Bon Voyage from the Heart

Hi everyone!  Wow, the last few weeks have been some tear-jerkers around here, and my project  today sure reflects it!  I am not trying to be a downer at ALL, so suffice it to say that my oldest child is a senior this year in high school.  It has truly just started to hit me as we seriously look at college applications. 

When I saw the assignment for the Bon Voyage Heart 2 Heart Challenge, my emotions took over completely.  It is truly a Bon Voyage from the heart.  I made a card for my daughter in preparation for her college departure.  It's only a year away, you know!  ;)

Oh my, did the tears start flowing!  Can I just tell you that while I was making this very card, a certain song came on the radio my iTunes playlist that has proven to be a timeline of sorts for the hubs and I.  It is called, "There Goes My Life," by Kenny Chesney...and I bawled like a baby at one of the last lines that has just about made this our REAL LIFE story.  Here it is:

"She had that Honda loaded down.
With Abercrombie clothes and 15 pairs of shoes and his American Express.
He checked the oil and slammed the hood, said you're good to go.
She hugged them both and headed off to the West Coast."

*So sorry for the tangent!  Keep reading while I grab some kleenex!*

I started with the trendy NEW Sarita Paper Packet for a background pattern.  My daughter has chosen several new shirts with patterns similar to this for her current wardrobe, and has some of her favorite colors, so I figured it was a safe choice. 

Next, I had already imagined a Polaroid for this one...and the NEW Artbooking Cartridge does not disappoint in that department!  Pg. 49 of the handbook has an adorable cut with the word HUGS at the bottom--the perfect negative space to fill with something glittery!  ;)  I decided to cut a double fish-tailed banner out of the dark grey glitter paper to back it with. 

These cute little packages are found on pg. 86 of the Artbooking handbook.  They are meant to be birthday presents with a bow on top, but my handy dandy micro-tip scissors took care of that!  ;)  I had to play around withe the sizes to get it just right for the size of my outdoor denim car stamped from the Fast and Furious My Acrylix.  The cute little tires are black buttons with a hole-punch of glitter paper on them for hubcaps!  Girly hubcaps.  ;)

The inside sentiment is from an older set called Princess Wings that is still available on my Close to My Heart Shop because it coordinates with one of our Cricut cartridges (right now, all Cricut coordinating stamps will always be available for purchase on the website.)  I have had it forEVER, but never had the right moment to use it--until now!  It is the perfect college bound, Bon Voyage wish!  Did you notice that I used the negative cut from the polaroid on the front of the card?  :)

OK, I have controlled the tears again just in time to let you know it is YOUR turn to come up with a project that features Heart 2 Heart's first August Challenge--Bon Voyage!  What is your vision of Bon Voyage?  All you have to do is use mostly Close to My Heart products to create your project, and link up with us over at Heart 2 Heart to play along!  See you there!

Honey, Honey!

Hi everyone!  Welcome back for another Color Dare challenge with Color My Heart.  Today we introduce a single color challenge using the Close to My Heart color, Honey.

Let me tell you that life on a design team is rewarding, yet can be hectic at times as well.  I'd like to give a big shout out to all my fellow DT members at Color My Heart for all the time they put into their amazing creations each week, including the Queen of Color herself, Sarah!  Awesome and inspiring work, girls!  :)

This week, I was swamped with crazy summer schedules and fun.  I knew I didn't have a huge window of time to spend on designing my project.  In fact, I was in the middle of another assignment AND having fun with two of my friends when this one hit me SMACK in the forehead!  The end result was a trendy CAS card that was also quite quick to put together!

I used the newly released, A True Thank You for the sentiment, stamping it in White Daisy Pigment Ink.  This stamp fits perfectly on a 2 x 2 block.  One hundred percent of the profits from this stamp will be donated to the American Red Cross to aid relief efforts after the Oklahoma tornadoes.

I had actually made the little Polaroid frame for an entirely different reason, but when this idea came to me, I lost track of what my other purpose had originally been, lol!   Such is the creative brain at times!  ;)  My family loves me in spite of it.  Most of the time. 

The distressed chevrons on the card are stamped in Honey Ink from the D1540 In the Background My Acrylix Set.  I popped the sentiment up on foam squares over the chevies, and THAT, my friends, is a WRAP!

This was a really good reminder to me that a wonderful and pleasing card doesn't need to have hours of work involved to make it that way!  :)

I hope you have fun with our challenge this week to use the Close to My Heart color Honey (or one that is similar) in a project along with any neutrals you choose.  Link up with us over at Color My Heart to play along, and YOU just might get to display the Color Dare Diamond on YOUR blog or page!  :)