Couple of Easter cards

Hi everyone - I thought I'd get a start to my Easter cards since I finally found the matching die to a Lawn Fawn set I bought in 2015 and have never used! I separated all the dies and set up my template to use for the MISTI the other day so today I stamped the die cut items and colored them with Copics.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Michael's punch, Penny Black Painted Blooms
Stamps - Lawn Fawn Eggstra Special Easter; Personal Impressions (UK) Happy Easter (retired sentiment)
Dies - Lawn Fawn Eggstra Special Easter Lawn Cuts; My Favorite Things Die-namics Blueprints 20; Spellbinders Nestabilities Elegant Ovals & Classic Ovals SM
Other - Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Copic Markers, foam tape, gold gel pen, Crayola pencils

I colored the bunny like the Lindt chocolate bunnies I love so much. They have gold bows on the wrapping so I used a gold gel pen to accent it. I still had the oval die set out that I used on my Merry Monday card and a sympathy card this week. This time I die cut a plain oval to layer with the fancier one. The sentiment set came from my friend Sally a few years ago and I use it every Easter; thanks again, Sally! One card done - yay!!

I had just finished this card when I remembered Cindy is running a Scramble over on the Hero Arts Flickr Group. Her theme is to use an oval which was funny since I had just finished a card with an oval. This Scramble will last until 2 pm PDT tomorrow so you can pick any 90 minutes during that window if you want to play along. I played right at the start and took about 70 minutes to create this card:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Authentique; scrap of brown textured
Dies - Hero Arts DI337 Nesting Oval Infinity Dies & bunny die to match stamp and fence die from March 2017 My Monthly Hero kit (sold out); 
My Favorite Things Die-namics Blueprints 20; Lawn Fawn Eggstra Special Easter Lawn Cuts and Grassy Border
Stamps - Hero Arts March 2017 My Monthly Hero kit (bunny with carrot) & CL498 Celebrate Every Day (sentiment); 
Lawn Fawn Eggstra Special Easter; Other - Copic Markers, Wink of Stella, Hero Arts Ocean Ombre sequins

I had considered using the Spellbinders ovals again but suddenly went a different route - typical... I decided to use my oval as the sky to my little scene - it's kinda like a big Easter egg too! I had an extra stamped egg with jelly beans from my previous card so I quickly colored it to add to my scene. Two Easter cards done; I'm so impressed with myself! Anyway, check out Cindy's Scramble for more inspiration - I had fun with it!

Thanks for stopping and TGIF - enjoy your weekend!!

Final day of Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge

Hi all - it's Day 30, the final day of Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge! Kathy has been such an inspiration to me since 2009 when I joined the Hero Arts Flickr Group (we were both Hero Hostesses; she was a few years early than I). Her coloring skills rock and I've learned so much from her - even though I have a long ways to go to perfect my coloring!! Here are my final bits of coloring from Days 24 - 30 (I quickly did today's panel this morning but it needs more work....):

Supplies: Hero Arts My Monthly Hero kits March 2016 (floral coloring cards by Marianne) 
and December 2016 (party images I stamped)
Copic Markers and Crayola pencils

On the bottom left panel I used B04 Copic for the background and tried Kathy's rag technique with the colorless toner - my rag, though, was a paper towel. Doesn't really do the job right but, hey, I was in a hurry. I needed a sympathy card for a chorus friend who lost her dad unexpectedly; he lived way over in Finland so it was especially hard for her. I used some of the Altenew bits I colored earlier this month and put together this card:

Supplies: Neenah card stock (green & Solar White); Graphic 45 patterned paper
Dies - Spellbinders S4-425 Nestabilities Elegant Ovals; MFT Die-Namics Blueprints 20
Stamps - Altenew Floral Sprig and Floral Frame (with matching dies); 
Hero Arts CM124 Color Layering Fuschia (front sentiment) and CL577 Remember (inside sentiment)

This afternoon I went to a dance studio in a southwestern suburb to made a video of chorus choreography with my team mate, JoAnn. The studio has mirrors so JoAnn set up the camera such that the chorus members can see the two of us (I'm stage left and she's stage right) from the back and also the front, via the mirrors. We made videos of two songs we'll perform on our show May 21st. We had fun at the studio, then went out for a late lunch.

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

More cards with coloring

Hi all - I made a few more cards for Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge. Card 1 uses some bits I colored earlier this month; card 2 combines stamping, doodling and watercoloring.

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts Mocha layering paper, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, 
My Mind's Eye Wood Designer and Basic Grey 6x6 patterned paper
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Oxide Inks - Broken China, Fired Brick, Cracked Pistachio
Stamps - Hero Arts CM153 Welcome Home
Dies - Hero Arts DI198 Rectangle Infinity Dies, DI372 Welcome Home Frame Cuts
Other - Copic Markers, foam tape

Do you like my "art" above the fireplace? I had made a tag with smooshed Distress Oxide inks, then die cut a rectangle out of the bottom part. I framed my art by die cutting a frame using some more of the rectangle dies. I even signed it - LOL.

Supplies: Paper - Tim Holtz watercolor paper; Hero Arts Pool (lightest) and Foliage (Pine) layering papers
Inks - various Distress Inks and  markers, watercolors
Stamps - Hero Arts CL753 What a Guy & CL661 It's Your Day (sentiment)
Dies - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 13, 20

I was inspired by this post of Sandy Allnock on the A Blog Named Hero 5th Anniversary Blog Hop. She used clear stamps for do-it-yourself color layering. I had done it with cling stamps but hadn't tried it with clear ones until now. I needed a masculine birthday card so decided to try this technique for the bear, tree and fish images. My friend Chris likes to fish so I think he'll appreciate this card.

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping and I hope you're having a crafty week!

Merry Monday Color challenge - red, green, and white

Hi everyone - it's another Merry Monday and time for Deanne's color challenge #241 to use red, green & white on your Christmas card. Hard to believe Deanne is using these traditional colors but it's true! The actual post on Merry Monday hasn't gone live for some reason, but I got the inspiration photo and the challenge info from the Design Team members' blogs - pretty clever of me, eh? (Updated Monday night since the post is online & the link is now available!)

I decided to go with a poinsettia because I just bought this Spellbinders set on sale at Hobby Lobby and couldn't wait to try it! The woodgrain vellum is totally white but the green shows through for a cool effect.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Textured Green & Classic Crest Solar White, 

Recollections (Michael's brand) red and two shades of green, Hero Arts PS766 Decorative Woodgrain Vellum

Dies - Spellbinders S5-055 Layered Poinsettia & Elegant Ovals, MFT Die-Namics Blueprints 20 (stitched rectangle

Sentiment stamp - Hero Arts CM100 Christmas Messages

Ink - Hero Arts Red and Green Inks, Tim Holtz Distress Ink -Pine Needles
Other - red metal nailhead stickers

That's it for today. I'm off to practice chorus music as usual. We had a fabulous 4 hr coaching session yesterday with Sandy M. who always brings us something new - the latest, bubbling into a bottle of water with a straw (much like we did as kids to be a pain). Seems this technique has been used for voice therapy and helps your singing voice too! She also stressed proper body alignment - something I have to correct! Does anyone else find themselves slouching over their crafts like I do? Straighten up - that's the word from the coach - and keep those ears lined up with your shoulders!

It's Day 27 of Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge and I've managed to color something everyday - I'm so proud! Will share more of that later in the week. Thanks for stopping and I hope you're having a wonderful day!

More coloring and a sympathy card

Happy Saturday everyone! I'm back today with more coloring for Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge. It's been so rewarding and I've been able to make some cards along the way with my colored items. Here's what I colored Day 16 - 23 (except Day 20, see the card with some coloring here - posted on 3/21):

Supplies: Copics (mums, animals, flower sprig), Distress Markers (stockings), Crayola pencils (bottom panels)
Marianne (from March 2016 My Monthly Hero kit) & Outlander coloring cards, Hero Arts & Altenew stamps

Last night I created a sympathy card with the mum panel. My friend Heidi called to say that her childhood friend Amy lost her significant other. I don't know Amy that well but we've met enough over the last 20+ years that I wanted to express my sympathy. I die cut the panel with a pierced rectangle from MFT Die-Namics Blueprints 21 and stamped a sentiment from Hero Arts DC194 Ribbon Messages Stamp & Cut. This set includes die cuts that match the printed banners on some of Marianne's panels - love them! The butterfly dies are from Memory Box - Vivienne and Darla. The solid one is really a pale green vellum but it darkened up in the photo.

I got up early and already colored another Marianne panel for day 24 that I'll share on the 30th with more coloring. That's it for today - thanks for stopping and I hope you have a crafty weekend!!

Floral thanks

Hi all - I made two thank you cards using Marianne's coloring cards received in the March 2016 My Monthly Hero Kit (sold out). I colored them on Saturday using various Copic Markers for Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge.

I formed top folding A2 card bases using Hero Arts Layering Papers (mocha and foliage dotted). The sentiment from card 1 came from Hero Arts CL780 Antique Gratitude Bouquet and the thanks die cut on card 2 came from Hero Arts DC152 Thanks Stamp & Cut. I popped them in the mail to friends who treated me last week. I plan to color another one of these fun panels - don't know why they've been sitting around here for a year!

Today, though, I'm coloring an Outlander card that came with the Season 2 DVD (love the show and the books!!). I'm using a set of 50 Crayola colored pencils purchased at Walmart - loads of fun colors at a reasonable price. Probably won't finish this panel today but I'll keep working at it tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping and I hope you're having a colorful week!!

More Bells

Hi everyone! I had a bit of time yesterday afternoon so I made another quick card for this week's Merry Monday challenge to use bells. The Tim Holtz die I used on my first card had two kinds of bells so I had two sets of each from my cuts. I decided to make a card using the two jingle bells I had cut since some of the Design Team members had gone with jingle bells. Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Anchor Paper silver (for card base), BoBunny Tis the Season 6x6 (snowflake patterned), 
Tim Holtz Metallic Kraft Stock, the Paper Studio glitter , scrap of black

Dies - Tim Holtz Christmas Bells 658765 (retired), MFT Die-Namics Blueprints 20 (stitched & scalloped rectangles)

Ribbon - Tim Holtz Tinsel twine
Stamps - Hero Arts CL620 Jolly & CL354 Let the Angels Sing (retired)

Ink - Black Soot Distress ink, Ranger Archival Garden Patina by Wendy Vecchi

Other - foam tape, Peacock Feathers Distress Marker, Copic Markers C1 & C3 for shading

I had some turquoise stuff out from last week's Merry Monday so decided to use them. The Garden Patina ink I used to stamp the JOLLY looked a bit light so I outlined it with a Distress Marker and shaded around it with the Copics. That ended up being all my "coloring" for Day 20 of Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge! I went to chorus rehearsal after finishing this card and by the time I got home, I wasn't in the mood to do any more coloring. I did a little better today, coloring a quartet of Christmas stockings for a future Christmas card.

That's it for today - thanks for stopping! Beautiful sunny day here so I'm out to enjoy it!!

Ring that Bell!

Hello - hope you're having a wonderful Monday! I'm playing along on Merry Monday this week - Colleen challenges us to use a bell on your Christmas card. I just love her inspiration photo and the Design Team created some gorgeous inspiration cards!

I have a bell stamp I've used in past challenges so I decided to try a bell die instead. Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts Foliage Layering Paper (pine), BoBunny Tis the Season 6x6, 
Tim Holtz Metallic Kraft Stock, the Paper Studio glitter 
Dies - Tim Holtz Christmas Bells 658765 (retired), My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 21 (pierced rectangle), Hero Arts DC195 Christmas Trimmings Stamp&Cut, Impression Obsession Pine Branch DIE021-N
Ribbon - Hero Arts red (retired), Michael's Celebrate It! Christmas, scrap of silver wired
Other - foam tape, staple, Black Soot Distress ink

My bell went through several steps before I liked it. After cutting a couple bells from silver paper, I decided to trim off a bit of one and layer it to the other. Seemed plain so I embossed it. In my layering I had used foam tape - embossing after applying the foam tape was a dreadful idea! So I cut a new top layer and this time embossed at a bit of an angle so it looked different from the bottom. I sanded the dies and inked a bit for texture. In real life it stands out better from the background than the photo shows - very hard to photograph metallic paper!! I found this fabulous woodgrain paper with little snowflakes on it - thought it evoked the inspiration photo.

Yikes - Day 20 of Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge already! I've been keeping up with my coloring and will have some more bits to show later in the week. I've been coloring some floral panels included in an old Hero Arts My Monthly Hero kit - very fun!! So I'm off to color another one - thanks for stopping and have a wonderful day!!

Happy St Patrick's Day and a new car!

Happy St Patrick's Day everyone! Hope you're all enjoying the day!! I'm sharing a card I sent to my friend Heather and her family in Ireland.

Supplies: Paper - Authentique Charmed 12x12 pack and 6x6 pad, Pop-tone Black, Core'dinations Ivory card

Dies - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 20
Other - Hero Arts Foliage Mixed Accents (retired), corner rounder

I loved the sticker I used from the Authentique 12x12 x set. To me it perfectly described my Irish "family" who opened their home to me when I visited Ireland in 2014. It was fun to add a Celtic Flourish die cut that Heather had sent me earlier this year, along with the gems and pearls. Inside I stamped Happy St Patrick's Day. You can see Heather's beautiful card she sent me (with more Celtic Flourishes) in this post. Thanks again, Heather!! And thanks for taking this photo since I neglected to take one before I popped the card in the mail - sorry for the dent in the upper left - in transit damage, truly!

No green beer for me today, nor did I go to the parade in St Paul. For the past 20 years I've watched the parade from my workplace in downtown St Paul. Now that I'm retired, I didn't have that option. Instead, my friends Connie & Doug and I went to Minneapolis to donate my old car. Yes, after driving a 2000 Buick Century since I bought it new in 2000, I finally bought a new car!!! I started looking about 3 years ago but couldn't let go of my Buick. Finally decided yesterday to "go for it". I went to the dealership Connie & Doug visited with me in January and told the salesman I was ready to buy - he tried to conceal his shock - LOL!

With my new Nissan Rogue

Yikes, so many bells and whistles that a 2000 model didn't have!! Right away I used the Nav system to find my way from the dealership to my friend Linda's RN pinning ceremony. Linda loved the congrats card I made her! The ceremony was lovely and a bunch of us went out for dinner afterwards - I used the Nav system again since I was in an unfamiliar suburb. I have leftover spaghetti & chicken parm for tonight so I won't be eating corned beef and cabbage with my Irish friends - sorry!

Hope you're having a wonderful St Patrick's Day and a have great weekend!! Thanks for stopping!

Flip Card, Coloring, and another Merry Monday

Hi all - photo heavy post ahead, just so you know. I finally made a card with some of the little items I colored during days 1 - 9 of Kathy's 30 day coloring challenge. My friend Linda (we were known collectively as "the Lindas") will be pinned as an RN tomorrow so I made her this congrats card.

Supplies:  Paper - Pop Tone Blu Raspberry, Doodlebug and BoBunny patterned, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White,
 and a scrap of green, the Paper Studio Glitter; Stamps - Lawn Fawn Get Well Soon
Dies - Hero Arts DC149 Congrats Stamp & Cut and DI199 Circle Infinity Dies , Sizzix 659171 Circle Flip-Its
Inks - Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Archival Garden Patina by Wendy Vecchi
Other - Copic Markers, Hero Arts CH300 Ocean Ombre Sequins

These flip cards are fun to make but a bit hard to photograph so I laid it flat for you to see the two sides:

I will write on the white panel on the back because there really isn't much room to write on the "inside" when the card is folded. Today is day 15 of Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge so I photographed my latest bits of coloring.

Day 10, 11, and 13 were bits from Altenew's Floral Sprig and Floral Frame sets, Day 12's watering can was from the March 2017 My Monthly Hero kit. Yesterday I had fun coloring a fireplace and chair from one of the Hero Arts March add-on sets, CM153 Welcome Home which had just arrived in my mailbox. Today I colored a darling printed image by Lili of the Valley that my friend Heather sent me - maybe last year? I have a stash of lovely bits she's sent me over the years and I've lost track of when they arrived. Plus, I've sort of hoarded them but I'm really trying to use stuff from my stash.

Yesterday I received some glittery gold die cuts Heather sent with a lovely St Patrick's Day card. I couldn't resist adding one to a second version of the Merry Monday card I made on Monday.

Supplies: Paper - Pop Tone Blu Raspberry, American Crafts Christmas 6x6 pad (snowflake) and copper (Target fall pad),
Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, the Paper Studio Glitter

Stamps - Altenew Pine Tree and Hero Arts DC195 Christmas Trimmings Stamp & Cut 
Dies - DI198 Infinity Rectangles, My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 20 and Blueprints 13
Inks - Ranger Archival Garden Patina by Wendy Vecchi, Versamark
Other - Picket Fence Distress Spray, Hero Arts Copper Embossing Powder, celtic die cut from Heather

This time I stamped the trees using a new ink I bought at Hobby Lobby yesterday. Long story short, I wanted to use Delicata gold ink on my trees on Monday but I couldn't find it in my stash. Ran to HL and bought another pad plus found this yummy Ranger Archival ink in the perfect turquoise color. Much as I love mixing inks to make a new color, it was fun to just stamp with one. I stamped the three main trees and then did second and third generation for the rest of the forest. The gold layer was clear embossed before I stamped the turquoise layer. This time I stamped the "merry" and embossed it with copper powder - so gorgeous in real life. I also took the opportunity to use some copper paper I bought last fall in the Target Hot Spot bins - just love this paper!!

I will link this one up to the challenge too in case people are interested in this different version. 
Phew - that's it for today. Thanks for stopping and hope you have a crafty week!

Copper/Bronze, Gold, & Turquoise

Merry Monday everyone! Time for another challenge - this week from Marcia.

Use Copper/Bronze, Gold and Turquoise on your Christmas Card!

What a beautiful color combo!! The Design Team has some gorgeous inspiration cards this week so be sure to check them out. I wanted to use a new stamp my friend Cat sent me after her recent Scramble on the Hero Arts Flickr Group. She sent me my first ever Altenew stamp - Pine Tree (I since received other stamps from Altenew, already used in a post).

Supplies: Paper - Pop Tone Blu Raspberry, American Crafts Christmas 6x6 pad (music), 
Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, the Paper Studio Glitter

Stamps - Altenew Pine Tree
Dies - Hero Arts DC195 Christmas Trimmings Stamp & Cut and DI198 Infinity Rectangles, 
My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 20
Inks - Distress Oxide Broken China & Cracked Pistachio; Picket Fence Distress Spray

I didn't have any turquoise inks but I wondered about combining Broken China and Cracked Pistachio to get that color - oooo, it worked! Decided to try gold embossing the detail layer of this color layering set. Then I double stamped the solid layer over top, using the two inks - easy to do with the MISTI. The plain colored trees between were second generation, no gold. I blended a bit with a water brush to make it more arty and sprayed with Distress Spray.

The sentiment die is gold glitter paper and the mat behind the trees is copper glitter paper (very different in real life, even though they look the same in the photo...). I found a card base to match my trees and some music paper for another layer. Then I spotted this recycled copper mesh ribbon a friend gave me. Decided it would be perfect over the music paper. Big problem, though, my tree rectangle was warping - oh no! I put some craft foam behind it - that stuff doesn't want to stick! I really struggled!! You can probably see in the photo how it's wanting to curl up on the sides... After the photo I found some super glue dots that seemed to do the trick!

After making my card I had some computer problems so started a reboot and went outside to shovel. I shoveled about 3 inches of snow last night but more fell overnight so I had to clear that, plus snowplow leavings. Typical March in Minnesota - one minute it's pushing 60F, the next day you're in the teens with snow! Finally got my computer back up so I could post this - now off to rehearse chorus music. Thanks for stopping!!

Growing Garden

Happy Sunday everyone! It's a gloomy day here in the Twin Cities but I made it bright playing with new Hero Arts goodies!! The March My Monthly Hero kit arrived in yesterday's mail and I dove right into "processing" it. I cut apart all the dies, made negative sheets for the MISTI and die cut & stamped 3 sets of images. This process took about three hours; there were so many wonderful dies and stamps. Once done, though, it was a breeze to color a bunch of images and put a card together this morning.

Supplies: Paper - Anchor Paper textured baby blue, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Tim Holtz kraft stack (Weathered Wood & Walnut Stain), Recollections (Michael's) Feathered Greens, scrap of yellow

Stamps - Hero Arts March 2017 My Monthly Hero Kit; CG523 PSST!

Dies - Hero Arts March 2017 My Monthly Hero Kit; Lawn Fawn Grassy Border

Other - foam tape, Copic Markers, sander, Hero Arts white ink dauber, Darice Woodgrain embossing folder

This kit contains so much goodness and, as of this posting, is still available for purchase!
► 2- 4"x6" clear stamp sets
► 21 coordinating Frame Cut dies
► 2 Fancy Dies (fence and notched earth)
► 2- 5.5"x8.5" sheets of Chocolate & Herbeus cardstock (brown & green textured cardstock)
► 1- 6"x6" sheet of marbled paper (color varies)
► 1- 5.5"x8.5" sheet of burlap
► 1- Intense Black ink cube (ideal for use with alcohol markers)

I'm adding this to Kathy's 30-Day Coloring Challenge gallery - Day 12 today, plus I have a few more stamped items ready to color while I watch the Hallmark channel tonight (now that Victoria ended on Masterpiece). Well, I'm off to play in a Scramble on the Hero Arts Flickr Group so I'd better get going.

Thanks for stopping by and have a crafty day!!

Beautiful Day

Happy Saturday - hope you're enjoying the weekend! This week I had fun hopping from blog to blog on several different Blog Hop's - Hero Arts on Monday, Altenew's on Thursday and Simon Says Stamp yesterday. So much inspiration in one week!! My friend Barb participated in two of them and her post on the SSS hop inspired me to get out some neglected embossing folders. I loved her designs with the simple images atop the embossed backgrounds.

Supplies: Stamps - Altenew Apple Tree and Floral Frame (sentiment and dots for the "apples")

Paper - Core'dinations kraft card, Tim Holtz Kraft Stack, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black; Distress Inks - Lucky Clover, Twisted Citron, Festive Berries, Gathered Twigs; Distress Oxide - Crushed Pistachio; Distress Markers - Candied Apple, Mowed Lawn & Gathered Twigs

Other - 3M foam tape; May Arts string twine; Darice Woodgrain embossing folder

I just received my first Altenew order yesterday, thanks to a $15 gift card win on Virginia's blog. When I ordered, Altenew offered a free Apple Tree layered stamp set - cute as can be, isn't it? I couldn't resist giving it a play after I cut and colored a Floral Sprig (you'll see that in an upcoming post).

After I did the stamp layering, I did some shading and detailing with markers and then blended a bit with a water pen. I thought it was a great idea to use the little bubble stamps from the Floral Frame set as "apples" on my tree. I stamped in Festive Berries and then colored them in with a Candied Apple marker. So fun! The Tim Holtz kraft stack has Distress ink colors with a kraft core, revealed when sanded after embossing - love this paper!! It's Day 11 of Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge and I'll be coloring some more Altenew flowers and sprigs later today.

Have a crafty day and thanks for stopping by!!

A flowery HELLO

Hi all - Day 10 of Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge! Wow, one third done already and I've managed to color something every day - pretty amazing! Kathy's card on Day 4 was so gorgeous that I decided to try creating a similar image with some Hero Arts alphabet and flower stamps. A bit of masking and voile - not even remotely similar, oh well.... At least there's a 'hello' on there!

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts Sunshine folded card, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Pop-tone Black, Authentique green
Stamps - Hero Arts 330055 Stepping Stone Alphabet (with Studio Calico, retired), CL858 Tea Flowers, 
and CL964 Marianne's flowers
Dies - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 20
Other - Distress Markers, Black Soot Distress Ink, clear embossing powder, Copic Markers, white gel pen

I will be coloring something else later today too. I'm expecting my first Altenew order to arrive - thanks to Virginia for the $15 gift card I received from a random draw on her blog. Can't wait to color some Floral Sprig images!! I also picked up the matching dies and a few other items to try.

Thanks for stopping and hope you're having a wonderful day! We're having a bit of a cold snap and I'm not enjoying it after the warm weather we had in past weeks!!

Coloring and a Masculine Birthday

Hi all - hope you're enjoying your day! I had a two hour phone chat with my friend Heather Maria who called from Ireland. What do we have to talk about for that long? All the things that take too much time to type up in an email, plus it's just plain fun to hear her voice - the Irish accent, don't ya know! Thanks for the call, Heather!! Afterward I finished a card for my brother's upcoming birthday. Since it includes some of the bits I've been coloring for Kathy's 30-day Coloring Challenge, I thought I'd share those too.

Supplies: Paper - DCWV bright card, Authentique patterned paper, Pop-tone black, Neenah Solar White, Reflections Blue

Stamps - Hero Arts CG461 Envelope Liner Background, CL141 Fanciful Swirl Letters & CL677 Fantastic Birthday (all retired); Simon Says Stamp SSS101412 Adult Beverages (with matching dies - not in store anymore)

Digi files - Silhouette Design ID 78536 Ping-pong by Sarah Bailey; Other - Copic Markers, foam tape, Glossy Accents

My siblings and I grew up playing many kinds of games, including ping-pong. My brother still loves it and actually has tournaments with his buddies at each other's houses. Of course, they consume a lot of beer along the way! So I included a bit of each in my card. I created the label for the beer bottle by cutting a white strip, stamping the word beer, and drawing & coloring some lines.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Other - Copic Markers; Glossy Accents
Stamps - Hero Arts CM152 Fun in the Rain & Feb 2017 My Monthly Hero kit (sold out); Lawn Fawn Get Well Soon;
Simon Says Stamp SSS101412 Adult Beverages (all with matching dies)

I'm trying to color a few bits each day and eventually they will all turn up on a card. I plan to use the little nurse bird and accessories on a card for a friend who gets her RN degree next week. Today I colored more of the SSS adult beverage images - they are so fun! Don't they look good enough to drink?!

Hope you're having a great week and thanks for stopping by!!

Fa La La La La

Hey everyone - back with another entry for this week's Merry Monday challenge to use a lamppost (decorated and with bling) on your Christmas card. I was inspired by all the Design Team cards and I drew special inspiration from Deanne and Debbie for my card. I've been working on it off and on since Monday and finally finished it this morning.

Supplies: Paper - Poptone Black, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Digital files - Hero Arts Carolers Silhouette (Silhouette Design ID 15043), 
Miss Kate Cuttables Christmas Street Lamp (Silhouette Design ID 71068)

Stamps - Hero Arts (retired) CL354 Let the Angels Sing (sentiment and musical notes)

Inks - Distress Inks - Mustard Seed, Scattered Straw, Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Picket Fence & Black Soot, 
Broken China Distress Oxide Ink; Picket Fence Distress Spray

Stencils - Tim Holtz Layering Stencils Stripes THS004 and Rays THS003
Other - Copic markers, Glossy Accents, Xmas Red Stickles, Michael's gems (colored red with a Copic)

When I was admiring the Design Team cards, Debbie's card with the Silhouette file (New Orleans Gas Lamp) caught my eye - love it! I remembered a caroler card I made a few years ago with a Silhouette Online design - thought it had a lamppost, nope. So, I headed to the online store to find the file Debbie used (got it) and then found this darling lamppost with wreath I thought would be perfect with the carolers. But what to do for a background?? Deanne inspired me to create my own background! I pulled out Distress Inks and stencils and had fun. Then I decided to stamp some snow. Here's what happened:

Ugh - guess I didn't clean off my stamp - it had Picked Raspberry on it from a birthday card. So my panel was covered with pink dots!!! Plus my white ink pad now had pink on it - disaster! You can see where I tried to color a few of the dots with a white gel pen but it just wasn't working and there were too many dots! Anyway, started from scratch and, really, the second attempt turned out better. The white stamped snow was very subtle so I also sprayed some Distress Stain on the panel. Really liked how this turned out. Then I stamped the sentiment after I'd assembled everything. Usually this is a recipe for disaster but today it worked just fine - phew!!

Thanks for stopping by and hope you're having a lovely day!! Be sure to check out Merry Monday for Christmas inspiration!!

 

P.S. It's Day 8 of Kathy's 30-Day Coloring Challenge and I still need to color something. My lamppost glow was colored with Copics but that was yesterday just before midnight and I don't count the inking I did today on my background. Hey - I also stamped some fun adult beverage images from SSS yesterday - off I go to color some....

Season's Tweetings!

Hi all - hope you're having a fabulous Monday! 

It's a Merry Monday for me and Sue's challenge this week is to include a lamppost on your Christmas card, plus decorate it and add some bling. Here's my entry:

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts Mocha folded card; Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; BoBunny dotted
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Fired Brick Distress Ink
Stamps - Lawn Fawn Winter Sparrows and Winter in the Park; Hero Arts DC200 Little Messages Stamp & Cut
Dies - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 21, Lawn Fawn Forest Border and Winter in the Park Lawn Cuts
Other - foam tape, Copic Markers, Metallic accents, Glossy Accents, Icy Stickles

I was digging around in my Lawn Fawn stuff yesterday, trying to find the dies to an Easter set (no luck). But I spotted a couple sets that, when I saw today's Merry Monday post, I thought might work. Yay!! The good news - the dies were already cut apart but I didn't have a negative saved. I like to make a MISTI-friendly negative with lots of space for magnets so I cut one, plus several benches, lampposts, and snow piles (trying to make multiples of each card). I know I have the dies for the birdie set around here somewhere and wasted about 30 minutes trying to find them - no luck! Oh well, stamped and fussy cut them, then colored with Copic markers. The Lawn Fawn set comes with a teensy bow that I didn't feel like fussy cutting. Instead, I went with a cute bow I found on a Hero Arts tag set. My bling elements are the centers to the bows - little red metallic accents - love these!!

Today is Day 6 of Kathy's 30-Day Coloring Challenge and I can post this card as an actual finished product! I also colored a rainbow to go along with the other daily items I've been coloring. And yesterday I made six more of the waterlily cards after the one I posted - another thinking of you, two sympathy cards, and three birthday cards. I was having loads of fun with that set! Plus, I colored the images from another Lawn Fawn set - I'll get around to creating a card with those later this week.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a crafty day! Be sure to check out this week's Merry Monday for some wonderful inspiration by the Design Team!!

Color Layering Water Lilies

When the new 2017 Hero Arts products released to the online store on 2/14, I already had a bunch of the items from my local stamping store. I swore I wouldn't buy any more new stuff until I used what I'd just purchased. Hmmm, that didn't last long - I just had to go online for some items on my wish list that the local store didn't stock. Yay - received my order Friday afternoon. Here's my first play with some of the new goodies:

Supplies: Paper - Core'dinations pastel A2 card, Neenah Classic Crest (Solar White), blue vellum
Stamps - Hero Arts CM128 Color Layering Water Lilies and CG671 Forest Floor Bold Prints
Dies - Hero Arts DI353 Color Layering Water Lilies Frame Cuts and DI337 Nesting Ovals Infinity dies
Inks - Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide ink; series of 3 pinks/reds & 2 greens from a My Monthly Hero kit
Other - foam tape; Hero Arts CH300 Ombre Ocean Sequins

OK, so I have some old Spellbinders oval dies which are perfectly good - why would I need more? The Hero Arts Infinity dies are amazing, that's why! A lot of dies, close to edge cut, great value - can't resist them!! I used one to cut a window in my card base (saved the cut oval for future use), then a put a scrap piece inside the card so I could stamp the front with a favorite background stamp. I had lots of fun with the water lilies, making two sets with different colors so I could make two quick cards. I stamped the sentiment on a white card and layered a piece of blue vellum (from a My Monthly Hero kit) over it to put behind the window. I could've left just the vellum but I wanted plenty of room to write on the inside without showing through the window. More fun goodies - Hero Arts new ombre sequins; I bought two packs this time - purple (no surprise) and ocean.

That's it for today - I'm off to color a little girl with umbrella to join my duck, pig, bear and dog. Day 5 of Kathy's 30-day Coloring Challenge. Have a fabulous day!!

Another Color Layered Peacock

Hey everyone - hope you're having a great weekend! I had another go with the new Hero Arts Color Layering Peacock set - this time using the coordinating background stencil.

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts Pool layering paper, Neenah Solar White, scrap of teal and navy
Stamps - Hero Arts CM126 Color Layering Peacock and CL139 Birthday Messages (sentiment)
Dies - Hero Arts DI351 Color Layering Peacock Frame Cuts; My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 21
Inks - Hero Arts AF394 Peacock Layering Ink Cubes and Sky Blue (from February 2017 My Monthly Hero Kit); Tim Holtz Fossilized Amber Distress Ink and Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide Ink
Hero Arts SA094 Peacock Feather Stencil
Other - Jillibean Soup Teal sequins, foam tape, Gold uni-ball pen, Marvy white gel pen

I didn't order the stencil when I got the stamp set but spotted it when I was shopping locally and decided I had to have it! To create the background, I started with a piece of white card cut with a pierced rectangle die. I first stenciled the feathers with Cracked Pistachio ink then rotated the stencil 90 degrees and stenciled again with Sky Blue ink. The white card seemed too bright so I sponged it with Fossilized Amber - thought it would match better with the gold in the peacock's tail. Yes, much better. I inked the edges with some Navy ink. Adhered the panel to an A2 top folding card, added the sentiment strip, and a peacock I already had made from a previous card with this stamp set. Added a few sequins - done!

It's Day 4 of Kathy's 30-Day Coloring Challenge. Today I'm coloring a dog to join my duck, pig, and bear. Maybe I'll end up with just 30 random items for future cards - LOL - but I'm having fun coloring. Be sure to check it out if you're interested. Also, Cat is hosting a Scramble (timed challenge) today on the Hero Arts Flickr Group at 11 am CST in case you'd like to play along.

That's it for today - I'll be back tomorrow with another color layering card made with a new set I just received in the mail. Thanks for stopping!!

Updated to add this to this month's A2Z Scrapbooking March challenge - thanks for the heads up, Betty! My stenciled background fits the challenge.

Tag You're It on Simon Says Stamp

Happy Friday everyone! Both my friends Lin & Virginia inspired me to create a tag for this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.

Having taken all three of Tim Holtz's Creative Chemistry classes, I have a lot of Ranger products, many purchased from Simon Says Stamp. My new Distress Oxide inks were purchased locally but I ended up paying more for them - willing to do that to have them already, but I only bought four colors to start. Now that I know I like them, I'll probably order some more through SSS. Here's my tag:

Supplies: Ranger #8 Manila tag;
Dies - Hero Arts DI334 Nesting Hearts Infinity Dies
Tim Holtz Ideology  Expedition Vellum Ephemera; Found Relatives; Small Talk Stickers
Tim Holtz Mini Stencils #6 (the lacy one of the three)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks - Cracked Pistachio and Fired Brick; Black Soot Distress Ink
Tim Holtz Distress Vintage Collage Medium
Lace and Ribbon by unknown; staple from a regular office stapler

I started with a new-to-me mini stencil set, stenciling it directly over a #8 tag with Cracked Pistachio. Then I rotated the stencil and used Fired Brick in random spots. I misted it to activate the shimmer properties - so pretty in person. Jennifer McGuire said in her post with introductory video on these inks that they are very forgiving and correctable when you have a blob - totally agree!! If you're expecting the same dark red as the regular Distress Ink for the Distress Oxide, it's not - more like a rich salmon color. Decided to add some vellum ephemera & then had fun sifting through the Found Relatives box to find an image for my tag. Ended up cutting it down into a heart shape like my grandma used to do when popping a couple into her photo album. I coated the tag, vellum elements and photo with the vintage collage medium. I added the lace later to retain the bright ivory color. There was a funny spot on Mr's shirt in the photo so I put a heart die cut over it - hidden, yay! Couldn't find my TH inkable ribbon so I used a scrap I got from a friend - brand unknown. Oh my, it didn't want to ink like the TH ribbon but I worked at it and finally got it colored to match.

Still managing to color something each day for Kathy's 30-day Coloring Challenge; today it was a bear to join my duck and pig.... Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a great weekend!

Merry for Merry Monday

Hi all - back with another card for this week's Merry Monday challenge to have shimmer and shine on your Christmas card. My previous MM card this week had a layered die cut over a fancy snowflake block. I mentioned that I'd probably try to do something simpler with stamping. So I did - this time I used the word Merry instead of Joy and tried another new Distress Oxide ink color - Fired Brick. I embossed it with some sparkly Stampin'Up powder I got in an auction basket a few years ago - the shimmer is very pretty in person but that powder can be a pain! It likes to stick to everything but hopefully I got most of the random specks brushed off! The flower was cut from a piece of the Penny Black patterned paper; I added a few Stickles.

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts Pool Layering paper (darkest of the 3 shades), 
Penny Black Holiday Trimmings, the Paper Studio glitter paper
Stamps - Hero Arts DC170 Merry Stamp and Cut 
Dies - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 20; Hero Arts DI198 Rectangle Infinity Dies 
Inks - Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Fired Brick Ink
Other - Christmas Red Stickles, Stampin'Up glitter embossing powder

Photo Source

There's still time to play with shimmer and sparkle over at Merry Monday so be sure to check it out! And, by the way, it's Day 2 of Kathy's (The Daily Marker) latest 30-day Coloring Challenge and I'm on day 2 of trying to color something every day. Eventually these somethings will come together on some cards - LOL. Yesterday I colored a duck and today a pig from a fun new Hero Arts set. More to come on coloring... and be sure to check out Kathy's challenge - she is amazing!!

Thanks for stopping by and hope you're having a crafty day.

Easter cards for Cards for Hospitalized Kids

Ash Wednesday already today and though Easter's over a month away,  it'll be here before we know it! Time to get some Easter cards ready for Cards for Hospitalized Kids. My goal was to make four cards a day starting Saturday until I hit twenty cards. Well, I made four the first day, eight the second day, zero the third day (Merry Monday), and eight yesterday - phew!! Here they are in a pile:

Supplies: Core'dinations A2 pastel cards; various patterned papers - Authentique, Penny Black, BoBunny; Michael's Reflections value card stock for the die cuts; Michael's and Hobby Lobby dimensional Easter stickers, Target felt stickers

Stamps - Hero Arts CL498 Celebrate Every Day (sentiment on many); other sentiment used was a Hero Arts/Archiver's exclusive Easter set - retired)

Dies - Spellbinders S4-128 Nestabilities Lacey Squares & S4-425 Elegant Ovals; MFT Die-Namics Blueprints 20

I wanted something simple that I could mass produce quickly and most were the version of card base, strip of patterned paper, stamped sentiment, die cut with sticker. I just couldn't resist the sweet dimensional stickers I found at both Michael's and Hobby Lobby. HL had 40% off their Easter stuff when I went in there on Saturday so I added to the stash I'd already picked up at Michael's - somehow I foresee a trip back there for more... Target also had some fun felt stickers in their $1 bins. The scalloped Easter Greetings image (2nd card in row 3 and far right in row 4) is the from the Hero Arts/Archivers exclusive set - love this set and use it for many Easters. The peeking bunny image (you can just see it towards the top of the card in row three) is also in that set & has found his way onto many an Easter card over the years. If interested, check out this card or this card from 2010 to see him in action.

All I need to do is write a message in each card and pop them in the mail. The charity likes to get the cards at least two weeks ahead of the holiday so I'm well ahead of that schedule! Thanks for stopping by and hope you're having a crafty week!!