Simon Says Challenge

This is the first time that I have entered a challenge over at Simon Says Stamps.  My friend Barb is a guess designer on Simon Says Stamps for this month and she inspired me to make this card for the challenge.  The challenge is to make a Sympathy card or a thinking of you card; I chose to make a sympathy card and I kept it cleam and simple. 

On Sunday, Nov 11th it is Veterans Day and Simon Says Stamp is dedicating this challenge to our fallen heros and their families.  Here is my card:

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate the comments.



Hero Arts stamps: 
Lattice 331065
Sentiment from Gina K; Natures Greetings
Image from Gina K Springtime Silhouettes

Starry Night

This card is an inspiration from Kristina Werners card over at the Online Holiday Card Workshop class (day 7).  I stamped the image with Rangers black Archival ink and after the ink was dry, I went over the image with tumble glass, peacock feathers and iced spruce distress ink.  I added blue gems and colored the star with a clear star gelly roll pen by Sakura.  (I wanted to make a star with this shape but didn't have a star punch or die.)  The blue layered paper is embossed with Hero Arts Dot Swirl embossing folder.   I am entering this card in this months current Hero Arts card challenge.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments.



Supplies used:

Hero Arts Stamps:  Starry Night CG224.

Distress Ink:

Tumbled Glass

Peacock Feathers

Iced Spruce

Black Archival Ink by Ranger

Hero Arts Swiss Dots Embossing Folder 658286

Holly Background

It has been a few weeks since  I  posted.  I don't know where the time has gone and it seems like there is not enough time to work on my crafts.  So, I do as much as I can. 

I am currently taking the Holiday Card Workshop class that Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner are teaching and it is lots of fun.  I never seem to get many cards done during these classes, but I was determened to make at least one Christmas card.

This card was inspired by Julie Ebersole in todays (October 31, 2012) class.  I stamped the background with clear embossing ink and embossed with white embossing powder.  The center image is from the embossing folder by hero arts and Sizzix (Holly Background 657769).  I embossed the image using a thicker piece of white cardstock and then I colored the image in a randomly fashion with copic markers.  Than I went over the image with Picket Fence Distress Stain.  When this was dry, I attached a scalloped oval to my image and attached it to the background.  I wanted to add a sentiment, but felt that there was not enough room to do so, so I will add a sentiment later on the inside of the card.  For the finishing touch I added pearls.

This was very easy to do and was lots of fun.  Thank you for stopping by and I appreciate the comments.

Supplies used:
Hero Arts/Sizzix Holly Background 657769
Nestabilities Classic Ovals, Large
Copic markers:  YR61 Yellowish Skin Pink, BG10 Cool Shadow
VersaMark  Clear ink
Picket Fence Distress Stain
Hero Arts White Embossing Powder

Anniversary Hearts (CAS-ual Fridays CFC74)

The hearts were cut from wood veneer paper and then I colored them with a Spectrum Noir pink pen.  After they dried, I stamped in HA Soft Pink shadow ink with antique brocade stamp.  Once the stamping dried, I adhered the hearts together and then attached them to the card.  The sentiment is attached with dimentional adhesive.  The third sketch is from the current Hero Arts challenge was used for this card.  Please go here to learn more about the Hero Arts Challenge.

I am also submitting this card to the Casual Friday CFC74 challenge.  The challenge for Casual Friday this week is to create a clean and simple project with a heart.  I have never stamped and colored wood veneer before and this is something that I have wanted to try for a long time.  It was fun to do and I think that I would do this again. 

Thanks for stopping by and I do appreciate the comments.

Hero Arts Stamps: 

Everyday Sayings CL342

Antique Flower background S5264

Antique Brocade CG102 (used on the hearts.) 

Thinking of You -- CAS-ual Friday CGC72



In this weeks CASual Friday we are to  create a project inspired by our blog header.  The colors of my blog header and the flowers inspired me to come up with this card.  The stamps that I used are Hero Arts: Floral 657776 and Essential Messages CL371.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments.  Hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend.

CAS-UAL Fridays CFC70

It has been a while since I entered the CAS-UAL Fridays challenge and I thought that I would give it a try and I am happy that I did. I purchased this stamp a few months ago and this is the first time that I used it. I thought that it was perfect for a black and white plus one color card. It was very simple to make and it only took about 30 minutes to construct.  I stamped my image on a 3 3/4" x 5" piece of white cardstock with black momento ink and colored the one flower with a copic marker (don't remember the color).  I mounted the image onto a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of black cardstock and added a white pearl and some twine.  Then I mounted this with dimentional adhesive onto a white card base.  (the card base looks tan on camera, but in real life it is white.

The stamp is from Hero Arts: Flower Text S5506.  Thanks for stopping by and I do appreciate the comments.  

Chevron Thank You card

Wow!!!  I can not believe that it has been 2 1/2 months since I posted any cards.  This summer has been very busy for my family and I, but it is good to finally be making cards again.  (I am babysitting this week for my daughter and that takes me away from home.  Hopefully I will get more cards in sometime next week or before the second half of the Hero Arts challenge is over.)  This card is clean and simple and I also used one of the Hero Arts sketches for this months current Hero Arts challenge.  I have the zig zag stamp by hero arts (CG422) and decided to used it to created this chevron panel.  The thank you comes from Hero Arts Be Happy stamp set CL606. 

I was not able to use my camera so I had to use my camera on my phone to take this picture.  I was having a difficult time getting a good picture so I decided to take it outside.  Hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend.  Take care and God bless.

Interactive Cards

This is going to be a short post tonight.  I have been finding all kinds of interactive cards this past month and I have become overwhelmed on which cards to make.  I would love to make them all, but I have realized that there just isn't enough hours in the day to do that.  This first card is called a Diamond Fold Card, to find out how this is made please go here.  The stamps are Hero Arts: Two Birds CG152 and Thinking of You CL140.  The die is from Spellbinders; Lacy Squares.  

This next card is called a Hinge card.  The stamps are Hero Arts:  Birthday Messagtes CL139, Celebrate All CL292.  Paper is from Hero Arts/Basic Grey "Life of the Party".  The blue paper is Hero Arts layering paper.   To see how to make this card please go here.  The sample card in the book is found on page42-43.  The book is edited by Tanya Fox and published by Annies Attic and the book is called "Interactive Cards".

Hinge Card (closed)

 Hinge Card (opened)

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments.  Hope that everyone has a wonderful week.



A Blog Named Hero Challenge #4 Dust 'Em Off

The challenge over at "A Blog Named Hero" is to take out any Hero Arts stamps that you have had for awhile, and not used in a long time and create a card or project using these stamps.  To find out more information, please go here. 

 

I have  wanted to enter cards in the challenges over at A Blog Named Hero ever since this blog started, but have never had the chance to do so.  Today, I finally found time to enter a card.   I purchase all of the stamps a long time ago and  never used them until now.  The flower stamps were just sitting in a drawer collecting dust.The background stamp and the sentiment stamps have not been used in a while either.

Hero Arts Stamps:  Flourish Background CG119, Birthday Sayings, CL340, Daisy Style E3272 (2005), Zinnia bloom E3346 (2005), Hibiscus Style E3273 (2005).  I am also entering this card in the current Hero Arts Flickr group challenge.  This is the card that I came up with.

 

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments.  

Magic Marquee interactive card

  This is a Interactive card called "Magic Marque".  Inspiration for this style of card came from the "fold it, Pop it, flip it, Zip it" card class taught by Julie Ebersole over at http://www.hownow.ellenhutson.com/.  When I finished the card, the out side looked empty and I had a very hard time finding something to put on the front of the card.  Stamping a bird  seemed like the only logical thing to put on the card front.  I figured that this bird would go well with the surprise that is inside this card.  After I finished assembling the card, I realized that I could of stamped the bird inside a conversation bubble.  That's OK, it turned out cute just the same.

 "Magic Marquee"

(Closed)

 



"Magic Marquee" Card

(Opened )

Part of this months challenge over at Hero Arts is to make interactive cards, I have entered it into their challenge.  To learn more about the challenge, please go here.

Hero Arts Stamps: 
Just Saying Hi CL502
Decorative birds LP032  

Thanks for dropping by my blog, I appreciate the comments.  Hope that everyone has a lovely week.  Take care and God bless.

Candles and Flowers

I have  8 cards that I made last week for the Hero Arts Monthly challenge and I am now getting them posted a few at a time.  My plan is to post these three and post more on Wednesday and Thursday.  I don't know where the time has gone and it seems like time keeps slipping away from me. 

For this first card I used the following Hero Arts Stamps:  Big Candles CL287, Wish Big CL576, and dots and Flowers S5213.  I stamped the dots and flowers stamp onto kraft cardstock and attached to my card base.  Then I stamp the candles and colored them.  I went over the black parts of the candle with Sakura Clear Star pen to give the candles a bit of shimmer.  (Can't see the shine very well on camera.) I made a small envelope and inserted a small card and attached it with dimentional adhesive to the card.  The candles were also attached with dimentional adhesive.

Hero Arts stamps were used here:  Spring Posies (circa 2004) LL921 and Petite Messages LL154.  

 The Hero Arts Stamps that were used here are:  Thoughtful Messages CL184, Paper Art CG198, and Earth Flowers CL428.  I used Scattered Straw, Crushed Olive, and Walnut Stain distress inks on the background of the main image.  The flowers were colored with Forest Moss, and Dried Marigold distress markers.  (I colored the flower stamp with the markers and sprized a small amount of water on the stamp before stamping onto the paper.)

This is all that I have for tonight.  Thanks for stopping by and looking at my work.  I do appreciate the comments.  Hope that everyone has a wonderful week.

Cas-ual Fridays CFC50

I wasn't sure if this card would be entered into the cas-ual Friday challenge because of camera and lighting problems.  One of my lamps to my light box broke this afternoon and I had to use a make shift light in order to get a picture of this card.  I am not happy with how the picture turned out but I guess that it could of been worse.  Any way, I did have fun making this card and it really didn't take me long to get it made once I figured out my design.   To learn more about this challenge, please check here.  The challenge is to make a clean and simple card that has flowers or trees and I picked flowers.

This card is 4 1/4" X 8 1/2" and scored at 5 1/2".  The front is embossed with the cuttlebug embossing

folder dotted swiss.  The stamp set is Hero Arts Floral 657776.  I  used Hero Arts Mid-tone shadow inks:  Butter Bar and FieldGreens.

Thank you for stopping by and I appreciate the comments.  Hope that everyone has a wonderful week.

Another Card for Virginia's View #4

The Inspirational Picture

When I began to work on this card I did not know what type of card I was making.  At the time I only had the main image and background picked out and was not sure where I was heading with this card.  It was towards the end of finishing my card that I decided to make it a Mother's Day Card for my Mother-In-Law.  I am entering this card in the Hero Arts Current monthly challenge and on Lily Pad card Virginia's View challenge.

I used sketch #2 for the HA challenge and instead of using the circle I decided to use a tall panel.  The stamps are Hero Arts:  Lattice 331065, Tall Flower K5431, and Happy Mothers Day C2962 (2004).  The 4 panels were distressed with Barn door distress ink and then embossed with the Cuttlebug embossing Folder:  Floral Screen 37160.
Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments.

Virginia's View Challenge #4

I haven't had the chance to enter Virginia's View challenges over at Lily Pad Cards, it always turns out that  I have forgotten about the challenges, or the oppunity never happened because something got in my way.  When I saw today's inspirational picture, I decided to give it a try and not to let anything get in my way.  This is the card that I came up with and decided to use roses for my main image.  Plus, I just received this stamp the other day for my birthday and I was anxious to use it and this challenge was perfect timing.



This is the inspirational picture

The red in the poppies and the green in the background of this photo was my inspiration for my flower and the background paper.  I also followed the first sketch for the Hero Arts current challenge.

I stamped the flower onto a 2 1/4" x 3" white tag and colored the rose with copic markers:  R29 Lipstick Red and R89 Dark Red.  The leaves were colored with Moss YG67 and Pea Green YG63.  I lighted went over the tag with antique linen distress ink and stamped over the tag with tea dye distress ink using the antique background stamp CG120.  I inked around the edges of the tag with tea dye ink.  The center panel was embossed with Candy Cane Stripe embossing folder by Cuttlebug.  The sentiment was Classic Messages CL414.  The background paper and the center panel was Seaside Retreat 6 x 6 collection pack by Webster's Pages.

To see the details of Virginia's challange, please check here.  To find out information for the Hero Arts challenge, please check here.

Thank you for stopping by and I appreciate the comments.  Hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Hero Arts Stamps:

Etched Flowers CG430

Antique Background CG120

Classic Messages CL414

Tuesday Trigger

This is my first time entering this challenge. To find out more about this challenge, please check here. I was inspired by the birds and the colors. I love birds that have blues and greens. Instead of placing my birds on top of each other, I decided to have them facing each other. The stamps that I used are Hero Arts: Decorative Birds LP032 and Take Good Care Greetings LL206 (discontinued). The birds were colored with copic markers (don't remember the color names) and I used broken china distress ink around the edges of the tag.
Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments. Have a wonderful week.

Digital Images

For the past few days, I have been playing with digital images. I copied the images into a word document and played around with the size until I was happy with it. Then I printed them out on Neenah Solar White cardstock and colored my images with Copic Markers.

I don't remember where I got this image for this first card. The sentiment for this card is From Hero Arts Sunny Messages set LL123 and the butterfly comes from Hero Arts Antique Flowers and Butterflies 657773. This is being entered into the Hero Arts monthly challenge and I used the 3rd sketch, but changed it a bit. Instead of a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card I turned it into a 5" square card.

My main image on this card comes from Hero Arts Spring Garden Digi Kit (6497) which may be purchased over at Two Peas in a Bucket. The sentiment comes from Hero Arts Classic Messages set CL414. I used the third sketch from the Hero Arts current monthly challenge.

These cards were fun to make. Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments. Hope that everyone has a great weekend.

Birthday Cards for my Grandsons.........

Michael and Alex's birthdays are this weekend (my grandsons are cousins and 6 years and 1 day apart) and these are the cards that I created. I don't have any stamps that are geared for children so for this first stamp, I cut out a piece of patern paper for my focal image. The paper comes from the Monstrosity 6 x 6 paper pad by Sassafras. And I used the Friendly Flags stamp set CL475 by Hero Arts for the sentiment. From the scrap monster paper I punched out one of the monsters with a circle punch and attached it with dimensionals. The inside of the card is a digital sentiment from Hero Arts Monster party digital kit. It says, "Hope you have a monster sized birthday". This card is for Alex who will be 2 on March 31st.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Alex!!

The monsters in this second and third card come from Hero Arts (5277) digital image Monster Party. I paper pieced the monsters and the balloons. The stamp for the balloons is Balloon C4982 by Hero Arts (this stamp was made in 2008 and I think it is discontinued). The sentiment is from Birthday Messages CL139. The tan background paper is by Basic Grey and the yellow pattern paper is Doodle bug. I love the color of yellow and blue together. The inside says, "Hope you have a monster sized birthday". I love that sentiment and used it in all three cards. This card is for Michael and will be 8 on March 30th.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Michael!!

I had so much fun making the first two cards, that I decided to make another digital image birthday card. I didn't realize how easy it is to use digi images and how much fun it is. Love the idea that you can make your image any size that you want. For this monster I colored him with copic markers and used the magic background CG211 by hero arts for the background on the main image. Instead of the sentiment being on the inside, I decided to put it on the front of the card. I used an embossing folder (folder is from: Darice and is called Swirl) for the red paper.
Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments. Hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend.

More Velveteen Stamping

At this moment, I really like the Velveteen Stamping technique. I love the softness of the colors and the elegant look of the images. (Check out this video on how this technique is done.) The design for this card was inspired by Jennifer McGuire. The stamps used are Hero Arts: Luscious Pattern Flowers CL508, Designer Butterflies CL115, and Lotus Background CG349. The inks are Hero Arts Shadow inks: Soft Pink and Bubble gum Mid-tone ink. I embossed the card base with Sizzix embossing folder: Dots & flowers Set 655838.

I also used the Velveteen technique on this next card and it was inspired by the card that my husband gave me for our anniversary. (Forgot to take a picture on the inspiring card) The stamps are Hero Arts: Lotus Background CG349 and Earth Flowers CL428. I used Hero Arts mid-tone shadow ink Butterbar for the flowers. I didn't have any brown paper that I like, so I inked the edges with Cup O Joe mid tone ink. The sentiment was stamped with the same ink, also.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend. Thank you for stopping by and I appreciate the comments.

Cards for Hero Arts March Challenge........

For this first card I stamped the layered Flowers image (CL496) three times unto white cardstock (the flowers were masked so that I could create an overlapped appearance.) While the mask were still in place, I stamped the plaid pattern image (S5447) with clear ink and embossed with white embossing powder. Then I took spun sugar distress ink and colored the background with it. The flowers were colored with Copic markers (don't remember what colors) and I added heart shape pearls to the flowers.

For this next card I used the Velveteen technique that Shari Carroll showed us how to do on her video that was on the Hero Arts Blog last week. To see how this technique is done, please check here. The sentiment comes from Friends Stamp Set CL351. The other Hero Arts stamps that I used are: Classic Design CG245, Luscious Pattern Flowers CL508, Speckled Ornaments CL401 and Large Butterfly CG200. I really love the way this turned out, but it looks so much better in real life. This technique does look like it is velveteen and has a nice soft texture.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and I do appreciate the comments. Have a wonderful week. Take care and God bless.

Hero Arts card challenge for March 2012

I wanted to make a card that is unique, but at first I didn't have any idea of what I wanted to make that would be different. I was looking at Splitcoast Stampers the other day to get some new inspiration. As I was looking in the resource area of the web site, I came across a box card. (Check here to see how to make this card. This first picture shows the card closed. The main image comes from Flower Blossom CL223, and Playful Flowers 6557778.

Box card shown opened. I didn't realize that most of the sentiment is covered. This is what it reads, "just wanted to let you know that you're fabulous!" (Essential Messages Hero Arts CL371)

For this last card I used the following Hero Arts Stamps: The sentiment: Thinking of You CL140, Flower Wallpaper CG123, and Flourish Background CG119. I stamped the background image onto a white panel and colored with Spectrum Noir markers. (They are alcohol base markers, similar to Copic markers.) It was lots of fun creating these cards. I only wish that I had more time be creative. Thanks for dropping by; I appreciate the comments. Hope that everyone has a wonderful rest of the week.

Peeking Posies

This is a short post tonight. I needed a gift for a friend and I decided to make a set of 4 cards using the Hero Arts Peeking Posies stamp set (LL072). (I had a difficult time trying to get a picture of all 4 cards together so I gave up and divided them into 2 photos.) The sentiment comes from Hero Arts Friends stamp set (CL351).

The bottom panel measures 4" x 5 1/4", and the top panel measures 3 3/4" x 5". I used Spellbinders large Classic Squares to create the window in each panel. After the panels were adhered together, I used the Swiss Dots (37-1604) embossing folder on the panels so that I could create some dimention. The panels are adhered with dimensional adhesive. The flowers are colored with copic markers (sorry, but I forgot to list the colors that I used.)

I enjoyed coloring these flowers and I love this stamp set. These dies were perfect for the stamps that I used. Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments. Hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Hello and friendship cards

Here are a few cards that I made for the Hero Arts February2012B Flickr Group challenge. For this first card I took some scrap paper and tore the edges and laid it over my card. Then I sponged Peeled paint in the area where the flowers are. Next, I stamped three flowers from the Color Me flowers stamp set by Hero Arts (CG133). Then I colored in each flower with copic markers (can't remember the colors that I used). I wanted to keep this card bulk free as much as possible. For my finishing touches, I added some ribbon and a sentiment. (The sentiment comes from Hero Arts Truly Appreciated stamp set CL380.) For this next card I used the following stamp sets from Hero Arts: Everyday Sayings CL342 and Sunny Smiles CG199. I colored the basket and flowers with Prisma Color pencis and blended the colors with Gamsol (orderless mineral spirits). The sentiment is stamped onto a Grommet Tag, made by Spellbinders.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments.

Hero Arts February Challenge

I can't believe that it has been so long since I posted any cards on my blog and also entered cards into different challenges. I have been away visiting my children and Grandchildren in Ohio and I guess that I let time slip away from me since I returned home. My daughters and I did find some time to make cards and get creative. I made these cards while I was visiting my kids

and had every intention to enter these into the Hero Arts February2012 challenge (first half of challenge). Since they didn't make it in the "A" part of the challenge, I am entering them into the February2012B challenge.

I used Hero Arts Merci Bouquet stamp set (CL580) for this card. The flower was stamped 3 times onto a white panel and I white embossed the sentiment. For the finishing touches I added pearls.

For this second card, I used the Merci Bouquet (CL580) stamp set again. The birds were stamped and colored onto white paper. The Hello Sentiment comes from Hero Arts Hello (CG112) stamp set.
For this last card, I used Hero Arts Heart Frame background stamp (CG129). (Thanks Pam for letting me borrow this stamp. This is a must need stamp and I must purchase it.) I white embossed the image and distressed the paper with fired brick distress ink. The hearts were colored with a red marker and then I went over them again with a red Spica pen to give the hearts a little shimmer. The sentiment is from Hero Arts, but can't remember the name of the stamp set.

Hopefully I will be more consistent in keeping my blog updated now that I am settled back into a normal routine.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comments.

CAS-ual Fridays CFC#37

This week at CAS-ual Fridays the challenge is to make a card according to this sketch. I have been visiting with my daughter for the past two weeks and this is the first chance that I have had to make any cards to submitt for challenges. Making this card was the perfect opportunity for this challenge. The flower image is from Hero Arts Merci Bouquet CL580 stamp set. I made the background using a EK Success Scallop edge fan punch. I punched out the scallops on thin scratch paper and used it as a stencil. I used Stampin Up Rose Romance ink for the inking on the background. This is all that I have for tonight. Hope that everyone has a great week. Thanks for stopping by and I do appreciate the comments.

Casual Fridays CFC36

The project this week at CAS-ual Fridays is to create a clean and simple project that is only black and white. (No other colors are allowed not even a speck.)

The stamps that I used are Stampin Up: The background stamp is called "Dots and Daisies" and the sentiment is from "All Natural".
I masked off 1 inch from the bottom of the card and stamped the top using Brillance Black ink. Then I tied a black and white ribbon on the bottom and stamped my sentiment. This card was assembled in a fairly short time. Trying to decide on the paper and stamps was the hard part for me.

Thank you for stopping by and I do appreciate the comments.