Thanks and a winner!!

Hey everyone - Happy Saturday!  If you're looking for my Hero Hostess Blog Hop post from this past week, please go here.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by for the Hop - we had a great time creating all the cards and sharing the camaraderie of being past Hero Hostesses.  Note that you can still comment on all those Blog Hop posts until 11:59pm PST on Monday, January 21, 2013 to be entered for the Hero Arts prizes.  To start each day of the 2013 Hero Hostess Blog Hop, use these links:

Day 1 * Day 2 * Day 3 * Day 4 * Day 5

Here are a couple thank you cards I created to say thanks to Hero Arts for all the fun.

The cards feature more new Hero Arts products, including a new woodblock background stamp that I adore - S5657 So Many Thanks and one of my new favorite sentiment sets CL663 Thanks a Bunch.  On the card base for the right hand card, you can probably spot another new go-to of mine, S5729 Pinstripe Background.  And you can't go wrong with card bases made from Hero Arts Layering Papers - I used PS602 Grass and PS605 Cerulean Layering Papers here, along with a bit of PS610 Snow for the sentiment flag.  I love these study, white-inside papers!  The card on the left has some pretty papers from Serenade by Basic Grey. For the ric-rac look, I just cut a strip from one of those papers. To make it coordinate a bit better with the colors in the grid patterned paper, I colored some of the ric-rac blocks with Distress Markers. The sweet heart on the right is a die cut paper button I cut on my Silhouette SD. Named 4 Button Set by Lori Whitlock, the cut has a star, a circle and a scalloped circle button besides the heart - love this set! The neon pink on the button came from Hero Arts AF218 Neon Pink Ink which I used ink-pad-to-paper to cover the button. I did this with a bunch of the neon inks and buttons to do some Christmas thank you cards. 

And now for a WINNER - I did a random draw from the comments on my Hero Hostess Blog Hop post (the deadline for that drawing was midnight CST Friday 1/18/13) which mentioned a favorite clear set from the 2013 catalog.  The lucky winner - drum roll please - is Sandra, who said:

        hmm favorite? that is tough, I like Typewriter Notes and Love Jar ... 2 sets High on my list.  thanks for the fun and inspiration - love that tall ice cream cone!

Sandra ltb

January 16, 2013 at 7:53 PM

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a crafty weekend!

Day 3 - Hero Arts 2013 Catalog Blog Hop with the Hero Hostesses

Hello everyone!  It's Day 3 of the Hero Hostess Blog Hop, featuring fabulous stamps from the new 2013 Hero Arts Catalog release!  I'm so excited to be hopping this week with 27 very talented ladies, all past Hero Hostesses.  If you're following today's hop, you should have arrived here from the amazing Marcy's blog.  If you didn't, and want to start from the beginning of Day 3, go here.   If you missed the previous days, start at the Hero Club Blog - Day 1 here and Day 2 here. 

To report any broken links along the hop, contact Tami at blog@heroarts.com.

Hero Arts will be awarding prizes - that's right - 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!  For Hero Arts prizes, be sure to comment by 11:59pm PST on Monday, January 21, 2013.  They will announce the winner at the Hero Club Blog later that week.

For a stamping artist, there's nothing better than a new catalog of stamps!  And Hero Arts has produced another winner in their 2013 Catalog.  I was lucky enough to get a lot of products from this catalog, both locally and from Hero Arts.  I haven't even made a dent in my new stash with the 3 cards I'm sharing today!  Up first, a card for my niece's 12th birthday.  I had such fun with the clear set CL677 Fantastic Birthday!  If you count the scoops on the ice cream cone, you'll find one for each year of precious Annika's life.

Supplies:  Hero Arts - PS603 Celadon Layering Paper, CG516 Number Pattern, CL 677 Fantastic Birthday, AF221 Neon Green Ink, AF218 Neon Pink Ink, AF220 Neon Yellow Ink, AF 231 Neon Blue Ink, gems; Other - various papers, Martha Stewart punch

Because it's a long card (to fit a #10 envelope), I had to stamp the background twice.  Some people would use a stamp positioner but not me - I just put my finger where I thought I should go & it worked fine.  I always lay my clings face up on the counter, ink them up well, and put my paper to them.  Works the best for me - I can press my fingers over the paper for a crisp impression every time.  I did lots of paper piecing to make the cone. Some of the scoops were stamped onto white paper that I covered first (ink pad-to-paper) with Hero Arts Neon Ink - love this ink in every shade!!  I stamped other scoops on papers from Authentique's Lovely 6x6 paper pad.

This next card was inspired by the oh-so-creative Lisa Spangler.  She used the wonderful CG527 Map of America on her stop in the 2013 Hero Arts Catalog Blog Hop back in December.  When I saw her cards, that stamp went right on my wish list!  Can you tell I was thinking of those Indiana Jones movies where they showed that old airplane flying over the maps?  X marks the spot!  I stamped the sentiment on a torn chunk of paper stamped with another new cling CG526 Large Notebook Paper.  The sentiment came from CL574 Say it All which is one of my go-to sets; I love the font on those sentiments!!  The airplane and compass are from a fabulous Art of the Card set, AC007 Past Times.  I just love this set for making masculine cards!  I used PS608 Latte Layering Paper for the card base - what a yummy color; it's one of my faves.  I stamped the map onto a piece of Basic Grey patterned paper from the Serenade 6x6 paper pad.

I'm sure to make cards galore with all my new supplies, but I have just one more card to share today.  This one's a thank you card using the new CL673 Love Jar clear set.  I love everything about this set, especially the jar.  But I've already seen several amazing cards using the jar, including by Nichol Magouirk here and Sandy Allnock here.  So what to do??  I decided to use the flower and stems to make a bunch of flowers.  The sentiment from CL663 Thanks a Bunch worked perfectly with my bouquet.  I inked the flowers with Distress Markers for a soft look (no water used) and stamped them on Hero Arts PS610 Snow Layering paper.  I left a bit of a white border so they wouldn't be so flimsy and tied them with a bit of purple raffia.  The scalloped card base is by Bazzill - I have bunches of these in many colors - love them!!

Hope you enjoyed this stop on the Hero Hostess Blog Hop!   Next, head over to the fabulous Arlene's blog where you're sure to find even more inspiration!

But before you go, remember to leave me a comment for the chance to win a fabulous prize from Hero Arts (see their deadline above)!  In addition, if you tell me in your comment which is your favorite Clear Set from the Hero Arts 2013 Catalog, you'll be entered in a separate random drawing for a chance to win that set (plus some other goodies) from me.   Deadline to enter my drawing is midnight PST Friday 1/18/13 and I'll publish the winner in a post on Saturday.  Good luck and thanks for hopping with us!

Coming Next Week - the Hero Hostesses are hopping!

Hi all - hope you'll join me and 27 very talented friends, all former Hero Hostesses, for our Blog Hop next week - each day will bring 5 or 6 of us.  For those of you who don't know what a Hero Hostess is, Hero Arts, a fabulous stamping company, selects a group of Hostesses to facilitate on their Flickr group for a three month period.  I enjoyed being a Hero Hostess from February - April 2011 with 4 other fabulous crafters - Heather, Anita, Sally, and Sharon.  I can't believe it was nearly 2 years ago already!  What a joy it's been to be involved with this great company and group!! 

We'll be sharing projects created with materials from the 2013 Hero Arts catalog.  What an amazing bunch of new products - thanks so much, Hero Arts!!  I was especially excited by the new Fancy Dies - I just received two in the mail from Art Plus, a premier Hero Arts Retailer.  Karen from Art Plus even included a darling baby stamp with my order - thanks Karen!!  I'll make something with that soon but today I was eager to use my new dies.

Anyone who knows me, even a little bit, knows my favorite holiday is Valentine's Day.  And I adore hearts so the new Hero Arts Renaissance Heart fancy die was on my must-have list from day one.  When it came in the mail I raced to the craft room and began cutting it on all sorts of different papers.  The die cuts like butter using the Vagabond, amazing for such a detailed die!  So, here's the card I created:

Besides the fancy die, I also used a strip from the Tweed Pattern, another 2013 Hero Arts release and some of their fun adhesive lace.  The sentiment is from a Decorate It! Valentine set you can find at Target stores.  Thanks for stopping and hope to see you for the Hop.  There are sure to be prizes involved!

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!