Hero Arts 2012 Catalog Release Parties and City of Lakes Christmas Show 12/10/11

What a busy day - I had yesterday!  Must've been the extra excitement of the 2012 Hero Arts Catalog release parties and my chorus Christmas show - I was up at 4 a.m.!  Since I was awake and had my stuff all ready to go, I went ahead a made a card for our Hero Arts Flickr group holiday exchange.  Won't share that yet since I'm just putting it in the mail tomorrow.

Was at Archiver's in Roseville MN when they opened at 10:00 a.m.  Bought some great new Hero Arts goodies and then headed over to Anchor Paper in St Paul where they also had a release party.  Their make 'n take wasn't supposed to start until 11 but they had it ready early.  Good thing as I had to travel to Bloomington for my chorus Christmas Show.  We had to be on stage ready to go at 1:00 for a stage check and I had my stage make-up to put on after the release parties.  Didn't want to scare anyone at those!!

So here are a couple photos from the release parties - you can see more in my Flickr photostream if desired.

I'm at Archiver's holding up some of their display boards - the clerk thought

it would be good in the photo - I didn't make any of these!!

This is one of the display's at Anchor Paper in St Paul MN, not too far away from the Roseville Archiver's.

Here's a photo of my dear friend, Connie Miller, and me in our Christmas show garb and make-up.  False eyelashes, bright red lipstick and all.  We each got to wear whatever holiday garb we wanted - I chose a beaded and sequined duster coat that my retired quartet, Chord Company, ordered but decided against for the group.  The duster looked great on the three tall members but our lead is petite and she looked frumpy in it.  So I just kept my coat and the rest went back to the store - it has come in handy for several occasions such as this!

Don't we look alike?  We have been mistaken for sisters often; she is like a sister to me and has been adopted into my family.  See her gorgeous crown pin?  She is a Sweet Adelines International quartet champion with Four Star Collection!

Finally, after the show - you'd think I'd be tired?? - I went to the Archiver's in Woodbury where I knew some friends were doing Scrap Mania.  By the time I got cleaned up of all the stage make-up and drove across town and picked up my craft supplies, it was already 7pm.  I still had 4 good hours to invest in Christmas cards!  I'll share this one, made with one of my new 2012 Hero Arts stamps - a great friendship background.  Since I needed a card for Connie to give at our Christmas party tomorrow night, I decided to use that stamp along with the wreath stamp.  Here's my card:

Long post - whew!  Hope you're having a great Sunday!  Thanks for stopping!

Crafty weekend and a special birthday coming up 12/9 - Virginia Lu!!

It's been awhile again - I guess I'm not a devoted blogger.  Oh well, I do what I can....

I've been busy this weekend working on Christmas and other cards.  It was great to be in the crafting mood!  Today I'm sharing two cards I made this weekend - first a birthday card for a special friend and then a Christmas card.

My friend Virginia is celebrating a special birthday.  She's having a virtual party and we've been busily uploading cards to our Flickr group.  Virginia was a Hero Hostess when I first joined the Hero Arts group.  She was very kind and encouraging, plus she makes fabulous, inspiring cards!  Hope you have a great birthday, Virginia!

This card uses Out of Print Papers from Basic Grey, #s cut on the Silhouette (Snap ITC font) and stamped with Hero Arts Flower Dot Pattern (loooove this one).  I matted the #s on Hero Arts Big Ticket - another fun stamp I've used a lot.

This next card developed from various parts and ideas roaming around my head.   I started with the blue background piece I'd been playing around with.  A la Jennifer McGuire from her 2011 Holiday Card Boot Camp, I covered cardstock with Broken China Distress Ink (inkpad direct to paper).  Then I put Picket Fence Distress stain on Hero Art’s Artistic Circle design block and stamped the blue piece.  I had a bit too much stain and the design spread out - didn't like it and set it aside for a week.  Then I had the thought to overstamp with the holiday text.  Hmmm, I liked it.  Mounted on a predesigned card base from Michaels (comes in a pack of 24 with 2 designs - this snowflake and a green with dots).  Was playing around with my Silhouette and decided the caroler silhouette image would be great here.  Cut it out using a piece of Basic Grey Out of Print paper.  The finishing touch is a grungeboard shape from Tim Holtz.  I’ve been faithfully following his 12 Tags of Christmas – not that I get any tags made from his inspiration – but I thought his Christmas Star would add a lot to my card.  Painted it with gold paint and spritzed it w/Perfect Pearl mist.

Thanks for stopping!

Some Christmas Tags and Cards that Care

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted here.  Suffice it to say life has been hectic.
 
Today I had some crafting time and whipped up some tags for the Hero Arts November contest.  Here's what I created:

I bought 6 tag sets at Archiver's this fall, all produced by Hero Arts.  Three of them contain tags, stamps and ink; the other three have just designer paper tags in three designs per set.  I don't see any of them in the Hero Arts or Archiver's online stores which is too bad - these sets are fab!  I thought tag making would be a fun activity if I can get my little nieces over to visit! 

I also love the new Hero Arts/Sizzix sets with stamps and framelits to cut out the stamped images.  The one I used here is called Holiday Cheer and I just love those reindeer.  I gave mine some googly eyes and lots of bling - isn't he cute?!

Just went on a Blog Hop yesterday for Cards that Care, a great cause to get cards to seniors in nursing homes.  It's put on this year by Vera Yates and Jennifer McGuire - two talented and lovely people. 

To get started on cards to send to Cards that Care this year, I used the tags I just created.  What a quick and easy way to get some great cards!  I used Bazzill card bases from a boxed set I picked up this summer - 10 fabulous colors of cards with matching envelopes.  Added some Basic Grey Nordic Holiday papers and my tags - done!  Here are the cards:

Hope you have a chance to check out Cards that Care and send some cards too; the deadline is 11/30/11.  Thanks for stopping and happy crafting!

A JUMBO Birthday Card

Hi all - I went to Scrap Mania at Archiver's on Saturday night.  6 hours of fun, including eating, coffee drinking, shopping and crafting.  I went with a group of 6 so there's always a lot of visiting too.  And helping each other - Sayo, who has been mentioned in previous posts, needed help with a scrapbook for her son so I made 2 pages.  Also made some cards, including this one for my sister's upcoming birthday:

Hero Arts August scene contest may have ended but I'm still "into" it - lol!  This elephant digi cut was the first Hero Arts one I bought with my Silhouette subscription.  My sister loooooves elephants so I thought she would enjoy this card.  The white card is 5 1/2 square.  All stamps are from Hero Arts.  I stamped the Clouds design block, kissed with the Magical Background Cling (Sky Blue Brilliance ink with Stormy Sky Distress Ink for the kiss).  I stamped a spare strip of green Out of Print Basic Grey paper with the Magical Bg inked with Peeled Paint.  Cut the elephant on the Silhouette using Indie Bloom Basic Grey pink and gave him a black outline for definition and a googly eye for fun.  Added some hearts in lieu of the paper water droplets coming out of the trunk.

Mind you, when I left Archivers, the sentiment was just a white circle and there was no birdie on the ellie's back.  By Sunday morning arrived, I was busily changing things.  Don't we all do this??  I scrapped the white sentiment for the orange patterned one then decided to turn it into a flower.  Stamped and cut out the leafy stem from the Watercolor Petals (CL431) clear set. 

Hmmm - something still was missing so I decided to add the birdie (from CL276 So Sweet, a valentine set).  I stamped her on a scrap piece of light purple HA layering paper stamped with the Hello Luscious grid (not very visible in photo).  The birdie had a lot of heart plummage which I cut off since I already had some hearts on there.  Decided to stamp the musical notes (from CL354 Let the Angels Sing Christmas clear set) after the thing was all together - the birdie is me singing!  Vicky over at Lily Pad Cards does this all the time, so why can't I??  Well, you can see why - my inky fingers put a couple little spots on the ellie's back - boo, hoo.  Oh well, those are his battle scars... Other than the extra ink, I'm happy with how this turned out. 

Thanks for stopping!

September Card Chain Challenge - Friendship in Pool (the color!)

It's time for another Card Chain Challenge over at Lily Pad Cards!  While there were some lovely colors and a fun sketch this time, I was already working on friendship cards so I used that theme.  Here's my card:

I still have some gorgeous Pool materials from Hero Arts - designer papers, envelopes and folded cards - they make beautiful cards quickly!  I stamped the Friend Definition (cling from Hero Arts) on the lightest shade in the pool folded card package (there are 3).  The sentiment panel is stamped on Pool designer papers - besides the french writing, there's a magical background and a bicycle pattern in the package.  Very fun to use!  Sentiment is from an older clear set from HA called Fancy Frendship.  The butterfly from the HA/Basic Grey Lauderdale cling set is stamped on patterned paper from Basic Grey's new Indie Bloom paper.  Just love the patterns in that line!

Thanks for stopping - I hope you're having a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Winner at Hero Arts!

So excited to be selected as a Fab 5 winner over at Hero Arts first 1/2 of August contest.  The themes are scene cards, kids cards and creature cards.  I combined them all for this card for my little niece Grace who has a birthday coming up in September:

The caterpillar and smiling sun came from Hero Arts digital die cut collection for the Silhouette.  I bought a Silhouette SD this spring when I was lucky enough to get some digis from Hero Arts - many thanks!!  A friend suggested getting a monthly subscription at Silhouette which I promptly did.  And I found plenty of Hero Arts images to tickle my fancy, such as this caterpillar and sun.  When HA announced this month's contest theme, my brain started thinking how to use these new faves in a scene card. 

The new Basic Grey Oxford 6x6 paper pad had the amazing paper for the caterpillar body.  I cut one in white card stock and one in the Oxford green pp.  Cut the antenae and legs off the patterned one and popped with foam tape onto the full body one after I sponged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  Couldn't resist adding a googly eye from Michael's and lots of Hero Arts gems.  The smiling sun actually has darling curlicue ends on some of the rays but my paper was too fragile and a couple of them tore - my solution was to snip them all off, much as I hated to do it!

The "grass" came free with my Silhouette and I added texture with Hero Arts Envelope Pattern design block.  The "sky" is blue card stock stamped with Hero Arts Magical Background Cling stamp - so versatile!  The Hero Arts sentiment is from a darling speech and thought bubble clear set called Message Bubbles.  It has dots on it but I covered them up with some metal decor from Hero Arts.

Thanks for stopping!

August Card Chain Challenge at Lily Pad Cards

Here's my card for the August CCC over at Lily Pad Cards.  I always enjoy creating and sending a card for this exchange.  You still have until August 17th to sign-up, so give it a try!

The colors this month were aqua, hot chocolate and lipstick red.  I liked the sketch too but rotated it for my card.  Used the theme of friendship again this time.  Here's my card:

I started out with Hero Arts new Pool designer papers - just love this one with the Magical Background pattern in several different shades of aqua.  Added it to a Pool folded card.  Added a dotted stripe layer from Basic Grey's new Indie Bloom paper pad.  Stamped the friend definition from a Hero Arts clear set with four definition stamps CL479 - very handy.  Stamped onto another Pool designer paper with some French writing very lightly on it.  Overstamped with Hero Arts' hydrangea in Fired Brick Distress Ink - loved the look.  Used the same ink for the bitty Hello sentiment.

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend of creating!

Make it Mini - Archiver's class

I attended a new class at Archiver's today - Make it Mini.  Darling little 3x3 cards that come in handy for many occasions.  Actually quilled for the first time!!  Wasn't too bad but it's not something I'll be taking up as a craft.  As usual, we used lots of different stamps from various companies but I was glad to see a few from Hero Arts.  Here are my versions of the 9 cards we made - three at a time:

On the left - the tree stamp has a circle stamp on the end so you can get a perfect circle for your "leaves".  Center one has the quilling, otherwise it came together quickly.  Love the pinwheel on the right and what a yummy big pearl in the center!

Center one is colored with Copics and on the inside there's one of those honeycomb details - cute.   The Yippee on the Micky Mouse card was supposed to be stamped in VersaMark and embossed in yellow - oops I didn't read directions!!

Left and center have some (not all) Hero Arts stamps; one on the right has Tim Holtz.  Love the little bee with Stickles on the left.  The Hero Arts bicycle is stamped on a 1" circle with some Tim Holtz writing for texture, then set into a bottle cap - very fun!  Love the gears on the right - stamped on acetate and then colored on the back using gold and silver Ranger daubers.  All these in a 2 1/2 hr class, cleaning up as we went along.  Thanks to Megan for a fun class!



Christmas in July

Hi all - Last Sunday I played in a Hero Arts Flickr group Scramble hosted by Natalie with the theme of Christmas in July and non-traditional colors.  Couldn't resist using some purple and some fun colored trees.  Here's my card:

The trees came from a clear Hero Arts set "Tree-Mendous" and the "Big Holiday Words" is a Hero Arts design block.  I made the snowy hills with some Basic Grey Out of Print paper.  Added some gems and enamel accents and some May Arts ribbon - done!  This was a fun challenge and maybe I'll make a few more of these for the holidays.

Hero Arts recently released its 2011 Holiday catalog and I couldn't resist ordering some new stamps!  Ordered a darling mouse in a mitten, a car with a tree on top, and a holiday version of the music background.  They all came in the mail today so I immediately went to work with the Mitten Mouse and made this 3 X 3 mini:

The dotted paper is from Basic Grey's Oxford 6 x 6 paper pad; card stock from Bazzill.  I colored the  image with Copics and embellished with some layers, gems and metallic decor.  Well, July's almost over but maybe I'll get one more Christmas card done....

I'm taking the new Archiver's mini card class tomorrow which looks like a lot of fun.  That's probably why I had minis on the mind today.  Thanks for stopping!

Summer Card Camp wk 4

Sad to say, Summer Card Camp ended on Friday!  But we still have today to upload our final week's card.  Here are the colors:

Named pear, teal, turquiose, sky blue and white - these colors are soooo pretty!  I had need of a thank you card for my sweet neighbor who, knowing how the heat bothered me, mowed my lawn for me!  That's in addition to doing her own - what an angel!  Thanks Brenda P!!  So here's my card:

I used the technique of rubbing ink (ColorBox teal) on my embossing folder (Cuttlebug) as Jennifer showed.  While I tried to ink it fairly solid, when rolling it through my Epic Six I got a more textured effect.  Just love the teal ink on the pear Bazzill card stock.  Sentiment is from a Hero Arts Thanksgiving Set CL466 So Thankful.  Punches:  Fiskars circle, Marvy scalloped circle.  The turquoise butterfly came from my friend Heather and the embossed border came from Angela who sent it with her July CCC card.  Thanks to you both too!  And thanks to you for visiting! 

And a HUGE thanks to Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner for a wonderful four weeks of camp!  I learned a lot and had a great time, even if I only managed to upload one card a week.  Hope we do it again next year!!

Summer Card Camp wk 3

How I love having every other Monday off!  So fun to wake up to a Summer Card Camp announcement, rather than work!  So I got my thinking cap on right away when I saw these yummy colors:

When I saw the red with the browns, I was inspired to pull out my Hero Arts poppies - got them last fall and haven't even inked them up yet!  So bad.... but hey, they're inked now and watercolored in red.  Left the stems with the browns to go with the combo.  Here's my card:

The deep red card stock for the scallop border is from Bazzill, as is the taupe mat.  The card base is Mocha from Hero Arts, as is the bright white watercolor paper - so yummy!  The teensy tag was cut with Basic Grey white pp on my Silhouette SD and it's one of the "simple labels" from Hero Arts digi collection - just resized it to fit my sentiment.  Used Faber-Castell watercolor pencils and after blended, sprayed the panel with Perfect Pearl mist in pearl.  So many others in the Hero Arts Flickr group have done the poppies better than I but I gave it a go and had a great time!  Thanks for stopping!

Summer Card Camp wk 2

Back again with a hurried post for the online summer card camp I'm doing for four weeks.  Loved the colors for week two:

Finally took some time tonight to make this card:

The light was bad for my photo - sorry about that - so the colors don't look quite right.  They really do match the class colors pretty well in real life - honest!

Had fun making the large thank you on my Silhouette SD and making a shadow mat.  Stamps are from Hero Arts - Large Canvas Stripes, Diagonal Thank You and the ever present Envelope Pattern.  The strip of red paper is from a Cosmo Cricket paper pad.  Thanks for stopping!

Lily Pad Cards July Card Chain Challenge (CCC)

Had quite a productive weekend here!  Friday night I spent 6 hours at Mall of America's Archiver's with 7 other scrappin' maniacs - worked on a scrapbook for a retired coworker.  Yesterday I participated in a Scramble over at the Hero Arts Flickr group - 90 minutes to create, photograph and upload a card.  It was quite a fun one, hosted by the delightful Martha,  with 5 different criteria to use on the same card.

1. Favorite color combo - purple and orange
2. Favorite Hero Arts stamp(s) - Envelope Pattern & a butterfly from Antique Engravings (they didn't have to be the only stamps used - at least that's the way I interpreted it)
3. Favorite technique(s) - embossing and inking
4. Favorite embellishment(s) - gems and ribbon
5. At least one edge couldn't be straight - I scalloped the bottom with an EK Success punch

I created the card in 30 minutes but had quite a time uploading it.  Ended up surfing the help website and finally got it done 35 minutes later!  I just love stamping that butterfly on patterned paper - this time a piece from Basic Grey's Lime Rickey paper pad.

Then it was time to finish my July CCC over at Lily Pad Cards.  I used the sketch, the color scheme - buttercup, kiwi, watermelon, teal and tangerine (o.k. to add a neutral with it so I used the kraft card base) and the theme of friendship.  Here's what I created:

When I saw the sketch I decided to use my new Hero Arts digi die cut dress form (for the Silhouette).  Created a shadow for it and used a label from designer Sophie Gallo.  The bitty friend tag was cut on the Cricut from the George & Basic Shapes cartridge.  I was so proud of myself for being able to stamp the Hero Arts Canvas Stripes DesignBlock twice on this 5x7 card and get it lined up!  The digi cuts looked too big for an A2 card.  Thanks for stopping by!

Summer Card Camp - week 1!

I'm really excited to be a student in Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner's Summer Card Camp - a new online 4 wk course.  Today started week 1 and our "homework" is a card with a color combo of purple, pink (a sort of carnation color, looks like), a pale blue, bright orange and white.  Here's the image from class:

Here's what I created:

I used the cute bike clear set CL481 Joy Ride by Hero Arts and stamped in multiple colors on Basic Grey white patterned paper, added some bling and matted on Sweet Threads pp (also Basic Grey) and adhered it to a Hero Arts Mandarin card base.  Ribbon is from May Arts.  Inks used for the bikes:  Distress Inks - Dusty Concord, Spiced Marmalade and Worn Lipstick, and Brilliance Sky Blue ink.  The sentiment was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.  Thanks for stopping!

Father's Day and Granada Getaway

Hi all - busy week, culminating in a fun Father's Day.  Here I am with my sweet Dad:

We enjoyed brats on the grill cooked by my brother and potato salad made by my sister in law.  Yummy!  And here's the card I made for him:

I had such fun creating this card using a darling hammer digi cut for the Silhouette SD by Hero Arts.  I cut out the hammer and a shadow using grey textured cardstock and colored the hammer with Distress Inks.  The soft blue card base was stamped with the envelope pattern by Hero Arts, still a fave of mine.

I spent Friday morning until this morning at the Granada Getaway in southern MN with 14 other crafty ladies.   Deb Kelly, the owner of Picture This, Scrap That!, converted an old church into a retreat center with lots of craft equipment and space, along with comfy accomodations.  My friends Bonnie, Julie, Sandy and I went last year -  Bonnie heard about it through a shop in Owatonna and we enjoyed it so much!  This year Bonnie couldn't make it - darn - so we roped our friend Sayo into going.  What fun we had!  Besides crafting, we shopped and ate plenty of great meals made by our Getaway friend Jodie.  Another Getaway friend Karen organized this weekend to help raise money for her Relay for Life team.  Activities included make n' takes, a Thirty-one product demo, and Bingo with prizes.  Karen made us each a cute treat bucket with our name and a mesh butterfly.  Here I am at my crafting spot at what we call "Camp Granada" (even though they pronounce it Gran - a' - da with a long a):

And here's my productivity for about 18 hrs of crafting:

I made 14 cards and a scrapbook page.  The tulip image is one in the lower center came from my Hero Hostess sister Sally along with several others waiting to be used.  Thanks, Sally!  I colored it with some Twinklette pens and framed it in black - so perfect for a birthday card.  Of course, we had to have time to pop in to Fairmont for shopping and we spent a lot of time eating!  Very little sleeping - hopefully I'll catch up this week!!  Thanks for stopping!

June Card Chain Challenge

Hi everyone - it's been awhile again since my last post.  Today I'm sharing what I made for the current Card Chain Challenge over at Lily Pad Cards.  You have until tomorrow 6/13 at 11:59 EST (US) to sign up and play along.  I love this activity because you get a card in the mail and my mailbox gets lonely if I don't play :)

I had a bit of trouble deciphering the color combo - just wasn't finding things to match it - so I went with the sketch which I like a lot!  I stamped flowers from Hero Arts CL496 Layered Flowers clear set onto patterned paper from Basic Grey's Lauderdale 6x6 pad.  Stamped the sentiment from Hero Arts CL380 Truly Appreciated clear set directly onto the card stock - Green Tea Linen from the Paper Company - and added some pearls.  Very easy but fun.  I just love chosing the different patterns to stamp and cut flowers, butterflies, whatever...

Hope you're having a crafty day!  I'm off to mow the lawn as soon as the dew dries but hope to work on some Father's Day cards later on.

Digital Challenge at Lily Pad Cards

Hi all - had lots of company for the holiday weekend but still managed to finish this card for the current Lily Pad Cards digital challenge.  The wonderful Shari Carroll is the guest designer over there so check it out!  I used the polaroid frame from the LPC free digi file - soooo cute.

My friend's daughter, Julia, will marry Benjamin later this month so this is what I came up with for their wedding celebration.  I used Hero Arts Warmest Wedding Wishes for the cake and rings.  Behind the LPC frame, I used vellum embossed with Cuttlebug dots.

I borrowed an idea from my sister Kari who was visiting yesterday.  Here she is with the first card she ever made!  Kari, my sister-in-law Donna, and I played a game of Scrabble while my mom played Solitaire & "the boys" watched the Indy 500 - they love their races!  When done with our game, I asked if anyone wanted to make a card and Kari did.  She needed a wedding card so I pulled out my HA wedding stamp set and  off she went.  I showed her how to use the materials but she came up with her own design.  Crafting accident of getting ink on the top of the card base prompted us to add what Kari called the valance on her card - I don't think it looks bad at all.  Kari resisted all of Donna's attempts to have her wedding cake be vertical on the card - Kari is a rebel!  At first she didn't have the initials and then said she'd like to add some.  I cut them from my Silhouette - can't remember which font as she rejected two others!  Here she is:

I don't know the bride and groom but their colors are pink and brown.  This pink paper with brown dots and brown paper with brown dots was perfect - found it in my pile but don't know the source - sorry!  Kari also found a brown dotted flower and a pink one to embellish the bottom.  She finally settled on a pink button since none of my gems fit the bill.  As you can see, I borrowed her initial idea when it came time to do my card after all my company left.  Thanks for stopping!

Another set of ATCs - Hero Arts and Lily Pad Cards

My friend Heather Maria, sweet former Hero Hostess sister, organized a fun ATC swap at Hero Arts Flickr group.  I was paired with Latrice who happens to be on the Dream Team over at Lily Pad Cards.  We decided to exchange three ATCs so these are the ones I sent her:

Her package is on its way to me so I should get it later this week.  I had such fun making these ATCs - all with various Hero Arts stamps and, on the house one, a fun digi kit from Lily Pad Cards.  I cut the sweet fence using my Silhouette SD on Core'dinations paper - it was an embossed ivory with a warm beige center which came through when sanded.  So I'm adding this one to their April digital die cut challenge.
Thanks for stopping!

Trio of ATCs

Hi all - it's been awhile since I posted!  Last weekend I participated in a Regional Sweet Adelines' singing contest.  We had a wonderful time and my chorus City of Lakes won the chorus contest.  This qualifies us to go to the International contest level in 2012.  So, the next 17 months will be full of preparations - rehearsals, special coaching, costume fittings, etc.

But, there's always time for crafting!  Last night I went to a 6hr crop at Archiver's with some friends - the 7 of us were the only ones there!  We had a great evening and I managed to make 3 ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) for the current Hero Arts contest.  All stamps used came from Hero Arts - I think I had about 15 sets with me at the crop and managed to use 7 of them to create these three little cards!

CG303 Luscious Bold Flowers Set
CG250 Small Solid Flower
CG298 Life Of The Party Dots - a fave
CG307 Sweet Threads Spirals - stamped this twice in different colors and directions - love the yellow!
CL520 Live And Laugh - a great sentiment set
CL491 Made with Love - another wonderful sentiment set
CL184 Thoughtful Messages - used the butterfly and bitty flower from this set which also has lovely sentiments.

Besides stamping with various Distress Inks, I used some watercolor pencils and embossing.  Thanks for stopping by!



National Scrapbooking Day and a Hero Arts giveaway

Hello everyone - Yesterday was National Scrapbooking Day in the U.S. and I started the day meeting my parents and my sister Tami who just flew in from AZ.  I got a few photos before the parents went home and Tami & I went shopping at MOA.  I did a couple free projects at Archiver's.  Then I came home to work on a scrapbook page for a Hero Arts Blog giveaway using a lovely sketch by Kelly Rasmussen.  My page was going to have a photo of Mom and me but that one was blurry so I used the one with Tami and Mom.

It's been quite a while since I've done any scrapbooking so this was fun!  Used some great Hello Luscious Hero Arts stamps, including frames and flowers, yummy Basic Grey and BoBunny papers.  The title "Like Mother, Like Daughter" was printed from my computer onto vellum in Bodoni MT font.

Then today, I decided to do a card using the NSD sketch for another chance at the Hero Arts giveaway.  Have been meaning to get started on my Christmas cards so made this one:

Used all Hero Arts stamps, including a 2007 exclusive for Archivers (the postmarks and the text in the corner).  The "&" in both projects was cut from my new Silhouette SD - I've been having fun with it!  It will cut any font from my computer - this one was Bodoni MT.
Thanks for stopping by!

May 2011 Card Chain Challenge

If you've never done a Card Chain Challenge, try this one over at Lily Pad Cards (formerly hosted by Deborah on her blog).  I've been able to participate in a number of CCCs as we call them - they are such fun!  You only have to make one card and you receive a beautiful card in the mail.  Over the last year I've received cards from England, Denmark, Canada, to name a few.  And made new friends along the way. 

The process changed a bit - now you have to make your card FIRST!  Before, we signed up and knew who was getting the card prior to making it.  So check out the challenge and get your card made and linked up by May 6th at 11:59 PST.  Here's my card all ready to mail once I know who's getting it:

I used Hero Arts new Designer papers and a fun clear set Type with these darling little typewriter key messages.  Also used some papers from Basic Grey's Sweet Threads 6x6 paper pad and my favorite string twine by May Arts.  Oh, and let's not forget my favorite texture stamp - the Envelope Pattern by Hero Arts.  Who will get this card???  Hope they like it!

Final Day as a Hero Hostess!

Yes, today is my last day as a Hero Hostess!  Three months went by like a flash but I had so many amazing experiences along the way - features on the Hero Arts Blog, great times with my sister hostesses, posting challenges, doing a gem hunt, making more friends on the Hero Arts Flickr group - I could go on and on!  So thanks again to Heather, Anita, Sharon and Sally who were such great Hostesses and friends.  And thanks to Hero Arts and the HA Flickr group for an amazing time!!  Here's my card...

I used one of Shari's sketches, the new Hero Arts designer papers and a piece of Basic Grey Sweet Threads patterned paper that had our hostess colors mixed in.  Stamped the Thanks definition on the patterned paper and clear embossed (the paper was a bit busy).  Stamped "THANKS" from the Hero Arts clear set Type on a piece of white card stock, cutting off the "s".  Embossed in white ep from Ranger and inked with Distress Inks in our hostess colors - purple, green, hot pink, aqua, and pink.  Stamped and clear embossed the "YOU" on a separate strip of white cs, using the heart typewriter key for the O.  Overstamped that strip with the envelope pattern.  Assembled, popping up the sentiment with foam tape, added some May Arts string twine and some Hero Arts pearls and it's done!

Thanks for stopping and thanks again, Hero Arts!!

Hero Hostesses Featured and some challenge cards

Hi all - just thought I'd share the card I made for the Hero Arts Blog Social Club post today featuring the current Hero Hostesses.  Heather, Anita, Sharon, Sally & I end our three month tour as Hostesses this Saturday so we had one more feature.  We picked a thank-you theme as we feel so grateful to Hero Arts for their generosity to its Club and Flickr members!!  We had a great time working with each other and with Tami and Libby from the Hero Arts team.

Used the Hero Arts Thanks Definition - a fab Cling, Life of the Party Dots - another fab Cling, and a sentiment from a new set Live and Laugh which I love.  I enjoyed using the emboss/resist technique on the background with fabulous Tim Holtz Distress Inks.

And at this week's craft night with my friends I made these two cards for Lisa Spangler's make-it and mail-it challenge.  Lisa is a fab Hero Arts designer and such a sweetie to host this challenge.  The card on the left is for my brother-in-law who needs some encouragement to face an illness.  The one on the right is for my dear friend (more like a sister) Connie & her hubby who invited me for Easter weekend.  I had a great time and enjoyed the food and hospitality!

Recognize those dots?  They look great with the Hero Arts Designer Woodgrain stamp.  The other card used the HA Music Background Cling - love that one - and a clear set I bought at Archiver's, an exclusive from Hero Arts, for the lacy circle, sentiment and butterfly.  Oh, and I squeezed another fave - the Envelope Pattern - into the card on the right.  I also meant to stamp it lightly over the tag on the left but forgot.  Thanks for stopping!

Another Hostess Challenge - Using the Same Stamp

Hello everyone – happy Monday!  I hope you can play along at the Hero Arts Flickr group where the current Hero Hostesses have put up another challenge - Using the Same Stamp!  This one's open ended - no specific end date and therefore no prize attached.  Just a lot of fun.  Heather, Anita, Sharon, Sally & I found we have oodles of Hero Arts stamps in common.  To keep it simple we settled on using the wonderful clear set CL383 Antique Engravings.  Here's my card:

I stamped the various winged creatures directly from the set's packaging onto the card base - a trick I learned at a Hero Arts class by Jennifer McGuire and Shari Carroll.  For this card I left off the CL383's shells and put a butterfly in a spot left by a shell.  I used Faded Jeans Distress Ink by Tim Holtz for this stamping.  Then I overstamped using the Envelope Pattern design block from Hero Arts, using Weathered Wood Distress Ink - love this stamp for the subtle texture it gives.  Next I stamped a piece of pale golden yellow Basic Grey paper (it's the flip side of a two-sided Christmas paper from their Fruitcake line!) with Hero Arts’ Lace Background DesignBlock inked with VersaMark ink and embossed with gold powder by Ranger.  I then stamped the sentiment on another strip of the same paper with Faded Jeans, and clear embossed.  Then I overstamped the sentiment strip lightly with the Envelope Pattern inked in Scattered Straw Distress Ink.  I stamped and clear embossed the butterfly with Black Soot Distress Ink three times on a piece of patterned paper from Basic Grey's Kioshi line, picking areas to stamp with blues and yellows among the other colors in the pattern.  I cut out the three butterflies and glued them together for a 3D effect using this technique from Nancy Taylor on the Hero Arts Blog.  I just love Nancy's technique and have used it on several cards in my Flickr photostream.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you can make a project with this fabulous set or find another Hero Arts stamp in common with a friend and play along in our Hostess challenge!

Hello Birdy Card - for a couple challenges...

Hi all - really wanted to get a card done for Lily Pad Cards first challenge - a color one here.  Thought I'd use a sketch from the current Hero Arts contest - I'm having so much fun with these great sketches by the awesome Shari Carroll.

Last night I was at my weekly craft group - just three of us friends who met at work and love to craft.  Showed Bonnie the Lily Pad colors and she tossed me a scrap of flowered paper - away I went.  Here's my card:

I came prepared with some wonderful Hero Arts folded cards - I bought the Sunshine pack with three fab colors, which included this Mandarin.  Had my canvas stripes ready to ink up with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink, along with a darling clear set from "the girls' paperie" that my friend Heather sent me for my birthday.  Thanks again, Heather!  I stamped the birdy from that set one a scrap of yellow using a lime green ColorBox ink and cut it out.  Then I punched a small scalloped circle from EK Success and cut into it to form a nest.  Added some "twigs" using raffia which I inked a bit with various twiggy looking Distress Inks.  Thanks for stopping!

Spring and Easter Card Exchange

Just sharing a card I made for a Hero Arts Flickr group exchange; details here.  I made this card for sweet Marcy in Massachusetts.  Just heard from her that she received it along with a birthday card and some goodies I sent.  Her birthday is TODAY - Happy Birthday, Marcy!

I love this sweet bunny by Hero Arts called Thoughtful Bunny.  I bought it in February when I was thinking of cards for Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rabbit, but it's perfect for Spring and Easter too.  Also used the Envelope Pattern which is so great for texture.  The sentiment is from a Hero Arts set exclusive for Archiver's that I got last year.  I've used these poppy colored Hero Arts folded cards for quite a few cards - just love the three colors in the Sunshine assortment!  And such fun flowers and gems to coordinate.

It's finally starting to feel like Spring here.  I was so excited to have some daffodils blooming in my front "garden".  It's not much of a garden but I do have some flowers amongst the weeds....

Hope you're having a great day - thanks for stopping by!

Inspiration and a Birthday

Hi all - the Hero Arts Blog announced a great Friday inspiration yesterday and I had a chance to play with it last night and this morning.  Here's the card:

Just love the Hero Arts Large Canvas Stripes and the Lace Background stamps and the sentiment is from Find Joy, a clear set with a wonderful assortment of phrases.  Added some punched circles of various scraps and a few flowers and punched butterfly - done!  Hope you like it!

Here's a photo of my dear brother and me taken at his birthday party on Thursday.  His actual birthday is today - Happy Birthday, Junior!!  His wife had the party at Claddagh, an Irish pub in town.  On Thursdays they have a trivia contest but we could only stay for half of it.  We did win the best team name of the night - a long one but so fitting for the birthday boy's team - "I see the hill and I'm going over it".  The in-laws thought of that one - he, he.

We're both sitting but I'm behind & leaning in so look lots shorter - really it's only a few inches...My poor brother, growing up with three sisters - hope we didn't torture him too much!