Hi all – I’ve arrived home and am very slowly acclimating to life back in the States. So strange not to hear shouts of “Mzungu!” in the streets or hear the sounds of bush babies, howling dogs, and roosters at night. 
So much to share from the trip. I’ll get started on day-by-day entries this week (similar to my journal from my trip to China). It’s hard to really put the experience in words… but I can say that it really gave me an appreciation for what we take for granted each day, as well as an appreciation for the spirit and joy of the African people.
In the meantime, I thought I’d share a card I made before my departure that uses new Hero Arts stamp sets for 2010. For those that have requested a video tutorial of my HA blog hop cards – I’ll be putting something together for you soon!
Big hugs,
January 16th, 2010
Welcome to the Hero Arts blog hop! I’m so excited to have the opportunity to share some of the latest and greatest 2010 catalog stamps with you.
To get us started… take a look at this fab Poppy Background. I have to admit, poppies are my favorite flowers, and so I couldn’t wait to create with this one! It’s also a cling stamp which makes it really easy to stamp and super easy to store. Click on below to see a larger image.
I stamped the negative-space image using brown ink on white cardstock, and then colored it in with a variety of Copic markers (see supply list below). I added small dots of Diamond Stickles to the flower centers for extra shimmer. The sentiment comes from a new 2010 PolyClear set called “Essential Messages”. Don’t you just love the classic font?
Supplies:
* CG140 Poppy Background
* CL371 Essential Messages
* Memento Rich Cocoa Ink
* Diamond Stickles
* White and black cardstock
* Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder
* Copic Markers: Y11, R22, R08, R29, YG03, G24
Next up are two birthday cards featuring a butterfly from the new Antique Engravings set. I pulled out my Copics again to color each butterfly. Next, I trimmed them out and added some thin black wire to create antennae. By adding glue dots to the center of each butterfly, you can pop up the wings for dimension. The card base was made from two Nestabilities scalloped circles (with the back one creased so the card will open easily), and the sentiment comes from the Essential Messages set again. (I know I’m going to use this one again and again!) Add some bling to your card using small 2mm gemstones for a butterfly trail…
Supplies:
* CL383 Antique Engravings
* CL371 Essential Messages
* Memento Bamboo Leaves Ink
* White & green cardstock
* Green Patterned Paper (Marcella & Basic Grey)
* Black wire (Making Memories)
* Nestabilities Scallop Circle and Classic Circle Dies
* Copic Markers: Y11, Y21, V17, V04, V15, B24, B21, W3
* CH112 2mm Gemstones
Want to see more? Well hop on over to TIFFANY ERVIN’S BLOG next for more creative inspiration! Thanks for dropping by and happy stamping!
December 18th, 2009
I’ve been a busy stamper! Here’s a sneak peak of some of the cards that will be shared here on the blog after the New Year!
December 17th, 2009
Here’s a happy birthday card I threw together with my Silhouette die-cut machine. I LOVE that thing (totally worth every penny I spent!). The possibilities are really endless with what you can create. In this example… the frame, dotted line, and sentiment were cut out with it and I added Prima flower accents, a rub-on, and some Hero Arts pearls to embellish. The embossed background texture is Swiss dots (Cuttlebug). TFL!
December 13th, 2009
Just thought I’d share a card that is featured on the Hero Arts blog this week. I absolutely adore these new Halloween images. How cute is that Frankenstein?!?! You can get tips & tricks for making this card and several others over on the Hero Arts blog HERE.
There were also several other fabulous color schemes to inspire on the blog this week. Be sure to check them out & thanks for dropping by!
September 12th, 2009
Just playing around with a fun background pattern on my Silhouette machine…and trying out a different color combo. Fun to experiment. Hope you’re having a great week!
August 25th, 2009
Hi All,
This post goes out to all the stampers & scrappers out there…
I recently went through a major spring cleaning of my craft room. As I shuffled through all the drawers of plastic storage, I was frankly overwhelmed by the amount of supplies I had on hand that had never even made it out of the package.
I mean let’s be honest… Papercrafting is an addiction. We have to have the latest stamps, inks, papers, glues, and need I say gadgets ? (Really… how many eyelet setters does a gal need to have?!) *LOL* Now I’m not suggesting anyone give up their retail therapy, because that would be unthinkable. But I do think we could all regularly use more of the supplies we already own. I’ll be the first to admit – I literally have hundreds of clear and wooden stamps that have *never seen ink*.
So rather than letting all of these great supplies collect dust and be forgotten until next year’s Spring cleaning, I thought I’d do my own take on the challenge blog. How about participating in challenges where you made projects with at least one supply that you’ve owned for a couple of months or more but have never used?! Are you hoarding beautiful patterned paper you’ve never dared cut into? Did you buy 6 packs of gorgeous American Crafts ribbon and lose it under a pile of Prima flowers still sealed in their containers? Or like me, do you have stamps that have literally “never seen ink”?
Interested in playing along or just want to drop by for inspiration? I’d love to have you join me. I’ll be posting frequent creations over on the new challenge blog, and will also be hosting some giveaways & challenges in coming weeks. I look forward to seeing your creations!
August 6th, 2009
Based on all the sneak peaks I’ve seen of the summer CHA show in Orlando, cherries are all the rage right now! Here’s a cheerful lil’ birthday card I whipped up using a small sparkle clear set from Hero Arts (CL320). The polka dot background was stamped with cotton white Stazon ink.
Helpful hint: Use a white gel pen to ink any spots that did not stamp fully on your background.
August 5th, 2009
Hero Arts recently sponsored a monochromatic week on their blog. It inspired me to play with a few different monochromatic colors including one of favs…purple!
Stamps, ink, & felt flowers are Hero Arts.
Supply List:
PS533 Summer Notecards
CH177 Summer Felt Flowers
CH137 Medium Accent Pearls
CH136 Small Accent Pearls
S5101 Raindrop Background
AF134 Soft Lilac Shadow Ink
VS197 Boysenberry Versacolor cube
Sponge for inking base of card and edges
Doodlebug paper frill border
Tips:
Add contrast to the base of your card using a sponge and ink a shade darker than your notecard for a nice gradient finish.
Turn white pearls into lavender ones (or the color of your choice!) by coloring them with permanent markers.
August 4th, 2009
When I heard about the I {heart} Hero Arts blog hop, I had to join in the fun! Thanks goes out to Ashley M. for organizing.
The challenge was to create a thank you card in honor of Hero Arts that uses your fav HA stamps. I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite to work with – so I just selected two that have been seeing a lot of ink lately… S5208 Designer Woodgrain & an owl from the LP131 Four Stylish Owls.
Other supplies: Chocolate notecards, White staz-on, & acetate notecard (all Hero Arts), ribbon (Hobby Lobby), stapler, Mega/Giga scallop punches (Marvy), Vanilla/Caramel cardstock (SU!), Corner Rounder (Fiskars), Copic Markers, google eyes, Versamark, white embossing powder
Ashley gave all the hoppers two questions to answer:
The first is to tell your Hero Arts story and how you got started using Hero Arts products.
I still remember the first time I saw the real flower line in a local stamp store when I first started stamping about 5 years ago. Wow – what gorgeous flower images! I just had to have them all.
I also fell in love with the font used in their sentiment stamps at the time…and I still love those stamps today:
The second question is to tell why we are thankful for Hero Arts. Wow! There are so many reasons.
* Hero produces a wonderful, quality product and have brilliant designs in both wood-mount & clear stamp sets
* Hero is a “green” company and have taken conscious steps to minimize their carbon footprint
* The people associated with Hero couldn’t be nicer… from the shipping department to the CEO, I’ve only had the best of interactions with everyone I’ve come into contact with.
* Their generosity…man, have you seen all the cool giveaways Hero has done in the last year?!?!
* Hero really listens to their customers and are constantly searching for ways to improve how they do business – have I said how AWESOME the new webpage is?!?!?!
* Having the opportunity to share my love of Hero with the online community as a member of the web design team. It’s been a dream come true to be a part of this talented group of ladies, and I can’t say enough good things about my experience so far!
Make sure you drop by the blog hop to see everyone else’s projects, and hope you have a great weekend!
~Laura
July 24th, 2009
Previous Posts
