Grateful Heart

I love this time of year when we become mindful of our gratitude for the blessings we have received.  I think it is therefore appropriate that we celebrate this gratitude with our Heart 2 Heart Challenge.  Here is the card I created using the Grateful Heart paper set and the Grateful Heart--Cardmaking stamp set.

Design credit to Mojo Monday

The stamp set included the words Thankful, Grateful and Blessed. Having no where else to include them, I used Saffron ink to stamp tone on tone on the Saffron patterned paper. This is a technique I sometimes use to add interest and texture to my project. The butterfly was colored with Shinhan alcohol based markers.

Please visit Heart 2 Heart Challenges Thankful Heart for more inspiration.  I have also entered this card in the Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge.

Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving,

Sue

Inspired by Nature

The theme this week at Heart 2 Heart is Inspired by Nature. Other than a few years, we have always had a "real" Christmas tree.  We had a favorite tree farm nearby, where sometimes we cut our own and sometimes were lucky enough to find a suitable tree on the lot.

This year, the family that owns the farm decided to close down the tree business.  We have made the decision to purchase an artificial tree, but there are things we will miss...or maybe not!   I will miss the family trips with the grandkids and hauling our trees home in the pick-up.  I definitely will miss the scent of the tree, but I will not miss getting stuck by needles while placing the ornaments. I will not miss trimming the trunk to get the tree to fit in the stand or my husband's colorful language while doing so.  I will not miss the daily watering of the tree or the needles stuck in my carpet.  So OK...I am thinking the artificial tree is going to be alright!

But back to being inspired by nature in our papercrafting.  For my project, I decided to celebrate our Christmas tree memories.  I turned to the PML cards from the 'Tis the Season paper pack.  I love the evergreen bough and the background paper spread with tiny evergreen branches...a reminder of my love of the "real" tree.  I used Candy Apple and New England Ivy cardstock. The background paper was accented by a "stitched" dye from the Decorative Borders die set (Z4241). The sentiment was stamped with a retired CTMH stamp. I accented the ribbon and berries with the clear Shimmer Pen and added bling with clear Sparkles and Bitty Sparkles.

Be sure to visit Heart 2 Heart Challenges for more inspiration from nature.  We will love to have you visit and hope you will link your project too!

Talk with you soon,
Sue