Happy MLK Jr Day!

So excited to be off work today for Martin Luther King Jr Day.  Started out the day watching footage from his "I Have a Dream" speech on YouTube - so inspiring!  Instead of simply a day off, it's supposed to be a day of service.  So, I got my bag of items ready for our food shelf drive at work.  Once done though, time to shop - he, he.  Got a book at Barnes and Noble, a couple new Hero Arts clear stamp sets at Archiver's, an older HA stamp set at Michael's (40% off), had lunch at Applebee's and now here I am.

Here's a card I made for Sandy, one of my crafting buddies.  The five regulars were back at Archiver's Saturday night for Scrap Mania - armed with our craft supplies and a lot of FOOD.  I made cupcakes to celebrate Sandy's birthday - don't tell, but we did light the candle which Sandy quickly blew out :)  She had to make a wish, didn't she??  Here's the card I made her:

Used another striped card base (see my Hero Hostess Blog post for the other, if you'd like) from Hero Arts' card kit Striped Cards with Messages CK203 and the cupcake top from Wish Big CL576.  The sentiment is from Year Round Messages CL582.  Since I was making cupcakes with the foil liners, I repurposed one of the spacer papers they put between the liners and just added a stamped & cut out cupcake topper.  Added an extra cut out heart from the same set which is a bit bigger than the one on the cupcake itself.  The paper comes from Basic Grey but don't ask me which 6x6 pad - this was a loose piece so I'm not sure!

On Sunday I went to a gymnastics meet held just a few blocks from my house.  There were squads from all over the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin.  I saw some wonderful young athletes just getting started in this fun activity, including my friend's daughter, Ellen - age 6.  Ellen is full of energy and likes to dance to other people's Floor Ex music while she's waiting to do other events - this accompanied by full stage gestures like she's Selina Gomez or something.  Soooo darling.  Anyway, she came away with a few ribbons for her efforts so I made her this congrats card:

Used a DCWV card base (box has lots of bright, fun colors) stamped with Hero Arts' Newspaper Background S5601, my new fave.  Also stamped the die cut (a Rivka Wilkins design for the Silhouette) with that same bg which you might not see since I used a tone on tone ink.  Yummy Basic Grey papers - from Sweet Threads (I think), a Hero Arts flower (inked with a bit of Worn Lipstick Distress Ink), and a couple of their flower gems.  The sentiment comes from an older set Everyday Sayings CL342.  Can you tell the gymnast is posing on a balance beam??  LOL!

Thanks for stopping and I hope you had a great MLK Jr Day!

Final Day of the Hero Hostess Blog Hop

It's Day 5 of the Hero Hostess Blog Hop and Anita, Heather, Trace, Kryssi, and Jenny really rocked it today!!  Be sure to leave them lots of love and comments for their beautiful projects!

If you want to comment on my Blog Hop post for the chance to win Hero Arts prizes, you still have the chance to do that - just go here.  Winners will be announced on the Hero Arts Blog on Monday 1/16!

Today I'm sharing a couple more cards that didn't find their way into my Blog Hop post.  I had lots of crafting time last week while on vacation and went to town with my new 2012 Hero Arts stamps!!  This first card stayed out of my post as a few of my hosti sisters were using it.  I'm sharing it now so you can see another look to it.  The red label was crimped in a Fiskars tool - I liked the look.  See that butterfly?  It's a replacement - I had one beautifully colored at home with Copics which I grabbed to put on a retirement card!  Do any of you do that - rob Peter to pay Paul?  So, I had to make a replacement in AZ, colored this one with Distress Inks.  Didn't quite get the shades I wanted but - hey - slapped some Stickles on there and I'm happy with it.  This one went to a friend thanking her for a Christmas gift.


Hero Arts stamps used:  CG414 Greetings, CG405 Leaf and Floral Background, CL574 Say it All, CG125 Friend Definition

Here's another thank you card - collage style.  I'm not very good at creating collage backgrounds compared to some of my Hero Arts Flickr friends.  Thought I'd share it now to see what you think.  You can't really see it on the kraft, but the Newspaper Background is on it as well as behind the sentiment half circle.


Hero Arts stamps used:  S5601 Newspaper Background, K5597 Fleurettes, CL578 Good Friends, CG414 Greetings, AC008 Untitled Keys

Thanks for stopping and sharing this fun week with the Hero Hostesses.  My apologies to Tuesday's group - Tiffany Ervin, Judy Jung,  Nancy Krueger, Robin Kubasik, & Lin Brandyberry.  I had trouble with Blogger and was so busy sorting out my post for Wednesday that I couldn't get a post done linking to theirs.  So, hope you've hopped over to visit them too!!!

And the fun with 2012 Hero Arts stamps continues...

Hello everyone - thanks for all your sweet comments yesterday on my Hero Hostess Blog Hop post.  And Kari really appreciated all the love too - she said "Cardgirls are very VERY sweet." 

If you haven't seen Day 4, check it out!  Such inspiration from 5 great stampers - Sharon, Kathy, Virginia, Sue and Sarah!  And you can still add comments to my Hop post (dated 1/11 here, not this one) and those of any of the participants, plus the Hero Arts Blog this week for the chance to win Hero Arts prizes!

And I have to say thanks again to Kathy for her help getting my Blog Hop post ready when my Blogger wasn't cooperating!!!  Not only can she color up a storm, she's great with computer stuff!  Mind you this was at 12:30 a.m. my time yesterday (1:30 her time) and she was oh so nice to help.

Because of my Blogger problems, I limited my post yesterday to three of my cards, plus Kari's.  She worked so hard on it that I couldn't leave it out!  So here's a card I had ready for the Hop that I passed over.  I just didn't like how my coloring looked.  I made it while in Arizona where I had no Copic markers with me!  I'm sure it would've been beautiful with the Copics!  Anyway, here's my card:

I used S5601 Newspaper Background - love it, love it, love it - and K5597 Fleurettes, such a lovely flower image which I didn't do justice.  Sentiment is from an older Hero Arts set whose name escapes me right now.

Anyway, thanks for stopping and be sure to stop at the Hero Arts Blog again tomorrow for the 5th and final day of our Hero Hostess Blog Hop.  Some more of my dear hostess friends will be on hand to share their amazing work.

Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop – Day 3

Happy Wednesday everyone!  I’m super excited to be participating in my first Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop!!  It was just a year ago when Hero Arts invited me to become a hostess and I enjoyed the experience so much!  Now I’m thrilled to be in the talented company of my sister hostesses for this Hop.  I can’t wait to show you the cards I created with yummy new 2012 Hero Arts stamps!

I’m the 3rd stop on today’s Hop; if you’re following the order, you should have arrived from the wonderful Arlene’s blog A Bit of This and That.  To start at the beginning of today’s hop, go to the Hero Club Blog.  If you missed Day 1 go here or Day 2 go here. 

Important notes:

•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 Club Blog. Also, please report broken links to links to Tami.

And now, on to the cards!  I went a bit crazy since I was on vacation in Arizona last week with lots of crafting time.  I'll share 3 of the oodles of cards I made.  First up, an anniversary card for my sister Tami and her hubby Dave who celebrated 26 years of marriage last week.  I love heart images and CG426 Four Hearts fit the bill perfectly.  I added one of my favorite flowers from CH249 Jeweled Pastel Flowers with a rich brown bow behind it.  The sentiment is from an older set CL342 Everyday Sayings.

Next, a thank you card I made for Tami’s and Dave’s hospitality last week.  I used the fun striped cards and one of the sentiments from the great card kit CK203 Striped Cards with Messages, along with the delightful balloons from CL576 Wish Big .  I paper-pieced some of the balloons, including one stamped on paper that I’d previously stamped with the new cling background CG422 Zig Zag.  Note – I blobbed ink on the side of my striped card so I cut it down and matted it on a red card base.  That was just one of the typical crafting catastrophes that occur when I get going!

Here's a thank you card I made for a friend.  I just love the new key images CG419 Fancy Keys and AC008 Untitled Keys!  The sentiment is from a great new sentiment set CL578 Good Friends.  Back to edit and add the Newspaper Background S5601 - how could I forget it??  It's my new envelope pattern :) and you can see it lightly behind the background keys and on the sentiment circle - loooove it!!

One last card before I go.  This one's by a guest artist, my sister Kari!  She couldn't resist playing along when I was working on my cards.  This is her second card EVER and I thought she did a great job.  She really liked the idea of a card for Operation Write Home so made this card using CL582 Year Round Sentiments.  The sentiment is from an older clear set.

Sorry for the long post and thanks so much for stopping!  Remember to leave a comment for a chance to win a prize from Hero Arts.  And thanks to Hero Arts for sponsoring this Blog Hop - I'm honored to have been a part of it!!

Next stop -  Created by Sally, the blog of my amazingly talented hostess sister, Sally Sherfield.  Enjoy!

A Happy Heart

Hi all - it's been awhile AGAIN since my last post.  Just got home from Arizona where I was vacationing for the holidays.  Great weather and lots of fun with family.  Naturally there was plenty of time to relax and make cards!  I was busy playing with new 2012 Hero Arts stamps for the Hero Hostess Blog Hop which started today and runs all this week.  My day is coming up on Wednesday so look for me then - I'm so excited!!

For today, here's a simple card I made for my mom who's such a great support to me in all I do.  I stamped the new Newspaper Background in a light gold onto my kraft card base, then stamped the sentiment - a great message from the new clear set Good Friends in the corner with Memento Rich Cocoa ink.  I stamped one of the hearts from the new Art of the Card cling set Untitled Heart (this week's stamp of the week 25% off!) on pink Basic Grey paper using Fired Brick Distress Ink.  Cut it out and popped it up with foam tape and added a twine bow.  Inked the card edges and added a few gems under the sentiment - Done! 

Thanks for stopping and be sure to check out the Blog Hop all week!

Hero Arts 2012 Catalog Release Parties and City of Lakes Christmas Show 12/10/11

What a busy day - I had yesterday!  Must've been the extra excitement of the 2012 Hero Arts Catalog release parties and my chorus Christmas show - I was up at 4 a.m.!  Since I was awake and had my stuff all ready to go, I went ahead a made a card for our Hero Arts Flickr group holiday exchange.  Won't share that yet since I'm just putting it in the mail tomorrow.

Was at Archiver's in Roseville MN when they opened at 10:00 a.m.  Bought some great new Hero Arts goodies and then headed over to Anchor Paper in St Paul where they also had a release party.  Their make 'n take wasn't supposed to start until 11 but they had it ready early.  Good thing as I had to travel to Bloomington for my chorus Christmas Show.  We had to be on stage ready to go at 1:00 for a stage check and I had my stage make-up to put on after the release parties.  Didn't want to scare anyone at those!!

So here are a couple photos from the release parties - you can see more in my Flickr photostream if desired.

I'm at Archiver's holding up some of their display boards - the clerk thought

it would be good in the photo - I didn't make any of these!!

This is one of the display's at Anchor Paper in St Paul MN, not too far away from the Roseville Archiver's.

Here's a photo of my dear friend, Connie Miller, and me in our Christmas show garb and make-up.  False eyelashes, bright red lipstick and all.  We each got to wear whatever holiday garb we wanted - I chose a beaded and sequined duster coat that my retired quartet, Chord Company, ordered but decided against for the group.  The duster looked great on the three tall members but our lead is petite and she looked frumpy in it.  So I just kept my coat and the rest went back to the store - it has come in handy for several occasions such as this!

Don't we look alike?  We have been mistaken for sisters often; she is like a sister to me and has been adopted into my family.  See her gorgeous crown pin?  She is a Sweet Adelines International quartet champion with Four Star Collection!

Finally, after the show - you'd think I'd be tired?? - I went to the Archiver's in Woodbury where I knew some friends were doing Scrap Mania.  By the time I got cleaned up of all the stage make-up and drove across town and picked up my craft supplies, it was already 7pm.  I still had 4 good hours to invest in Christmas cards!  I'll share this one, made with one of my new 2012 Hero Arts stamps - a great friendship background.  Since I needed a card for Connie to give at our Christmas party tomorrow night, I decided to use that stamp along with the wreath stamp.  Here's my card:

Long post - whew!  Hope you're having a great Sunday!  Thanks for stopping!

Crafty weekend and a special birthday coming up 12/9 - Virginia Lu!!

It's been awhile again - I guess I'm not a devoted blogger.  Oh well, I do what I can....

I've been busy this weekend working on Christmas and other cards.  It was great to be in the crafting mood!  Today I'm sharing two cards I made this weekend - first a birthday card for a special friend and then a Christmas card.

My friend Virginia is celebrating a special birthday.  She's having a virtual party and we've been busily uploading cards to our Flickr group.  Virginia was a Hero Hostess when I first joined the Hero Arts group.  She was very kind and encouraging, plus she makes fabulous, inspiring cards!  Hope you have a great birthday, Virginia!

This card uses Out of Print Papers from Basic Grey, #s cut on the Silhouette (Snap ITC font) and stamped with Hero Arts Flower Dot Pattern (loooove this one).  I matted the #s on Hero Arts Big Ticket - another fun stamp I've used a lot.

This next card developed from various parts and ideas roaming around my head.   I started with the blue background piece I'd been playing around with.  A la Jennifer McGuire from her 2011 Holiday Card Boot Camp, I covered cardstock with Broken China Distress Ink (inkpad direct to paper).  Then I put Picket Fence Distress stain on Hero Art’s Artistic Circle design block and stamped the blue piece.  I had a bit too much stain and the design spread out - didn't like it and set it aside for a week.  Then I had the thought to overstamp with the holiday text.  Hmmm, I liked it.  Mounted on a predesigned card base from Michaels (comes in a pack of 24 with 2 designs - this snowflake and a green with dots).  Was playing around with my Silhouette and decided the caroler silhouette image would be great here.  Cut it out using a piece of Basic Grey Out of Print paper.  The finishing touch is a grungeboard shape from Tim Holtz.  I’ve been faithfully following his 12 Tags of Christmas – not that I get any tags made from his inspiration – but I thought his Christmas Star would add a lot to my card.  Painted it with gold paint and spritzed it w/Perfect Pearl mist.

Thanks for stopping!