Amazingly Everything

There's this one paper by Peppermint Granberg in this month's Gossamer Blue kit that is so pretty and has a stitched pattern look to it.  Of course, I like to complicate things as much as possible so I decided to machine stitch over the heart patterns of the paper.

The paper looked something like this when I was done with it (I still had to cut the strings). Photo is from my Instagram feed.

I stitched the outer edge of all the hearts that wouldn't be covered up by other elements. Here's the photo about my girl who is amazingly everything to me.

It's hard to see the details in the photos but it looks so freakin' incredible IRL.

Did you notice how perfect my daughter's shirt matches the other pattern paper? The colors of her shirt actually clashed so I altered a couple of the colors using Photoshop.

I used the opaque alphas by Heidi Swapp to create the main headline of the page and then stitched all the words that describe how amazing I think my daughter is.

Lastly, I layered various patterns, journaling spots and embellishments to complete the page. Head over to the Gossamer Blue blog for more info about this layout and the September kits.

Shaving Cream Fun Tutorial for Shimelle.com

Hi there everyone.  I am so excited for today's post over on Shimelle's blog because guess what??? She asked ME to guest blog today. I'm pretty sure Shimelle's blog was one of the first blogs I ever followed do this is a fun honor. I chose to do a tutorial on how to create a faux watercolor paper effect using shaving cream. Wha-what?

Here's some photos of the project but you'll have to visit Shimelle's blog to see the actual tutorial. Keep reading below though to download the cutting file I created for this layout.

Supplies: American Crafts Amy Tangerine Sketchbook, Barbasol shaving cream, mists by Heidi Swapp, Studio Calico, Tattered Angels, Silhouette CAMEO

See that multi-colored paper in the background there?  That's what I'm showing you how to make using shaving cream and mists. I had these photos of my daughter from Splash Day at school and I knew immediately that I had to incorporate shaving cream into this layout somehow.  That's when the light bulb went off in my head. This project is fun to make and if you have kids around, they'll be begging you to get in on the action. Well, at least mine did. I let them strip down to their tidy whities, sprayed shaving cream on the glass table in the breakfast room and let them go to town.

Messy? Yes! Fun, inexpensive entertainment? Yes! Clean-up? Easy-breezy!

While they were playing, I was mixing up something fun myself. Visit Shimelle's blog for the tutorial.

I chose the colors based on the pink and orange suite my daughter was wearing and the other colors in the background. It reminds me of a sunset.

I chose to use the paper I made as a background. I simply designed a page full of circles in my Silhouette software. You can DOWNLOAD THE FILE FOR FREE HERE.

I used the re-used the circles that I cut out by adhering them tone on tone on my layout.  I chose to use white foam letters for my title because they reminded me of the shaving cream that my daughter was covered in in all the photos.

Thanks for visiting me today. No go on over to Shimelle's blog to read how I did this and then go get crafty!

So Happy Together

I was soo excited when I opened up my September Gossamer Blue kit last month and saw the exclusive papers. I knew right away which photos I wanted to scrap because one of the papers matched my daughter's outfit so perfectly.  Well, actually the patterns were identical but the colors clashed but I quickly printed this photo out in black & white and my problem was solved.  Check out this layout and you'll see why my jaw dropped.

How cool is that? I wanted to use this paper all up and I did on another layout, which I'll reveal here and on the Gossamer Blue blog soon so you'll just have to wait and see. It'll be a fun post though because I actually changed the color of my daughter's shirt.  That's another day soon though.

If you know me, you might expect a few layers, some splattered mist and stitching. The journaling is hidden on the little white card with the blue enamel dot.

These girls of mine are my EVERYTHING. I am so honored to be their mommy, through the triumphs, tribulations and struggles. They are the first thing I think of at night and when I wake up. Okay, enough of the sappy mommy stuff.  Let's look at one more thing I love about this layout.

I am proud of my labor of love stitching. I machine stitched each heart and it took a while with lots of twists and turns but it just looked so bare as a border without it.

I hope you'll visit us over on the Gossamer Blue gallery or say hi in the community. Until then, thanks for stopping by. Now go on a get crafty!

American Crafts Blog Hop Winner

Thanks to everyone who joined us on the American Crafts new Design Team blog hop.  I really enjoyed seeing everyone's projects and the diversity of the team but I LOVED reading all the comments you left on my blog.

As promised, I randomly drew the winner of my giveaway.  Congratulations to...

I'm just a simple gal

Please send your mailing address to me via email at heather at heatherleopard dot com by September 30, 2013 and I'll get your package of Amy Tangerine Sketchbook goodies out to you.

If you played along with my Instagram contest, I'll be posting the winner over there today or tomorrow.

Thanks again to everyone who visits my blog and leaves comments. I read each and every one of them and appreciate your support.

This Is Me Today | American Crafts Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the American Crafts 2013-2014 Design Team Blog Hop! I am so excited to kick off my 2nd term on the American Crafts Design Team with his fun online event. As you're hopping, each new team member will be sharing a little bit about themselves (ourselves?) with you.

So without further ado, here's the layout I created about me.

Supplies: Patterned paper, stickers, chipboard, stitching, embroidery floss resin bow, die cuts, wood veneer, stamps. ink, adhesive, pen: American Crafts; Spray mist: Studio Calico

I stamped and misted the chipboard and then layered pattern paper underneath it and layered it over a die cut and sticker.

I did the same treatment to this wood veneer. The heart is hand embroidered and took me forever but I HEART it!

I hand-stitched ALL OVER this page for forever & a day and then machine stitched the speech bubbles. I then journaled little snippets of info about me on each speech bubble.

I sure hope you like what I created. It's a new fave of mine. Now, on with the hop and my...

GIVEAWAY!

One lucky follower of my blog (new or existing) who leaves a comment on this blog post, telling me something about themselves, will be drawn at random and will receive a collection of American Crafts goodies from the Amy Tangerine Sketchbook collection.  I'll pop a photo of it shortly but I am sure you'll love what I've picked out.  You have until September 14th to leave your comment. I'll announce the winner on my blog soon after. 

BONUS!
You can also find me on Instagram, where I like to share personal photos, exciting news and sneak peeks of projects. I might just have a 2nd giveaway going on over there. ;)

Now let's meet the rest of the team.

Next on the hop is the talented Gina Lideros! 

Here is the full design team list for you to hop around to:

Becki Adams

Meghann Andrew

Jill Cornell

Lilith Eeckels

Katie Ehmann

Paige Evans

Davinie Fiero

Madeline Fox

Elizabeth Gardner

Kelly Goree

Angie Gutshall

Ashley Horton

Corrie Jones

* Heather Leopard *

Gina Lideros

Patricia Roebuck

Erin Stewart

Diana Waite

Allison Waken

Janna Werner

American Crafts

Thanks for stopping by. Now go on your merry way to Gina's blog!

Peek-A-Boo | Gossamer Blue

I see you!  Yep, that was me sneaking pics of my daughter playing at the park. We weren't necessarily playing peek-a-boo but I was peeking in on her as she was fiddling with some sand and such. I mean, she just looked so cute in her hat, shirt, 2 skirts layered over each other, baby legs and fancy shoes.  Oh and a bow that you can barely see under the hat.

I used the new Carta Bella Hello Again collection pieces that are in the September Gossamer Blue kit and Add-on kit. I just couldn't resist cutting out the words from the 12x12 paper and 6x6 pad. The whole layout was inspired by those fussy cut pieces and everything else just fell into place.

I layered and tucked papers, stickers and tabs to frame out the photos and mixed the alphas included in the Add-on kit to create the title.

I used the tab stickers in their "open" state to do my journaling. I chose to journal about her love of singing and dancing and how much we love to snuggle, read and give lots of hugs and kisses to each other. This girl is the best at expressing her love!

Make sure to check out the Gossamer Blue September kit. It's filled with exclusive Gossamer Blue papers, Carta Bella, My Mind's Eye, Teresa Collins, Pink Paislee, and more. While you're there, check out the new community and gallery!