A Warm Thought

Now, you all know that I am a huge fan of Hero Arts I am. But, I will honestly tell you that when I saw this stamp (Leaf Clusters CG288) used on the Hero Arts flickr blog, I had absolutely no interest in it. Sorry, HA.

But when I was crafting with some friends and someone had the stamp I decided to give it a try -  guess what? I like it!

I stamped the background onto watercolor paper with an empty acrylic block dipped into Distress Inks. That is such a cool technique - you must try it!

Everything was teamed up with a strip of patterned paper, some great kraft cardstock, a dot of glimmer, some trim (colored with Copics) from my stash and a sweet sentiment (HA Find Joy CL497).

I have never played along with the Simon Says Stamp challenges (I'm a serious lurker!),  but this one is "Anything Goes", so why not? I'm in! Check it out and join me.

Thanks for looking and have a Happy Halloween. Be safe! And for all of you without power (but I guess you wouldn't be reading this!) - sending warm thoughts your way.

Tripple T - Tuesday Trigger Time!

I don't usually post on Saturdays, but I am finally feeling like I can take on a challenge and this one struck a real chord with me. Dear Cath over at Moxie Fab World set up this Tuesday Trigger called Autumn Woods. You have until Sunday night, if you'd like to play along.

This colorful wood reminds me of my Dad, who just happens to have a November birthday. In his younger and healthier days (he is 86 years old) he could make, build, fix, and/or remodel anything. He bought old, crumby houses in good neighborhoods and we would move in and fix them up, turn them into showpieces and then sell them and move to the next one. Simply amazing for a guy who was a mortician by day.

I am convinced that all the years working on projects alongside my Dad when I was a kid inspired me to go into the field of architecture.

For this card I used the Hero Arts "Designer Woodgrain" stamp (S5208) for my background strips. I embossed them with white and colored them with Distress Inks. Don't they look like pieces of wood? I completed the card with some rusty washers (I raided my toolbox!), big silver-toned brads and cork letters (Making Memories, Chloe's Closet) and the sentiment is Hero Arts CL139.

Thanks for looking and thanks, Dad, for all you have been to me - Happy Birthday!

Hero Arts Free Gift with Purchase!

Hero Arts sent me such a cool set of stamps as a free gift with my recent purchase! I ove them all. To show my appreciation I wanted to ink them right up. I put three of them together with one of the sketches for the October Contest. Yep, I am in right under the wire!

I stamped the little doily in Memento London Fog ink for the background. The cute chandelier was stamped in black ink and cut and framed in pink with Spellbinders dies. Finally, I stamped the sentiment and added a pink banner piece. The white pieces were edged with silver ink for some extra glam and black glitter (added with a glue pen) and Stickles for some extra glitz.

I made a set of four cards to package as a little holiday gift - everyone needs thank you notes post-holidays.

Thanks again, Hero Arts - you are by far the most customer-friendly company I have ever known. And, it goes without saying, your products are the very best. Love ya!

Kind of Krazy!

Good morning! I want to share a new baby card with you, but before you say "she is crazy", let me give you some background.

There is a young gal at my YMCA who is simply WILD about Halloween. I mean, this gal just is over the top about October 31st. Last year her wedding was on Halloween with lots of black and tons of spooky details. Unbelievable!

Well, guess what? Her timing is  amazing because she just had her first child! So, what would be more appropriate than a haunted (but still cute) new baby card?

I used lots of Hero Arts stamps (CL047, CL239, CM004, CG234) starting with the black embossed spider web on the background. I colored with Copics and added lots of sparkle.

The inside reads: On your new little pumpkin! Now, doesn't make more sense? Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Monday Trick or Treat

Hi everyone!

We are back from a quick road trip to southern California to visit with my Dad and his wife. Lots of driving, but great to connect with loved ones. As always, we are happy to be back home, safe and sound.

I am not much of one to get too crazy about Halloween, but all of the images are so darn cute. I wanted to make a few simple (kids don't need anything too fancy or painstaking - it is all about the candy!), yet special treats for some young haunters, so I put together these little treat bags last week.

I decorated some bite-sized treats with cut-outs from my Spellbinders dies, patterned paper  and some great 3-D stickers. I put them into little bags and made toppers with Labels 18 Spellbinders, decorated them with Hero Arts CL118 and stapled (Tim Holtz) them on. Easy and fun.

Here's hoping that all of your spirits are very friendly! Thanks for looking.

Just a Note

I made this Fall-toned card in a wonderful card class taught by the dearest gal - I love her so much and have learned so much from her. Thanks, Bibiana!

This card uses a variety of stamps from different companies, lots of Spellbinders, dry embossing folders, punches and embellishments. Lots of layers, lots of stamping and lots of fun!

The wood-grain background is heat embossed with Hero Arts S5208. The Honeycomb background (stamped on the leaves) is Impress #31461 and the sentiment is Stampendous SW5045.

All put together and embellished with a Viva Peal Pen in "Ice White" and some orange ribbon and button.

I am looking forward to another class by dear Bibiana next week. I'll fill you in on all the beautiful details. have a great weekend - I'm off to visit my dear old Dad.

Buzzing Over a New Baby

The daughter of one of my dearest friends was having a baby - and a baby shower. The theme was "Toy Story". Great. Not only have I not seen any of the movies, I sure don't have any "Toy Story" rubber stamps. Now, I am not one to use stickers as a rule, but I found these amazing 3-D Disney Buzz Lightyear stickers at Michael's.

I decided to make an over-sized gate-fold card with a gift card holder. I had this amazing rocket patterned paper that I had been hoarding in my stash. Perfect!

I looked on the internet for Buzz quotes and I found one that I modified slightly to make it perfect for this purpose: Buzz Lightyear to mission log: A new intelligent life is on the way. Cute, or what?

The final step was making the gift card holder for which I trimmed out one of the rocket images as a pull tab. It all worked out so well and the new Mom was just delighted.

A unique card and no stamping! Thanks for looking in! have a great week and go get your Buzz on!

One more tiny thank you!

As I have shared with you, I really like making some tiny cards for simple thank yous that don't need lots of words. One of my dear friends is nuts about giraffes, so I made this for her. I love the simplicity of it. The stamp is from paper Salon (1020F) and the sentiment is an SRM Stickers (I'm just starting to use these - they are great!).

The flower is from my stash, I did some faux stitching aound the edge and I even lined the little envelope with matching patterned paper.

The sweet giraffe is colored with Copics and I used some Glossy Accents on the balloon.

Thanks for looking and thanks, Kathleen!

A Star is Born!

A little while ago I had a small (one two-word line) walk-on role in a local production of the musical "42nd Street". It was the thrill of my life! Such fun! The producer, costume director and the entire cast and crew were so kind and lovely to me. And friends and family were so supportive and enthusiastic!

I wanted to make so special thank you cards to everyone. I had this stamp from Inky Antics (H2-0865-F) which looks quite a bit like I did when I was dressed for my part - even the hat. I colored her with Copic pens and added lots of star-power. The background is Hero Arts CG299 and the sentiment is on a Memory Box die cut embossed in silver with Hero Arts CL342. Distress inks, Stickles and some rhinestones from my stash were added for some punch.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

In fourteen-hundred-and-ninety-two

Columbus sailed the ocean blue! Today is Columbus Day in the USA. In keeping with that theme I am sharing with you a sailing card that I recently made for my dear sister-in-law. She is a magnificent sailor, having sailed up and down the western coast of the US, all over the British Virgin Islands and everywhere around Mexico. One amazing woman in many, many ways.

This card uses a die cut, patterned paper and some hand-cut pieces. The stamp is done with an emboss resist. This isn't my normal style, but this was made in a class at my local scrapbook store and was it perfect for my sailin' sister. And, of course, Chrissy (Columbus!).

All hands on deck - have a great day!

Vellum Window Card

.....inspired by the lovely Kelly at the Hero Arts Blog! Kelly prepared a great video on the Hero Arts Blog showing the technique for making a vellum window card. This is her card.

Very cool, eh? I decided to give it a whirl. I just love this little "decked out" Doodle Bat stamp (E5249) by Hero Arts and I had been "dying" to use it! I decked him out in Copic and Glaze Pens. Don't bats hang upside down? I think so..........

My layout is different and I used some different stamps, Hero Arts CL118 and CL468, but I sincerely appreciate Kelly's inspiration and instruction. Here is my card. This was such fun. Thanks for looking!

A Damp Thank You!

I wanted to make some cards to say a special thank you to some of those who sent along special wishes for my birthday and my speedy recovery. I have learned to love tiny cards; sometimes just the handmade card and sentiment can sort of "say it all" and you don't need too much space to write a personal greeting.  The envelope size here is 3.5" x 5". I often pick up inexpensive note card sets on clearance or at garage sales and just use the little envelopes. Easy!

You know how nuts I am for mermaids. I made several (what does one call a grouping of mermaids? A gaggle, a swarm, a pod......????) of these little gems, using a stamp by Uptown Design Co. (#125186). I colored them with Copic pens and added a shell (punch by Martha Stewart, edged with Distressed Inks and run through the crimper), an ocean water patterned paper banner with some rub-on sentiments (t.y.notes) and some pearl accents. I added some Stickles & faux stitching and I stamped some shells on the envelopes. Fresh and fun!

Some of you have asked about our recent floor refinishing project. It was a total hassle, but so worth it. It looks so  beautiful and now we are finishing the entire re-do. It is long over-due and such a treat.

Thanks for looking and have a great week!

She's Baaaaaaack!

And, I'd love to say it is with a vengeance, but I'm afraid it is going to be more like "easing back into it". Thank you so much for all the good wishes and kind thoughts - you all are simply the best! I look forward to returning to all my blog and flickr activities very soon.

What a better day for my return than "World Card Making Day"! All you need to do is check around the internet for lots of special contests, blog hops and sales. And, this is the perfect day for you to get inky and make a few great cards.

I recently needed a sympathy card, which are always so difficult to make. Rather than using a traditional "with sympathy" style, I elected to use butterflies, which have traditionally been a Christian symbol of resurrection, and a peaceful color combination. Sorry, but I made this several weeks ago and didn't note the materials and products before it was mailed. I will try to be more careful next time.

Thanks again for all your support and concerns - so happy to be back!