A Blog Named Hero

Hero Arts Love!

Hi, Jess here!  In case you missed it, this month the ladies at A Blog Named Hero are doing a Hero Arts love fest!  We’re the ultimate Hero Arts fan girls and this month we’re gonna prove it! 😉

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When I saw the Garland Bold Prints background stamp in the holiday Hero Arts catalog I totally fell head over heels for it and got it as soon as it was available online.  I brainstormed ideas for it but nothing quite fit until I saw these gorgeous cards by Amy and Suzanne on the Hero Arts blog!  I loved the way Amy used the stamp as the focal image for her card but I also loved how Suzanne used multiple stampings of the background stamp.  When I heard we were doing a month of Hero Arts love I knew I wanted to CASE these two talented ladies!

I also loved Amy’s use of non-traditional Christmas colors so I decided to go with pink, teal, and royal blue!

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To create my card I attached the Garland Bold Prints background stamp in the center of my MISTI and went over my cardstock with a powder tool.  Then I temporarily adhered my cardstock panel to the inside of my MISTI, inked the stamp with Hero Arts Unicorn White pigment ink and stamped it onto my cardstock.  I like to use the MISTI for large background stamps because it allows me to restamp if necessary.  Once I was happy with the white coverage I moved my cardstock slightly to one side and slightly lower.  I reinked the stamp with a gold silver pigment ink and stamped the background stamp again.  I moved the cardstock and repeated the process with a gold pigment ink.  Then I let them dry overnight so that the pigment ink wouldn’t smear.

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The following day I trimmed the panel down and adhered them to white cardstock bases.  Then I stamped the second half of the sentiment and heat-embossed it with white embossing powder.  I die-cut the word ‘joy’ and embossed it with ultra high embossing powder before adhering it around the rest of the sentiment with small pieces of foam mounting tape.  Finally I added a few white pearls to cover some of the dots in the garland.
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I really like how they turned out…I actually made a second set in more traditional holiday colors and might have to make a few more to add to my card stash!  But seriously guys, this background stamp is stunning and so versatile!!  If you don’t own it, you need to head over to Simon Says Stamp and pick it up after you finish reading this post! 😉

And to make our celebration just a little more special we are giving away TWO $25 gift certificates to Hero Arts!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for visiting and have a fabulous weekend!!

Sometimes the smallest things…

Hi, Jessica here!  We’re finishing up this month’s collaboration with Pretty Pink Posh but I have one more card to share!

Here’s my bright and colorful card using sequins a little differently! I was inspired by the earlier Happy challenge! 🙂
I’ve recently seen a few cards online with a rainbow wash of color using zig markers and I wanted to give it a try!  I started off by taping a 5×6 piece of watercolor paper to a tilted work surface.  Next I scribbled a few lines of color at the top of the paper with my zig markers.  Then I heavily spritzed the top of the paper with water until the color started to run down the paper.  I kept spritzing until I was happy with the coverage.  Then I let it air dry, keeping it tilted so the colors wouldn’t pool and would keep running down the page.  (I also put a folder paper towel at the bottom of the paper to catch the drips…just a little advice) 😉
Once it was totally dry I stamped the sentiment from Hero Arts and heat-embossed it with silver embossing powder.  Then I masked the sentiment with a little post-it tape and then taped the Hero Arts heart stencil over the watercolor paper and applied a thin layer of pearlescent embossing paste.  While the paste was still wet I sprinkled glitter over the paste, tapped off the excess, and then let it dry.
While it was drying, I took a few strands of metallic silver thread and threaded varying sizes of Pretty Pink Posh sparkling clear sequins onto the thread in random groupings.  Then I wrapped the thread around the top of the watercolor panel and knotted it, letting the ends of the thread drape down loosely.
Thanks so much for visiting today and don’t forget to play along with our current challenge: Die-Cutting!
As always our super generous sponsor:
Is awarding a gift certificate to one random lucky entry!

Let Your Dreams Take Sail

Hi, Jessica here!  This month we are collaborating with Neat and Tangled and my card for today uses some of their cute stamps and sequins!

Here’s my card!
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To start off I blended salty ocean distress ink onto a piece of white cardstock.  I didn’t worry too much about getting a super smooth blend because I knew I’d be layering a background stamp over it.  And actually, the variation in coverage gives more shadow and dimension to the waves!  After that dried I stamped it with the Hero Arts wave background stamp inked with salty ocean, mermaid lagoon, and chipped sapphire distress ink. I just dabbed the pads onto the back of the stamp randomly.  To finish the background I stamped the sentiment from another Hero Arts stamp set onto the panel.
Next I stamped the sailboat from Neat and Tangled onto a piece of cardstock and colored it with copic markers.  I fussy cut the boat and adhered it to the background with foam mounting tape.  Finally I added a sprinkling of sequins in various shades of blue and then mounted that panel to a dark blue card base!
Thanks so much for visiting today and don’t forget to play along with our current challenge: As Clean and Simple As Can Be!
As always our super generous sponsor:
Is awarding a gift certificate to one random lucky entry!

Autumn Gift Bag

Hello, Jessica here!  Today I’m showing off some of the beautiful ribbon we received from our collaboration with May Arts Ribbons!

We’re nearing the end of July and it’s been hot enough around here recently that I’m ready for September/October now!  Autumn is my favorite season and when I was looking at my ribbons I realized that several of them had a very autumn-themed color palette.  So, imagine for a moment that it’s the beginning of October, the air is starting to get that crisp feel to it, and you’re out picking apples in an orchard with the anticipation of having a cinnamon spiced apple pie for dessert!  That’s my inspiration for today’s project!
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Baking is one of my other favorite hobbies and in a few months I plan to pick some honeycrisp apples at our local orchard and make some cinnamon apple nut muffins to stick in this bag as a gift!  Now I just have to wait for the apples to ripen!

To start off I took the pretty gold metallic ribbon and wove it through the natural woven ladder ribbon.  Then I wrapped it around the center of the bag, tucked it over the top of the bag, and used clear gift wrap tape to secure it inside.  Next I die-cut a tag from Simon Says Stamp Chocolate cardstock, stamped the sentiment on it with versamark, and heat-embossed the sentiment with Hero Arts gold embossing powder.  I stamped the apple from Hero Art’s Stamp Your Own Fruit onto white cardstock and used copic markers to color my apple.  I also added a little shine with a wink of stella clear glitter brush.  I fussy cut the apple and adhered it to the tag with foam mounting tape.  I punched a hole in the top of the tag and used the gold metallic ribbon and another ribbon with little copper bows to attach the tag to the bag. I love the various textures of the ribbons and how nicely they compliment each other!
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Thanks for visiting today and don’t forget to play along with our current challenge: Make the Sentiment the Star!

As always our super generous sponsor:

Is awarding a gift certificate to one random lucky entry!

Photo Inspiration Challenge

Welcome to our newest Challenge! We chose some fun photographs from Pinterest, created this collage and sent it out to our Design Team to see how inspiration would strike. It’s rainbows, and colors, and just all of the fun rolled up into one challenge!
Take a look at what the ladies came up with, and I know we’d all love if you’d come to our blogs and say hello. 
Isabel
Lisa
Gayatri
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Jessica
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Bhavana

Our awesome sponsor, Simon Says Stamp has offered a $25 gift certificate to the winner of this challenge. And they have a new release coming out, which we know you’ll want to add to your collection. So, please join us in this challenge. Get our your rainbow supplies and make something awesome. Then use the tool below to enter your project and cross your fingers!

Isabel’s Supplies:

Lisa’s Supplies:

Gayatri’s Supplies:

Jessica’s Supplies:

Bhavana’s Supplies: