Streeeetching

into Summer!

This card is the result of inspiration from many sources (other than great long sunny days, beautiful sandy beaches and the ocean, which is my second home).

First there is the current challenge over at A Blog Named Hero to stretch our stamps. For this card I used the same stamp as a background stamp and as the feature element. Double-duty!


I was reminded of using the technique of repetition from my amazing bloggin' buddy Virginia Lu who is doing a wonderful series on "How I Stretch My Stamps" and it worked well for this background, which I stamped with Hero Arts Soft Brown Shadow Ink.

       In addition, one of the current "Stamp It!" challenges over at Moxie Fab World is the Hello Card Challenge which reminds us to make and send a card just to say hello, check in and stay connected. Thanks, Cath!

Finally, this month's contest at the Hero Arts blog is about summer adventures and using neon (there are touches of neon on the flip-flops and the reflection on the sunglasses), so this card fills the bill. The stamps are Hero Arts CL512 and CL456 and, yes, that is real sand (thanks, Gary!).

I'm seeing through you.....

I have been thinking (okay - when I should be sleeping!) about two challenges, Moxie Fab World's "Spectacular Spectacles" and A Blog Named Hero's "Topsy Turvy", which is to use a sentiment for something other than a sentiment.

I had a Hero Arts stamp set (CL350) on my desk and all I could see when I looked at the "Happy Birthday" sentiment was a pair of glasses! So, I put the two challenges together for this card.

I stamped the sentiment with white Stazon onto the acetate card (Hero Arts PS454) and paper-pieced Mr. Frog (Hero F5294). I used dark tones to allow for more contrast with the front sentiment. The P's do make cute glasses and I even added a sentiment (Hero CL135) as a lily pad for this little guy.

I don't often make acetate cards and now I know why! They are close to impossible to photograph! Not only do they reflect every bit of light, the static picks up lots of tiny particles and they do not close flat. I have NEVER seen fingers in a card photo (isn't it a personal touch?!), but after hours of trying, there was just nothing else I could do.

This will also go into the current Hero Arts blog contest for birthday cards. Thanks for hoppin' by and have a great weekend!

A Blog Named Hero

How many times have I struggled to come up with something for a challenge, like one of Cath's from Moxie Fab World, and then never used that technique or idea again?

I was thinking of that when I decided to reach into my collection of canceled stamps (household items!) and pull out a rainbow. Just perfect for the current challenge over at A Blog Named Hero to use a window in a card - Cards With A View.

The rainbows qualify this for Hero Arts current contest for Sunshine and Showers - check it out!

This clean and simple style (I am going to keep trying) uses a great Hero Arts background stamp (CG301) which I stamped in Momento Fog Ink. The ribbon is a thank you gift from Ellen Hutson for a recent order I placed - nice!

Have a lovely week!