A Blog Named Hero - PLAY FAVORITES

Have you heard?  There's a new blog launching this week, the brainchild of Mary Dawn and Linda!  It's called A Blog Named Hero,

and it will be a place for all of us who love Hero Arts to play together!  It has been officially sanctioned by Hero Arts, and it will feature challenges twice a month!

I was so pleased to be asked to contribute a card as a guest designer for the grand opening celebrations!  All week they are showcasing each designer's favorite Hero Arts Stamps!  Can you guess what mine is?  Here's a sneak peek:

 

Please visit A Blog Named Hero to see my card, plus the projects of several other designers.  The festivities have been going on all week, so scroll on down from the latest post to see even more, and then visit there again tomorrow for the final day.

Be sure to become a follower of this new blog, so that you don't miss any of the upcoming challenges!  The first challenge will begin April 1 -  I'll see you there!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Clara

Simon Says Stamp is having another of its "Everything Goes" challenges, so I thought I'd enter this birthday card into it.

supplies: Hero Hues pool layering paper, white cardstock, My Favorite Things Pure Innocence "Have a Blooming Day", Hero Arts CL490 Sending Smiles, VersaFine onyx black ink, clear embossing powder, Letraset,  Tombow and Memento markers to color, Sizzix swiss dots embossing folder, Signo unibal white pen

Pastels and Black

Here's another entry for CAS-ual Fridays current challenge, to use pastels with black on a CAS card.  I used some of my favorite Hero Arts stamps.  I especially love the sentiment....

supplies: black card, Hero Carnation layering paper, Hero Arts CG222 Music Background, CG291 Three Dotted Flowers, CL272 All Occasion Messages, CL298 Scattered Leaves, Versafine onyx black ink, nesties scalloped heart die to make mask for heart shape

 

The Bold and the Beautiful

This week's challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is to make a CAS card using pastels and black:

 

Being the queen of pastels, I had to play along!  Here's my card:

supplies: Hero Arts Daffodil layering paper, BoBunny pastel blue, pink, and green reverse of double dots, black card stock, Martha Stewart Monarch butterfly punch, Hero Arts CL493 Live Life, Versafine onyx black ink and clear embossing powder

Flowers!

Hi everyone!  It's time for our monthly challenge at Lily Pad Cards sponsored by Simon Says Stamp!  This month the theme is flowers.  I used a new stamp from Penny Black that I fell in love with on sight, called Scented Message.  To me, these are Forget-me-nots, so I colored them accordingly.  At home I'll have clouds of these pretty soon in our gardens - such a wonderful blue, just like the sky!

supplies: cream parchment and white cardstock, blue panel from Basic Grey's Picadilly 6" paper pad, Penny Black #4239K Scented Message, colored with Memento markers and shaded with tea dye distress ink, Papertrey Ink tiny tags and tiny tags die, Adirondack Stonewash and Versafine onyx black inks, Nesties Labels Four, doodlebug designs button, ribbn from Michaels

Please visit Lily Pad Cards to see what all the other Design Team members made for this challenge, and then enter your own card for a $25.00 gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp!

CASE Study #83

We're CASEing a card from Laura at CASE Study for this week:

And here's my take on it:

supplies: white cardstock, Doodlebug Designs dp, Hero Arts CL278 Great Flourishes, 657773 Antique Flowers and Butterflies stamp and die-cut, VersaFine onyx black ink, Memento marker, pale pink pearls

Just me.....

Here are the colors for the challenge at CR84FN:

 

I used a new Hero Arts stamp set called Pattern Hearts & Flowers, and was heavily influenced by Tami and Lisa, coloring the flowers with distress inks mixed with water.  I colored my seam binding the same way.  (note to self: use a lighter hand with the worn lipstick distress ink next time - this is looking neon here :))

supplies: white cardstock, pinkpaislee dp from Nantucket pad, Hero Arts CL596 Pattern Hearts & Flowers, VersaMark clear ink and white embossing powder, colored with spiced marmalade, peeled paint, mustard seed, and worn lipstick distress inks, CL434 Just Find Me, Die-namics Decorative Doily, hand-dyed seam binding, Basic Grey Sweet Threads brad

Aqua and White

This month's color challenge at The Ribbon Girls blog is to use aqua and white.  Since the aquamarine is March's birthstone, I thought I'd make a birthday card using these colors.  I ordered the new Papertrey Ink patterned papers in aqua mist, so they were perfect for this challenge!

supplies: white and aqua cardstock, PTI aqua mist patterned papers, Hero Arts CL494 Hip Hip Hurray, tumbled glass distress ink and aqua colored pencil, white crochet lace, aqua button, EK Success scallop border punch, Martha Stewart Butterfly punches

 

Happy Spring

Look at this wonderful photo inspiration at The Ribbon Reel challenge:

 

That floral bucket made me think immediately of this imaginisce paper and I was off!

supplies: white cardstock, imaginisce Lucy Bird dp, BoBunny Buttercup Dot and Passion Fruit Dot (reverse of both), Spellbinders Rose Creations dies, crochet lace from Carole, wide pink gingham ribbon, tiny pink buttons, Martha Stewart doily edge  punch, SRM sticker from Virginia

Since this is the first day of spring, that sentiment is so appropriate. (thanks, Virginia!)  Happy Spring, all!

Play Date Cafe

 

Aren't these standout colors this week at the Play Date Cafe?  I was really intimidated by trying to mix these, until I saw Debbie's card using a technique I call strip-piecing, which I learned from my friend Mary Anne, and had forgotten about.  Suddenly I knew just what I wanted to do:

supplies: white cardstock, colored strips from PTI and Hero Arts cardstock, My Favorite Stams Pure Innocence "Blooming Good Day", VersaFine onyx black ink, Memento and Letraset markers, Signo white pen, PTI cloud die, 3D foam squares

I much prefer Debbie's printed papers; they make for a softer card, I think, but these solids were the only ones I could find close to the challenge colors.  Thanks, Debbie, for your inspiration!

Vintage Florals for CREATE

I haven't played at the CREATE blog in a long time......Paige asked for cards using Vintage Florals, and I immediately thought of this sweet umbrella full of flowers that I found on Pinterest.  

Bird Smiles

Here is my card for this week's CASE Study, with Laura Bassen as our muse.

supplies: ivory cardstock, rust, orange, gold and olive PTI cardstocks, Memory Box Perched Reed Bird die, Michaels heart punch, Hero Arts CL491 Made with Love, VersaFine onyx black ink and clear embossing powder, cuttlebug bird embossing folder

You should pop over to CASE Study and see all the fun takes on it!

Tuesday Trigger - Simple Elegance

Isn't this a lovely room that Cath has chosen for our Tuesday Trigger inspiration this time at Moxie Fab World?

 

My eyes went first to the carpet, then to the pink tulips and fringed throw.  Here's my take on it:

supplies: white and ivory cardstock, BoBunny tutu dot reverse, Core'dinations French Roast cardstock, striped dp from MME Lost & Found Madison Avenue paper pad, Hero Arts E3040  Sketch Tulips, CG 245 Classic Fabric Design, CL341 Thank You Sayings, Hero Hues Latte chalk ink, Memento markers to color tulips, Hobby Lobby lace

A Bit o' Green

Happy St. Pat's Day, everyone!  The challenge over at Simon Says Stamp! is to make something using green in honor of the day.  Here's my submission:

supplies: white cardstock, Hero Hues Grass chalk ink, Hero Arts K5175 Houndstooth, CL496 Layered Flowers, CL519 Many Dots (center of flower), CL490 Sending Smiles Messages, green button and white twine

This also works for the CAS-ual Fridays challenge, to use a pattern, an image, and a sentiment.

 

 

Banner Butterflies

Hi everyone!  I hope you've had a good week, and I know you're looking forward to the weekend!  This week at Lily Pad Cards it's time again for another of Virginia's Views, and this one is so much fun!  I know you'll be inspired by this one!

We're being sponsored by Stamps of Life, and each of the DT was sent a different set of stamps.  Mine is called "banners4all", and it has 10 different banner designs, a curved string to hang them from, 17 different sentiments, and some squiggles, which I used for my butterfly antennae.  Here's my card:

supplies: white cardstock, SOL "banners4all", Brilliance tricolor inks: Twilight, Aurora, and Peacock, VersaFine Onyx Black ink, various buttons to match

Be sure to visit Lily Pad Cards to see what my other teamies did with this set.  

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday - Lace and Scallops

I love Flourishes stamps, especially their flowers, and spring is when they release so many pretty ones.  This challenge's winner will win the entire March release, so I couldn't resist giving it a try.  The challenge is to use Lace and Scallops.

supplies: ivory cardstock, dps from Echo Park Country Drive and BoBunny Sweet Pear (reverse), Hobby Lobby lace, Die-Namics Decorative Doily and Large Simply Scallops, PTI Beautiful Blooms II die and sentiment from Vintage Picnic Sentiments, Sizzix Sizzlits Branch with Leaves, MME Follow Your Heart brad

I depended solely on these pretty papers and lots of die-cuts for my card, stamping only the sentiment.  Even the bottom paper panel has tiny little scallops!  

 

Pinter-Inspiration at Flourishes

 At Flourishes, the challenge is to use a Design Seeds board as our inspiration.  I was intrigued with these colors; I don't think I've ever used them together.  So I thought I'd give this challenge a go.  If I was at home, I'd have used my Flourishes Lilac stamp, but I can't bring everything down here to Florida, so I substituted this pretty rose trio instead.  In just a few weeks, we'll be heading home and back to all those stamps I couldn't bring along :)

supplies: white and spring green cardstock, 2 unknown purple design paper scraps, PTI aqua mist design papers, Hero Arts CL496 Pattern Hearts and Flowers, VersaFine onyx black ink, clear embossing powder, Memento lilac marker to shade flowers a bit, Sizzix swiss dots embossing folder

So what do you think about these colors?  I like them!  You should give them a try, too, and submit your card to Flourishes - their entire March release will go to the winner of this challenge!!

CAS-ual Fridays challenge #43

 

The challenge at CAS-ual Fridays this week is to let the sentiment take center-stage.  I used another pretty paper from Echo Park's Country Drive, and added one of my favorite sentiments from a Hero Arts set called Made with Love:

other supplies: rose and ivory cardstock, BoBunny buttercup dot for punched butterfly, Nesties labels four, Offray lime ribbon, white button and twine, Martha Stewart butterfly punch

A big OOOOPS!

I HAD to play at the Shabby Tea Room - look at these scrumptious colors:

We were to use at least 3 of them........no problem for me, but I was so excited to get started that I conveniently forgot that the other part of the challenge is to use dry embossing - OOPS!  So I guess I won't be entering this time, but I am posting it anyway, as I like how it turned out.  It probably isn't shabby enough anyway.....

supplies: ivory and green cardstock, design papers from Echo Park's Country Drive and BoBunny double dots (used for all of the flowers),  Spellbinders Rose Creations for the flowers, Sizzix Sizzlits Branch with Leaves, We R Memory Keepers pink baker's twine, pearls and brads for centers of flowers, sentiment from The Craft's Meow Fly Free set

Faux Embossing

I found a new technique that is really fun to do over at the Just Us Girls blog; it's called faux embossing.  Basically you use a punch or diecut in the same color as your main background, gluing the pieces on and it really does look embossed!  Here's what I came up with:

supplies: peachy pink and white card stock, Martha Stewart Monarch butterfly punches (2 sizes), Hero Arts Frame Cuts C, Classic Frame #DI008, E5388 Traditional Butterfly, The Craft's Meow Fly Free (sentiment), VersaFine Onyx Black ink, clear embossing powder, letraset markers and Prismacolor pencil, Scrapbook Adhesives 3D foam squares

Sprigs of lavender

The challenge at The Ribbon Reel is to use newsprint and ribbons.

I love using text on my cards!  I found this at Tiny White Daisies for my inspiration:

So here is my card:

supplies: cream parchment and  periwinkle cardstock, dp from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Portobello Road pad,  Unity Stamp "Sing a New Song", Memento blue and green markers , PTI Friendship Jar sentiment and Tiny Tags die, VersaFine onyx black ink, Nesties Labels Eight, unknown ribbon, Hero Arts ecru lace, button from Elise

I stamped the sprigs using some Memento markers, 2 shades of blue and green.   Sometimes a simple little bouquet like this is the most charming!

Charcoal, ash, and butter

Just sharing a simple card I made using the Play Date Cafe's current colors for the week:

supplies: white, medium grey and dark grey cardstocks, BoBunny buttercup dot,  Hero Arts CG206 Little Stencil Flower, stamped in Hero Arts butter bar and field greens mid-tone inks, CL371 Essential Messages, VersaFine onyx black ink, Nesties ovals and scalloped ovals, Sizzix little flowers embossing folder

Here's the pretty photo inspiration from the Play Date Cafe:

A day out in Sarasota

I thought I'd change things up a bit and share with you some pictures of our trip today to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota.  The grounds are along  Sarasota Bay, with a beautiful view of the city:

They cover 14 acres of the former estate of Marie Selby, and were born in 1975, after she left them to the city.  The gardens specialize in plants called Epiphytes, which are plants that live on other plants but are non-parasitic.  They are commonly called "air plants" and attach to their host plant for support and as a means to reach more sunlight.  They can be found among orchids, bromeliads, ferns, heath and mosses.  The most common one is Spanish Moss!

Here's a collage of some of the beautiful and interesting plants in the greenhouse there:

Doesn't that plant on the bottom right look like a bunch of baby birds that are waiting for Mama to bring them some worms?  Outside, there is a small bonsai exhibit:

And there are also some banyan trees, which are actually in the fig family and are epiphytes that have started by depositing seeds in the cracks of a host tree.  These trees are not uncommon in Florida - not far from where we are living here, there is a charming town called Boca Grande, which  has many of them also.  This is ONE tree:

The former home of Marie Selby and her husband has been turned into a coffee and tea house, and there is a wonderful Rainforest quilt!  I wish I could do it justice in my photo:

Here's a collage of some of the 3D elements that the maker, Ms. Raynor Pope added to it.  See the snake and the lizard, as well as some beautiful orchids and other flowers.

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We spent a few hours at this beautiful place, and then headed over to St. Armand's Circle in Sarasota for a wonderful lunch at the Columbia Restaurant, billed as Florida's oldest and most honored Spanish restaurant.  We had coconut crusted mahi-mahi with a mango and tropical fruit salsa and yellow rice, along with Sangria.  Perfection!

Please humor this Gramma.......

Here is a picture I received today of our adorable Grands........he will be 3 in a couple months and she is about 13 months.........is this not the definition of sweetness?  I love how he's holding her hand.......

Forget-Me-Nots

Here is the photo inspiration at the Play Date Cafe challenge for this week:

Pretty pastels, aren't they?  Here's my take on them, using a brand new Penny Black stamp called Scented Message:

supplies: cream parchment and sand cardstock, Bazzill Basics Celtic Green embossed dots cardstock, Penny Black #4239K Scented Message, VersaFine onyx black ink, Prismacolor pencils, CG405 Leaf & Floral Background, old paper distress ink, CL434 Just Find Me, seam binding dyed with tattered rose distress ink, Nesties Labels Eighteen,  green floral button, ecru crochet lace from Carole


Entering this into the Simon Says Stamp "Anything Goes" challenge.

Rainbow Heart Flower

I couldn't resist playing at CASE Study this week - our muse is the talented Laura Bassen, and her card for our inspiration is a sweet one that uses a rainbow of different hearts.

I remember making a flower out of die-cut or punched hearts a few years ago here and here and decided to use that idea for my entry:

supplies: white cardstock, a selection of PTI cardstock, Nesties scalloped heart die, Hero Arts CL272 All Occasion Messages, white heart button and natural jute

Each heart is folded in half and then nested together in a circle to form the flower.  This is one of my favorite sentiments and I thought it was perfect for the card!  I'm without a sewing machine here, so I couldn't add that detail to my card.....used the bit of jute instead.

And this is another entry into the Simon Says Stamp "anything Goes" challenge.