More new Hero Arts stamps

Hi all - hope you're warm, wherever you are!   It's 16 degrees F here right now but that didn't stop me from running around today.  Headed right to Anchor Paper in St Paul when it opened - their newsletter said they'd have a large selection of new 2013 Hero Arts stamps.  Here's the display:

I was impressed with their supply of both clear and clings; they have quite a few that Archiver's didn't stock.  They didn't order any woodblock stamps this time though.  Here's what I brought home from Anchor Paper:

The garden clear set looked like a winner.  I saw the birthday candles used by Jennifer McGuire in this post - she colored them in such vibrant hues, I was inspired to get that cling set!  Thought the thanks postcard would be fun and I liked the flower background and leafy vines too.

Of course, there's an Archiver's not too far from St Paul in Roseville so I stopped in and picked up a few more 2013 Hero Arts stamps from my wish list:

A coworker's wife just had a baby so I couldn't resist the new baby background stamp "Our Baby".  Then I decided to pick up the new chevron cling called "Edgy Background" and a valentine/love stamp that I don't seem to find in the catalog.  It's styled like several of the new K size woodblocks.  Huh - I'll check with someone from Hero Arts - it's H5669 - they don't put the names on anymore, just the number.  I miss the name and have taken to writing it on the end with a Sharpie.

This morning I was up super early (3a.m.) making cards I need to mail by Monday.  Made an anniversary card for my sister and brother-in-law but forgot to photograph it.  Oh well... Then I played around with my Silhouette SD and cut some fun elements from a digital file called "Assorted Gentleman Dress Up" by Totally Jamie.  It reminded me so much of my friend Doug who has a birthday coming up on January 2nd.  I made him this card:

 

He has that kind of handlebar mustache and sings in a comedy quartet that wears hats like these.  I had fun inking the white digi cuts with various Distress inks, stains and markers.  Love those new metallic stains - the eyeglasses have silver overlaid with bronze, nice shimmer in real life.  The hat texture is a fun basketweave and the bowtie is stamped with the new Hero Arts pinstripe.

 

Now I'm off to make a birthday card for my great-aunt who'll be 96 next week!  Thanks for stopping by - hope you're enjoying the weekend!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all celebrating today!  Here's a pair of cards that I used as my main ones to send to my mailing list.  I did a few blue ones too.  The background is a new 2013 Hero Arts Pinstripes stamp - love it!  The snowman is a stamp and die set by Hero Arts for Archiver's.  Those sets made Christmas card making a breeze along with my Vagabond.  I also did a few with a reindeer stamp and die but didn't get a photo of those.

I began my holiday celebrating on Saturday the 22nd by visiting my aunt and uncle in Wisconsin.  The drive along the Mississippi River was spectacular on that sunny but cold day.  Here we are on Sunday after we watched the Green Bay Packers win big over the Titans- yay!  Then we ate a pumpkin pie my aunt and I made.  Yummy!!

Most of the family spent Christmas apart but I had a fun Christmas Eve with my sister Kari.  We enjoyed eating nachos and watching movies last night.  She set up a tripod so we could get this photo, plus she took some others for her Facebook page, including some with a mini Christmas tree and a Santa hat.

Today I drove home from Kari's while she went to work; yes, she had to work on Christmas Day!  Finished up with decorating my upstairs Christmas tree.  Sorry for the long post but I'm sharing my Christmas trees and a couple of special ornaments rec'd this year.  First is my my main tree - a 7 1/2 foot slim tree I put in front of the upstairs window since I don't do any outdoor lighting.  Then my downstairs tree - a 4 footer.  Then three mini trees I have with all Hallmark mini ornaments collected over the years.
 

 

 

 

 

Now I must feature a couple of special ornaments I received as gifts this year. My sister Tami always gets everyone an ornament at Thanksgiving since we traditionally put up our trees the day after (oops, I was late....just finished today!). What a darling owl ornament and of course I love the purple one!

And here's a special ornament, the Irish angel, sent all the way from Ireland from my friend Heather along with some other wonderful goodies - thanks again, Heather!!  This lovely ornament has a featured spot on the front of the tree not too far from my sister's ornament.  After all, Heather and I are Hero Hostess Sisters! 

I had Christmas Dinner with my good friends, Connie and Doug at their son Scott's.  Here they all are:

Scott cooked a traditional ham, along with yummy side dishes and a delightful chocolate mouse cake he found at Sam's Club.  And here I am with Connie; I'm wearing my funny Christmas sweater, complete with sequins and beads and felt Christmas trees, plus little bell earrings.

Sorry again for the long post!  Hope you had a wonderful Christmas, if you celebrate that holiday.  Thanks for stopping by!

Hero Arts 2013 Debut Party

Hi all - once again, it's been a while since my last post.  Well, I've been busy getting ready for and performing in our chorus holiday show (it was last Saturday).  Plus all the holiday decorating and baking...  Hmm - I didn't mention my Christmas cards which need some attention.

Time to take the focus off the holidays for a moment and turn to the debut of new Hero Arts stamps!  See the HA Blog for a fun hop with 22 designers using new stamps in awesome ways.

Lucky me to have many Archiver's stores within easy driving distances in the Twin Cities, all debuting new Hero Arts stamps.  But I thought it would be fun to journey to the Mall of America store, taking a long lunch from work today.  As one of those bus-riding commuters, I had to take another bus from downtown St Paul out to MOA.  The ride only took 40 minutes with the various stops and I had just a short elevator ride and walk from the transit center to the 3rd floor Archiver's.  What a bonanza of new stamps awaited me!  Here I am in front of the main display - holding the new catalog/idea book. 

 

Did you notice the beautiful scarf around my neck?  I got it from my friend Heather who handcrafted it with some textured yarn that just twists naturally as you knit it.  Thanks again, Heather - doesn't it go perfectly with my purple shirt?

Archiver's is giving the Hero Arts idea books away with a $20 purchase - just two clear sets and you've got it!  Beyond the main display, they also had a couple other spots holding new woodblock stamps.  I can never resist the woodblock backgrounds and picked up two new ones, pictured below with some of the clear sets I bought. 

 



Then I found a few more clear sets and a couple of clings I couldn't live without.

 
Now I just need some time to get creating with all these wonderful stamps. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a card - meantime, I'm off to finish the inspiring blog hop. Thanks for stopping!

Scramble 52 and a chorus medal!!

Hi everyone - hope you're having a great Sunday!  I was excited to be able to participate in Hero Hostess sister, Kathy's Scramble today over on the Hero Arts Flickr Group.  Theme - use a background stamp and a border punch - so simple and effective.  Here's my card:

As I've done before, and many others before me, I did the background with white on kraft - so yummy, especially with Colorbox Frost White ink - love it!!  Hero Arts created the delightful Holiday Background cling stamp that I've used for many Christmas cards since I bought it last year.  The border punch is EK Success's Bracket Edger - love this too!  And my snowflake is three layers of felt embellishments also by Hero Arts.  The cute little circle tag is from a Tim Holtz die by Sizzix and I used kraft string twine from May Arts - love them both!  The striped paper is not from a Christmas paper pad at all - I dug around for something with some navy and purple and found a My Mind's Eye Lime Twist paper pad - perfect.  And I won one Kathy's random draw prizes - yay, thanks, Kathy!

Now for the big news - just got back last Sunday from Denver where my chorus City of Lakes Chorus earned a 7th place (in the world!!!) medal in the Sweet Adelines International chorus contest.  We had a great time - lots of rehearsals and make-up, camaraderie and yummy food, beautiful city and friendly people, balmy weather and exquisite mountain views.

Here's the early a.m. view (that's the moon setting) from our 17th floor Downtown Sheraton hotel room:

And here I am with my friend Ferne from California.  She's a Queen of Harmony, hence the crown.  She sang baritone (like me!) with the Shalimars back in the 60s.

I'm in my semi-finals costume complete with our new jewelry - oops, my necklace is rather askew!

And here I am with my dear friend Connie - we're in our finals round costume.

I'm certainly glad I don't have to wear false eyelashes and red lipstick every day!!  Our finals package was a parody of the QVC shopping channel - we were SASN (Sweet Adelines Shopping Network) where you could buy all the fabulous things you need to look glam, including an "all-in-one".  One of the members disappeared behind a screen to don her "all-in-one" foundation garment; a different member (a foot taller and a few sizes smaller) popped out instead - got a good laugh on that one!!

We had last week off from rehearsal; this week we'll be able to review our contest videos and then move on to Christmas music for our December 8th show.  No rest for us busy singers!!

Hope you had a great weekend doing what you love.  Thanks for stopping!

 

Barb's Surprise Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our blog hop celebrating the birthday (October 28th) of our dear friend, Barb! 

 Virginia organized this fun hop, inviting all the Hero Hostess alumni who recently attended ScrapFest with Barb.  It's already 10/28 at Virginia's house so let the celebration begin!!  If you’ve arrived from the oh-so talented Judy’s blog, you’re on the right track.  Here is the full blog hop order if you’d like to start at the beginning:

 Marcy

Nancy

Judy

LindaW. (you are here!)

Lin

Kathy

Virginia

I met Barb in person back in 2010 after meeting her online through the Hero ArtsFlickr Group.  Barb is known for being a positive, kind person who encourages everyone in the group.  Lucky me – I live in the same metro area as Barb so we can get together to shop (usually at Archiver’s).  We always have fun and spend way too much money!!

Today we are sharing birthday cards we made for sweet Barb – here’s mine:

 

Barb likes blue – check out her photostream – so I wanted to do a blue card.  I started with some Hero Arts Sea Layering papers (three shades of blue in the pack – I used two of them).  The light blue background panel is stamped with the Hero Arts cling stamp “Life of the Party Words” using Neon Blue ink.  The patterned paper strip is a fun piece from Little Yellow Bicycle’s Splash paper pad.  I stamped and cut the label using a Hero Arts for Archiver’s Stamp and Cut set.  I actually cut three labels – dark blue, white and light blue.  Just stamped on the light blue one and then cut it down, layered on white, cut that one down and layered on dark blue with foam tape.  The sentiment is from a different Stamp and Cut set – that one has a label too but I liked this one better for Barb’s card.  Embellished with some gems and pearls – done!

Happiest of birthdays to you, Barb!  Hope you enjoyed our little surprise!!

Next stop in the hop - the amazing Lin’s blog.  Thanks for hopping with us!  And if anyone wants to make a card to celebrate Barb and link it to our hop, please see the end of Virginia’s post.

Happy World Cardmaking Day!

Hi everyone - hope you're enjoying a wonderful WCMD!  I was up early working on parts of my WCMD card, then ran off to a Hallmark ornament premiere at a local shop.  Added a few ornaments to my collection, then hurried home to finish my card.  Here goes:

I love Shari Carroll's use of white on kraft so I tried it on my burlap background piece.  The stamp is from Stamper's Anonymous - a Studio 490 set called Funky Flower Art.  Besides the burlap bg, there are some fun flower pieces.  The brown woodgrain paper, oddly enough, is from Teresa Collins' Christmas Cottage paper line; I'm just loving that whole set!

The globe is a Hero Arts design for Silhouette.  I cut a background circle and covered it with Hero Arts Neon Blue ink, then stamped the Envelope Liner background using Salty Ocean Distress Ink.  BTW, did you hear Tim Holtz's announcement that the seasonal Distress Inks are now permanent additions to the Distress Ink family?  Yay!!  The globe was cut on Hero Arts Snow Layering Paper and colored with Distress Markers (Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters, Scattered Straw, Crushed Olive, Old Paper, Picket Fence).  I cut the banner on the Silhouette too (Sophie Gallo banner labels).  I used a "happy" from a Hero Arts sentiment and the WCMD was stamped with Hero Arts monogram stamps from an old clear set.  I finished off with a little star to show where I live in the world :).

Hope you're having a crafty day on WCMD!  I'm off to check out the Operation Write Home Blog Hop and other online events.  I already posted my card to the fun event our Hero Arts Flickr Group is having.  Check it out!

It's been a while...

Well, I see it's been a while again since my last post.  Busy, busy!  Since then, we've had a chorus retreat and I've been to ScrapFest at Mall of America with thousands of happy crafters, including a bunch of Hero Arts Flickr Group friends.  Get ready for a long post!

Can't believe it's been a week since ScrapFest but I didn't have a chance to share photos until now.  We had such a fabulous time!!  You can find group and other shots on Barb's and Virginia's blog posts. I let those with better cameras take most of the photos but I do have a few to share.  First up - photos from the always amazing Tim Holtz class:


Jumbotron for the class presentation

Working in the class with Barb and Judy to my left

Tim Holtz and me - don't I look official with a Ranger apron!

My completed class project

I love how everyone's project looked so customized; we had lots of fun playing with colors and all his embellishments.  Especially enjoyed distressing the metal accents with white acrylic paint.

The bunch of friends, new and old, gathered for many meals - here are some of those photos:


Virginia w/hubby Dr John, Janet and me, me with Ava.

Marcy and Barb checking the menu, Lin and hubby Denny, Kathy with Linda B. and me

Judy with daughter Kathy, me with Nancy K, Sheila with Ava and Janet.

I miss all these lovely people already and can't wait until we meet again!  That's what's so great about the crafting community - all the friendships we form with people from all over the globe!

And that's it from ScrapFest 2012.  Mark your calendar to come to the Mall of America in 2013 for next year's ScrapFest 9/20-9/22.

Goodies from Heather and a card!

Well, it's been a while again since my last post.  You can probably tell I like posting on Sundays when I have some spare time...  I was inspired by happy mail I received from my friend Heather this past week.  Thanks Heather!!  With a new stamp from Heather, I finally made a card for an upcoming anniversary.

But first, here's a shot of the goodies:

You can see the beautiful shell card she made me, the darling die cuts, some Penny Black backgrounds, flowers to colors, a birdie Inkadinkado set, a purple bag with ribbons and embellies, an elegant embossing folder, some stickers, yummy purple flowers and some book pages she used in a card class.  Funny thing - that book is one of my favorites by Nora Roberts, "Born in Ice" about sweet Brianna who runs a B&B in Ireland.  I see many similarities between Brianna and my dear Irish friend Heather!!

And now for the card.  I started with a card I made at my friend Sue's store, ScrapBooks Too!  She ran a 5 cards for $5 last week and I made all five.  Kind of a funny story about that, I arrived 90 minutes and, as usual, I started a crowd forming of other early birds.  Sweet Sue hadn't even arrived but when she did, I helped her set up and she let me and the other eager ladies get started an hour early!  The cards featured yummy papers but I don't know the company - sorry!  I usually bring the cards home and embellish them to fit my needs.

To this card I added the stamped stitching along the die cut border (sorry - don't know which brand that die is but I love it!).  Also added the label which is from a new Hero Arts exclusive for Archiver's set; the sentiment is by Penny Black from the Gratitude transparent set.  I stamped the Inkadinkado birdies from Heather and watercolored them using Tim Holtz Distress Markers (Weathered Wood, Tumbled Glass, Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick, Wild Honey, Frayed Burlap, some greens -forgot which...).  Some Hero Arts bling and I have a card ready for my brother and sister-in-law whose anniversary is next week.  Yay!  Hopefully I'll have time later today to do another anniversary card also needed for next week.

Hope you're having a crafty day - thanks for stopping!  And bunches of thanks to Heather for the happy mail and the inspiration!!

New contest at Hero Arts!

August 1st brought a new contest at Hero Arts. I love the sketches this month so got to work on Wednesday with a new stamp I bought after seeing Shari's fun Pom Pom Flower with button embellishment - here. Here's my card (a 6" square):

I stamped the flower on watercolor paper and colored with Distress Markers.  The highlights were achieved with the Picket Fence marker which is more opaque.  Decided the watercolor paper was too plain so I added the envelope liner pattern to frame the flower, then inked the edges.  When I photographed, the neon cast a shadow so it looks a bit greyish (not in real life).  Die cut into a big zig-zag circle and added a yellow mat.

I got to playing this morning with a new Hero Arts cling background I bought last week - BG Square Pattern.  I was stamping it in various colors on some HA eggshell layering paper and my neon pink one had some blobby spots.  Decided I could use the good parts so started out punching a square out of it.  Then I started cutting out smaller pieces and arraying them on the table - next thing you know, I had a snowflake going!  CAS is not my usual style but I decided to keep the background plain and feature the snowflake.

Hope you had a crafty weekend!  Thanks for stopping...

Sending Sunshine and Laughter

Hey there - I was home from work (doctor's orders, can you believe it?) today.  Nothing serious - just went to urgent care last night feeling rough; doctor decided effects of dehydration.  Really people, remember to drink plenty of water on these hot, humid days - guess I was forgetting....

Thankfully I felt well enough by this evening to crank out a card for someone at work who needs a lift.  I was inspired by this fun card by Jennifer McGuire to incorporate some clouds and a sun into my card.  I'm still playing with new Hero Arts goodies, especially my envelope liner background - so fun!!  Here's the card:

I just love those Fiskars cloud punches; I used Bazzill dotted swiss card stock for them. The envelope liner was stamped with Salty Ocean Distress Ink - really added some life to the bluish Basic Grey paper. Thanks for stopping - stay cool and drink plenty o' water, my friends!

Thanks to Hero Arts - New Goodies!!

Hi everyone - Happy Monday!  I just got back from visiting my hometown of La Crosse WI.  My aunt had surgery last week so I spent the weekend helping her around the house, fixing meals, cleaning up, etc.  Aunt Carol is doing very well, I'm happy to say!

Luckily, today was my day off so I unpacked & was catching up on some emails when the doorbell rang.  Yippee, it was the FedEx guy with a box from Hero Arts!!  I quickly opened my package and reveled in all the goodies I had ordered from winning a June contest prize.  Here's my haul:

I have lots of new stamps so only picked up one new one - the much desired Envelope Liner Background cling stamp - looooove it!  Couldn't resist the new Neon dye inks so picked all three colors.  Then I filled in the rest of the order with a set of kraft note cards, a Basic Grey Paper Cottage 6x6 paper pad, some pool flowers and some jeweled pastel flowers (I think I order a package of these about every other order, I love them so).  Thanks again, Hero Arts, for your generosity!!

Then I couldn't resist making a card with some of my new goodies.  Here's my card:

I stamped the new envelope liner using Neon Orange onto a mandarin card base (also from Hero Arts).  I stamped the Hero Arts/Studio Calico Chevron Background on white card stock using each of the Neon colors, overlapping a bit, then I filled in with some of the yellow daubbed on with a Q-tip.  Cut a strip of it and adhered to the card.  Stamped a sentiment from a fun new Hero Arts clear set called Thinking of You.  Took a scrap of white cs and covered it, Neon Pink direct to paper, then stamped it with the Hero Arts newsprint background in both yellow and orange (hard to see in the photo) and then stamped the Hero Arts/Sizzix butterfly and die cut it.  Buttons and gems - done.  Oh, the bakers twine in the button is inked with Neon pink too :)

Perfect for this month's Hero Arts July contest using the Neon colors - deadline Thursday, so get busy!

Thanks for stopping and have a crafty day!!

Card Drive for Maddy

Hi all - Happy Sunday!  I learned from my friend, Lin, about a card drive at Simon Says Stamp's Blog for a sweet girl Maddy battling leukemia - details here.  I was moved to get busy and make Maddy a card, then I embellished a couple of recent cards to send to her sister and parents.  Here's Maddy's card:

As many of you know, I'm crazy for stamping the large butterfly, part of a Hero Arts/Sizzix collaboration with stamps and Framelits, on various patterned papers - no brand is safe!  This time Little Yellow Bicycle called me to their "Hello Spring" papers - so many bright, cheery patterns!!  Once I had the butterfly, I pulled colors from the pp for the rest of the card - hope Maddy will like it.  I wanted to use some of the same elements (embossed cs background on a plain mat) as this next card:

I made the basic card at my friend Sue's store, Scrapbooks Too!.  On Mondays they have a fund raiser for a charity called VEAP - you pay $1 and make a card.  We stamped and embossed the pale pink panel and matted it - used one of those Spellbinders reversible  folders - not sure of the name.  On the inside it says "Sisters are different flowers from the same garden".  When I brought the card home this past Monday, I had thoughts of using it for my own sister but decided to embellish it for Maddy's brave sister, Melanie.  I added the butterfly (more "Hello Spring" paper) and gems to the card.  For the girls' parents, I'm using a card I made at last week's Hero Arts Flickr group Scramble:

I just revised the sentiment to add an "s" since it's for both Tim and Marizel - used the fine tip of a Tim Holtz Black Soot Distress Marker - worked perfectly.  This card had a patterned butterfly already (I'm addicted!) - used Basic Grey Clippings paper for that one....

If you're thinking of doing some cards, you have until August 3rd.  Thanks for stopping!

July Card Chain Challenge

It's been awhile since I've done a Card Chain Challenge, or CCC as it's shortened.  Deborah is back to hosting it on her blog Society of Stampaholics and I planned to play along this month.  When I realized tomorrow's the deadline, I got busy this morning and made this card:

I tried to use all three criteria (color - Aqua/Mint/Aloe, sketch, and theme - friendship).  Turned the sketch to horizontal and had some fun with it.  If my "aqua" looks suspiciously like pool, it is!!  I used the darkest pool shade for my card base but it's reading more minty in the photo - sorry about that!  Used some fun pool designer papers from Hero Arts, an older HA clear set for the sentiment, the more recent woodblock Newspaper Background is stamped on the bird.  Bird and branch die is from Tim Holtz.  The little strip of pp on the right end is from one of Basic Grey's new lines - Clippings (6x6 pad).  Did some faux stitching with a black gel pen and added some gems for interest.

If you're considering the July CCC, better get hopping!  Thanks for stopping and hope you have a crafty weekend!!