August Hero Studio - Ichabod's Study!

The Hero Studio kits for August have been released - Ichabod's Study is the theme, all about Halloween!

My first card mixes elements from the Card Kit, Ichabod's Study, with the Layering Stencils, Sunnyside Manor, for this month.

supplies: black and white cardstock, vellum, purple foil cardstock, Sunnyside Manor layering stencils, orange, lime, purple, and black inks, Ichabod's Study stamps, sentiment, and frame dies

The stamps include a male and a female image with lots of layers, plus some pumpkins, this spiderweb and bat, 6 sentiments, plus lots I haven't used.  Then there are 2 die sets included, 1 to cut out the sentiments, both figures, and some of the elements, and another which has 3 frames to be layered or used alone, 3 sizes of little butterflies, and these glasses.  There's also a stamping guide included to help stamp the portraits, and some rainbow film, acetate, and a light to make the portrait appear and disappear in the frame! (not used here)  Michelle showed off this idea beautifully in her post HERE.

The layering stencils are 4 parts, so I used my go-to Halloween colors to make the wallpaper.

My final card today shows you the Fancy Dies kit, Haunted Gallery, and the female portrait from the Card Kit.  

supplies: white, black, grey, pinks, and pink foil cardstock, a dotted dp, Haunted Gallery dies, large frame, woman, and sentiment from Ichabod's Study card kit

After I'd stamped the lady in pinks, I decided to use pinks and blacks for the rest of my gallery.  The dies in the Haunted Gallery set have 5 different frame shapes, plus lots of things to put inside your frames, 28 pieces in all, including sentiments.

The Studio Collection is available now through the 27th of the month.  This is subscription-based, discounted from retail, and includes FREE shipping (for US customers)!

You can subscribe anytime and cancel hassle-free.

Currently the Studio includes 5 separate kits: a Card Kit, Layering Stencils, Fancy Dies, a Cling stamp, and a Clear Set of Stamps and matching Dies.  You can also get The Whole Studio, which includes all of the kits at a discount, plus a bonus item each month.  

A really nice bonus is that, once you subscribe to any of the kits, you also will get free shipping on all orders that you make at Hero Arts between the 1st and 5th of each month!

Woodblock Wednesday

 Woodblock Wednesday time!  This month I used a big Hero Arts woodblock called Silhouette Grass, dated 2010.

supplies: white and black cardstock, (retired) Hero Arts Silhouette Grass woodblock, Newton's Nook Retro Sun & Palms stencil set (sun and birds), distress inks, (retired) Winnie & Walter Summer Cutaway 

You can see all the other entries at Amy's blog HERE.

CASE-ing LaVon

 I saw a card recently made by LaVon on Instagram, that checked all my boxes, and immediately pinned it.

Today I have a card that CASEs it.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, aqua, 2 green cardstock, Woodgrain cardstock, Spellbinders  Perfect Touch rectangle and Woodland Tales Fern dies, Tim Holtz Speckles stencil and Detailed Butterflies dies, tumbled glass distress ink, Hero Arts (retired) woodblock script stamp from Artistic Windows, Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice Sentiment, tiny heart sprinkles

I love cards like this where we can use all our creative supplies!  Thank you, LaVon, for the inspiration!

Inspired by a Kleenex Box?

 As I was changing out an empty box of tissues, I noticed the colors on the empty one and decided to snip out one of the sides to use for inspiration.  These are colors I certainly would never have come up with on my own!

The backing is a very dark green, and I liked the golds, oranges, and a bit of pale pink that were in the mix.  After thinking about what set of dies I could use, I settled on a favorite set from Spellbinders: Club Blooms; it has lots and lots of flowers and leaves.   Here's what I came up with.

supplies: 3 greens, orange, gold, red, and pale pink cardstock, Spellbinders Club Blooms, Simon Says Stamp Brushed Flowers sentiment, Hero Arts square die, adhesive foam squares

I hadn't planned at first to use the square sentiment, but I like it; it's another thing I don't usually do with my flower cards. 

Here are the inspiration and my card, side by side.

 

Thanks for stopping by today - hope your day is going well!

Thinking of You

 Recently Jennifer McGuire showed us how to hinge a simple stencil in order to have white elements against a colored inked background.  I couldn't wait to try this!

supplies: white cardstock, Gina K Designs Floral Stencil, tumbled glass and squeezed lemonade inks, Altenew Grass Field and Shadow Creek green inks, sentiment from Simon Says Stamp (retired) Joys of Spring

Basically, you hinge your stencil to a piece of white cardstock, then flip the stencil away and ink the back with a light color (tumbled glass for me).  Then flip the stencil back into place over the white card, and run it through your machine with an embossing mat and plate.  You can repeat this as needed to attain your background color.  This adds the color to the background, plus lightly embosses the design into your card.  Then you use your stencil as usual to add color to the details of the design, in this case the leaves and the centers of my flowers.  

What a great idea!  I inked my background twice and kind of like the woodgrain look I got.  A different kind of ink may have given me a more solid look, but I'm pleased with this first try.  These flowers look like gardenias to me, so I wanted to keep them white, and just color the leaves today.

Thanks for stopping by; have a good one!

A Simple Window Birthday card

 Here's a card that couldn't have been easier to make.

supplies: white cardstock, My Favorite Things Peek a Boo Window and Wonky Rectangle dies, Pink Fresh Studio washi tape, Hero Arts woodblock Happy Birthday Message, adhesive foam squares

Unfortunately, almost everything is retired, except maybe the washi butterfly.  The Hero Arts woodblock sentiment is one of a 2001 4-piece set, and it fits perfectly into this fun MFT window die.  After cutting it from an A2 white panel, I then trimmed it with the wonky rectangle die, then popped it above the stamped sentiment before adding the flowers and butterfly.  

Love this design, because it could be varied with whatever you have in your scrap basket!  

A Country Christmas

 Annie Williams has a new collection being released today; it's called Country Christmas.  Here's a card I made using the Country Snowman dies.  Annie gave her snowman a bit of a cowboy feel - how fun!

supplies: white, kraft, and colored cardstock, Country Snowman dies, sentiment from A Merry Little Christmas glimmer plate/die set, red glimmer foil, snowflake embossing folder, adhesive foam squares

Isn't the bunny cute?  Annie showed the bird feeder full of seeds, and I followed suit, using markers to simulate them.  There's also a broom for the snowman to hold, which I didn't use this time.

The rest of the Country Christmas Collection is just as cute, with dies for a rocking chair and teddy bear, horse-drawn wagon, a barn, a big star, an embossing folder, and a sentiment set.  

I thoroughly enjoyed putting together this little scene, especially during this hot spell we've been having!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Spellbinders Club Kits for July: Mugs, Mittens, and Sweater Hugs

 The July Club Kits from Spellbinders are now available for new subscribers, through July 27!  The theme this month is all about winter: Mugs, Mittens, and Sweater Hugs.

My first card today features the Large Dies, Mugs and Mittens, and the 3D embossing folder, Starry Snowfall.

supplies: red, white, green, and kraft cardstock, vellum, Mugs and Mittens dies, Starry Snowfall 3D embossing folder, adhesive foam squares

The dies are a 22-piece set, and include a tiny snowman and a Santa face that fits in the cocoa cup, too.  The "Warm Cocoa Wishes" sentiment that you see here is also included.  I especially like that we get 2 curvy dies to help us make the steam coming from the mug - I used vellum to make mine.  

I used the mittens and the large snowflake from the large die set along with the 4-piece stencils for this month called Warm & Woven for my next card.

supplies: white, pinks, and mint cardstock, silver glitter cardstock, Warm & Woven stencils, pink and mint inks, Mugs & Mittens dies, sentiment/die from Stay Snuggly, adhesive foam squares

There's also a 5th stencil included, which makes a knit pattern, to be used all on its own. 

And finally, here is the BetterPress kit called Festive Press, and the Caboodle die: Ginger Sip. 

supplies: white, kraft, and red cardstock, silver glitter cardstock, Festive Press BetterPress plate, red ink, Ginger Sip Caboodle dies, sentiment from Stay Snuggly, adhesive foam squares

I didn't use the mug elements this time to show you that all of these dies can stand alone without the handles.  And there are 2 sentiments included in the BetterPress Kit, but I liked this one from the Clear Stamps and Dies better for this particular card.

You can look HERE for information on Spellbinders Clubs.  Each is available for new subscribers only from the 6th until the 27th of each month.  If you click on my links under each card, you can see the specifics of each product.  You can subscribe to each of our 10 kits separately, (and you can "unjoin" a subscription at any time without any penalty), or you can get them all, plus a free bonus item each month, and save 60% by choosing the Deluxe Caboodle!  

July Spellbinders Club Kits: Mugs, Mittens, and Sweater Hugs!

The Spellbinders Club Kits for July are now available for new subscribers!  This month's theme is Mugs, Mittens, and Sweater Hugs.

The small dies of the month are called Cocoa Greetings, and consist of 18 dies to make some cute mugs.  To begin this month, I made up 3 mugs which you will see being used today and in the next few days with various backgrounds.  I thought I'd show you them all together first.

supplies: Cocoa Greetings dies

As you can see, their hats can double as whipped cream dollops!  There's also a snowflake die in this set.

My first card mixes the Stitching Kit, Frosted Stitch, with the little deer mug above, and the sentiment is from the Glimmer set.

supplies: white, cream, pale peachy pinks, tan, and black cardstock, Frosted Stitch, 3 strands of white embroidery floss, Cocoa Greetings dies, Arctic Glimmer sentiment, silver slimmer foil, adhesive pearls, adhesive foam squares

The deer mug was my favorite of the 3, so I chose these pale peachy-pinks and white for my stitched card to use as a background with it.  It is a really lovely design.  Here it is all alone before I added the mug.  I especially like the 6 dainty snowflakes in the center!  I made this into a shaped card by cutting an extra white shaped base, scoring it about an inch down from the top, then securing that to my stitched panel with strong 1/8" adhesive tape.

supplies: pale peach and white cardstock, Frosted Stitch dies, 3 strands of white embroidery floss, adhesive pearls to match

Next I mixed the Santa mug with the Glimmer kit, Arctic Glimmer, and a sentiment from the Stamps and Dies: Stay Snuggly.

supplies: colored cardstock, Cocoa Greetings Santa Mug, Arctic Glimmer glimmer plate and silver glimmer foil, sentiment from Stay Snuggly stamp/die, adhesive foam square

The Clear Stamps/Dies this month are sentiments to fit this month's theme, plus various snowflakes.  This sentiment is one of the larger ones.  Silver glimmer foil is included in this month's Glimmer kit, and enhances the snowflakes nicely. 

And finally, here is the Penguin mug, along with the Embossing Folder, Frosted Stitch, with another sentiment from the Glimmer kit.

supplies: colored cardstock, Cocoa Greetings Penguin Mug, Frosted Stitch embossing folder, sentiment from Arctic Glimmer 

I'll be back in a few days with the rest of my cards from this new release.

You can look HERE for information on Spellbinders Clubs.  Each is available for new subscribers only from the 6th until the 27th of each month.  If you click on my links under each card, you can see the specifics of each product.  You can subscribe to each of our 10 kits separately, (and you can "unjoin" a subscription at any time without any penalty), or you can get them all, plus a free bonus item each month, and save 60% by choosing the Deluxe Caboodle!

Butterfly Hugs

Happy 4th of July to my stateside friends - hope your day is a fun one!

I've been wanting to revisit a postal collage set of stencils that I got earlier this year, and use it with the other postage collage goodies I already own.  Butterflies are certainly a July thing, so today is the day!

supplies: white and black cardstock, Waffle Flower Spring Breeze stencil set, Altenew and Pink Fresh Studio inks, Postage Collage stamps, Postage Collage and Postage Collage Blocks dies

The stencil set consists of 5 stencils, 2 for the butterflies, 2 for the flowers and leaves in the background, and a final one for small details: butterfly bodies and flower centers. But when you cut the large collage die from the finished panel, you lose alot of the floral and leaf details, so today I decided to use everything and paper-piece it back together.  First I cut the postage-edge panel from the stencilled panel and also from a plain white panel.  Next from the first cut I used the Postage Collage Blocks die to cut out the 6 individual panels, then pieced them into the plain white postage-edge panel.  Next I stamped on the black details to make these look more like postage stamps.  Then I very closely framed that with a black panel, and finally popped it above the background that I had saved. 

This postage collage idea from Waffle Flower is a fun one, and I'm so glad they continue to add to it! 

July Hero Studio - Road Trip!

 The Hero Arts Studio goodies for July have been released, and I have 3 cards to share with you today.  The collection is called Road Trip.

The Card Kit this month includes a stamp set with layering landscape images and sentiments, and dies to match, plus 2 separate die sets that follow the Road Trip theme.  One makes the car dashboard and mirror, and the other adds details like the arms and legs, shoes, and coffee cup, plus more that I didn't use (fuzzy dice, sunglasses, and a pine-scent to hang).

supplies: white cardstock for stamping, blue, greens, and grey inks, various colored cardstock for dies, Road Trip Studio Card Kit, adhesive foam squares

The Studio Stencils are 4 pieces, 3 for the lettering.  I chose a colorway of teal, blue, and purple.

supplies: white cardstock, a blue patterned paper, Just Keep Going stencil set, teal, blue, and purple inks, Stickles Galaxy glitter gel

I used glitter gel with my 4th stencil to add a bit of glitz.

And finally, here are the Studio dies of the month: Mix Tape.

supplies: black, lime, and yellow cardstock, Doodlebug design papers, Mix Tape dies

I chose the backing panel because of our theme this month, then pulled the colors from it for my die-cut elements.

The Studio Collection is available now through the 27th of the month.  This is subscription-based, discounted from retail, and includes FREE shipping (for US customers)!  

You can subscribe anytime and cancel hassle-free.

Currently the Studio includes 5 separate kits: a Card Kit, Layering Stencils, Fancy Dies, a Cling stamp, and a Clear Set of Stamps and matching Dies.  You can also get The Whole Studio, which includes all of the kits at a discount, plus a bonus item each month.  

A really nice bonus is that, once you subscribe to any of the kits, you also will get free shipping on all orders that you make at Hero Arts between the 1st and 5th of each month!

Butterfly Birthday

 I recently got myself a new Doodlebug pad of paper called Butterfly Kisses, and when I saw Sheri's sketch using lots of patterned papers, I wanted to use my new ones to CASE her cards.

supplies: white and aqua cardstock, dps from Doodlebug Butterfly Kisses and other Doodlebug dps from my scrap basket, Sunny Studio Fancy Frames Circle die, Simon Stitching Butterflies dies, sentiment from Clearly Besotted Sweet Little Sentiments

This is a great sketch to show off a variety of patterned papers - thank you, Sheri!  For me, using these sweet little papers is a carry-over from my quilting days, when I collected fat quarters of fabric just as I do papers now!  And Doodlebug is a wonderful source for them!

Have a lovely day!

Ditzy Wallpaper Flowers

 Here's a new set of layering stencils from Altenew called Ditzy Wallpaper Flowers.  The set is 7 parts, 4 for flowers, and 3 for foliage.

supplies: white and green cardstock, Altenew Ditzy Flowers Wallpaper stencils, Pink Fresh Studios Fairy Dust pinks, Rise & Shine yellows, and Morning Sky blues, Altenew Green Valley greens mini ink cubes, Hero Arts (retired) sentiment from Made with Love, Spellbinders Perfect Touch Rectangle die, (retired) Martha Stewart? butterfly punch, peridot gem, adhesive foam squares

I love how this turned out, and that's why I chose the sentiment I did, even though it's long gone.  

Stencils are a miracle for those of us who don't color very well!  I'm so glad the industry continues to make such lovely designs for us to play with!

Woodblock Wednesday!

 "Tis the season for picking posies from my garden to bring inside to enjoy and I often pop them into a canning jar to sit on our kitchen table.   So this month I chose a Stampendous stamp dated 2013 and a Hero Arts sentiment dated 2009 for my Woodblock Wednesday entry!

supplies: white and pale aqua cardstock, Stampendous Jar Bouquet, Hero Arts To Be So Nice woodblocks, Spellbinders Perfect Touch rectangle die, Winnie & Walter (retired) Audrey's Cutaways scalloped rectangle die, tiny punched butterfly from my scrap basket

 I really enjoy seeing these wood treasures being used again.  I hope you'll play along too!

You can see all the other entries at Amy's blog HERE.