Hugs4theHeart Designs

Hello my dear sweet friends - I hope this finds you doing well.  It's been a while since I have been able to post and yet I have been able to get quite a few loose ends tied up.  I ended up making a quick trip to California to get the rest of personal stuff out of storage.  I am no longer scattered across three states and I can't even begin to express how wonderful that feels.  It will take me some time to get all my craft stuff set up and organized again but it looks like I will be able to really get on the ground running again.  It was a group effort and my sisters and brother in law were amazing and so incredibly helpful.   A few days before the trip I received a phone call (out of the blue) from a dear friend I worked with at the Police Department in California 20 years ago.  It was great hearing from him and we have been having fun getting caught up on things. My my, so many new and exciting changes.  I am still working on getting my heal...

Hello my dear sweet friends - Talk about an exciting day!!  Actually evening is more accurate but let me back up for a minute.  I have had one deep dream since I was a little girl - and that is be a writer.  I don't want to write novels but I want to write from the heart - personal experience articles in the hopes it will help someone who is going through something I myself have experienced might find comfort, encouragement, reach out for help or make a difference in someones life.  I have had a letter to the editor published but that's about it until tonight. I wrote an article called "You Have Breast Cancer" and it has been published on the Yahoo Voice Website and I am beyond excited and nervous since I am finally stepping out of my comfort zone and putting myself out there and letting it all hang out for the world to see.  I am ready and I am probably going to be awake all night with my mind going amuck amuck amuck!!   I wrote this article because Oc...

Oh my goodness my dear sweet friends - I just found out I am the winner of the "Bits and Pieces" October giveaway with  C'est Magnifique Kits.   Talk about a great way to start the day and I just had to share with you!!! They really do have gorgeous kits and crafting supplies and I can't wait to make something from my package.  And of course - I will share it here with you!! Hugs and smiles always Laine "Bits and Pieces" Giveaway Package for October from  C'est Magnifique Kits

Happy Saturday Dear Sweet Friends Can you believe it??  Two posts in a row - kind of surprises me and also reminds me of days gone by when it was more common than uncommon.  Hopefully its a good sign.  How's your weekend going?? Have you been able to spend any time being creative today??  I decided to work on some small projects for a little more instant gratification.  I know I have mentioned it several times but I really enjoy making keychains and magnets and so I decided to try and go into a different direction.  So I decided to share the first one I made today and will add more as I get them done.  Let me know what you think??  Anything else I can add to jazz it up a little more - you know me I always like the vintage or shabby chic style. Thanks for stopping by - it always makes my day. Hugs and smiles Laine I am submitting this to the following challenges:

 Happy Happy Friday my Dear Sweet Friends - I don't know about you but I am really looking forward to the weekend.  It's been really chilly here and I think its time to park in front of the craft table and get busy.  I have all kinds of ideas screaming for attention especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner.  What about you??  Have you already started making your Christmas cards?  Plan on making anything to give as gifts this year?? I would love to hear some of your plans and I can keep a secret. This recent project was a lot of fun.  I had an image in my head of what I wanted it to look like however by time I was done everything had changed.  I was originally going to just make a greeting card out of a brown paper sack.  As you can see it turned into a booklet of sorts with extra tags and a side pocket to hold a gift card.  I inked the edges, added some little pearls, stickles in the center of the flower on ...

Happy happy Tuesday my dear sweet friends - I sure hope you are doing splendid today and staying warm (cool) depending on which part of the country you live in.  It's chilly here and I am seriously considering wrapping up in a blanket and having a hot cup of tea to get me moving around a little better. This album was really fun to make.  It took a lot of time and thought because I had to use every piece of paper I had even if it was only a 1" x 1" piece.  I also wanted to make sure there was room for lots of tags, side pockets and folders within some of the pages.  I love the album and even though it could be considered done - I still want to add more embellishments but will do so at a later date.  Most of the papers and products I used are from 7 Gypsies and from a dear friend of mine in California.  I used a lot of chipboard to make all the pages and (big gulp) I disassembled one of my favorite books because I wanted to use the cover of the book for thi...

Quick update:  9/20/2013 - A very dear friend of my daughter passed away suddenly a few days ago.  I am now helping my daughter with a craft memorial project we need to have done in time for the funeral tomorrow.  I don't know that I will be able to post my project until over the weekend or Monday.   Thanks for understanding!!! Hugs always Laine *************************************************************************************** Hello dear sweet friends - its almost Friday!!  I don't know about you but I am certainly ready for the weekend.  I have been working on my secret project and have another photo to share today and the final project tomorrow.  It's been quite the process - I started out one way and things changed into a whole new direction several hours later.  I am much happier with the updated version and have a feeling this will be a project that will probably continue to grow over time. Have a blessed day and see you tomorro...

Hello my dear sweet friends - Happy Tuesday!!  I hope you are all doing well.  It been busy busy here with my youngest grandson ready for the 10th grade.  And a lot of fun too!!  Boy, my daughter is amazing at how much she can accomplish in one day with work, school and the boys.  I was also blessed to be able to spend time with my youngest daughter too!!  It was relaxing, entertaining and at times even emotional (in a good way).  I sure feel blessed!! Well I am going to post just a little bit today along with a few pictures just to give you a slight peek at what I am currently working on.  It's something I have never done before - and I am super excited and a little nervous since I am truly flying by the seat of my pants on this one. Can you tell from the photos what I might be working on???  I will show another quick peek tomorrow and the final project on Friday.  I hope you will let me know your thoughts... With hugs and smiles ...

Happy Tuesday Sweet Friends - I hope you are doing well and smiling today. I know I am because I have been busy making lots of different things and most of them have to do with Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the color pink, and/or lots of bling.  Happy happy and lots of smiles when I am in that environment (sounds silly but also true). I am actually going to list a lot of these items on Etsy and get ready for the holiday season.  Have you started making any of your Christmas cards or gifts yet? I have a couple more items to list and then I will be visiting some of your blogs to see what you are up to as well. I am also working on a new give away in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness next month.  Hope you will join in. Hugs and smiles always, Laine

Hello sweet friends - I hope you had a great weekend!!  Mine was quiet - almost to quiet actually.  I did manage to get two little projects done I thought I would share with you.  You know me - I love just about anything and every Paris or the Eiffel Tower.  It's been kind of hard to focus this week so I decided to kind of push myself a little by making something small. I also found a great blog with amazing creations along with a birthday giveaway - hope you will check out her blog.  She is very talented, her work is gorgeous and her coloring is off the charts. Paper Crafting in Cocoa Have a great week!! Hugs and smiles Altered Notebook Altered Magnet

Hello my dear sweet friends - Hope you are all doing well.   I am amazed I am finally back on blog land.  I have tried so many times to make a new post but couldn't find the buttons I needed through the G+ arrangement.  So frustrating and finally decided to ask for help from my friends - and once I did - I find what I need hidden in the mix of other buttons.  I just hope I can find it again and wish I knew why I had been struggling.  I am usually good at figuring this stuff out but then had to put it aside again due to family stuff (see below). Anyway - problem solved (hopefully). I first wanted to make a post about my best furry friends Hercules.  He has been by my side almost non-stop for 13.5 years and sadly he passed away on Sunday. I miss him so much!!  I knew I would lose him one day however my prayer has always been for me to be with him when its his time to go to doggie heaven.  I feel so blessed my prayer was answered even though i...

Happy Monday my Dear Sweet Friends - I hope you had a fabulous weekend!!  It was a quiet one for me and I was able to get some rest and finish working on this new project (which I actually started a while ago but wasn't able to complete).    I absolutely love the sentiment and find it is so true in my own life for over 20 years now.  Which makes this soon to be journal extra special to me.  There are no inside pages yet but I wanted to share the journal itself and get my feet wet by entering a couple of challenges this week.   I made the journal from scratch using heavy chipboard and covered it with actual fabric with adhesive on the back.  I believe its from DCWV.  It was a little tricky to work with and yet great I didn't have to use any other adhesive.  As you can tell I used lots of bling, pearls, lace, charms and inked the edges to give it the total shabby chic look.  The journal measures 5" x 7".   If you ...

Happy Tuesday my dear sweet friends -  Sure hope you are having a glorious day!!  Anything new and exciting on your side of blog land??? I have been busy working on my first project (as I shared in an earlier post) and have managed to get the beginnings of the album put together.  I have been wanting to make a special journal to add my favorite scriptures to and this was the perfect time to start this process.  As you can see I have the basics of the album put together but that's as far as I have gotten.  I am not quite sure what I want to add to the front yet but just allowing the ideas to simmer in the background of my brain and see if any of them catch my fancy.  If you have any ideas - hey let me know - I would love to hear your thoughts on this issue (and whatever else you would like to share with me).     I have been writing down and keeping track of all my favorite scriptures and quotes for quite some time now and know i...

Hello my dear sweet friends - Hope you are having a glorious day!! I am sitting here at the kitchen table with a fantastic refreshing breeze coming through the open windows.  It's like heaven on earth!! Several months ago a dear friend sent me a gift card for my birthday and I just haven't had the opportunity to use it until now.  Most of my craft supplies are divided between California and Oregon and I don't have a lot here with me yet. Since I am in the creative mode I figured I needed to do a little shopping and see what I could come up with and the photo below shows what I bought with my gift card.  Ironically I am so use to being surrounded by all my craft supplies and at times was a little overwhelmed because there were so many choices.   And now I am excited because I don't have so many choices and I will be able to really stretch my creative muscle to see what I can come up with.  I do have digi images on my computer (thank goodness) as we...

Hello my sweet dear friends - I am so incredibly happy and excited to be back in blog land with you and at the same time a little nervous and apprehensive with making my first post in quite some time.  Without going into all the details I can finally say I feel like I am back in the world of the living.  I feel rested, my spirit renewed and I have such a deep joy and peace from within.  Lots of changes have taken place as well as challenges and the excitement of a whole new life adventure bursting open in front of me. Still lots to do but I am ready, willing and able to jump in feet first.  I am now living back in Washington state and excited beyond measure to be near my daughters and grandsons.   I am slowly getting back into the creative swing of things and will hopefully be able to start posting my creative endeavors soon. But until then - I am so looking forward to checking out your blogs and see what has been happening in your lives too!!  I sure ...

Happy Happy Monday sweet friends -  sure hope you had a wonderful weekend.  It was fairly quiet here which was a blessing. This week's challenge with Tammy's Scrappin Corner is all about "Manly Cards".  I don't know about you but I don't seem to make as many manly cards as I do more girly cards.  Manly cards are easier in some way and a little more challenging in other ways.  Have you ever felt the same way?? Our sponsor this week is QKR Stampede and I love their quirky and adorable images.  This week I chose to use this image called "Old Car". I used cardstock from The Angel Company called "Hemingway" and paper pieced the car rather than using my copics.  I thought about adding buttons but decided against it.  I am going to send this one to a dear friend of mine in Seattle and I think he will really like it.  I also added some ink around the edges of the beige cardstock to give it a more vintage look as well. We have a wo...