Thinking Inking

Pssssst--It's a Party!

Have you been following the Hero Arts 2010 Catalog release festivities this week? There was a great blog hop starting at Jennifer McGuire's blog yesterday. Ellen Hutson LLC has been cooking up some Hero Arts fun as well with a scavenger hunt; you can find details here, and everyone who plays can earn a discount.

I have some cards posted today on the CLASSroom blog using a kit from Hero Arts including two of their new release stamps. Since this was a kit, I tried to stick pretty closely to the directions--think stamping workshop!--but I gave it a little twist of my own. Several of the other designers have posted cards using their HA kits on the CLASSroom as well. I'm excited that Ellen is going to be carrying more of the Hero Arts stamps. Jennifer McGuire is the sweetest, and Hero Arts has fabulous product line too!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Thank You Vines

I've been working on cleaning out my basement and came across some home-schooling books that I borrowed from a friend an embarrassingly long time ago. Tonight's card is a thank you note to include when I return the books. I started with a Hero Arts Wavy Leaf Pattern Design Block and heat embossed it using Versamark and detail white embossing powder on shimmery white cardstock. I then misted the paper lightly with some Cherry Blossom Glimmer Mist to add to the shimmer factor. (I love shimmer in person, but photographing it is another thing entirely! I finally resorted to sticking a piece of Basic Grey Porcelain paper behind it as a backdrop.)

The thank you sentiment is also from a Hero Arts set, CL150 Heartfelt Messages.  I stamped it in a mixture of PaperTrey Ink's Sweet Blush and Berry Sorbet and then cut and embossed it with a Spellbinders Petite Oval Nestability. Ribbon and vintage button are PaperTrey Ink's Sweet Blush. Finally, I dotted my flower centers with a bit of Cotton Candy Stickles for a bit more glimmer and texture. 

Thank you for visiting!

P.S. As I was looking up the links for the stamps above, I saw that this week's Hero Arts Blog challenge was to stamp with background stamps. What are the chances? ;-)

Also, a couple of you had asked yesterday where to find the Prima flowers that I had used on my CPS card; they were given to me and came from Michael's.  I took a picture of the packaging to see if that would help you find them. Good luck! (Click to enlarge.)

Hello, Birdie

Today I have a simple, monochromatic stamped card to share with you.  Two stamps are Hero Arts, K5053 Bird on a Branch, and S5050 Wavy Leaf Pattern; and the sentiment on a tag is from PaperTrey Ink's Mega Mixed Messages, cut and embossed with a Spellbinders Double-Ended Tag die, cut in half and trimmed.  Cardstock is Stamper's Select White and Spring Moss, and ink is Spring Moss, Ripe Avocado (on the tag), and Fresh Snow, all PTI.

There is actually more contrast here than the pictures show, but no amount of tweaking was making it look quite the same on screen tonight as it does in real life. I stamped the birds image in white ink and then sewed around the edges to frame it. (I also tried white embossing powder, but it seemed to heavy and stark.) This would be a simple to card to create a notecard set with, using different colors of ink and cardstock on each one.  Button is PaperTrey Vintage New Leaf.

Cindy at Emma's Paperie has a great giveaway on the Emma's blog--some luscious papers, embellishments, chipboard, and rub-ons. You might want to go sign up for a chance to win it! Have a lovely day.

Thinking of You

Tonight I'm trying to clean up some patterned paper scraps before new boxes come tomorrow--paper bliss! I had several pieces of the warm gray and russet-toned Cosmo Cricket Everafter sitting in a stack; and the solid, graphic flowers reminded me of the Hero Arts S5033 Design Block Silhouette background stamp that I had used for my CPS110 post a couple of weeks ago.

The only problem was that I wanted to stick to the two colors, and who has ever heard of warm gray flower stems and leaves? I decided to try the two-toned flowers--after all, it worked on the patterned paper! I inked the stamp in Adirondack Pebble ink, and then used a damp Q-tip to remove the ink from the blooms so that I could color them with a Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie marker. I then die-cut the image with a Spellbinders Plain Square Nestability. The tag is from the CL130 Frames and Messages  set, inked in Pebble and die-cut and embossed with a Tags Trio die.

I sanded all of my paper edges and sponged them with a bit of antique Linen Distress ink before matting everything in PaperTrey Ink's Smokey Shadow cardstock. I resisted the urge to sew since I had so many layers of cardstock that my little Sew Mini would have labored over it. (By the way, when the sewing machine won't go through it, piercing holes with a hand-tool is not a wonderful idea either--trust me on this one!) That bit of twill is also Cosmo Cricket, part of the Everafter ribbon pack. I wanted a bit of sparkle in the flower center and added some Diamond Stickles. They look yellow, but that must have been a reaction with the ink from the marker. Overall, this russet (a nice word for muted orange) has grown on me in a way that I wouldn't have guessed before I saw this paper. Hmmm. . . maybe I like orange. . . but don't tell!

Thanks for visiting!

Vintage Thinking of You

Edited to add: Hi, PaperTrey Blog Hoppers! I am so sorry not to be playing tonight. We were gone all day, and my son is sick tonight. That means no sneaking downstairs to stamp. . .  Have fun!

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I am in SUCH a vintage mood lately! I thought I would play along with two challenges today--the Hero Arts Distress Challenge, and Sharon Johnson's Let's Pipe Up challenge.

I started with a Hero arts stamp--part of the HA challenge--the CL130 Frames and Messages set, stamped in Adirondack Pebble and Mushroom inks, and distressed with some Antique Linen Distress ink. Next I added a sweet piece of vintage artwork from the Cosmo Cricket Everafter Elements, attaching it with a vintage copper stick pin and pearl. (I colored the pearl yellow with a  Copic Y32 marker to coordinate with the other embellishments.) Paper is Cosmo Cricket Something Old and Something Borrowed from the Everlasting line. Ribbon is Creative Impressions 1" Seashell Silk, and lace is  Prima White Lace 4. (Too bad not much of it shows, because it's a pretty lace!) A bit of sewing and distress-inking finished it off.

I'll come back later tonight and close down the giveaway post below. Have a great weekend!

Thanks So Much

Last night I needed a thank you note. I wanted to use the scraps of the digital Summer Posies papers (Shabby Miss Jenn) that I had printed out to make a PaperTrey project last week--they were too pretty to waste!  I thought I would keep it simple and use my Hero Arts CL130 Frames and Messages set.

I inked the frame in Key Lime and Tea Leaves Versamagic inks, and the sentiment in Red Magic Versamagic ink.  I used a Spellbinders  Fancy Scalloped Pierceability Die for the scalloped edge, and my sewing machine to add some framing-stitching.  A bit of sanding, scraping, matting, sponging with distress ink (Antique Linen), and "Stickling" finished the card for me, along with a red button and a snippet of  PaperTrey Ink New Leaf grosgrain. I used a Crafter's Companion envelope template to make a coordinating envelope since I had one scrap that was large enough. ( I may turn into an envelope junkie after playing with this template for half an hour. . .)

Have a beautiful day!