Walking Down Memory Lane with Hero Arts

Helloooooo...  Is there an echo in here?  It's been a while since my last post.  I've been absent from the blog, but not from my stamp room.  It was time to reorganize and purge a few things, and whenever I do that it's like a walk down Memory Lane.  I took a notion to pull out one of my favorite oldies and put it on paper.

Hero Arts Botanical Peony, 2001.  Good grief, is that really 22 years ago?  I watercolored with a combo of Gansai Tambi paints and Tombow markers.

The sentiment is also Hero Arts.  It was an unlabeled demonstrator's set (from when I designed for an online shop).  That was back in 2010.  I use this sentiment frequently.  The most recent product on this card is the Hero Arts Wood Frame die.  I gave it a light watercolor wash.

About those bubbles...  They're just for fun.  It's been too long since I did this kind of watercolor and playful background.  This beautiful stamp was just asking for it.  The bubbles are simply circle stamps.  Hero Arts Box of Dots, 2003.

Continuing with more Hero Arts...  The So Sorry set I used on the next card is more recent.  It's a cling mount set, probably not more than 10 years old -- practically brand new!  This is another set I use a lot for the sentiments.  The watercolor background with branch was in my bag of backgrounds.  I added the sentiment plus extras and turned it into a card.

Talking about Memory Lane... We got our first PC specifically so I could shop online for stamps.  It was a Gateway, ordered by phone in the year 2000.  The picture below was how we used to do selfies -- put the camera on a tripod and set the self timer.  Forgive our dorkiness.  Don't tell Rich I showed you this picture.

    

I couldn't possibly know what this stamping thing would turn into.  Not sorry.

Thanks so much for coming to visit.  I wish you many happy, healthy, and safe days always.

Alpine Christmas

Hi there!  I'm playing along in the Peace on Earth Challenge with my first Christmas card since January.  It's high time I got down to business as it's only 8 months till mailing time.  I know that you know how quickly those 8 months will pass.

Check out their fun inspiration board:

I have a few Christmas dies I've been admiring as they sit in my basket of not-yet-used toys.  For this card I played with a pair of Tim Holtz die sets which were on sale and so probably from last year.  The more I look at the TH line of dies and embossing folders the more I admire how they all work together.  I may have to become a collector.

I think you can see which corner of the board inspired me.

My Tim Holtz dies are Papercut Christmas #2 and Alpine (mountains).  The Starry Night is an older Taylored Expressions cutting plate.  I punched a circle in the background to make a moon.  The rolling hills are cut from patterned paper then brushed with ink for the varying shades.  Lastly, the Happy Holidays is a Cottage Cutz die.  I was determined to make a Christmas card without snow, hence the green foothills with snow only on the mountain peaks.

Is this not the friendliest looking guy?  The deer and mountains were cut from white and colored simplistically with Copic markers.  The deer's eyes and hooves are quite teensy, but I stayed true and included them as well.  I cut three of his body blank to layer for more dimension.

The deer has a snowman companion in the set which I'll get around to later.

Joining the party at Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge.
I will also link up at Darnell's NBUS Challenge#48 with my never been used Tim Holtz dies.

That's all, folks!  I hope we can get together again soon.  Have a happy day!

Hydrangea and Rose

Hello and welcome to a new week!  I saw some sunshine recently and I'd almost forgotten how much I enjoy it!  It's been mostly cloudy and rainy here.  Not as bad as some places, but enough to inhibit outdoor activities.  Good thing I never tire of my happy place with all the wonderful toys tucked into every nook and cranny, every corner, every cupboard, shelf, basket and bin... you get the picture.

I recently joined the Spellbinders 2D embossing folder club.  The 3D folders are amazing, but for my own practical reasons I joined 2D instead.  The first folder I received is Hydrangea Blooms.  It's the sweetest thing and makes a beautiful background for my Pinkfresh Hydrangea and Rose stamps.

The embossed panel was brushed with white pigment ink directly from foam pad to paper, and the dainty white frame gives the flowers a place to rest without disappearing into the background.  I gold embossed the stamps and colored with Tombows.  I could not seem to get a picture that did justice to the gold and all the rest at the same time, but I know your good imaginations will do the trick.

I'm now heading over to Darnell's NBUS Challenge #48 with my card and its never-before-used Hydrangea Blooms embossing folder.

Also playing along here (thank you for the reminder and invitations, Diane & Darlene):

Triple B March Challenge -- Birds, blooms, and/or butterflies with optional inspiration board.
Can You Handle the Pressure -- anything with an embossing folder.  Did not use the optional rainbow twist this time.

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I do enjoy our visits!

Stamps:  Pinkfresh Hydrangea and Rose with matching dies  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, Neenah white, SU Almost Amethyst  Ink:  Versamark, white pigment  Coloring:  Tombow markers  Other:  Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder, Honeybee gems, Poppystamps Double Scallop Oval, Spellbinders Hydrangea Blooms embossing folder

Ebullient Easter

Hi again, and welcome to my stamp room!  It's St. Patrick's Day but I have an Easter card instead.  I cannot get ahead of these holidays.  I even mailed some late birthday cards this month.  The spirit is willing... well, you know.

There are some challenges I wanted to play along with before they close and, let's face it, I'm not a speedy stamper.  You never know when Life will get in the way, so with that in mind I put three challenges together for today's card.  They influenced my choices start to finish.  I'll link them further down with more description, but first...

Still working with the lovely Ebullient stamp set from Penny Black, I colored with Tombow markers and then hand cut.  The frame is a negative leftover from cutting an oval.  After blending inks on the frame I smooshed it with Versamark ink and embossed with sparkly embossing powder.  The sentiment was cut from glitter paper.  That's it in a nutshell.  Now, here are those challenge links:

Triple B, March -- Birds, Blooms, or Butterflies (with inspiration board).  I've used a bird perched on a blooming branch with colors drawn from their inspiration board.
Penny Black Saturday Challenge --  Optional Easter.  The stamp I used is Penny Black's Ebullient.
Can You Handle the Pressure -- Optional Rainbow.  I used a Darice Cherry Blossom folder to emboss the card front.  My blended frame is not exactly a rainbow, but close (if you use your imagination).

 

 

Back to more stamping soon.  Wishing you a happy weekend doing all the things you love.

Stamps:  Penny Black Ebullient  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, other white, green glitter cardstock  Ink:  Versamark, SU blue, pink, green for blended frame  Coloring:  Tombow markers  Other:  Impression Obsession Easter Joy die, Darice Cherry Blossom embossing folder, rhinestones, sparkly embossing powder

Double D Challenge: Easter

 

Hello friends!  Thoughts are turning to Easter at Double D so Darlene has put together a most inspiring board for us.

Several stamps in my collection came to mind when I looked at the board, and then I remembered this ages old Whipper Snapper stamp.  It's unmarked and now the name is forgotten so I just call it Easter Lilies.  No matter.  It reminded me of the yellow tulips on the inspiration board, and the scattered flowers at the base represent the jelly beans.

I pulled a leftover frame from my spare parts and wrapped it in Easter-y plaid, then colored the image to match using Tombow markers.  A few punched flowers and a glittery sentiment add a little something extra.

Put your mad crafting skills to work and play along with us.  The team votes for creative winners, and there's a prize for a random winner:

At the Double D blog you can learn more and see the fabulously creative team samples.  Have a beautiful day!

Stamps:  Whipper Snapper Easter Lilies  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80#, green glitter cardstock for sentiment, Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid designer paper  Ink:  Palette Noir  Coloring:  Tombow markers  Other:  Cottage Cutz Greetings, flower punch, one green gem, Stickles Stardust glitter glue

In the Dark Lavinia Woods

Hello!  I've been away for a few days having a very busy week which wrapped up on Friday with a friend over for lunch and stamping.  We made it a Lavinia day because we're both hooked and we need the practice.  It's a learning process and thank goodness for all the samples I've pinned and videos I've watched.

This card was inspired by Tracey's video titled "Flight Through the Dark Woods".  The title alone is enough to grab me.

I made minor changes, working with what I have and choosing an owl and fox, rather than a fairy.  I hoped to suggest a sense of being on the edge of the woods looking out.  The sun is setting and the sky is darkening.  I've said before how I love a forest.

I keep learning my way around the scene making.  I embossed some of the vining leaves in the foreground and once again the powder stuck in places it didn't belong.  The next day I added more embossing and it went just fine.  I've learned that all those layers of blended ink take longer to dry than I'd imagined, and so I need to give it more time before embossing.  A heat tool helps, but waiting is best.

I would like to share in the following challenges:

The Sisterhood of Crafters:  The Color Green
Colorful Options:  March, Green
NBUS Challenge #48 -- Never before used fox, owl, vine, tree, star sprinkles.

  

Thank you!  Wishing you the best of days always.

Lemons and Blueberries

Hello there!  I'm glad you stopped by to start a new week with me.  Or maybe you're here at the end of the week.  At any rate it's good to see you.

I continue in my effort to empty out my basketsful of not-yet-used everything.  I know, it's never going to happen, but I can try.  Today's makes are with the Pinkfresh Lemons and Blueberries stamp set with matching dies.  It's not brand new and it's been in my basket for a while (hanging my head).  I think the stamps are so pretty!  As you can see I made two cards.

The first has the lemons and blueberries arranged on a favorite old Spellbinders die which I've used only a handful of times.  It's the most gorgeous die with twining vines and a little bit of lattice.  I sponged the edges, then smooshed with Versamark ink and clear embossed.  Layered once for dimension.  I traced and cut a center layer, added a sentiment from the Lemons and Blueberries set, an extra die cut embellishment, and a few gold gems.  Maybe a bit busy but I like it.

The next card is simpler, using the wreath and some mixed and matched sentiments from my stash.  Gold elastic cord for a bow, and more of the gold gems.  I think you can see the texture of the card base.  I embossed both card bases with the SU Subtle 3D embossing folder, but the photo didn't pick it up on the white card.

Well, that was fun!  I used all the stamps (more on the insides) and now the set is tucked away in a drawer.  There is so much to play with in my room, new and old.  I could never run out of crafty joy.

Of course, I'm heading to the party at Darnell's NBUS Challenge #48 where we share our "never before used schtuff".

Thanks for your time!  I hope I'll be back soon but it looks like a busy week.  We'll see how it goes.  Take care!

Stamps:  Pinkfresh Lemons and Blueberries with coordinating dies, Power Poppy Big Scripts (smile sentiment), Hero Arts Moments sentiment  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, SU Almost Amethyst  Ink:  Versamark, SU Old Olive and Lovely Lilac  Coloring:  Tombow markers  Other:  Gold elastic cord, Honey Bee Gems, SU Subtle 3D embossing folder, Spellbinders Decorative Curved Square die set