Who loves glitter?

Who loves glitter? a photo by mkmermaid (Maureen) on Flickr.

I made this glitter background paper with sticky tape, a punch and super-fine glitter using the "burnished velvet" technique. It really sparkles!

For those who have asked me, here is a link.

My favorite wise guy with googly eyes! have a great day!

Kissing Background

I made this card several weeks ago for my dear friend using the "kissing technique". Here is a Hero Arts video on this technique. I inked my Hero Arts Fabric Design stamp with Tea Distress Ink and "kissed it" with the Envelope Pattern stamp which was inked with Walnut Stain. Very subtle, but rich, don't ya think?

The butterflies have a top layer of vellum and are colored with Copic pens. This dear friend shared some of these great stamps with me several years ago - I've been saving them for very special cards! Thanks, Antoinette. The tea-dyed twill, buttons, twine are from my stash.

I love the vintage look of this card. The Hero Arts Stamps used are CG245, S5507, CL479, CL140

Monkey Around Monday

Monkey Around with the Hostesses! a photo by mkmermaid (Maureen) on Flickr.

Here is a crazy little card that I made several weeks ago in honor of the amazing Hero Arts hostesses over at the Hero Arts flickr group.They are the most wonderful gals. The colors on the card reflect the colors of the hostess aprons.

Just a little chuckle to start our week. Hero Arts stamps used are CL155 and CL350.

Have a great week!

Hap-Bee Day!

Here is another one of what I call my "surprise inside" cards - remember the hippo? I made this for someone very special.

This type of card requires some pre-planning because you usually want the peeking hole to be in the middle of the card front and you need the main image to be in the correct location to peek through without giving away the "surprise".

I first cut the hole (with Nestibilities die in the Cuttlebug) and lightly outline the hole with pencil onto the inside of the card to help with the image placement. The pencil can be erased after stamping.

Sometimes it takes some adjustment of the images, so you may want to stamp on scrap paper first. I did some masking to get the Bee in the correct location on the big cupcake, which is a perfect "stage" for this technique.

All stamps except for the Queenie (Stampendous) are Hero Arts. I used individual letter samps to create the unique wording for this card.

The label is cut in the Cuttlebug with Spellbinders Shapeabilities and the images are colored with Copic pens. The cupcake paper is paper pieced (from yesterday's blog) and I added some Stickles and gems to the Bee; after all, she is the Queen!

Hope this brought a smile, not a sting! Have a Bee-utiful weekend!

Give Piece a Chance - Moxie Fab

My friend Antoinette has shown me that there is a little Zen to cutting, so I am now willing to get out my scissors and use the paper piecing technique once in awhile. Paper piecing is where you stamp your image onto your card and onto another piece of paper (patterned paper, a different colored paper, or paper that you have stamped with a background stamp). You cut the second image (or portion of the image) out and glue it to the first image. This allows your images to pop with lots of print, colors and textures.

For this card, after stamping the background pattern (Hero Arts CG267), I stamped the cake (Hero Arts K5315). Then I stamped portions of the cake onto four different patterns, cut out each piece and applied it to the original image. I (of course!) added some sparkle, a button and some twine.

I was inspired by Cath over at Moxie Fab World who has created a paper piecing challenge for her "Stamp It! Techniques". Check it out and play along!

Fat Tuesday!

A wild day in so many places! Stay out of trouble, ya'll!

Today's card is a simple birthday card with a unique design that my friend Carina taught me. The stamps are all Hero Arts (CL493, CG269, CL494). The background is the birthday definition stamp, the sentiment is heat embossed in white and the cake is colored with Copic pens. Of course, some bling has been added.


What is unique is the way the card opens. The white panel for the personal message is under the cake panel. Cute, eh?

Well, my bloggin' buddies, laissez les bon temps rouler!

Monday Morning Hi!

Or, Hydrangea! This lovely flower was stamped on white paper for me by my friend and teacher Julie. She used a new stamp by Stampendous - it is a big one, this card is 5.25" x 7.25".

I colored it with Copic pens using the "scribble" technique. It is easy and fun. Just take three shades of one color - light, darker and darkest. Actually scribble the image with the lightest color. Then add highlights with the darker and darkest colors, thinking about where shading would be. Don't worry about being too careful - it will look great, I promise! Finally, scribble over the entire image again with the lightest shade of color and cut out the image. Amazing, eh?

I placed the flower onto some perfect designer paper, added a Hero Arts sentiment and a little bling and ended up with an eye-popping card that looks like it took hours to complete. Our little secret.

Blog happy!

Hi, all! I recently had the honor of being recognized by my new blogger and Hero Arts buddy, Heather. She is a lovely lady - so full of cheer and lots of crafty talent. It has been such a joy getting "to know her" through blogging and Hero Arts. She is a hostess over at the Hero Arts flickr group, where she does the most amazing job!

Dear Heather graced me with this blog award. Now, part of the deal is that I pass it on to five others and then share with you five things about myself.

My nominations are:

Britta Swiderski - She has made some of the most informative videos; in fact, she recently completed her 25th. I am shocked at her ability to balance so much in her life and that she can produce such amazing paper crafts and videos.

Ashley Newell - Another gal who makes amazing instructional videos. Check her site on Wednesdays - that is when new ones are usually posted. Most inspirational!

Mishelle Wooderson - Mish is a wonderful gal with lots of great crafty ideas. I love to check in at her blog for some country/vintage style tips. She is so generous with her great ideas and she has a fun Etsy shop where I have found lots of crafting goodies.

Julia Stainton - Julia has a glorious blog, full of great inspiration. She often uses Hero Arts stamps and wins all kinds of challenges and is often published. This gal has style!

Jana Millen - Talk about a glimpse of sunshine, this blog provides it. Lots of joy and color here - and a great Etsy shop full of great buys.

Thanks to all of you and so many others for all the effort and work you put into your blog just because you want to share your love of crafting!

Now, as required, here are 5 things about myself - no laughing, please!

• About 30 years ago I had an opportunity to go to the Big Island of Hawaii and swim with wild dolphins. They really spoke to me - it was an amazing, spiritual, life-changing experience!
• For the life of me, I could never memorize my multiplication tables but I can solve about any math problem.
• I wanted to study art in college, but my Dad told me "No; art can be your hobby, you need to prepare for a career". While I was angry at the time, it was good advice. I love my career and it has allowed me to do my art.
• I love all things French!
• My Mom is my hero.

This post is already too long, so no card today. Have a great weekend - thanks for visiting.

Ding-a-ling!

Today's card is for a challenge over at Moxie Fab World. Cath has challenged us to "get daring with decorative tape" - such a kick! Lots of companies make decorative tape and it comes in tons of sizes and designs. I have lots of it but haven't actually used any.

I love this new Hero Arts clear stamp set called "Just Saying Hi" (CL502). So, I inked it up and grabbed some cute vintage-looking tape by heidi swapp. Great combo, eh? I not only used it to accent the card, but I rolled some up to create a 3-D cord for the vintage phone.

I added a torn phone book page and some vintage buttons from my stash.

Thanks, Cath, for the call!

One more memory

Here is another card I fashioned with the business card from the market we frequented in Kauai. I love the paper stock, the image and colors of this card.

This time I coupled the card with a a cute Hawaiian stamp of a ukulele (I am taking ukulele lessons, you know) girl. I colored her with Copic pens and added some sparkle.

The woven element is a napkin ring that I got at a garage sale. I just cut it open and used red craft tape to adhere it. The button and twine are from my stash.

Mahalo for looking! Have a great day.