chances to win yourself a fabulous prize!  You could also end up in the Top 10 for a shot at a future Guest Designer spot on our DT.

Thanks for popping by today!

Lorrinda

Recipe:

All products CTMH unless noted:

Stamps: D1470 Dreams Come True, E1019 Bohemian Alphabet

Paper: Colonial White and Juniper cs

Inks: Vineyard Berry, Juniper

Z1336 Pearl Opaques

Spellbinders Nestabilities petites scalloped ovals large dies

H2H Bunny Hop!

Welcome to our Heart 2 Heart Bunny Hop! 

Every other month we have a From Our Heart to Yours challenge. Well this time around, we want to share a blog hop with all of you!!  Today is our first blog hop - the H2H Bunny HOP sponsored by the DT for all of our CTMH fans!  The challenge was issued last week, make a project for Easter or Spring using CTMH products, and link it up today between 8 am and 8 pm EST at H2H.  Then, hop along to visit everyone's blogs to see what creative ideas everyone came up with.   We'd love you to hop along with us!

HIPPITY! HOPPITY!

You've hopped here!

For my project, I made an Egg Basket!

 

I'm so happy I finally got to use this adorable stamp set on an Easter project!

Isn't this sweet?

The bunnies are from CTMH stamp set D1454 Sensational Season, which was the March Stamp of the Month.

The first time I saw this set, it reminded me of the illustrations in the Beatrix Potter books, so when I colored this I tried to keep the colors soft and vintagey (I just made up a word, but you know what I mean). 

Images were stamped in Desert Sand Ink onto Colonial White cardstock. 

Coloring was done with a combo of CTMH watercolor pencils, blender pen, and markers.

The little bunny clothes are stamped onto pattern paper and cut out/paper pieced onto the stamped image.

I made the basket with Heavenly Blue cardstock, and dressed it up with X7133B Miracle pattern paper.

The handle was edged with a Martha Stewart lace border punch, and I added a Kraft border as well that had been sponged with Colonial White ink to soften it. 

I embellished with a scrap of lace, some paper flowers and a button.

The sentiment on the tag is from B1351 You're Sweet stamp set. 

Then I just filled the basket with a shredded brown paper bag and some candy coated chocolate and malt eggs. (The little suckers kept disappearing while I was trying to take a picture.  Honestly, I have no idea where they went.)

If you've been following me at all, you just know I'm going to

share the pattern for this egg shaped basket

so you can make your own! :)

Right click on the picture below, and save it to your computer.

Then you can print this out at 100% onto 8.5"x11" cardstock,

and cut it out to make a reusable tracing template. 




Thanks for HOPPING by today!

Now, hop back to the Heart 2 Heart challenge blog for the next link along the bunny hop. I hope you've been leaving some love in the comments as you hop along...
Remember this hop is open until 8pm EST, so there is still time for you link up your project!  One random participant will get a prize, so you want to play along! Remember, projects must include some CTMH products or the link will be deleted.  Also, make sure to check back throughout the day so you don't miss anyone!

Lorrinda

H2H is having a Bunny Hop!

Every other month we have a From Our Heart to Yours challenge. Well this time around, we want to share a blog hop with all of you!! On April 18, we will be sponsoring our first blog hop - the H2H Bunny HOP and we want you to play along.

Here are the details: Before Monday, April 18th, create something Easter or Spring themed. Post it to your blog. Then on Monday April 18th, add your link to our Mister Linky on the H2H blog. You can ONLY post your link between 8:00 am EST and 8:00 pm EST on that Monday!! After 8:00 pm, the link list will be closed and no other entries will be added through the week. You also MUST include CLOSE TO MY HEART products or your link will be removed. Then through out the day, you can bunny hop among the links to see what everyone has created.

We would love to see a big turn-out for this hop so spread the word! There will also be one random blog hop participant chosen to win a prize so you want to play along!!
 
Here is a badge you can place on your blog post to advertise the hop. Be sure to add the blog address as well: http://heart2heartchallenges.blogspot.com/
 
 

So hop to it and plan on participating in the Bunny Hop! See you then!

One Person's Trash....

Happy Monday! Birds are singing, sun is shining and the snow is melting (finally!)
Time for a new challenge at Heart 2 Heart! This week we have an early Earth Day challenge for you...reuse or recycle something on your project.  You can recycle something to use on a new card or layout, or raid the recycling bin to find something that can be re purposed.....save something from the landfill and give it a pretty new life!

I chose to recycle something that I know you all have....

empty ribbon spools!

I don't know about you, but I have a bag of these things in all sizes that I just can't bring myself to throw away. I knew there must be something they'd be good for, but I needed this challenge to kick me into gear and git er done! I picked out a few 2 1/2" diameter cardboard spools with nice 1" wide centers.

Here's what I transformed them into:

Pretty little Trinket Boxes!

These would be perfect for a small gift or party favor,

or just to keep trinkets in. (duh)

I made the pink one for my daughter to keep her guitar picks in.

Here are some close-ups for you:

Used CTMH X7133B Miracle Level 2 Paper kit and leftover Z1354 Miracle Irresistibles chipboard elements, bead and ribbon handle and trim from the scrap bin. Wanna know how I got that ribbon through the bead? I used a dental floss loop to pull the ribbon through the tiny bead hole. (I'm a dental hygienist, I got a million uses for floss!)

Used CTMH X7131B Sophia Level 2 Paper kit and repurposed a fabulous scrap of embroidered rose trim that I saved from a cute little sundress my DD wore when she was 4. (Yep, it's been in a ribbon scrap box for 8 years, I never throw away anything crafty)  Added a bead to anchor the CTMH crochet flower and paper flower together.

Covered this one with CTMH X7135B Wings Level 2 Paper kit,

rose made of Vineyard Berry cardstock from the scrap bin

and black ribbon remnants.

Google rolled paper roses to make these flowers,

there are a ton of video tutorials on YouTube.

Because I know you wanna know, I snapped a few pics to show you how I made these.  There are several tutorials out there in blogland, but I wasn't keen on the lid part on any of them, so I came up with a top that fits inside the trinket box to open and close easily.

First, carefully pry the top and bottom off of the ribbon spool,

I had to use a craft knife on a couple of them.

I salvaged a TP roll from the paper bin,

and found that it fit perfectly inside my ribbon spool tube:

So I sliced off 1/2" to use for my box top:

You now have all the parts needed to make the trinket boxes! 

I didn't take pictures of the decorating part, but here's what I did:

1. Cover the insides and outsides of the tubes, and both sides of the circles, with coordinating pattern papers. (I used CTMH Bonding Memories liquid glue so I would have a bit of play time before it dried to get the strips of paper lined up with the tubes.) Allow glue to dry.

2. Sand all the edges to get them nice and even and smooth, ink them too if you want to to hide the cardboard.

3. Poke a hole through the lid circle, and embellish the top with a ribbon handle knotted on each side of the hole to give it some strength. Don't want it pulling out!

4. Glue the narrow tube to the top circle, and the wide tube to the bottom circle. (I used CTMH Liquid Glass for this because it is super strong and easy to get a narrow bead on the cardboard edge.) Allow glue to dry.  Here's a pic of the insides:

5. You may want to give this a good coat of ModPodge or an acrylic spray sealer at this point to make it durable.

6. Trim with ribbon, beads, bling, and buttons...whatever floats your boat!

Surprisingly, these come together pretty quickly. I sat down to watch Survivor, and had one done before the show was over, so I kept going and made all three trinket boxes in 2 hours. I don't feel like such a big couch potato if I do something else while I watch TV:)  Recycling, crafting, photography and watching my shows all at the same time....it was a productive evening!

We want to see YOUR projects with re-used or recycled materials! Use your imagination, I'm sure you can find something in the trash that needs a new purpose. 

Need some inspiration? 

Check out what the H2H DT has to offer this week! 

These gals ROCK at turning trash to treasures!

Link your artwork up to H2H to play along.  Remember it's a CTMH challenge, so please try to use some CTMH products on it to be eligible for the Top 10 and prizes from our generous sponsors,

Michelle Zimmerman of Life's LITTLE Things and

LeAnne Dudley of Dudleychick Designs. 

**Heads up! Next week, on April 18,  Heart 2 Heart Challenges will be hosting our first ever Bunny HOP! We're looking for Easter or Spring themed projects.  Check out H2H for details if you would like to bunny hop with us!

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Please leave a comment so I know you stopped by :)

To celebrate my birthday this Wednesday(or as I prefer to call it - my 14th anniversary of the day I turned 29 -having to do math distracts people from actually counting the candles ;), and to celebrate reaching 300 followers this past week, I'm going to give the Wings black/rose and Miracle blue/green trinket boxes to one lucky commenter. Open to all my fabulous followers, so if you've just been getting this feed in Goggle Reader click on over and sign up!  Please leave me a blog link or email (sally at gmail dot com) in your comment so I can contact you if you win.

Lorrinda