A Few of My Favorite Tools

The newest challenge on the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog is to use your favorite tool.  Since I LOVE to emboss my heat tool is a constant on my work table.  And I couldn't live without my Cuttlebug :)

On a piece of white cs I stamped this cool Abstract Orchard from Magenta in black and then clear embossed.  Using the negative spaces from some die cut circles as masks I rolled ink from a Tsukineko Blue Breeze Kaleidacolor rainbow ink pad with a brayer.  After mounting with a piece of black cardstock and adhering Hero Arts sea dots it was attached to the card front with foam tape.  Sentiment is from Hero Arts CL544 Big Ticket.  Baker's twine is from Doodlebug Designs.

Other Materials Used:  Nesties, Hero Arts snow layering paper, Michael's black cs, We R Memory Keepers corner rounder

I really like how this turned out and want to try this same technique with another Kaleidacolor rainbow ink pad I have called Pumpkin Patch - I think it will make a really pretty Fall card :)

A "New" Challenge For Me......

I recently decided it's time for me to explore other challenges out there besides those sponsored by Hero Arts.  And what better way to take a baby step than to participate in one sponsored by a new challenge blog that celebrates all things Hero:) 

It was difficult for me to choose just one fave Hero Arts stamp (especially since my stamping studio is filled to the brim with HA stuff!) but I decided to create a card highlighting S5316 Silhouette Grass:

Did a little shadow stamping by first stamping the silhouette in white pigment ink and then stamping the image again (slightly offset) in HA midtone pool shadow ink.  The sentiment is from a 2012 clear set CL588 Sending You Love and I die cut it using one of the matching HA frame cuts.  The dragonflies are from one of my fave clear sets CL383 Antique Engravings - I reach for both the dragonflies and the butterflies from this set time and time again.
Other Materials Used:  Stampin' Up cs and pp, HA soft brown shadow ink and brown gems, Making Memories paper piercer and eyelets, Ranger distressing tool and distress inks, Creative Impressions twine

Thanks for all your lovely comments and enjoy your day!  I'm off to figure out other ways to avoid doing housework.....

Happy Easter!

I just finished up the Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 101 on-line class earlier this week and love the watercoloring techniques I learned :)  The card I'm sharing today uses both a brushless technique and a watercoloring with re-inkers technique:

For the background I inked up various Hero Arts stamps with Ranger distress inks and spritzed them with water before stamping on watercolor paper.  I have found the kind of watercolor paper you use really does make a difference - I've been getting good results with Strathmore 140 lb cold press paper from the 400 series.  After I was pleased with the colors and images in the background I added a sky by picking up some tumbled glass distress ink with a Zig BrusH2O (detailer tip) and adding it to the bg.  You have to be so careful not to touch the stamped images as the water will "wake up" those distress inks and cause a muddy mess :(   On another piece of watercolor paper I embossed Hero Arts F5377 Thoughtful Bunny in black.  After creating a palette with distress reinkers and using my Zig brush I colored him in.  The edges of all pieces were inked with antique linen and walnut stain distress inks before assembly.

I've never been a big fan of coloring.  Copics and prismas -eh.  But give me some distress inks and water and I'm in love :)  And you betcha I've got some of those new distress markers on order - LOL!

Materials Used:  Hero Arts: H5312 Silhouette Burst, S5316 Silhouette Grass, CL428 Earth Flowers, CL498 Celebrate Everyday (sentiment); Ranger distress inks:  spun sugar, worn lipstick, tumbled glass, peeled paint, tea dye, walnut stain, antique linen; Hero Arts eggshell layering paper (base card); A Muse gingham pp; May Arts ribbon; American Crafts button; Nestie

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!  My dh husband is 100% Polish so our Easter morning will include a simple brunch of polish sausages, eggs and placzak (a type of coffee cake).  My mother-in-law has to travel to a market in Buffalo, NY called the Broadway Market to get the food and all of us look forward to this yearly treat :)

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Yep.  The pseudo-spring we've been enjoying for the past month in upstate NY is officially over.  Boo!  This is a pic of our indoor/outdoor thermometer taken last night:



Inspired me to get out some old Stampscapes stamps and to do a little masking to create an "almost" flat card:

I stamped the images with black Stazon ink onto a piece of glossy white cardstock.  After masking off the "moon" with a die cut circle I sponged Ranger distress inks on the piece.  I'm going to be honest - for some reason I had a terrible time getting a crisp stamped image.  After several failed attempts I decided the blurry lines kind of resembled "mist" over the lake and went with it!  I added some Ranger icicle stickles to resemble frost. 
Other Materials Used:  Stampin' Up elegant eggplant cs, Papertrey ink white cs, Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder

Hope you are warm wherever you are :) 



CAS Card Making Class Week 1

CAS is a card making style I struggle with so I jumped at the chance to take an on-line Clean & Simple Card Making class!  I've  already learned so much in the first week- I really love how the instructors share their "tricks of the trade"!  One of the topics discussed on Day 3 was sources of inspiration (i.e. magazines, pinterest, store window displays, etc.).  While I was eating my breakfast I really noticed how pretty the pattern of our tablerunner is:

And though I hardly did the inspiration justice here is my card:

I layered some diecuts (a technique learned in class) from the Cricut cart Storybook as I thought their shape was kind of similar to the flowers in the runner.  I embossed the Hero Arts sentiment in black to give more texture to the card.  Still thought it needed SOMEthing so I added some Doodlecharms baker's twine and Michael's black pearls to die cut circles for the flower centers. 

NOT my favorite card.  If I were the teacher I'd give it a "C".  No where to go but up I suppose!  LOL!

Hero Arts 2012 Catalog Blog Hop!

Welcome to Day 2 of the Hero Arts 2012 Catalog Blog Hop! 

Hopefully you just came from the blog of my sweet and very talented hostess sister Nancy Krueger.  (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 Tami.) The hop is running through Friday January 13th so check the Hero Club Blog each day this week to make sure you don't miss a thing!

And did someone say PRIZES???!!!! Yep!  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!

There's definitely lots to love in the new 2012 Hero Arts catalog!  I had so much fun playing with one of the new clear sets CL576 Wish Big:

To make the clouds I just stamped the cupcake from this set twice on some white cardstock and then die cut the clouds from the "frosting" portion of the stamped images.  I thought the "cartoonish" quality of the die cut little girl was a perfect fit with the newsprint images in this set!
Other Materials Used:   Papertrey ink cloud die, Cuttlebug swiss dot embossing folder, mft fresh cut grass die, Cricut Winter Frolic cart (little girl die cut), Crate Paper pp, My Mind's Eye pp, Stampin' Up cs and ink, Ranger stickles, googly eyes.

Next up is a CAS valentine:

The balloon bouquet and the newsprint heart images are part of the Wish Big set while the sentiment is from an older Hero Arts clear set CL280 Elephants.
Other Materials Used:  Papertrey ink cs, Ranger barn door distress ink, Stampin' Up ink, Martha Stewart baker's twine, Cuttlebug swiss dots embosssing folder, Cricut Kate's ABC's cartridge (letter die cuts)

And last but not least, another birthday card (lots of family birthdays in February!):

I split the sentiment from the Wish Big set (gotta love clear stamps!) and used some older Hero Arts stamps:  CG211 Magical Background, CL439 Kiss From the Sun, S5507 Envelope Pattern and F5279 Dancing Mouse.
Other Materials Used:  Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder, Papertrey ink cloud die, Stampin' Up cs and ink, My Mind's Eye pp, Copic markers, googly eyes.

Next up on the hop is the super duper talented Lin Brandyberry!  Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to comment to get a chance to win some of these awesome new stamps! 

It's Been Awhile!

Wow!  It's been awhile since my last blog post and I thought I would share a few of my fave pics and moments from the last quarter of 2011:

A view of the top of Taughannock Falls in upstate New York on a gorgeous autumn day:

 And here's a shot taken during the short hike to the bottom of the falls:



While my husband and I walked along the trail we were met by folks pushing baby strollers and wheelchairs, college kids taking a break from their studies, gawking tourists, young (and old!) lovers.  The sheer joy we all felt to be privy to such beauty was palpable.  So thankful to be healthy enough to experience days like these. 

My mom lives in an assisted living complex that happens to be part of the Butterfly Beltway Project Release program.  The complex maintains a garden abundant with nectar producing flowers and milkweed and each year staff from Seneca Park Zoo release some monarch butterflies they have bred into the garden.  Below is a pic of one of the staffers placing a butterfly on the back of my mom's hand.  So thankful to be able to still share these kinds of moments with my mom:

Here's a pic from Scrapfest at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, MN.  So thankful to have a truly good friend to share my cardmaking hobby with:

And so thankful to finally meet some of the online Hero Arts Flickr gals:

Here's hoping 2012 is as equally full of blessings :)