Father’s Day Sailboat Scene

 Hello everyone! I had a busy last 10 days but will have a little calm this week.  Although school is about out so that isn’t always calm.  

I purchased a couple Hero Arts Kit from Joann and it took FOR-EV-ER to arrive but it finally came after about 3-4 weeks.  They are a really good deal though so it is okay.  Basically they are a combination of Hero Arts products packaged together, and they didn’t use packaging on each item (like the stamp set has no wrapper, etc) to keep costs down.  This is what I used for today’s card, which is for Father’s Day.

You Lift Me up stamp and dies.

Waves Background Cling Stamp

Simple stamping all around on this card but I do like how it turned out!  

Thank you for visiting and have a good day!

Happy Happy Birthday!

 Hello again!  Today, I have this bright birthday card!  I already sent this one out.  October has a lot of birthdays in my family!

The background was an idea from my stamping group.  You stencil on glossy cardstock and then stamp a background over top. I can’t tell you how fun it is to stencil on glossy.  It makes such an impact!

I finished it off simply, and those stars?  I think they are from one of those packs of adhesive foam shapes for kid crafts.  They work really well on cards though. I only have a few left.  

Supplies: Hero Arts Number Pattern Background stamp, Hero Arts You’re So Kind set, Balzar Designs Mini Chevron Stencil

Thank you so much for visiting today!

Rainbow Card Backgrounds

Hello!  Today I’d like to share a couple cards made with some rainbow backgrounds.  First, I heat embossed my very old Hero Arts stamp on watercolor paper.  I then applied distress inks to just a thin portion of a long acrylic block, and spritzed this with water. I applied this to the paper starting at the top, and changing colors as I went down. I made sure that the ink was watery enough to blend between colors.  

I finished off one card with a simple sentiment from Power Poppy, and the other with some images from a Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Kit.  I think these are super fun, and my teenage son told me that I could give them to girls or boys, so that felt like a really big win!

I’d like to enter A Blog Named Hero’s Old and New challenge, and Word Art Wednesday’s Anything Goes Challenge.

Thanks for visiting!

Double Background Stamp Background

Hello!  In my stamping group, we were challenged to use the following technique to create a background with two background stamps.  I dug deep into my older stamps to find these two - they have to be at least 5 years old, if not 10.

I first stamped my Hero Arts tweed stamp with Versamark ink.  I then applied chalks all over this. Then, I inked up my Hero Arts Stitched Floral stamp with navy ink and stamped over top.  I thought this looked summery and girly.  

So I decided to simply finish it with a fun brushstroke sentiment from Power Poppy.  

I would love to enter WordArtWednesday - Anything Goes, Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes, SimonSaysStamp’s Monday Challenge - Create Your Own Background and RetroRubber Challenge - Summer.

I hope you are having a nice weekend. It is pretty hot and humid here.

Take care!

Heidi

A Card is a Paper Hug

I have seen it said that a card is like a paper hug.  Since we can’t hug anyone outside our households, I thought this “Hugs” sentiment would be perfect.  Let’s all send cards to people we temporarily cannot see.  

I am continuing to use bits and pieces from my half-done box.  This background was stamped with Hero Arts Leafy Vines background stamp on patterned paper. I clearly already had the idea to cut it up, as it was cut into 3 equal pieces.  So I mounted this on kraft.  

I also had this butterfly, cut and colored, from Gina K’s Whimsical Spring set (one of my oldest stamp sets, I am sure it must be retired) so I went to that stamp set to find my sentiment.  I used a scrap of Applemint green cardstock for the die cut, but it was too bright, so I used some Vintage Photo distress ink and sponged over it to tone it down.  

I would love to enter Hero Arts Stay Crafty Challenge - Encouragement, WordArtWednesday’s Anything Gos Challenge and Pixie’s Crafty Workshop’s Snippet Challenge.

Thank you for visiting today!  Stay well and keep on stamping!

Get Well Soon Card

A quick share today!  

The background is stamped over an ombré watercolor.  It is more green at the bottom, in person.  The butterflies were stamped on acetate, then stickles were applied underneath. They were adhered with glossy accents.

Stamps: Sparkle n Sprinkle Spring Background, Our Daily Bread Designs Bugs, Hero Arts CL342 Sentiment set.

I’d like to enter this in SplitCoastStampers Free 4 All Challenge - Going Buggy, SimonSaysStamp’s Wednesday Challenge -Stamp It, and SimonSaysStamp’s Monday Challenge - Something Clear.

Thanks for looking!

A Special Sparkly Birthday Card

Hello and happy Monday!  I needed to make a special card for my husband’s relative who is turning 90!  I decided to break out a background I made previously, but have been hoarding because I liked it so well.  

The background was made by inking directly on the watercolor paper with Distress oxide inks, spraying it with water and then laying this large woodblock tweed background stamp on top, and letting it dry.  I die cut this out with the wonky stitch die.  

I then stamped this gorgeous cake, colored it and added a bunch of loose glitter.  I know loose glitter is out of style, but I really think it adds some extra punch for really special cards and I have been using it again lately. 

I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of patterned paper.  The inside of the card has this sweet matching sentiment.  

Supplies:  Close to My Heart It’s Your Day to Sparkle stamp set, Hero Arts Tweed Background stamp, Memento and Versafine Black inks, Distress Oxide inks Cracked Pistachio, Lucky Clover and Faded Jeans, Avery Elle Wonky Stitched rectangles die, other items from my stash.

I would love to enter Pixe’s Crafty Workshop’s Snippets challenge, Cupcake Inspirations Food and Drink challenge, and SimonSaysStamp’s Monday Challenge S is for (sparkle for me)

Camping Cards

I got a late start with my camping cards this year.  I always make special cards to send my son while he is away at camp in the summer.  Here is the first one.

I just recently used this background stamp in a different way (African and Tree cards in this post).  I was looking at the Tribal Blanket stamp again, and this time I saw what could be a little scene.

I colored onto the stamp with water-based markers, spritzed it with a mist of water and stamped it onto watercolor paper.  I then added the die cut tent to complete the scene.

The stamps I used today can be purchased in the I Brake for Stamps store with my discount code SAVE10HEIDI:  Tribal Blanket, Home Sweet Tent (Also check out the Overstock section, it has a bunch of great items in it right now!)

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Cowgirl Card with Stamped Bandana Background

Hello!  I wanted to take a moment today to first thank all of my readers.  I am so appreciative of all the lovely and encouraging comments you leave on my blog.  It is a real blessing to me that you take the time to visit and comment.  And I also enjoy visiting you!

Today, my card is a bit different.  My focal image is cut from a piece of patterned paper. But the background and accents are stamped.  I added white gel pen to the background to get a nice bandana look.  And I colored and cut out some small flowers to match the image.  

Supplies: October Afternoon Sasparilla 8x8 patterned paper, Stampendous Bandana cling background, Power Poppy Folk Heart Stamp set, Versafine and Memento Black inks, MFT DieNamics Pierced Square dies, Sizzix Tim Holtz Tag dies, other items from my stash.

Horsing Around is the theme for the Free4All challenge this week at SplitCoastStampers.

I’d like to enter this into Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper challenge for April and Word Art Wednesday’s Anything Goes Challenge.

Thank you for stopping by!

Bad Luck!

Happy St Patrick’s Day!  I just sent out a few cards to select friends!  I hope they like this sentiment as much as I do!

Supplies:  Deep Red Rubber Stamps Superstitious, Memento Black ink, Avery Elle pigment inks, Hero Arts Tweed and Four Leaf Grid background stamps, Cuttlebug Swiss dots embossing folder, EK Success punch, other items from my stash.

Have a wonderful day!

Silhouette Sympathy Card

Thank you for visiting my blog today.  I have been busy making lots of cards lately.  Today, I have a Sympathy card to share.  I have been meaning to restock my stash. 

For my background, I used a leftover piece from my stash. I had stamped the second generation of some distress oxides onto watercolor paper.  I then using my stamping platform to stamp the floral silhouette a couple times, which it needed to get a good impression on watercolor paper.  I then framed this with a piece of dark grey cardstock from my scrap box.

For the inside, I stamped the floral silhouette in a light ink and stamped my saying over top.  I ran out of my good white cardstock, so I used a panel inside to add some bulk to the card.  

Supplies:  Hero Arts Tweed Background stamp, Hero Arts CL342 sentiment set, Close to My Heart Love Blossoms Sentiment set, JFF Flora and Fauna sheet, Distress Oxide inks (faded jeans, cracked pistachio, peacock feathers), Versfine Onyx Black ink, Hero Arts Soft Pool shadow ink, Avery Elle Wonky Stitched Rectangles die.  

I would love to enter the Crafting By Designs Silhouette Challenge and the current Pixie’s Crafty Workshop Snippets challenge.

Have a wonderful day!

Pastel Chris-mouse Card

Hello!  I hope you are well. It is very cold with just a touch of snow on the ground here.  It definitely feels like winter.  I have my first Christmas card of the year to share with you.  My regular readers know that I make Christmas cards year-round, however, I definitely didn’t intend to start making them this early.  However, I have been mulling over a few blog challenges, and this is just the card that evolved with the inspiration.

I paper pieced the mouse’s pj’s with some scrap patterned paper from a Christmas pack, then colored her with pencils.  I matted the image with some glitter cardstock that looked white until I used it on this project, and now it looks pink!  

The background stamp was inked up in Distress Oxide ink.  I then stamped the saying and used loose glitter around the edge of this.  My snowflake punch seemed to be the right embellishment for this.  

Supplies:  Art Impressions Chris-Mouse Mini Shaker stamp set, Hero Arts Berry Background stamp, Versafine Black ink, Distress Oxide Tattered Rose Ink, Crate Paper Peppermint paper pad, LoveNicole glitter cardstock, EK Success Snowflake and Square punch, other items from my stash

I would love to play in Art Impressions Pretty Pastel challenge, Pixie’s Snippets Playground Anything Goes with scraps challenge,  and Tuesday Throwdowns Winter Sparkle challenge.

Thank you for your kind visit!  I truly love reading every comment!

Sweater Weather - A Wintery Card using Distress Inks

Hello everyone!  It is another bright, sunny day here, but there is a chill in the air.  I have a wintery card to share today.

I first created a background with Distress inks which I smooshed on my craft mat and added water. I used Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers, Seedless Preserves and Faded Jeans and I smooshed my paper into the pool of ink, drying in between layers. I had a scrap of card in my pile, which I think was mixed media paper, so it gave a different look than I would have gotten with watercolor paper.  

I then stamped the Trees Background stamp over this with black Versafine Ink.  Finally, I cut a strip of white vellum and added a glitter sticker sentiment over top.

(You can save 10% on this, or any stamps, at the I Brake for Stamps store with my code SAVE10HEIDI)

I would love to enter SimonSaysStamp’s Monday Challenge - Make Your Own Background.

Thanks so much for your visit today, and as always, double thanks to those who left a comment and follow my blog.  I appreciate each as an encouragement to me!

Father’s Day Card with Gold Tweed background

Hello!  I am slowly photographing the pile of cards I made in the last week so I can share them with you.  This masculine card is pretty simple, but the background technique is really fun and easy, and would be fun with many styles of stamps.

First, I stamped the Tweed background stamp over Chocolate Brown cardstock and clear embossed it.    I know it is hard to tell it is brown in the photo.  I then rubbed my gold metallic inkpad all over the background.  I built up color by letting it dry and applying it again.  The brown part is shiny from the embossing, and it resists the gold ink for a crisp look.

I then kept the focal image pretty simple by just paper piecing the shirt with blue cardstock.  I would love to enter this in the Back to Basics Heat Embossing Challenge.

Supplies: Hero Arts Tweed Background stamp, Studio G shirt stamp, Hero Arts Celebrate Everyday Sentiment set, Versamark clear embossing ink and Recollections Clear detail powder, Gina K Designs Dark Chocolate ink and cardstock, Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink, MFT Die Namics Pierced Square die

As I was finishing this card, I realized that all the supplies I used were pretty old. I would say at least 5 years old - but the Brilliance ink I have had for at least 8.  It was one of the first ink lines I bought when I started stamping more seriously.  Most of the supplies are also still available, which is cool!

This card will be for my husband for Father’s Day.  He is very supportive of my hobby, but luckily, rarely reads my blog.

Have a great day!

You can find me on facebook or pinterest, too.

Christmas Cards! Stamping two ways!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today.  I have been away from stamping and blogging for much of the past month, but I am back today with  Christmas cards!  I really loved making them and it feels good to have them in the stash early!

The first card was made by first stamping the Christmas music in very light ink for the background.  I then stamped the pine trees over top with green ink.  I had the bell colored with alcohol markers, so I fussy cut it out and created this vintage look.

You can see that I had so much fun making this that I made two cards while my supplies were out.

For the second card, I heat embossed that music stamp with silver.  Nothing says Christmas like metallics, and I like this look a lot too.  The same bell was colored in more traditional colors as the focal image.

Supplies:  Just for Fun Rubber Stamps Bells and Holly stamp, Glorious Song Background stamp, Silhouette Pines stamp.

I feel like I see a lot more blogging cardmakers getting their Christmas cards made throughout the year.  Are you one of them?  

Just for Fun Rubber Stamp’s May Challenge is to use multiple stamps on your card.  Won’t you join in?  I would also like to add my card to Merry Monday’s Add a Bell challenge.

I hope you get some time this week for crafting! 

You can find me on facebook or pinterest, too.

Run for the Roses - Kentucky Derby Inspired

Hello and thanks for stopping by!  I was challenged to come up with a card with a Kentucky Derby theme as a sample for this week’s Free for All Challenge, which begins today.  Well, I don’t have any horse images, and not many to represent the stylish clothes or hats.  So I went off in search of what else goes with the derby.  Beverages would have been a good choice, but I was inspired by the Kentucky Derby logo and flag.

Image credit: derbygifts.com

They have a stylized red rose and many of them had a sort of harlequin design diamonds on them.

I stamped the diamonds in the background and created a flag using a die cut.  My roses were stamped, quickly colored and then fussy cut and arranged on my flag.  I used matting in black and red, which were both colors I saw in a lot of the derby images.  

Supplies: Gina K Better with You stamps set, Memento and Versafine Black inks, Gina K Innocent Pink and Applemint ink, Hero Arts Harlequin Pattern stamp, Spellbinders Labels  Four dies, Spectrum Noir alcohol markers

Thanks for stopping by!

You can find me on facebook or pinterest, too.

Using Multiple Stamps with Just for Fun’s May Challenge

Hello and thanks for coming to my blog.

The challenge theme for May at Just for Fun Rubber Stamps is to use multiple stamps.  It is fun to do a lot of stamping on a card, and I do hope you will participate in the challenge this month.  There are not a lot of rules, so it is a great challenge to play along with.

The background of my stamp was made with a piece of normal cardstock that I had coated with gesso.  I really love the result I get when I use this to smoosh into my distress oxide inks.  It creates a softer, lighter look as the ink doesn’t soak into the paper very quickly.   I used some pink, tan and green inks for this, drying in between.  THEN, I inked up my background stamp with the green Oxide ink, spritzed it with a tiny bit of water, and stamped it.  The stamping does take longer to dry on this surface, and that just adds to the texture.

I matched this with the pretty vase, stamped onto an ivory flecked paper and colored with alcohol markers.  I do like to sponge regular distress ink on the sides to add dimension.  I then just added the sentiment to the main panel with Versafine ink.

Supplies: Just for Fun Rubber Stamps Bamboo Background, Asian Vase with Blossoms, Helen Keller  sentiment stamp, Distress Oxide inks Peeled Paint, Antique Linen, Worn Lipstick, Distress Ink Antique Linen, Versafine Onyx black, cardstock from my stash.

Thanks again for coming!  I hope you will have a second to leave a comment or choose to follow my blog!

You can find me on facebook or pinterest, too.

Spring Tulips Easter Card

Hello and Happy Monday!  It is sunny and a little warmer here.  I just took a nice, long walk.  I have a springy card to share today using some older stamps that have been favorites of mine.

I stamped the background stamp using three colors of ink.  I added the tulips in black right over top and then trimmed it out.

On the inside of the card, I used the same three colors of ink to stamp the eggs. I thought the polka dots there mimicked the dots in the berries on the card front.

Supplies:  Hero Art Newspaper Tulips, Berry Background Stamp, Clear Design April Stamp set, Hero Arts shadow inks in Green Hills, Mint Julep and Tide Pool, Versafine Onyx Black ink, My Mind’s Eye enamel dots, background die cut was a gifted item, Gina K Designs Jelly Bean green cardstock.

I would love to play along with A Blog Named Hero’s Use Your Favorite Hero Arts items, and SimonSaysStamp’s Wednesday Challenge which is Easter Inspired!  Also, I would like to play with Card In Envy’s No Patterned Paper challenge!  Thanks for running this challenges to help inspire us to use our stamps and paper!

Thank you for your visit today!  I hope you will leave a comment with your blog information in it so that I can come visit you too! 

You can find me on facebook or pinterest, too.

Latte Coffee Lover’s Card

Hello!  I know you are so busy, so this is going to be a quick share!  I made this card with Valentine’s in mind - a warm latte to warm your heart in the cold weather!  Main image is colored with alcohol markers, the background stamped in brown ink.

I did use wink of stella glitter on the image, you can kindof see the subtle shimmer in this close-up.  I did keep the card very flat for mailing.

Supplies: Just for Fun Rubber Stamps Latte Love,  Coffee Background, Memento Black Ink, Colorbox Chestnut Roan Chalk ink, Avery Elle Wonky Stitched Rectangles dies, cardstocks from my stash, Spectrum Noir markers

I would love to participate in these challenges:

2017 Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Tuesday Throwdown Anything Goes

SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge Stitch It

Beachy Collage - Masking Background stamps

Hello! I hope my US stamping friends had a lovely 4th of July!  It is certainly up there with Christmas for my favorite holiday!  I have a beachy card to share with you today.

I made a mask with a sheet of copy paper and tore a random looking shape to create the "net" in my collage.

I stamped and fussy cut the shell and colored it with irridescent chalks.  They are an oldie but a goodie for coloring - they blend really easily and I thought it added to the beachy look.  I stamped more images on the background, added a sentiment, and finally added some Nuvo Pearl drops.

Supplies: Just for Fun Rubber Stamps Beach Unmounted Sheet, Voice of the Sea sentiment, Tattered Screen background stamp, Hero Arts Soft Sand Ink, Versafine Vintage Sepia and Toffee inks, Pebbles Irridescent Chalks, Nuvo Drops in Pearl

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I appreciate it very much!