I've been busy this week

Hello Everyone,

I haven’t been around much this week to the Hero Arts Flickr group and I also haven’t put anything new up on my blog. I feel like I am behind in everything and time seems to have slipped away from me. So, this post will be long. I have spent this week preparing for a visit with family. Next week will be just as busy and I probably won’t have much time to make any cards. But, I did manage to squeeze in a few cards (this week) and get them posted.

This card was made for the HA flickr Group challenge (november2010B) and I am also entering it into the Holiday Thinking Inking challenge over at Two Peas (week 7). The stamps that I used are Hero Arts; Starry Sky S5448, Good Cheer Messages LL260, and Holiday Sayings CL343. I used the starry sky stamp for the background and I stamped it twice in Chipped sapphire distress ink. To see how this technique is done, check here.

This card is for the HA flickr group challenge and for the Holiday Thinking Inking Challenge over at Two Peas (week 7). See the technique here. Stamps used are Hero Arts; Cuckoo CL388, Holiday Sayings CL343.

This is a simple Christmas card where I used a simple embossing technique on the blue panel. (The embossing on the panel is hard to see in the picture, it is much better in real life.) The stamps used are Hero Arts; Merry Christmas Tree CL459 and Magical Background CG211.

This Card is for the HA Flickr group challenge november2010B. Stamps used are Hero Arts; Create Your Own CL368. The only inking technique on this card was stamping the snowman and coloring him in.

I made this card for the Holiday Thinking Inking class (week 7) (Two Peas) and also for the HA Flickr group challenge (november2010B). To see how the technique is done, please check here. The stamps that are used are Hero Arts; Flourish Pine S5247, Joyous Wishes AR160, Holiday Sayings CL343.

Thank you for stopping by and I do appreciate the comments. Have a wonderful day and a Blessed Thanksgiving.

Birthday Card for my Daughter

Hello Everyone,

I made this birthday card for my Daughter, Michelle. I tried to get the colors for the side panel to match the flower center panel and I wanted the butterflies to compliment the flower. The colors are not an exact match, but I am still happy with how it turned out. I am entering this card into Hero Arts Flickr group challange for this month. Check here for contest information.

The flower was stamped on acrylic canvas with clear embossing ink and then heat embossed with white embossing powder. I added a couple different shades of red and a yellow alcohol ink until the canvas was completely covered. (This image was stamped a few weeks ago and because of that, I don't remember the exact colors that were used.) When the ink was dry, I lightly went over the flower with a sanding block so that the flower would stand out more.

I stamped the side panel using the old letter writing stamp (S4878) with van dyke brown ink. Then I stamped the butterflies in clear ink and emboss with clear embossing powder. The side panel was distressed with worn lipstick and scattered straw. These two techniques that I used are techniques that I learned from the Holiday Thinking Inking class that Jennifer McGuire is currently teaching over at Two Peas in a Bucket. To finish off the card I added white ribbon and black pearls in the center of the flower.

The stamps that were used are Hero Arts: Designer Butterflies CL115, Three Flowers CG128, Old Letter Writing S4878, and the sentiment comes from the Birthday Messages CL139 stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments. Have a great day and God bless.

Joyous Holiday

Hello Everyone,

I made this card for the Hero Arts Flickr group challenge (November2010A) and I am also entering it into the CPS Card Sketches 192 challenge (here).

I stamped the holly in clear embossing ink and then embossed with white embossing powder. I colored each leaf with a green marker and then used broken china and scattered straw distress ink. After the ink was applied, I stamped the sentiment in clear ink and embossed with white embossing powder. I added the red pearls after the card was assembled. This was a fun card to make and I enjoyed picking out the materials to make this card.

Stamps used are Hero Arts: Classic Holly CG229 and Joy to All CL460. I am entering this card in the flickr HA group challenge.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments. Have a great day and God bless.

Thinking Inking cards and HA Flickr Group Challenge

Hello Everyone,

I didn't have much time in the beginning of this week to make any cards for the challenges that are my favorite. So, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week was the first time since Saturday of last week that I was able to make a few cards.

I made this card for the Holiday Thinking Inking card (week 6, project 2) over at Two Peas and also entered in the Hero Arts Flickr group challenge. For instructions on how to make this card, go here. The stamps that were used are: Holiday Sayings CL343, Magical Background CG211, and Swirl Christmas CL469. I Used the Snowflakes 37-1140 cuttlebug embossing folder for the acetate background.

This is my other card that I have entered at Two Peas for the Thinking Inking class (week 6, project 3). For directions, please go here. The stamps that I used were: Magic of Christmas CL462, Holiday Sayings CL343, and Flourish Background CG119.


I found directions here to make this gift card holder and thought that the original card was cute. The original directions call for pattern paper and no stamping is involved. But, I started out with white paper and embossed the swirl image with white embossing powder and distressed the background with chipped sapphire distress ink. After I stamped my image, I followed the directions the way they were written. The stamp that I used was: Magical Background CG211.

Beanie Gift Card holder -- closed

Beanie Gift Card Holder--open

This last card was inspired by Kristina Werner. Her card may be seen here. I used her design, but used different paper and used stamps instead of premade embellishments. The stamps that I used: Decorate Your Own CL366.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments. Have a great day and God bless.

Two cards, Two challenges

Hello Everyone,

I made this card for Jennifer McGuire's Holiday Thinking Inking challenge over at Two Peas and also for the Hero Arts Flickr group challenge, November2010A . The project that inspired this card is from week 5, project 2 from the Holiday Thinking Inking class. I didn't have any sticky back canvas, so I used canvas that was on a small (4”x5”) frame. I took the canvas off the frame and stamped my image with clear embossing ink and embossed in white embossing powder and then applied the alcohol ink. When my canvas was dry, I frayed the ends and I lightly sanded the image with a sanding block. I tried stamping and embossing on muslin, but I wasn't getting the results that I wanted. The embossing would not stick to the fabric very well and kept flaking off. The stamps are Hero Arts: Christmas Penguin F5266, Raindrop Background S5101, Starry Sky S5448, and Holiday Cheer Messages LL217.

I made this card for the Hero Arts Flickr group 90 minute challenge that was hosted by Barb. I only had 90 minutes to make the card and upload it to the Flickr group thread. Because of only having 90 minutes to make a card, it didn’t give me much time to think about what I wanted to do. It usually takes me a long time just to make one card because I have a difficult time deciding on color, style, and stamps to use. My husband tells me that I always over think what I want to do. I guess he is correct. Sometimes when I am making a card I might change my mind when I am half way through with my design. So, basically you could say that I start all over. No wonder it takes me so long. But, this was a learning experience for me. Making a card in 90 minutes proved that I can complete a card in that small amount of time and it will look nice. So, I am going to try an experiment the next time I make a card—I am going to set a 90 minute time limit to complete my next card. I will try not to ponder too much. I did enjoy this challenge and I would do this again. I am so glad that I joined in the fun. Thanks Barb for hosting the challenge.

The stamps that I used are Hero Arts and they are: Magical Background CG211 and Joy to All CL460.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments. Have a great day and God bless.

The Magic of Christmas

Hello Everyone,

I bought several bottles of alcohol inks about a year ago, but have not used them. So, this was a good opportunity to take them out. I enjoyed playing with these inks and will have to get them out more often. I love how the colors blended together on this card. The inks that I used were: Stream, Slate, Meadow, and the Pearl Mixatives along with the blending solution.

I had lots of fun playing with my alcohol inks and this is what I came up with for the
Hero Arts Flickr Group challenge (November2010A). I am submitting this card to Two Peas for Jennifer McGuire's Thinking Inking Challenge (Week 5, project 1). The die that I used is called “Asian” which comes from the "Lacy Labels" Cricut cartridge. Stamps used are Hero Arts: Magic of Christmas CL462.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments. Have a great day and God bless.

Sympathy Card for My Friend

Hello Everyone,

This is a sympathy card that I made for my friend who lost her Dad a few weeks ago. I am also submitting this card in the Hero Arts November2010A Flickr group challenge.
This inking technique, which I used on this card, was the same technique that Jennifer McGuire used in week 3 project 2 in her Thinking Inking Class over at Two Peas. I stamped the Friendship Definition stamp with van dyke brown ink onto white cardstock. Then I stamped the Festive borders and woodland grasses stamp in clear ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder. I used Bundled Sage and Tumbled Glass embossing ink to color over the stamped images. After the inking was completed, I assembled the card and added the finishing touches.

Hero Arts Stamps were used for this card. These are the stamps: Friend Definition CG125, Festive Borders AR133, and Woodland Grasses F3182.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments. Have a great day and God bless.

My Thinking Inking Win

Hello Everyone,

Today was an exciting day for me. I found out this morning that my “Three Christmas Trees” card that I entered over on Two Peas last week for Jennifer McGuire’s Thinking Inking class (week 4 project 1) won. The first thing that I did when I got up this morning was to go to the two peas web site to find out who won. I didn’t see my card so I figured that I didn’t win. I was probably in the wrong place as it is sometimes difficult to get around at two peas. So, I went about doing things around my house and a few hours later I decided to check my email. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the email from Two Peas and my friend Virginia left a comment congratulating me about my win. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Virginia’s congratulations. I squealed and did a happy dance and I have been wearing a smile all day. I wasn’t expecting this at all, but I can tell you that it was a very nice surprise. My card may be seen here.

The two cards that are below were posted on Two Peas for the Thinking Inking challenge (week 4 projects 1 and 2) yesterday. The details for the techniques of these cards can be found here. The stamps for the Snowflakes card are: Winter E2572 and Stary Sky S5448. The stamps that I used for the Flowers and Trees card are: Silhouette Meadow Flowers K5340 and Merry Christmas Trees CL459.

I entitled this card "Snowflakes and the technique comes from Jennifer McGuire's Thinking Inking class over at Two Peas (Week 4 Project 2)

This card is entitled Flowers and Trees and the technique is from week 4 project 1.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments. Have a great day and God bless.