you make my world happy (bokeh)

it's me again! and i have another card to share!
it's a two-for sort of day! :)

anyway, i made this card for the super AWESOME a blog named hero challenge!
it's about bokeh - LOVE THAT!

so yes, i was super stoked to try my hand at that technique again, so i HAD to play along! :)

here's my card! :)

i used one of my favorite wooden stamps ever - silly scape! 
i stamped it onto my card panel and then shaded in with some cool grey copics, for a little extra umph! 

the sentiment is from an oldie (but a goodie!!) stamp set - woodland creatures (serisously, one of my first stamp sets, still love it!).
and oh yeah - the bokeh! let's talk about that shall we?

i stamped three different sized small circles in two different inks, and then added some yellow splatters from a mr huey's. finally i added some wood veneer circles to add to the bokeh! to me, the bokeh is all about different sizes, overlapping, and diferent shades of the same color. but that's totally just me! :)

anyway, that's my card! 
thanks and enjoy!

love you more

i love you.
i love yo more.
NO, i love you more.
no, i love YOU more.

this could go on all day, so why not end it with a card! :)
i made this card for the currently a blog named hero challenge! did someone say stencil? OK! i'm in! :)

i have a renewed love for stencils. mostly in part to my obsession with embossing paste. but i find i've been playing with them with mists and distress inks a lot more too! see? obsessions DO open other doors...sometimes...*whistle*

anyway! this card DOES use embossing paste! 

i tinted my white embossing paste with some heidi swapp color shine in teal (swoon). LOVE making my own colors! i used a kelly purkey triangles stencil and then put it over my gold streaked paper!
i just took my white carstock, and my gold ink pad and swiped the ink pad over the white cardstock! easy peasy! and i LOVE the look!

then i stamped my sentiment (from the hero arts/studio calico oh snap stamp set) onto the cardstock with staz-on. the feather is also from that stamp set! i fussy cut it out and then popped it up for some dimension! :)

lastly, i splattered some black velvet heidi swapp color shine (eek!! last - i know! it was dangerous, but turned out ok!) all over so the feather looked like it could have been dipped in ink! :)

so that's it!
enjoy!

gettin my embell-ope on!

hey there!
i made this card/envelope last week with two challenges in mind...and then forgot to take picturs and blog about it, until today! lol! oops! that hasn't happened to me in a while! ha ha!! i missed one of the challenges, but the challenge at a blog named hero is still open (barely! ha ha!)! the challenge is all about decorating the envelope! i think that is such a NEAT idea!! i love it! and it's something that i never do. so i was excited to actually do it! :)

i used two hero arts stamps - the main city image is from the silly scape wood block (still one my all time favorite stamps!!) and the sentiment is from everyday sayings, which is such an awesome set! perfect for literally, any occasion! :)

well, here they are:

 

i made the card first, and it was a blast to coordinate the envelope!

i stamped, fussy cut and popped up the city scene. then i added some glossy accents to a few windows, roofs, etc for a little added interest! 

the background was created by blending two distress inks to make the prettiest sunset ever! lol!

for the envelope, i stamped the city scene, and then masked it off so i could splatter some pink and gold! 

to finish it off, i added the tiniest bit of glitter my wink of stella glitter pen to the city windows, etc (just like the i did with the glossy accents on the card). 

so that's it! like i said, super fun, and totally out of my comfort zone! :) 
enjoy!

old school dad

the latest challenge at a blog named hero is all about masculine cards and projects. perfect! father's day is coming up, (which i'm sure was no accident regarding the timing! nice play - a blog named hero). and so of course i had to make a card for my dad. and when i remembered this stamp set that i had from hero arts, i was totally ready. 

here's my card:

i used some of my distress markers on watercolor paper to make it look like the paper was old (think: treasure map color). then i stamped the images onto the distressed paper. i stamped an extra sheet of 'paper' too. then i put it all on some vintage-y looking old ledger paper. score!

and for some reason, i felt that wood veneers were totally masculine, and added some to the card. and i like how it looks. perfect for my dad! this, a guy who used to wake me up by blaring queen through the house on the weekends in highschool. it doesn't get much better than that! :) he's definitely old school and cool. 

enjoy!

happy day

today's card is one that i made for new friend of mine who just closed on their new house! it's an exciting time! and i thought, why not use some hero arts products and get in on the fun over a blog named hero, right? :) this time, it's free style - no limitations! oh yeah!

so here's my card:

**the lighting is not the best, it' has been raining all night and all morning, so there's no sun to assist me!**

i must say, i do like it a lot! :) it is arguably my favorite color combination (just ask my littlest mann - his room is done in these colors!)! 
i stamped the row of houses stamp set with the wet cement mid tone ink - LOVE me some shadow ink! :) then i stamped one of the houses with the tide pool (looooooooooove that color!) mid-tone shadow ink and popped it up to really make it stand out. i love popped up white on white on a card, so the 'background' panel on this card is white, as well. 

then i just happened to have some matching ribbon (ribbon, you say? what's that?! lol! side note: i realized as i was making this card, that i have not used ribbon on a card...in...well, a while! i blame it on washi - you can't beat it! and i even thought about going the washi route with this card. but i really wanted a bow...so i went with ribbon!). 

the sentiment is from the studio calico/hero arts set oh snap! and finally, i finished it up with some fabbie sequins and pearls. the end! so that's it! 
enjoy! :)

every little thing

i made a (relatively) quick and (definitely) clean and simple card for the latest challenge at a blog named hero.and truth be told, i'm not exactly sure i did it correctly, so you be the judge! :)

the challenge was to use a stamp set to create an embellishment. sound easy, but for some reason i had a hard time wrapping my head around it! lol!

in the end, i came up with this idea, and i really like the end result!

i used the hero arts/studio calico houndstooth background, which i stamped tone on tone onto some pretty, teal-y papers. then i used my circle punch and created some rolled paper flowers. bada bing, bada boom - hello embellishments! :)

i did add some pearls to the center of the flowers, which i think looks really clean and bright. 

the sentiment is from the hero arts/studio calico hooray stamp set, which i also stamped in a sort of 'tone on tone'. and oh right, i added some splashes of mr huey's lunch tray, as well.

so that's it! 

enjoy!

golden oldie

i made this card while i was in FL. my best friend danielle was kind enough to let me come over to her house for a few hours and take my mind off of things. i didn't have ANY of my crafty supplies!! eek! but she gave me access to all of her goodies, so i was able to create this card for my mom!

i was all about the latest challenge at a blog named hero - using older hero arts sets. and i just LOVE the owl i used. LOVE LOVE LOVE! this was my first time coloring him up - and i went totally girly/lovey colors. :) he he!

i used the hero arts all occasion messages and happy hello! 

so, i colored the owl with some american crafts markers and then popped it up for dimension. then i used this SUPER fun, puffy heart embellishment to match the dimension of the owl! the hearts were fussy cut and then added over the owl and the fun new purple chevron washi! 

that's it! hopefully it brings lots of love and smiles to my mom! :)
enjoy!

love you more!

today i'm sharing another card i made for my grandpa. he's still not doing so well, and since i don't live near him, i want to do whatever i can to brighten his day, and right now, that's sending happy mail!

so, this card i made with the latest challenge from a blog named hero in mind! it's such a fun and appropriate challenge for the first one in january! :) use something new! :)

i happened to use this set that i just got from simon says stamp! it's the oh snap stamp set from hero arts/studio calico. it's SUPER awesome, to recap, it has feathers, arrows, hexagons and camera sentiments - sold!! :) ha ha!

so here's my card:

i used some washi (which i am in LOVE with, but haven't had a chance to use yet!!) as my jumping off point! the sentiment and arrows are from the stamp set, and the little potty people (LOVE) are wood veneers from studio calico. and i made the boy bigger than the girl to represent me and my grandpa! :) silly? 

so that's it! hope it got you going to make get crafty, or at least made you smile!
enjoy!

a merry (punchy) christmas layout

today i have another layout (sorry! ha ha!) to share!
i made it for the current challenge over at a blog named hero - using a punch or die cut! and BOY...did i?!

the layout is christmas, and the pictures are from last year, but it really got me in the holiday spirit this year, already! so i'm really glad i finally got to scrap them up! :)

so, if you can't tell, i created a shaker layout, or what i'm calling, a snowglobe layout! :)
first of all, i sewed a clear sheet of acetate over the background patterned paper and then i literally used my ek success circle punch to cut create the 'snow'. i punched out an entire 12x12 sheet of white glitter paper!! it took some time, but i really like the effect it gives in the 'snow globe'! under the acetate, i put a picture and a few layers of punched out trees --> which i distressed with white ink to make it look snowy! :)

the pictures were also cut with my nestabilities dies for added interest. the trees are from hero arts 'snowman christmas', which i paper pieced (one is popped up with pop dots). i also used the snowflakes from that same set and stamped right onto the acetate with white. that was fun! 

the tab is also a die cut (from my favorite things). and i used the letters from 'fanciful alphabet' to create the 'nolan's first christmas' section. :) and lastly the 'merry' sentiment is from the hero arts set 'holiday sayings'. i stamped that right onto some freckled fawn washi tape, and it worked perfectly! :)

so that's it. sort of a lot going on. but i like it! it reflects what christmas day is all about - crazy, fun, family and snow! :)
enjoy!

merry and bright (again)

*2nd post for the day! i'm on a ROLL!* 

ok, i think it's safe to assume two things...i love using 'merry and bright' as my sentiment for nontraditional christmas cards. and i'm a sucker for cityscapes.

so i have another take on a similar card i made recently (here), but this time with hero arts! :)
i made this card for two challenges:

the tuesday trigger over at moxie fab world (just LOOK, it's a city!!!!):

and for the latest challenge over at CAS-ual fridays - using kraft!

so, here it is:

i stamped the silly scape city onto some kraft paper and then used some glitter on a few of the windows. it's supposed to represent people being home there, maybe even a fire or two in the fireplaces - it is a christmas card after all! :) i also made the clockface on the tower glossy and orange, so it would stand out.
the sentiment was created using the fanciful swirl alphabet.

now, to the background...i used gelatos again!! and this time i flicked a little water on it (my favorite technique i think!) so it looked like a soft snow fall - it's hard to capture that in pictures. :(

i blended two purples and a pink to make the background. and i'm not even kidding...as i was writing this post, the sky here LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE the sky here (minus the snow, of course!). so i had to take a picture - talk about life imitating art! lol!! so pretty! (it looked even more like it in person!)

so that's it!
hope you guys have an awesome weekend!!!
enjoy!

a happy hello

ok, i'm going to start off by saying, i love getting crafty! :) whew, i just had to get that off of my chest! lol! :)

so today i have a card that i made for the current challenge going on over at a blog named hero! 

it's all about keeping your project clean! :)

this whole card started from the idea of wrapping the tag around the card with the twine! i don't know why, but i do love that look! i used some older stamp sets from hero arts: happy hello and fanciful swirl alphabet (for the little birdie!)

i cut out the clouds from the base of the cardstock and put some fabulous amy tangerine teal paper behind them! i like the look of the patterened clouds for some reason! :)

the tag and the owl are popped up (lots of dimension on this card!) :) i also paper pieced and colored the little owl (who i can't get enough of!).

so that's it! just a happy little card to send a happy little hello! :)
hopefully it brightened your day, just a little!
enjoy!

do not open until

i am loving this card i made for two amazing challenges! 
the challenege over at a blog named hero is all about tags! yay! 

and one of the challenges at the moxie fab world is all about incorporating the gallon/quart/pint lesson! this is a fabbie technique that i have really taken to heart lately because i think it adds so much to a card (but in a subtle way!)!

i'm still trying to sprinkle some christmas card crafty time now, while i have the chance, to make each christmas card special (and so i don't feel rushed when i procrastinate too long!) ha ha! and when i heard tags, i thought - christmas present!

i used an older hero arts set for the cute little kitty image! i paper pieced him and popped him up for fun!

i added some basic grey tiny type (i was inspired by my bff at girlracer scrap who LOVES tiny type!) to the tag and wrapped some lawn fawn twine around 'randomly'! it makes me giggle, because it's sort of silly! 

oh yeah, and i spritzed some mr huey's white onto the red cardstock to add an abstract snowy feel! :)
so that's it! hope it made you smile too!
enjoy!

a scratch and sniff birthday card!

i created my first scratch and sniff card for the most recent challenge at a blog named hero and the gallon, quart pint technique challenge over at the moxie fab world! 

it's all about embossing, and the video techinique i watched uses heat embossing to create the scratch and sniff! so exciting!! i saw this video on the hero arts facebook page last week, and could not wait to try it out!! and now that i've made one, i can't wait to make more! lol!

here's my card, beware: it's an odd color combination!

orange, purple and cream! what?! well i had to use purple (which i'm really not a fan of...) because i was making this card for my bff in michigan. her favorite color is purple, she loves peach flavored things, and cotton candy! so as you can see...i tailored this card to her completely! 

the cotton candy faces were made into the scratch and sniff part with peach flavored jello and clear embossing powder! i even used an action wobble on the big guy there! he's ready to party! 

the other one is also popped up, but he can't move! ha ha! 
all in all, it was super fun to create and try out a new technique i hadn't done before! :)
hope it brought a smile to your face!
enjoy!

gettin my kraft on

i just got krafty crafty...i just had some fun! :) ha ha!

the latest challenge over at a blog named hero is all about using kraft on a project! and i love the challenge and i love my card! 

i also wanted to enter this in the moxie fab focal point challenge!

i made a square-ish card with asymmetrical corners, for starters, so what's not to love about that?!

i used a cloud die cut and then used some washi tape to dress it up like a rainbow! then i popped up the whole cloud for some dimensional fun.

the sentiment and sun image are from the hero arts stamp set, "sky's the limit" (love that set!). i heat embossed them, because i LOVE the way white heat embossed things look on kraft paper, so i couldn't  resist! 

then, i even added some distress to the edges with "old paper" distress ink. i told you...i'm all about distress inks right now! i know, i'm like super late to the party, but i'm glad i'm here now!! ha!

so that's it! i hope the card made you smile! that was my goal!
enjoy!