You're So Special

Hello, friends!  I have a card today that was totally inspired by my bedroom comforter.

Huh?

Stay with me.  Check this picture out and see if it reminds you of any new Hero Arts stamps...

Are you thinking what I was thinking?  Well, let's see. 

I used some Marvy markers and colored directly onto my new Hero Arts  stamp.  I also inked up the Classic Fabric Design with Soft Gold ink and stamped the edges of the card.  Added the sentiment in Wet Cement ink and voila:

We can find inspiration in the most unexpected places, can't we?

Have a great day!
Judy

LIM Week 52 Sketch: Warm Thoughts

Hello, friends!  Just stopping by today with a card I made for the current Less Is More Week 52 challenge using this sketch:

I recently ordered the "Vintage Christmas" stamp set from Jane's Doodles and I have a new obsession with this snowman image!  Leave it to me to get a Christmas stamp set in the end of January...but I HAD to have it after seeing such sweet cards made with this set over the holidays.  I think what I like the most -- other than the cute country feel to this snowman -- is the fun paper piecing you can do with his hat and scarf.  I have stamped almost 15 scarves and hats onto patterned paper and cut them out to have on hand...putting them together reminds me of playing with paper dolls when I was a girl!

I digress.  Here is the one layer card I made based on the above sketch.  I stamped the snowman, then masked the sides with large Post-Its and inked with Soft Pool and Antique Linen inks.  I paper pieced the hat and scarf; the sentiment is from Paper Smooches.

I have to take a minute to say CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU to Chrissie and Mandi at Less Is More.  They are celebrating one year of challenges and I have participated in many of them  (although certainly not as many as some other very talented ladies out there!).  I love their themes, I am inspired by their work, and I am in awe of the amount of positive feedback they share each week with all entrants.  WAY TO GO, LADIES!!!  I look forward to a second year of crafty inspiration and fun!   

Have a great day,
Judy

Mr. Big Eyes

Hello, friends! After a two-day trip to New York for my uncle's funeral, I am home once again and back to blogging.  Sorry if I haven't been by to visit your blogs...I have some catching up to do!

I have been looking forward to making some cards with this new Hero Arts stamp (I have affectionately named him "Mr. Big Eyes") because I have seen some amazing cards out there using THIS big-eyed fella!  Check out the Hero Arts Flickr group and search by the stamp number (K5574)...you'll see what I mean!

I made several cards, and the following were embossed in black directly on the card front and painted with water color paints. Then I masked and stamped the backgrounds and the sentiment. Easy peasy!

I also tried embossing him in white onto brown cardstock and here is what I came up with...I honestly don't like it.   Live and learn, right?

Thanks for visiting!
Have a good one!
Judy

Many Thanks

Hello friends! Today I am sharing a quick and easy card I made using the new Hero Arts/Sizzix stamp/emboss set called Stripes and Frame.

I first stamped the Hero Arts Envelope Pattern background using Walnut Stain distress ink. Next, I stamped the stripes using Grass chalk ink, then embossed it with the corresponding embossing folder. I stamped the sentiment in black ink, then added the ribbon, flower and gem for a final touch.

That does it for today...have a great day!
Judy

Playing with Petals

Hello, friends!   I am stopping by to share two cards I made using the new Hero Arts To From Petals set...I have to say I LOVE this set! 

My first is a one-layer card with the images embossed in white on a punch Hero Arts note card; I added a few black pearls for a little interest.

Next I stamped the flower using Punch chalk ink and the leaves using Grass chalk ink and paired it with an older Hero Arts sentiment (Big All time Greetings) and some patterned paper. A quick and easy birthday card!

Yep, I'm loving this set.

Have a great day!
Judy

More Valentines!

Hello, friends!  Back again with more Valentine's Day cards to share...they will all be going to Winter's 2012 Valentine's Day Card Drive.  Be sure to check it out!

First I played with my Paper Smooches and Hero Arts stamps and came up with these:

Next I played with some Hero Arts goodies:

(Glossy Accents on the heart add some interest)

And finally some more "patchwork" patterned paper cards, this time in the shape of hearts instead of squares:

(I think this one will be a birthday card for my Mom...her birthday is on Valentine's Day! 

Sorry, Winter, I think I'm holding on to this one!)

If you have any questions about the stamps or materials I used, let me know and I'll share.
Have a good Sunday!
Judy

It's Time for the Valentine's Day Card Drive!

Hello, friends!  I'm here today with a few Valentine's Day cards I made for Winter's Valentine's Day Card drive -- check it out!  Lots of great prizes for a great cause (check out the sponsor list HERE)!!  Winter is actually collecting cards for St. Jude's, Vanderbilt, and Texas Children's Hospital again this year and any more children's hospitals she can find...isn't she FABULOUS?!  Cards are due by the end of the month, so maybe take some time this weekend to whip up a few cute, cheerful Valentines to cheer up some kids who could use a little cheer!  You can find specifics at Winter's blog HERE.

OK, I admit it.  I have a shameless CASE of Kristina Werner's card featured HERE at the Simon Says Stamp! blog.  I had to try it, so I broke out my 6x6 My Mind's Eye "Ooh La La for Her" patterned paper pack and started cutting and rounding and gluing...here is what I came up with:

Here is each card on its own...the only extra step I took was to dry emboss the whole front with the Sizzix Birthday Set #2 embossing folder to give it a quilted effect.  I like it because it's subtle.

Sentiment by Hero Arts...after I took this this picture I went back and

put white dashes around the punched heart to make it stand out better!

This sentiment is by Inkadinkado.

These are not quick cards by any means, but I love this design!

Another fun card I made for the drive uses one of Jane's Doodles free digi images ("cup of love").  Lots of layering papers used here...I like the colors together!

Stamps are by Hero Arts and Paper Smooches, free digi by Jane's Doodles.

I am going to enter the "Happy Day" Valentine card into the current Hero Arts January Challenge.  Speaking of Hero Arts, have you seen their new blinky?  CUTENESS!!!  I have it added to my sidebar...check it!

OK, friends, off to update my passport...have a GREAT weekend!
Judy

Play Date Cafe Challenge #114

Hello, friends! Stopping by today with a card I made in the eleventh hour

for the current Play Date Cafe Challenge #114.  The suggested colors are:
Burgundy...Gold...Plum

Such a lovely color combination!

For my card, I stamped the Hero Arts Dancing with Flowers in burgundy pigment ink over a background stamped in soft vanilla with the classic fabric design and distressed around the edges with ink to give it a golden look, too.  I also embossed the edges with my new Cuttlebug "Tiffany" embossing folder.  The plum Prima flowers have little pearls added for accents, too.  The sentiment is from this Hero Arts set. 

Thanks for stopping by!
Judy

LIM Week 50: Some More Bird Cards!

Hello, friends!  As promised, I am back with a second round of cards I made for the current Less Is More challenge to make one layer cards with lots of white space featuring birds. 

Today's first card uses an unknown stamp (it is a woodblock stamp but has no labels anywhere on it).  I embossed it and colored it with watercolor paints.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts. 

 

For a finishing touch I added Glossy Accents to the heart. 

My second card uses the Stampendous "Birdhouse Fence" stamp that I've had since 1997...I still love it!  I embossed it in black and painted it with watercolor paints.  The sentiment is from the same Hero Arts set as above.  Aren't those two birds too cute?

OK, that does it for today.  I had a lot of fun making these clean and simple cards, and I'm always glad to have them on hand.  (Can never have enough cards around!)

Have a great day!
Judy

LIM Week 50: One Layer Bird Cards

Hello, friends!  I was so happy to see this week's challenge at Less Is More, especially after last week's (personal) challenge to make a purple card! 

This week the LIMettes have challenged us to make a  

ONE LAYER CARD with the subject of  BIRDS. 

Just wait until you see the wonderful cards Chrissie and Mandi have made to inspire us...adorable!

I have several really cute bird stamps, so I made several cards for this challenge.  I will share two today and another two tomorrow.

A few years ago I was smitten by the Calendar Chicks series by Stampendous.  I grabbed a few, and now I can only find them on eBay so I'm glad I got them when I did! 

My first card uses the "Mr. & Mrs. Chick" stamp and a sentiment from Paper Smooches sentiment sampler.  I colored the images on both cards with colored pencils.

I added ultrafine glitter to the bride's veil and Glossy Accents to the groom's hat...here's a better view:

My second card uses the Stampendous "Flower Chick" and a sentiment from Hero Arts.  The ribbon stamp is from a Limited Edition Ribbons & Lace set stamped with punch chalk ink.

I added Glossy Accents to the little flowers...can you tell?

I am having so much fun with this challenge...I could have made a ton more cards using all the different bird stamps I have, but I refrained.  Thanks for a great challenge, Chrissie and Mandi!

Have a great day,
Judy

Playing with Jane's Doodles free digi stamps

Hello, friends!   The other day I was checking out the new digital set I won from Hero Arts recently, and I came across some free digital downloads I had saved on my computer from Jane's Doodles. Before I knew it, I had made two cards with them!

For the first card, I printed the comfy arm chair on golden yellow cardstock and then stamped over it with the Hero Arts envelope pattern.   I colored in the pillow and chair legs with markers and cut out the image.  I used my new Cuttlebug Tiffany embossing folder on white cardstock and stamped the dots and flowers background (not fully inked) in Soft Vanilla Shadow ink; I also inked the edges of the embossed border to highlight it.   I drew the black dots for some extra fun.  The sentiment is Hero Arts and the pearls are from Michael's.

For the second card, I printed the cup of love image onto pink patterned paper. I also printed it on white cardstock and added a computer-generated sentiment below it.   After die cutting it with a Labels Eight Nestability die, I stamped the Hero Arts designer woodgrain stamp using Soft Rose Shadow ink and added some Stardust Stickles around the heart.   The card base was stamped with the magical background in plum ink.

Here's a close-up of the Stardust Stickles accents...

I will definitely be ordering some stamps from Jane's Doodles...I am especially in love with the Vintage Christmas set.   Have you seen that snowman?   ADORABLE!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Judy

I Have You In My Heart - The Moxie Fab Punches Challenge

Hello, friends! Just stopping by to share a card I made for the current challenge at Hero Arts, as well as the Moxie Fab Cool Tools Week: PUNCHES Challenge.

I couldn't resist the pun here...I have "u" in my heart? Get it? (Yep, I'm a bit punchy today. It's been a long work week, we'll just leave it at that!  Ha, another pun...I'm on a roll!)

Anywhoo, I used a Hero Arts typewriter and sentiment, as well as a lowercase "u" from the Sunshine Lower Case alphabet set. The heart is a medium folk heart punch by EK Tools.

I hope to play some more over at Cath's Moxie Fab World blog with all the cool challenges they have going on...have you checked it out yet?

Have a great day!
Judy

Predominantly Purple at LIM - Week 49

Hello, friends! It has been a while since I was able to participate in the weekly challenge at Less Is More, but I found some time to play today. The challenge this week is to make a card that is Predominantly Purple.  Yikes!  Not my first color choice, but I'm game.

I used all Hero Arts stamps and kept it pretty clean and simple. I inked the Circle Lace with Soft Lilac Shadow Ink, and I inked the sentiment with a No. 8 Violet Marvy LePlume II marker.

For a little bit of dimension, I added some white enamel accent dots in the lace...can you see it?

Thanks for stopping by...I'm off to check out the other entries in this week's challenge!


Have a great day,
Judy

Playing with Patterned Paper at Hero Arts

Hello, friends! Happy New Year! We had a wonderful holiday with LOTS of visits with family and friends. Busy, busy, busy...but GOOD!

Now we are right back where we left off, running to school and work and after-school activities. Luckily I was able to squeeze in a little crafting time on Saturday while my DH took my youngest to basketball.  I tuned in to the 90-Minute Challenge at the Hero Arts blog, hosted by the lovely Karen (Born2scrap775).  She challenged us to make a card in 90-minutes by stamping on patterned paper. Love this idea!

Here's a secret. When I have a desire to stamp but have no particular card ideas in mind, I just stamp images on patterned paper scraps and cut them out for future use. Butterflies, elephants, apples, flowers...you name it, I have a stash of them! So when I saw this challenge, all I had to do was pull out my stash, stamp some backgrounds, and voila, instant card!

Here's a peek at my elephant stash...once cut out they fit into a little baggie for easy storage (you know, like the bags that extra buttons and thread come in when you buy new clothes?).

Here is some of my apple stash:

Now that you know my secret, you can see how easy it was for me to put together these cards! I highly recommend doing this, especially if you have to whip cards together on the fly.

My first card used some patterned elephants and a bird that I also had in my stash (left over from Christmas). I used the Hero Arts Elephants, bird, cloud background, and sentiment. The grass is made with Bazzil swiss dots paper and a Martha Stewart grass border punch.

For my second card I used a new Cuttlebug embossing folder I bought a few days ago...couldn't wait to try it out. The sentiment and apples are both Hero Arts.
 

It figures that as soon as I finished uploading my cards to the Hero Arts Flickr group, my DH and son came home and we were off to our next activity. I didn't get a chance to leave any comments (although I plan to do so today) but I can tell you that the ladies there made some AMAZING cards! If you need inspiration regarding how to include patterned paper in your stamping, you need to check THIS out!

And to top it all off, I found out right before I went to bed that I won the digi prize for this round of the challenge. Wow! I haven't dabbled in the digital stamping world yet (there is something about the actual act of stamping that I love!) but I'm willing to try something new. A new technique for the new year!

Thanks for stopping by...have a great day!
Judy