Virginia's new Challenge Blog!

Hi all - Virginia has a new Challenge Blog & I'm happy to have some crafting time to play along for Challenge #1 Watercoloring!  I pulled out my Tim Holtz watercolor paper to make the background for this card:

I took Distress Inks - Picked Raspberry, Iced Spruce, and Frayed Burlap and applied to a craft sheet.  Misted them with water containing Perfect Pearls and swiped the watercolor paper through the mixture.  The mist gives a lovely sheen - I'm surprised the photo picked it up pretty well.  Once dry, I stamped 3 Hero Arts woodblock stamps using the same colors: K5376 Hydrangea, K5503 Bird Collage, and K5354 French Post.  The butterfly is one of a set:  LP215 Three Artistic Butterflies; the sentiment is from a clear set CL759 Enjoy Today.

My mom asked me to make a birthday card for her sister Carol.  So here it is!  Hope Tia isn't looking at my blog before her birthday!!  Thanks for stopping and I hope you're having a wonderful crafty day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi everyone - hope you're having a wonderful Valentine's Day!  I enjoyed my day soooo much, starting at 6am with a call from dear friend Heather; she called from Ireland to wish me a Happy Birthday - how cool is that?!  I also received several other special birthday phone calls - dear friend Ferne called from California, sister Tami called to sing, Aunt Carol called to sing, Mom & Dad called and sang a duet.  Heather wouldn't sing but we nattered (her cute word) for about an hour before I had to race off to do Singing Valentines. 

The past few years I've been out of town on my birthday so I've missed doing the Valentines.  I have so many great memories of amazing experiences we've had over the years.  My chorus, City of Lakes Chorus, does these as a fund-raiser.  Quartets, either organized (like I've been in over the years, including Chord Company with whom I sang for 16 years) or pick-up (listened to by the chorus's Music Team to find a good blend of voices), go out into the community to sing for the gifter's loved one.  We bring a card and a box of chocolates and sing two songs:  "Somebody Loves You" and "Cuddle Up a Little Closer".  Today I had a pick-up group with my former tenor from Chord Company, Elaine, and two ladies from chorus who've sung together in a quartet, Ellen (on lead) and Mary (on bass).  I sang baritone, as usual.  We also send Valentines by email or telephone but it just isn't as much fun as the in-person visit.

We did two Valentines in Minneapolis - one at a paint company and one at a nursing home - and one in St Paul at a school.  Then, since we were out and about anyway, we swung over to Mary's mom's assisted living home and sang for Betty and some of the other residents.  Hey - found a birthday twin, one of the students at the school (we were singing for one of the teacher's aides).  We sang Happy Birthday to her and she enjoyed it so much!  It's always such fun to see the smiles and sometimes tears of the recipients.  Betty used to sing in Sweet Adelines but can't anymore - the look on her face as she heard our harmony was just precious.  Here's our foursome at the school - the staff had made this little photo booth with balloons and things for the students - well, we borrowed it for this quick snapshot :)

L to R: me, Ellen, Mary, Elaine

Can you see Ellen's shoes?  They have hearts all over them!!  Plus she had glittery jumbo heart earrings too - very glam! As the Valentine Birthday Girl, I think I need both of those fashion accessories!  Speaking of birthdays, my friend Lynn has her birthday today too.  She tries not to rub it in that she's a year younger than I.  Well, here's the Valentine Birthday card I sent her.



It features a Decorate It! set LP269 by Hero Arts that I found at Target last year (with the little heart cards and the Valentine sentiment, among other stamps and a couple inks).  I stamped the heart with the Hero Arts cling Canvas Background using Sugar Distress Ink for a soft texture.  I stamped XOXO on the inside then punched a hole and tied it shut with some May Arts ribbon.  The birthday sentiment is from a new Hero Arts clear set Messages with Flourish.  I white embossed it and added a few dots with a white gel pen.

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!  Thanks for stopping!!

Guest spot at Die Cut Divas

Hi all - I'm excited to be featured this week at Die Cut Divas!!  My friend, Hannah Nicole, whom I met at the Hero Arts Flickr group almost 5 years ago invited me to be a guest.  So, check it out if you have a chance.

Now, I have tons of dies - I just don't use them as much as I should.  The die on the card below is from Impression Obsession, called Floral Lace Heart.  I just found it at Anchor Paper the other day and thought it would be a nice addition to my stash.  I glued it to a piece of patterned paper, cut around it and then matted it on red and cut around it.  Pop dotted it onto a Bo Bunny doily.

The background is a Hero Arts cling stamp for Basic Grey's Kneehighs collection called the Tiny Heart Background sent to me by sweet Tami Hartley - thanks again, Tami!!.  Oops, it's upside down - so hard to tell when you're stamping at 1 a.m. LOL!  Ah well, I got it right when I made another card...  Patterned paper is from Authentique.  The sentiment is from an absolute fave clear set by Hero Arts called Celebrate Everyday.  So handy with all the holidays in this set!  The little grey enamel hearts are from My Mind's Eye and the silver metallic accents are from Hero Arts.

Thanks for stopping and be sure to stop by Die Cut Divas if you get a chance.  Thanks again to Hannah for inviting me to be a guest and to Arlene and Dawn and all the other Divas!!

Scramble time

Hi all - if you're looking for my Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop post, go here.

Cold but sunny day in Minnesota - perfect weather to stay indoors and do Leni's Scramble!  We on the Hero Arts Flickr Group enjoy these every couple of weeks, taking only 90 minutes to design, create, photograph and upload a project based on the host's theme.  Today Leni threw out the theme of Wood - it could be woodgrain paper or stamping, tree images, things made of wood, etc.  I ran immediately for my Hero Arts Woodgrain pattern (had to dig a bit through my design blocks but I found it - yay!).  Stamped it on the sorta minty green paper from Basic Grey's True Love collection, using Picked Raspberry Distress Ink.  I just bought some wood veneer heart pieces by Studio Calico so those were handy.  I swiped the heart with Picked Raspberry Distress ink and heated it to set quickly.  I stamped and clear embossed the sentiment also using Picked Raspberry ink.  Decided to add a strip of patterned paper (also from True Love) and a bit of ribbon from Hero Arts.  Oh - Bazzill white card base which was cut - just had to score and fold.  I had just finished using the other 1/2 of the cardstock for another card (will share that in future...) so the white was handy!  Love when that happens!!  So here's my card:

I am a fast Scrambler usually - I think quickly, create quickly and then settle back to comment as the others submit their projects.  This card was done in 20 minutes - would've been quicker but I always fiddle with the ribbon!  Don't you love the sequins?  They are Christmas ones from Lawn Fawn but who would know? 

The great thing, my two sisters have been working on cards in Arizona today.  I told them they should Scramble too & I texted them the theme.  Well, sorry to say that Tami pooped out but Kari came through with this beauty she calls "Wooden Clock":

She used our favorite string twine by May Arts and some lovely papers from CM Wieland Printery collection.  The Hero Arts stamp used is the Flourish Design Block - so pretty, tone on tone.  And she loves her pearls - love how they accent her papers!

Finally - just have to send warm birthday wishes to my Hero Hostess Sista, Sally - her birthday is TODAY and luckily the card I sent her across the pond to England, reached her in time - yay!  Here's the card I sent:

I used another new Hero Arts 2014 set:  Messages with Flourish - love the font for the beautiful sentiments in this set!!  The flower is from another clear set Things We Love and the background is dry embossed with a Sizzix for Hero Arts folder - Flourishes (swiped it with Hero Arts soft pool ink).  Well, that's it for today - thanks for stopping! 

Hero Hostesses 2014 Catalog Blog Hop

 

Welcome to Day 5 of the Hero Arts Hostess Hop, featuring fabulous stamps from the new 2014 release!  I'm stop 2; if you've been following along, you’ve just arrived from the super-talented Virginia Lu's blog. 

I love Virginia's style and her sense of humor!!

If you find a broken link, please find the master list of Day 5's links 

at the Hero Arts Club Blog - here and also report it to:  blog@heroarts.com. 

Missed a day?   Please start at the Hero Arts Blog to see all
the amazing projects from the rest of this exciting week:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

 

We Hero Hostesses have had such a great time creating with all the bounty of new stamps from Hero Arts!!  Many thanks to Aaron and all the other wonderful folks at Hero Arts for this opportunity! 

First up today, I have a thank you card featuring the Thanks Blackboard woodblock stamp and a banner from the For Your Kindness clear set.  I've been working on some Valentines using paper from Basic Grey's True Love collection.  I thought they would be perfect for a thank you card!  I love the look of the blackboard stamped with Tim Holtz' Distress Ink (Festive Berries) on the soft pink Basic Grey paper.  I stamped the banner in black, then shaded it with a Copic marker (W1).  I added one of the mix & match sentiments from the same clear set using Fired Brick Distress Ink.  I finished the card with some fun sequins; I popped a crystal heart from the Sparkle Gem Hearts set into the large sequin, bottom left.

Guess I was hungry when I made this next card - LOL.  When I was out shopping for new 2014 Hero Arts stamps I passed by the set Dude I used for this card.  It didn't make my cart on that first go around since I had so many others.  But it worked on my brain and every time I saw it in the store, I saw more and more possibilities.  After a couple more trips, into the cart it went.  When I saw the little pizza slice I envisioned a pie with a missing slice - weird, huh?  Here's my card:

I stamped the pizza slice on creamy paper and then made a mask on thin paper.  Masked and stamped around, leaving a blank spot for the sentiment.  Colored with Tim Holtz Distress Markers and put stickles on the pepperoni.  I stamped the sentiment in Hero Arts Neon Green ink but it seemed too light so I overstamped, off-set a bit, with black.  The card base is stamped with an older Hero Arts cling, the Canvas Background (still a fave).  The pizza seemed lonely so I added the washi tape.  The black stars ended up on there for 2 reasons - one, had to cover up a stickle blob I made and two, given Hero Arts supports Operation Write Home with this set, I liked the stars for the military feel.  Anyway, I was happy with how this matched my vision.

I also made a few mini-Valentines (3x3 inch) for some special friends using several new clear sets.  I apologize in advance for posting these before I even mail them!  First I made feminine and masculine cards for a friend and her hubby, a big football fan:

On the left, I used the same banner set as above, just using a different mix & match sentiment for the bottom half.  The background is a fabulous new woodblock stamp:  Pattern Stripes which I stamped in Hero Arts Neon Pink ink.  Love how feminine this looks in that color!  On the right, I used two sets that Hero Arts created supporting Operation Write Home:  Dude and What a Guy.  There are soooo many possibilities with these two OWH sets.  In fact, here are a couple boy mini-Valentines using the Dude set:

For some reason, when I saw the strip of bacon image in Dude, I thought of making the word Hi.  On the inside it says "more than bacon" - I need to find out where "I like you more than bacon" comes from....   Love the classic car image from Dude.  The heart on the left comes from another new clear set You're So Kind and the mini outline heart on the right comes from Messages with Flourish.  I just love it when the sets include little versatile images!

Thanks for joining us on the Hero Hostess Blog Hop today!  Before you go, be sure to leave a comment - 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!  See the Hero Arts Blog post today to get the deadline for entry.

 

Your next stop on the Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop

is the sweet and creative Vera Ruhay.

Hero Hostess Blog Hop coming next week!

Hi all - hope you'll join the Hero Hostesses next week for another catalog release blog hop.  So excited!!  Just start each day at the Hero Arts Blog to find links to the 4 or 5 hostesses with projects to share.  Thought I'd share a few cards that I've been making with new Hero Arts 2014 stamps to give you a taste of what to expect next week.

With so many amazing stamps and sets to use, how do you choose?  Well, on Saturday we had a Scramble over on the Hero Arts Flickr group.  The theme was "Something Old, Something New, Something Shiny, Something Blue".  My something new - a fun new Hero Arts birthday clear stamp set Be Happy Today.  I love all the big sentiments in this set, like the banner I used, and all the little icons, including the balloon!

 

Now, with a Scramble you only have 90 minutes to design, create, photograph, and upload your project.  Not a lot of time to do much extra - I mean, it was time-consuming enough to cut out the banner and three balloons!  Then there were the strings on the balloons to tie.  I dry embossed metallic mirror cardstock from Michaels using my Sizzix Texture Boutique purse - love it.  The embossing folder came from my friend Heather last year (my something "old") -- the Trendy Braiding folder from Cart-US.  Gotta watch the fingerprints on that mirror cardstock!  Needless to say, I took a full hour to make this card, then had the photographing, etc.  Didn't do too badly photographing this shiny project!

 

I thought this would be a fun card for my niece Anni who turns 13 this week.  Last year she got this card from the Hostess Blog Hop - with its 12 scoops of ice cream, how could I top that?  Decided to add some more balloons to my Scramble card to get that magic #13 for our little teenager.  Here's the changed card:

 

 

It's a bit gloomy and snowy here today so my colors aren't as vibrant in the photo as in real life.  But I really enjoyed cutting out the additional 10 balloons I needed to give Miss Annika a balloon party!

 

Another card I needed this week - an anniversary card for my aunt and uncle.  The new Happy Birthday Scroll clear set called to me for this one - I wanted to use the great label image.  But this set has no sentiment for an anniversary - what to do??  I went to the new Anything Can Happen clear set and used the separate words (so many fab words in this set) "together" and "forever" to make my sentiment.  Looked a bit empty in that big label so I added an image (looks like a trio of water droplets) from the You're So Kind clear set and a heart gem.  The card base is made from Hero Arts Pool Designer papers - love these!

 

That's it for today.  Thanks for stopping and hope to see you on next week's hop!!

New Hero Arts stamps!

Well, it's been a while since my last post - can't believe it's been over 3 months.  I have been making cards between chorus rehearsals, retreats and shows.  With all the chorus stuff, I finally finished my holiday cards the week of New Year.  Whew - never thought I'd get them all done!!

Right before Christmas, Archiver's (before they announced they're closing) had a Hero Arts 2014 catalog release party.  I bought a bunch of new clear stamp sets and had a chance to get inky with the wonderful CL753 What a Guy that they did for Operation Write Home.  A dear friend, more like a brother-in-law to me, had a birthday on January 3rd so I whipped up this card:

Now, I'm no artist but Doug likes to fish so I decided to free hand draw a lake (or river or whatever) and put the fish in it.  Can you see my little hand drawn fishing line too?  Then I added some trees along the shore and watercolored the sky with a hint of color from a sun rise.  This was attempt two - version one ended up in the dumpster when the mountains I tried to add looked awful.  Seriously awful - LOL.

So hope this give you a little taste of what you can expect when a bunch of us Hero Hostesses have a go with stamps from the 2014 Hero Arts Catalog!  We will be hopping later this month so watch for an announcement on the Hero Arts Blog.  Thanks for stopping!!