Dream a Little Dream

Hi friends! I'm up on the Gossamer Blue blog a new version of Pattern Play that was inspired by something in the background of the photo I chose to scrap.  I had these photos that were taken in front of a bridal shop in a quaint little village called Old Town Spring, near where I live. We were hanging around the shops when these photos were taken of my girls telling secrets to each other. I have no idea what they were whispering but I'm so glad this moment was captured.

As I started thinking through this layout, I kept going back to the pretty A-line dress and that's where I felt the inspiration hit. I pulled out my triangle punches and started punching out large and small triangles and arranged them on my page to mimic the dress. I used 13 different papers on the various triangles throughout the page and a few more for my photo layering, background paper and title. I think I counted 17 different patterns by the time I finished yet it doesn't feel like it.

I chose to use my electronic die cut machine to create the title, which I placed at the top of the triangle dress and around the photo and layers. I added a clear frame over the photo to highlight the girls in the photo and finished off the layout by adding a few more embellishments here and there.

 

So tell me, what do you think of how I extended the background of my photo onto the page? Do you ever do this - hone in on a little detail or element and repeat it throughout your layout.  I'd love to hear your ideas.

 

Supplies:

Gossamer Blue February 2014 Main kit, Main add-on, Main add-on 2, Bits & Pieces, Life Pages Main add-on, Life Pages themed add-on

2 Blog Hops | 3 Winners

Hi everyone!  Thanks so much for joining the two blog hops I was recently a part of.

It was a fun Gossamer Blue | Elle's Studio collaboration.  I hope you enjoyed all the amazing projects.  The winner of my Elle's Studio prize pack is...

LISA P (Lisa Peeples)

The winner of my American Crafts Valentine's Day Blog Hop prize pack, which includes American Crafts goodies from Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm and Amy Tan’s Sketchbook collections is...

EVA SCOTT

The winner of my Instagram prize pack from the American Crafts Blog Hop is...

FLEURSBYDESIGN

Congrats everyone! Please email me at heather AT heatherleopard DOT com by March 20th and I'll get your prize pack right out to you!

xoxo Heather

Seriously Sweet {American Crafts Valentine's Day Blog Hop}

Hi friends! I’m soo excited to be participating in the American Crafts Valentine’s Blog Hop again this year. There’s so much talent & inspiration along the way. Oh and of course, lots & lots of giveaways, like the not one but TWO I have below.

You probably came here from Ashley’s blog, so welcome.  If you are new to my blog, I hope you like what you see and will become my newest follower. Without further ado, here is the layout I created.

Supplies: American Crafts Amy Tangerine Plus One collection: Accomplice 12x12 paper (366822), Tandem 12x12 paper (366805), Ensemble 12x12 paper (366827), Soul Mate 12x12 paper (366818), Co-Pilot 12x12 paper (366810), Adhesive badges flair (366906), Screenprinted clothespins – Whittles (366907), Twins foam stickers – Thickers (366837), Remarks Tiny Matte Puffy Accents (366842), Remarks Accent & Phrase Stickers (366840)

I just love this photo of the hubby and I that Allison Schnurr snapped of us in December. We’re a great match for each other and now it’s documented in our family’s history book…and Amy Tan's new collection, Plus One is soo perfect for this layout.

To create the layout, I cut doilies in different sizes from white cardstock.  Once cut, I adhered the negative cut white cardstock over pattern paper and then placed the doilies back in their spots, only adhering them down in their centers so I could pop up the edges of the doilies. I added the title and OH MY, I just adore those word phrase Thickers!

I grounded the layout by adding a large border at the bottom and layering patterns and the photo over it.  I used one of the doilies that was going to be covered by the border and repurposed it as part of the layering around the photo. I finished the layout by adding a few mist splatters and embellishments.

TWO GIVEAWAYS!

Giveaway #1: I am giving away one set of American Crafts goodies (paper and embellishments) from Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm and Amy Tan’s Sketchbook collections. I’ll randomly draw a name from everyone who comments on this blog post.  You can gain a bonus entries if you are a follower of my blog. You have until February 16th at midnight CT to leave your comment(s). Good luck!

Giveaway #2: I am giving away another prize to those who follow me on Instagram (@heatherleopard) and leave a comment on my Love is All You Need photo going up on February 14.

Now on with the hop. Your next stop is the amazing Elizabeth Gardner. I just know you will love what she has created.  Here’s the list of designers participating in the hop.

Paige Evans

Meghann Andrew

Katie Ehmann

Patricia Roebuck

Lilith Eeckels
Becki Adams

Ashley Horton

Heather Leopard ß YOU ARE HERE

Elizabeth Gardner

Gina Lideros

Diana Waite

Janna Werner

Jill Cornell

Erin Stewart

Angie Gutshall

Madeline Fox

Allison Waken

American Crafts

Thanks for stopping by. Have a LOVELY weekend!

My Little Sweetheart {Gossamer Blue + PageMaps}

I love designing with sketches but I don't do it very often anymore so when the opportunity to create with the February PageMaps sketches presented itself, I jumped at the chance.  The Gossamer Blue team teamed up with PageMaps this month and when Becky sent the sketches, I couldn't wait to dig into my kit to create this:

I've had these photos pf my little sweetie for 2 year now and I couldn't decide which photo I wanted to scrap so when Becky email this sketch, I immediately knew these photos would be a perfect fit.

You can find all of the February PageMaps sketches and what the other Gossamer Blue design team created on the PageMaps blog. As you can see, I stayed very true to the original sketch. I only made slight modifications, like swapping sides, using 6 photos instead of 7 and such.

I added lots of dimension to this layout. Some photos are directly adhered to the papers, popped some of them up, along with some of the sentiments, etc. I used a heart overlay and stitched it over a photo, similar to the sketch.

I added a pre-printed title banner 'cause it was just too perfect.  You can also see the envelope I used as one of the 2x2 sections.

Thanks PageMaps and Gossamer Blue for this great sketch opportunity!  See the rest of the sketches and team designs on the PageMaps blog.

Love You

I was recently asked to create a layout using the American Crafts Silhouette cutting files and oh my word, it was so hard to decide which ones to get creative with. I chose two and I'm sharing one of them with you today.

I love using cutting files on my projects because they can add just the right touch of interesting elements to a page very quickly. I used the Dear Lizzy Loved Heart Cutting File from Silhouette store and altered it to fit the vision that I had for this layout. The cutting file includes hearts that are all the same size. I enlarged one for the bottom right corner (more on that later). I also enlarged a heart to make a medium sized one and then placed it here and there, modifying the small hearts to accommodate the new medium ones. It basically involved lots of moving and shifting until it looked perfect.

You can see the different sized hearts in this photo. I also cut different sized hearts out of coordinating pattern paper and nested them into empty spaces, stitched over them and then lifted the edges.

So back to the larger heart.  Once it was cut, I backed it with strips of paper in different pattern papers, added an embellishment and then journaled around it.

I added the same pattern papers under my photo, include one cut as a photo corner and then fussy cut flowers. I cut the "Love You" words out of white cardstock on my CAMEO and then stitched them onto the layout.

This layout includes lots of white space which is not what I consider "Heather" style but I feel great about it since it has such a fun tone-on-tone pattern.  I really love it and I hope you do too.

Families Stick Together

Hi friends.  I'm excited that I can finally share one of the layouts I created for the Simple Stories booth at CHA. This one is using the new Homespun collection.

I just love the colors of this collection. It has such a wonderful combination of daintiness to mixed with masculine elements. I love, love, LOVE it!

True to myself, I layered and distressed fun patterns, adding fussy cut and pre-cut embellishments behind and around the photo.  Did I mention that this photo was taken by the uber talented, Allison Schnurr? Love her! Anywho, I love the doily paper so I cut some of them out and placed them around the photo and in a few other spots on the layout. And I must of been crazy when I decided to cut out all the red and blue flowers with those tiny stems and yellow buds.  What was I thinking?  Well, whatever it was, I'm glad I did it because I love what they add to the look of the layout.

I chose to use the FAMILY letters from the chipboard to make a bold title. I then used word stickers to add a sub-title. I would normally used this empty space to do my journaling but these words were too perfect.  I'll just add my journaling on the back because there's a few things I want to say about these sisters but I'd like to keep it hidden.

So whattaya think about my debut project for the Simple Stories team? I gotta say that I absolutely love their new collections and I can't wait to show you the projects I've been busy creating! Stay tuned for more soon.

Everlasting Love {a Gossamer Blue + Elle's Studio Blog Hop}

Did you hear the news? The February Gossamer Blue kits are filled with all sorts of Elle's Studio goodness this month!  When I got my kits, I was so excited to see such loveliness all in one place. You know what's really cool? We've teamed up with Elle and some of her design team for a super fun blog hop, lots of inspiration and plenty of giveaways.

I'm excited to show you what I created using the Elle's Studio goodies from the Main kit and Add-ons. Why, because I documented my parent's love story. Let's take a look:

Aren't they so cute? They've been a great example and I'm proud to say that they've been married 44 years!

I just loved the front and back of this love letters paper so I cut it the bottom 1/3 of the paper and flipped the bottom part over to show the side with the hearts. I think it grounds the page nicely, especially with the yellow border and the adorable Happily Ever After paper strip.  I chose to create my title using the wood veneer and a word I cut from the doily paper using my cameo. You can see one doily in the upper right hand corner above and tucked behind the photos in the picture below.

I chose simple layering behind these photos, using a striped pattern paper, a doily, a few cards and envelopes and of course lovely embellishments. I just love how the page turned out and I'm glad to know that I've documented this love affair for both myself and my children.

I'm doing a giveaway here on my blog for a collection of Elle's Studio goodies from my stash. All I ask is that you share 1 thing you love about life, what makes you happy.  And if you like what you see here today, I'd love to have you follow me here on my blog and on Instagram. I share lots of sneak peeks of Gossamer Blue kits and all my projects on Instagram. You have until Friday, February 7, 2014 at midnight to enter to win my giveaway.

Now, your next stop is to the talented Jenny Evans.  Here is the full blog hop list:

Adrienne Alvis
Anabelle O’Malley
Becki Adams
Cindy Liebel
Emily Spahn
Evgenia Petzer
Heather Leopard ***YOU ARE HERE***
Jenny Evans 
Jessica Lohof
Jill Cornell
Jina Jean
Juliana Michaels 
Kasia Przybyt
Katie Ehmann
Kim Moreno
Magda Mizera
Michelle Wooderson
Michiko Kato
Naomi Atkins
Nicole Harper
Patricia Roebuck
Stephanie Bryan
Valerie Bishop 
WaiSam Ho 
Yuki Shimada

Don't forget to stop by the Elle's Studio blog and the Gossamer Blue blog! Each company is giving away some great prizes on their blog. Leave a comment on their blogs telling them what inspired you along the hop to be entered to win!