Exciting News!

A Blog Named Hero is having a hop today so you can meet the new Design Team members.

That's right, I'm so excited to let you know that I'm joining the A Blog Named Hero Design Team! Woo hoo!

For those who follow my blog, you know I have a love (or some might say an obsession) with all things Hero Arts so there's no better place to share it than at A Blog Named Hero.

For those who are new to my inky world, here's a little bit of info about me:

1. I love stamping.
2. I'm Canadian and I live just outside the capital city, Ottawa.
3. I'm married (25 years in May, yikes that makes me feel old).
4. I love stamping.
5. I love Hero Arts.
6. I've been involved in papercrafting for about 20 years.
7. I speak Hungarian and some French.
8. I love stamping.
9. I'm a pretty great cook and baker.
10. I can't draw or cut anything straight without the help of a ruler and gridlines.
11. I love Hero Arts.
12. I've never had a cup of coffee. Ever. I'm a tea drinker.
13. I am crazy about all things leafy. Leaf stamps, leaf art, leaf photos...
14. My favorite stamp company is Hero Arts.
15. I really, really love stamping.

Now, enough about me let's get on with my CAS card to celebrate my announcement!

One of my crafty resolutions for this year is to use more of my scraps and bits on my projects and that's what I've done with this card.

The thin strips of woven paper are cut from a piece of background paper I made using Distress Inks, Frost White Pigment Ink and the Friend Definition stamp.  I wasn't pleased with the result of the background when I first made it but kept it anyway thinking I could use it at some other point for something and am glad I did.  I really like the ombre effect with the blue shades and how the strips frame the weed image.

So the moral here is to keep your inked and coloured stamped pieces, even if you don't like them because you never know when or how they might come in handy.

Your next stop on the hop is Cristina, please stop by and give her some love.

Here's a list of the complete Design Team in case there's a snag along the way. 

A Blog Named Hero

Linda Trace

Cheiron Brandon

Sue McRae

Cristina Martinez

Wanda Guess

Kelly Latevola

Christine Drogt

Lucy Newton

Wida Miller

Melissa Shea

Jessica Larsen

Michelle Liimatainen

Leslie Hanna

Stephanie Britt

Tina Basa

Mary Dawn Quirindongo

Thanks for hopping along today!

InLinkz.com

Clean & Simple Class - Day 1

Just a quickie post to share a card I made for the Clean & Simple Online Class.

The class started yesterday and there's still plenty of time to register. There's lots of videos and handouts and of course some "homework".  Should it really be called homework when it involves getting inky?  I think not...tee hee.

Thanks for visiting and please stop by later today for my second post!

Make Your Mark

Another challenge has gone up at CAS-ual Fridays and this week you need to use a marker on your project.

I swiped some Distress Markers across watercolour paper and blended them with water for a loose, kind of care-free backdrop for the funky leaf from the Fronds set at Impression Obsession.

 

I used Spica Glitter Pens and Stardust Pens to colour some of the little circles on the leaf and I pulled out my Crop-a-Dile to add eyelets.  Am I the only one who has a huge stash of eyelets that rarely get used?  I think they may be passé.

 

A friend suggested I should enter this for the Make Your Own Background Paper Challenge in the Moxie Fab World and so I am.

Thanks for visiting today!

Washi Valentine

Washi Tape kind of scares me, somewhat like my phobia of patterned papers.  I did buy a couple roles of the stuff (there's so many fun patterns out there) and this is my second project using it.

I made this card for Simon Says Washi Tape Challenge.  I covered some cardstock with washi tape (if you can believe it, I bought this stuff at my local grocery store) and die cut a label from it.  Not very original but at least I got to use the stuff!

I die cut a felt heart to put on the label and used Lil' Inker Designs Stitched Mats Dies for my card base.  Love the finish it gives to a card.

That's all from me today and thanks for visiting!

The Long and Short

That's the name of this weeks challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays.  The card must have a long side and a short side, no A2 cards this time around.

I used some old maps to die cut the hearts and made a little window for the sentiment.  Since Moxie Fab World is having a window challenge right now I'm entering it over there as well.

Thanks for stopping by today!

ATC

If you are looking for the Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop please click here.

I made an ATC for Hero Arts monthly challenge and used a brand new stamp as well.

I'd forgotten how much fun it is to make an ATC.  It's such a tiny piece of art (2.5 x 3.5") but has so much potential.

I started out with white card stock for this ATC and used inks to colour everything.  To get the subtle design on the background I water stamped my new Looped Flower Pattern onto the Peacock Feather background.  The water that was sprayed onto the stamp reacts with the Distress Ink and takes away some of the colour, leaving a faint image behind.

The flower was white embossed, coloured with Distress Inks and sprayed with Perfect Pearls for a soft shimmer.

There's still lots of time to enter Hero Arts challenge, hope you get time to play along!

As a side note I'd like to thank everyone who has stopped by to leave such wonderful comments for my projects in the Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop, they are truly appreciated.

Happy Inking!

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Card Packaging

If you are looking for the Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop please click here.

Papertrey Ink is having a challenge about packaging cards that are too large for regular sized envelopes.  There's a video showing how to decorate envelopes to make them a little more fun and how to use and decorate a glassine bag for oversized cards.  I love the glassine bag idea and will have to buy some for my stash.

Since I didn't have glassine bags I custom made an envelope to match the size of my card.  This envelope is 5.5 x 7.5, is made from thin cardstock and I stamped it with some of the same images I used on the actual card.

Because I knew I was hand delivering this I added acetate butterflies and gems to the envelope, which I think makes it extra special.  I also thought it would be fun to add a sentiment and round 3 of the corners.  Something a little different.

Thanks so much for visiting today!


Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Turning a New Leaf, Butterfly Kisses, Think Big Favorites #12)
Ink: Memento (Pear Tart), Stazon (Blazing Red), Versafine Onyx Black

Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop

Welcome to day 2 of the Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop featuring fabulous stamps from the new 2013 release.

If you’ve been following along, you’ve just arrived from Nancy's blog. Remember that Hero Arts will be awarding prizes from randomly drawn comments. For a chance to win, simply comment on any of the stops along the hop on any day, including each day’s starting post at the Hero Club Blog. The more comments you leave, the better your chance of winning!

If you find a broken link, you'll find a master list of the hop links at the Hero Arts Club Blog here. Also, please report broken links to: blog@heroarts.com 

My first card uses Leafy Vines, my favourite stamp from the 2013 release.
There's so many possibilities with this stamp. I only used a portion of the image and stamped it in two separate corners  of the card.  Then I black embossed the birthday greeting from the Fancy Basics set on top of the vines.  These sentiments are nice and large so they can take centre stage on a card front.

I have another card using the Leafy Vines.  This time I stamped the entire image.

I applied several colours of Distress Inks on the stamp, sprayed it with some Perfect Pearls and stamped onto watercolour paper to achieve an ombre effect.

Next up are two cards showcasing the Tall Flowers stamp.

For both cards I used water colour paints to create the backgrounds, coloured the images with water colour pencils and added glittery highlights with some Stardust Pens.


Thanks for visiting today! Your next stop in the hop is Cheiron's blog, can't wait to see what she's created!

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