Rose Blossom Blog Hop: On a Lark....

Hi All! Welcome to the Rose Blossom Blog Hop! If you've hopped over from Rose Blossom Legacies, you're in the right place. (Isn't Brenda Rose AMAZINGLY talented? I love going over to her blog for inspiration!)

So when I designed today's project, I had my poor, bare front door in mind. However, after the torrential downpour on Tuesday, I realized that it probably wouldn't hold up to DC spring weather. (If April showers bring May flowers, we're in for an unusually gorgeous May out here!) So, this little gem will be gracing my entry way instead:

I have to say that one of my favorite product suites that Close To My Heart carries is its My Creations Line. It really makes home decor projects so much easier to do. For this project, I started with the My Creations Bracket Frame and the Skylark Collection (my FAVORITE collection in the idea book ...and that's saying a lot because I like them all...). You can use the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut a shape that will cover the bracket frame beautifully. However, since I'm using a Cricut Mini these days, I covered the frame with paper and then used my Exacto knife to cut it out. (Still, all in all, a quick process.) I inked around the edges with Saddle Exclusive ink. 

For the inside of the frame, I cut a sheet of Lagoon cardstock at 8 13/16 inches square and layered it with patterned paper cut at 8 1/2 inches square. I added a piece of Burlap Ribbon to the center and layered it with patterned paper and a zip strip. The "H" is cut at 6 inches wide using the Artbooking Cricut cartridge. I cut it from patterned paper and White Daisy Cardstock and layered the two for a shadowed effect. (I also inked around the edges of the patterned paper with Saddle Exclusive ink to provide more contrast.) The monogram is popped up using dimensional adhesive.

After sliding the monogram into place, I went to work on embellishing the frame. The top flower is made using Base & Bling Adhesive Dots and Skylark textiles. I ripped off a strip of fabric and pleated it around the adhesive dot. I then finished it off with a small flower from the Skylark Assortment pack. A couple of leaves cut using the Artbooking project completes the look.

For the bottom embellishments, I created a flower-like bow using Burlap Ribbon, Skylark textiles and patterned paper. I added a large daisy from the Skylark Assortment pack to finish it off. I then stamped the "Welcome" sentiment, from the Balloon Talk stamp set, in Lagoon Exclusive Ink on White Daisy cardstock and cut it out. I used a foundry pin to attach it to the bow and added another little Skylark flower for texture and contrast.

Finally,  I inked up a couple of butterflies from my stash in Buttercup, Sweet Leaf, and Lagoon Exclusive inks and layered them for dimension. I added sparkles to the butterfly and Sparkle flourishes to the bottom of the frame and called it done....

Here's another look at the frame:

So, what do you think?

It's no coincidence that we are using Skylark and Cricut together this month because, for April only, you can get your choice of Cricut Collections for free when you sign up to become a Consultant with Close To My Heart. AND the consultant kit comes packed with Skylark!

Take a look:

All this plus YOUR CHOICE of one of the Cricut Collections for just $99. Pretty amazing deal! If you want to become a consultant or purchase any of the CTMH products used in this project, please see me here!

Now hop on over to These Eager Hands and see what the oh-so-talented Cathy Arbuckle has made to inspire you!

And here's the Hop List if you get lost along the way:

Brenda Rose

Kim Hill (That's Me)

Cathy Arbuckle

Tammie Chelburg

Kim Richardson

Marg Van Patten

Kristine Porter

Shelly Nemitz

Lynn Darda

Mary Newman

or you can hop back over to Rose Blossom Legacies, and Brenda will get you back on track! 

We All Have Wings...But Some of Us Don't Know Why....

I enjoy all things winged--except the mosquito...it's hard to draw uplifting analogies from the mosquito. However, give me birds and butterflies, bees and dragonflies and I will have the time of my life creating with those images. There's something about flight that shouts "freedom." We talk about giving our souls and our hearts wings. We use terms like "soaring" and "flying" when we do what we love or when we experience joy. 

So lately I've been contemplating what it means to fly. (More specifically, what it means for me to fly.) It's more than doing what I want or even what I love. Those are part of it, but let's be honest, if doing what I want or what I love to do was the sum total of what it means to fly, I wouldn't get a whole lot of air time. Being a part of a family, a part of a community, naturally means that there will be a lot of time spent doing mundane things (like laundry) or less than thrilling things (like cleaning up after my children when they are sick). Things I'd rather not do. But does it follow that my wings get clipped and I get grounded every time I don't get my way? Ugh. There's no freedom in that. 

St. Irenaeus was purported to have said, "The glory of God is man fully alive." And it seems to me that the meaning of flight for me is found in that same idea. I fly when I am fully alive, when I am living in wide-eyed wonder drinking in all that God has created. When I am giving Him glory by choosing to do the mundane, or the less than thrilling, for no other reason than to serve others so they can feel their value and worth. When I'm creating for no other reason than because that is what I was created to do.  

I think there's more to flight than freedom. I think we see in the flight of birds and butterflies, bees and dragonflies...and, yes, even the mosquito, if we're honest...we see in them the beauty of creation doing exactly what it was created to do. Creation, fully alive.

So today's project is the outgrowth of some of these thoughts. I used a 6x6 canvas board and covered it with Skylark paper by Close To My Heart. I then started layering all kinds of media: pearl paint, gold glimmer spray, icons cut from the Skylark paper, stamps, Skylark fabric, etc. I used Mod Podge to adhere it all. I then added a little quote--from my head? from something I read? I have no idea. But I wrote it out on vellum using Sharpie markers and glued it down using Mod Podge as well. When everything was dry, I went back over the quote with the Sharpies to make it pop a little more. And that's it. (I put a list of supplies at the end of the post.)

Here are some close ups:

And here it is again with one of my lovely long-tailed birds that had been my grandmother's:

I hope you enjoyed this little out of the ordinary project. And I hope you fly!

Supplies used in this project:

Skylark Paper Pack

Skylark Assortment

Skylark Textiles

Believe in Yourself Stamp Set

Chocolate Woodgrain Washi Tape

Gold Polka Dot Washi Tape

Lagoon Houndstooth Washi Tape

Tea Dye Distress Ink

Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint

Lagoon Re-Inker

Walnut Gold Glimmer Mist

Chevron Stencil

Dot Stencil (made from Punchinella)

Sharpie Ultra-Fine Point Markers

Mod Podge

Liquid Glass

Dimensional Adhesive

Playing Along with The Paper Players

Hi All! It's been a while since I played along with The Paper Players, so I thought it was about time I did. This week's sketch is a fun one. It's so basic that it really lets you get creative. (Love that!)

Here's my take on the sketch:

For this card, I used paper from Close To My Heart's new Skylark Collection. It has such lovely shades of blues, greens and browns, it's quickly becoming one of my favorites to work with!

The base card is cut at 4 1/4 x 11 inches from White Daisy Cardstock. I scored at 5 1/2 inches so that it would be a tent fold card rather than the traditional left-hand fold. I then layered the patterned paper on Juniper Cardstock and adhered the layers to the base. The flags are all cut from the same sheet of paper as the patterned paper layer. The multicolor arrows are from the zip strip (that's the 1/2-inch strip of coordinating paper at the top of each sheet of patterned paper), the Lagoon-striped flag is an element in the paper that I cut out, as is the brown flag.

The sentiment is from the Lifting Spirits Stamp Set by Close To My Heart. I stamped it in Juniper Exclusive Ink on White Daisy Cardstock and then fussy cut around it. I popped it up on the layered flags using dimensional adhesive. I then added some Aqua Dots for a final understated flourish.

Here are some close ups:

(Isn't the artwork in this paper beautiful?)

And here is the card one last time:

Hope you're as inspired by Skylark as I am. It truly is a beautiful collection!