When my new Hero Arts kit arrived the other day I was pretty excited as they have had issues with getting orders fulfilled due to Covid-19. Anyway I decided to have a go at playing with it and this is what I came up with. I confess it isn’t my design as I basically CASEd a design from their blog. You can find it here. My version isn’t an exact copy but it is a close one. I had fun following along with the video to get something similar and am happy with how it turned out. I coloured with a combination of pencils, copics and Spectrum noir markers, but my blending leaves a lot to be desired. It took several tries for me to get the cutting and embossing right based on the instructions but I managed it in the end. As it fits the challenge I decided to enter it although when I first started the card I wasn’t really doing it with a challenge in mind.

Using one of my new MFT Floral background stamps I stamped the image in white pigment ink onto the blue cs and then clear embossed it. I already had the 2 frame die cuts on my desk as they were left from another project and I intertwined them and then laid them on the card to see how it looked. I liked it, so decided to proceed with using these but making part of the stamped image stand out more. I initially coloured in the center parts with a white pencil but it wasn’t quite white enough so went over the top with some white water colour. This I liked. I added some gold water colour to the flower centers and used a pencil on the stems. Didn’t want a lot of colour but it definitely needed the hint. From a Divinity Designs stamp set I chose the sentiment and stamped it with Blueprint Sketch Distress oxide to which I added clear heat embossing. Cut it to the size and popped it up at the bottom. Getting the negative and positive look gave me a background paper and a solid image in the frames and I love the result.

On previous posts you’ve seen scraps of the background already but this is the card originally created using it. Stamp sets used are from Concord & 9th, Inspired by Stamping with the beach ball coming from a free Internet image. I hand tore the bottom of the background piece to create the illusion of waves on the beach, then I added a piece of kraft that I shaded a bit to create the illusion of sand. Once it was glued to card front I added the chair and the ball. I added the sun and glittered the centre of it then added tiny clouds on top. Added the larger cloud and then the fussy cut sentiment. If all goes well, I hope to be sitting on our boat looking over the ocean pretty soon.

This cute digi was found on Pinterest as a freebie so I decided to use it for this challenge. I resized it a bit in CorelDraw and then printed it onto some cs. Using mostly Inktense pencils, along with one or two copics I coloured all the elements until I was happy with them. The sentiment is combination of several stamps from SSS which I put together after cutting each one to the correct size. I glued these to the card front. This was kept very simple and is for the most part a one layer card. I thought of adding some bling but decided it didn’t need any embellishment.

My card uses the middle line – insect, flowers and woodgrain and it also includes the double dare as it has bling added too. I started with one of my new Taylored Expressions layering stencils called Hexagon and after adding the mask I proceeded to ink up the panel using Distress Oxides. Once that was done I took a Sissix EB folder and dry embossed the bark wood grain. On another piece I stamped the daisies from a GKD set called Daisy Delight and coloured them with a mix of pencils and Copics. When happy I fussy cut them out. Added a few bits of foam at the back and then onto card front. From the same set I used the ladybug stamp, fussy cut and then added in the corner. Sentiment was stamped onto a sss says banner die and I found a small paper bow in my stash and added that to the flower stems. A few gems for flower centers and a pearl on the bow and the card was complete.

My idea to create this card was to fill the divided space with sweet things. All images have been fussy cut after colouring and I used several stamp sets for the images. 3 sets are from GKD and one stamp is from CTMH. I used some left over cut strips to divide up my card and tried to get even spacing considering that anything to do with numbers is not my forte. Coffee, cake and sweet wishes go together in my book. There is a bit of glitter on the card that doesn’t show in the photo. The card base is gray from SSS.

In trying out my new Yasutomo mineral paper I created this background. First I inked it completely with various blues and then I added the look of the Aurora Borealis with other inks and by swiping. Using a star stencil, made by my stamping buddy Bonnie, and a squeezed out baby wipe, I placed the stencil and basically wiped off the colour through the stencil. When it was completely dry I mounted it on top of the blue foil and added it to the card front. The birch trees were cut from a distressed foil piece I made a few weeks ago and after adding some dimensionals in strategic places I added it to the side. I let it sit for a day or two because I wasn’t sure which direction I wanted to go next. After some thinking and going through my stamps I decided on adding some falling stars and I stamped these with a set from GKD called All Stars. I added some shine with opal blaze and then added some Nuvo Chrystal drops to the top. I pierced each star to make a hole and added some gold cord through the holes to make them seem as if they are falling out of the tree. Sentiment is from same set and I fussy cut the words to make them fit on the tree. They also have some sparkle and dimension. I figure this card could qualify as a Christmas card so it will get added to that small stash.

Inspiration from the photo is the pinks and the flowers and the design style is clean and layered.

After my new goodies arrived I was eager to try them out. Firstly I had bought a couple of Taylored Expressions stencils as well as some paper I had read about and wanted to try. The paper is by Yasutomo and is a mineral paper. The beauty of it is that you can wipe it clean if you don’t like the results. It is very different, but for some things I think a fun product to have. Haven’t tried stamping on it yet.

Using a template given as a freebie by Susie Moore with her clear instructions it was really easy to play at making some plaid. When happy with my plaid and sure it was dry, I cut it with a scallop die and glued to my card front. Taking a small piece of water colour paper I stamped the flower image with my new MFT fine lined floral using antique rose distress ink. Then when that was dry I took my pastel Tombow markers and coloured over those lines spreading the colour with a bit of water. I used 2 different pinks and some green for this step. The stamens were done with a gold pen, then I took a shimmery water colour and added that over the top so that the flowers have a lovely shine to them when card is tilted a bit. Can’t get that showing in the photo. I cut this piece down quite a bit using another of the scallop dies and then grounded the stems with a scrap piece of pp that was already cut into a grass shape. The sentiment is from CTMH and I hung it off a tiny strip of water coloured paper that I had left over from something made long ago. This was fun to make and to get the result I hoped for.

When die cutting the outline for the ornament for another project I messed it up trying to get it out of the die. I had to cut a second one and still had this piece on my desk. I fixed it a bit and glued it on top of the red solid shape. Then to hide the torn bits I added gems. It sat on my desk for about 10 days as I wasn’t inspired to use it immediately. I had the ribbon also on my desk and was about to put it away when I thought of adding a bow to the ornament. Then it sat around for a days more. The frame was another scrap that I was thinking about trying to use and by accident it slid underneath the ornament. My mind said Hmmm … I wonder if … I found the scrap green cs and dry embossed it. Added it to the red card front and after stamping the sentiment to the frame I added that on top of the green panel. The tiny poinsettia is a fussy cut bit from a scrap of dsp. Sentiment is from a GKD set, the folder is from CTMH but I cannot remember who made the die set and have had it for ages.

I saw a tutorial recently on a blog and stupidly I forgot to bookmark it so cannot give credit to the person. Anyway it inspired me to make this card which folds flat for mailing but weighs nothing. I had already made the sea portion and this was a small torn off piece that I didn’t want to throw away. This design was the perfect way to use it. I added it to a small piece of cream cs and then added the fussy cut beach chair. Stamp from Inspired by stamping, Seaside set. I embossed the darker blue piece for going underneath and embossed two strips of cream cs for the sides. The large shell came from a Hero Arts set and the smaller shells from a GKD set and all of those I fussy cut before gluing on. I used some opal blaze on all the shells so they have shine and sparkle. The larger shell is popped up so that the easel part will stand properly. Sentiment is from another GKD set. It looks better in reality than on the photo and I am quite happy with the end result.