Heartfelt Creations July 2022 Alumni Blog Hop

Hello, and good-morning my friends! Welcome to the July 2022 Heartfelt Creations Alumni Blog Hop! (If you are looking for the Really Reasonable Ribbon post, please click HERE.)

Each month, on the last Friday of the month, the Heartfelt Creations Alumni Team participates in a Blog Hop! The July Hop starts at 8am ET on Friday, July 29th.  Be sure to visit each blog on the hop, and leave a comment, because a randomly chosen comment from a mystery blog will receive a $25 gift certificate to shop at Heartfelt Creations! The hop closes Monday August 1st at 11:55pm ET. 

To double the fun, Heartfelt Creations will offer a second $25 gift card for a randomly selected comment on their blog post! The winner will be announced on the Heartfelt Creations Blog and Facebook page on Wednesday, August 3rd.  If you are the happy winner, you can claim your prize by emailing socialmedia@heartfeltcreations.us. Please write “Winner of the July 2022 Alumni Hop in the subject line.  You will have 72 hours to claim your prize.

Now, let's get started with the fun! You should be coming to my blog from Candy Slabaugh's Blog. After visiting me, head on to Monica Edwards's Blog. If you are lost, see the blog link list at the end of this post. 

I decided to combine several different collections again this month! I am always wanting to stretch my products to get the most "cost per use" out of them! Let's get started making this card!

I love purple, especially when placed next to green. I chose the Burst of Spring Paper Collection for all the lovely purples! The card base is made from black heavy weight cardstock and measures 6" x 6". Cut a piece of the dark purple Burst of Spring paper to 5 7/8" x 5 7/8" and attach it to the card front. 

Using the Decorative Courtyard Outline Die from the French Courtyard die set, cut an overlay from pale purple paper using the Burst of Spring paper collection. Use the Designer Dries Clear Adhesive to attach the die cut panel to the card front.

 

To create the center embellishment, use a combination of French Courtyard dies, Circle Basics Large dies, and Eyelet Circle and Basics Small dies to cut the dark purple paper and some black cardstock to create the look shown. Stack everything together and attach the stack to the center of the card front. 

Tip: I use washi tape to hold my dies in place on the paper and cardstock when running them through the die cut machine. I find that washi tape pulls off easily without tearing the paper. I have a huge stash of washi tape that I NEVER use for anything, but cannot bring myself to toss...so I use it up in this way!

Chose one of the sentiments from the Burst of Spring Paper Collection and mat it with black cardstock. Glue the sentiment to the lower right corner of the card, as shown. I chose the birthday sentiment to match the circle decoration on the card.

Tip: I always line my dark card bases with white or off-white cardstock to give a place to stamp or write a message on the inside of the card. Since I often give my cards away, or my family uses them, I don't want to have to worry about last minute additions to make the cards usable!

Now, for the flowers and leaves! This is the part that you all come here for, right?! {smile}

To create the flowers use the Christmas Poinsettia and Holly cling stamp set and the Christmas Poinsettia and Holly die set! You read that correctly! We will use only the flower petal stamps and dies. Stamp the flowers several times onto white cardstock, using various colors of purple ink (see the list below). Once the flowers are all stamped, color them with various shades of purple ink using an ink blending brush. Choose petal colors that are lighter than the color of ink you use to stamp the image. Once the flowers are all colored, die cut them out with the matching dies. 

Use the Deluxe Flower Shaping Kit or the 3D Christmas Poinsettia Shaping  Mold to shape all the flower petals and then stack them in various combinations to make purple blooms. (I don't have the shaping mold, so I shaped all my flowers by hand with the stylus tools.) Use the Designer Dries Clear Adhesive to glue the various petals together. The center of each bloom is an enamel dot, but you can use flower stamens, prills, glitter or other items from the Heartfelt Creations SHOP. 

Next, stamp the leaves from the Classic Rose cling stamp set onto a sheet of green Burst of Spring Paper. Use one or more shades of green ink to stamp the leaves. Die cut the leaves with the Classic Rose die set. 

Place the die cut leaf shapes face down into the 3D Rose Shaping Mold and spay them lightly with water. Run the mold through your die cutting machine. Allow the leaves to dry before removing them from the mold. I like to take the "lid" off the mold and allow the paper to air dry for a few minutes.

Once all the flowers and leaves are ready to go, glue them onto the card front, making sure to place them around the left edge of the center circle embellishment. I used hot glue to attach all the flowers and leaves to the card front.

Tip: I forgot to color the back of my white cardstock, so I used some purple water-based markers to color the white paper where it was showing. Normally I add color to the backside of the flowers just to avoid the white of the paper showing.

Finish the card by placing enamel dots (or similar) to the card front as shown. I used purple and sparkly yellow/gold enamel dots.

I love that you cannot really tell that the flowers are poinsettias! They look like "generic" purple blooms! If I had stamped the flowers with pale ink, they would look even more like basic flowers, and less like poinsettias. It is great that you can get so much use from these flower stamps and dies on the "off" season! 

Thanks for hopping by! Hop on over to Monica Edwards's Blog next. DON'T FORGET...POST A COMMENT FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A $25 GIFT CARD TO HEARTFELT CREATIONS!

July Heartfelt Creations Alumni Blog Hop List:

Kathy Clement Vicki Dutcher Amarilys Doria Bozena Bodynek Lynn Stanborough Alissa Wells Lisa Gregory Candy Slabaugh Gloria Stengel - YOU ARE HERE Monica Edwards Heartfelt Creations Blog

Heartfelt Creations Products:
HCDP1-299 Burst of Spring Paper Collection

HCD1-7398 French Courtyard dies

HCPC-3881 Christmas  Poinsettia and Holly cling stamp set

HCD1-7249 Christmas Poinsettia and Holly die

HCPC-3752 Classic Rose cling stamp set

HCD1-7110 Classic Rose die

HCFB1-462 3D Rose Shaping Mold

HCD1-7155 Circle Basics Large die

HCD1-7154 Eyelet Circle and Basics Small die

Designer Dries Clear Adhesive (Art Glitter Glue)

Deluxe Flower Shaping Kit

Scor-Pal Measuring and Scoring Board

Other Products:
Cardstock: WorldWin Smooth Black, Hammermill White

Ink: Stampin' Up Lavender Lace, Close to My Heart Hydrangea, Ranger Distress Wilted Violet, Shaded Lilac, Villainous Potion, Ranger Archival Library Green, Gina K Amalgam Obsidian

Water markers: Stampin' Up Lavender Lace, Lovely Lilac

Enamel dots: Simple Stories Enchanted, Echo Park Travelers Notebook Coffee and Friends

Tools: Blender brushes, Big Shot Plus, Paper trimmer, Water spray bottle, Craft knife, Stamping blocks,scissors 

Adhesive: ATG tape, Hot glue