Hearts of the West Blog Hop

Welcome to the 1st Hearts of the West Blog Hop!
Our fearless leader Nancy Klein choose our first color challenge from the following inspiration picture - Buttercup, Sorbet, New England Ivy, Gypsy and Lagoon as well as the basic color pallet. 
 
This is a circular blog hop, so matter where you start..If you keep going to will end back where you started and you can find a full list at the end of this post, just in case
If you came from Chantal Pearson - http://itsahootpapercrafts.blogspot.ca/2014/05/may-1st-hearts-of-west-blog-hop.html then your in the right order.

My card was inspired by the card on page 8 of the CTMH 2014 Spring/Summer Idea Book. This is one of hostess reward stamp sets - B1447 A Mother's Love. Host a qualifying gathering and you can get your hands on this for only $6!

I started with a 6" x 6" base of New England Ivy card stock. I used our Scallop Border Punch (Z1851) and sanded the edges to show off the cute little scallop border.
Next I layered on a 3" x 6" piece of Sorbet card stock and topped it with a 2.5" x 4" piece of Daisy White card stock to make the flower pop.
For the upper right corner piece, I started with a 5" x 5" piece of Buttercup card stock and then cut off a rounded bottom edge. Next, I embossed it with our new Quatrefoil embossing folder (Z1926). These are a nice 5"x7" size and make a well defined image. I sanded the raised parts to expose the white core of our card stock.

Now the fun part - stamping! This set has base and outline stamps that are so fun to play with. I experimented with a few of the colors and finally decided I liked the bold combination of Lagoon and Gypsy. First I stamped the base with Lagoon then the outline image with Gypsy right over top. I decided on 3 flowers and popped up the middle one to give some dimension. The leaves were done with New England Ivy. For the tone-on-tone leaves I stamped the base with second generation then over stamped the outline in first generation.

Sorry for the blurry image - a crack photographer I am not! If you're wondering what this "generation" stamping is ponder no more. When you ink up your stamp and stamp your image immediately, this is called "first generation". This  gives you the dark color. "Second generation" is achieved by first stamping your inked stamp onto a scrap piece of paper, then stamping your image where you want it. This produces a lighter version of the original color. The bottom leaf is a first generation stamp. The next left up is one using the second generation of the base stamp and a first generation stamp of the outline stamp giving the leaf a light full color and a darker outline. I cut fine strips of Saddle card stock for the stems.

See the Sorbet butterflies? This stamp set doesn't contain an actual butterfly image. The stamp has 3 of these tiny flowers together. I cut them out individually and made them into butterflies! There are so many ways to use each one of our stamp sets! The versatility amazes me each time I dig out a set to play.

The final touch was to place the sentiment inside the card. I lined the card with Buttercup card stock and stamped the sentiment in New England Ivy.

Thanks for stopping buy and please feel free to comment..We just love reading them!
Your next stop is Freya Hall Dunbar - http://freyassimplecreations.blogspot.ca/2014/05/hearts-of-west-blog-hop.html
See you next month for our next Hearts of the West Team Challenge.
Remember your welcome to join our amazing team, just contact ones of these consultants to get you started! if you need help just message any of us and we will direct you to the closest consultant to you!

In case you lose your way here is the list:

1. Nancy Klein - http://nancyklein.blogspot.ca/2014/05/hearts-of-west-blog-hop.html

2. Chelsey Vorosmarty - http://www.personaltouchscrapbooking.com/2014/05/hearts-of-west-may-blog-hop.html

3. Linda Pekrul - http://blueskyscrapping.blogspot.ca/2014/05/hearts-of-west-blog-hop.html

4. Diane Fischer - http://papercrafterssorority.blogspot.ca/2014/05/May-1st-hearts-of-the-west-blog-hop.html

5. Chantal Pearson - http://itsahootpapercrafts.blogspot.ca/2014/05/may-1st-hearts-of-west-blog-hop.html

6. Christine Marshall - http://perfectfinishesalways.blogspot.ca/2014/05/welcome-to-1st-hearts-of-west-blog-hop.html

7. Freya Hall Dunbar - http://freyassimplecreations.blogspot.ca/2014/05/hearts-of-west-blog-hop.htm

8. Michelle Marciniw Olson - http://mystudiowithaview.blogspot.ca/2014/05/welcome-to-1st-hearts-of-west-blog-hop.html

9. Corinna Murphy - http://corinnacraftfun.blogspot.ca/2014/05/may-1st-hearts-of-west-blog-hop.html

10. Janet McCormick - http://worksofheart2011.blogspot.ca/2014/05/hearts-of-west-may-blog-hop.html

11. Donna Digby - http://datsmystyledj.blogspot.ca/2014/05/ctmh-hearts-of-west-blog-hop.html