2nd Attempt

As you can see, I can't get enough of that masking technique.  I tried using Distress inks this time, but had a harder time.  Not sure if its cause its water based? Whatever it is, I had a harder time, but managed to come up with this card.  The large butterfly is Penny Black and the rest of the stamps are by Hero Arts.  I guess I gotta keep practicing!

Stain Inspiration

Back in April, the Paper Crafter's Library blog featured the new Distress Stains by Ranger.  After just coming off of my Tim Holtz Online Card Class high, I was eager for more Distress info.  One of their cards totally caught my eye... click here for the link and scroll down to the bottom of the post to see my inspiration.

How easy is it to create a nice background using Distress Stains?  I was a bit hesitant about purchasing the stains since I already had most of the ink pads, but this totally convinced me.  I used crushed olive, stormy sky and concord grape to make this card.  You can't tell since I took the photo on my craft sheet, but I mounted it on kraft cardstock.  After I used the stains for the background, I stamped the leaf and sentiment using Archival Ink. Both stamps are by Hero Arts.

I was trying to make some samples for my upcoming class with Debi, and was playing around with my stains.  Totally loving the look and ease of this technique!  If you are in the Hilo area, hope you can join us for our first joint class together!

Tech"neat" Class

 When I signed up for the Hero Arts Tech"neat" class, I was so excited and was really looking forward to it.  After the first class at 8:00am, we had a break for lunch before our next class.  So we decided to head to the Silhouette booth to do their make-n-take.  I wish we did it earlier, because by the time we went, they were almost out!  They were giving out bags that you would iron on a design cut from the Silhouette.  My sister and I chose the same design, but she chose the red flock and I chose the smooth red.  After our images were cut, we had to weed out the part that we didn't want on the bag.  Man, did I have a hard time doing that!  I struggled and the girl had to help me out!  My sister on the other hand had no problem.  Sigh.  So they even had a hard time ironing it on!  Finally the girl pressed it several times before assuring me that it would be ok.  You can tell where I made mistakes, but overall I was still happy with my project.

After that, we headed back to the classroom for our Tech"neat" class.  Since we had sat through their last class, we knew the pace would be fast.  We were better prepared for this one and was able keep up, which was surprising since there was more technique involved (hence the name).  Even though we made the same amount of cards in this class and the cards were more difficult, I think we had more fun and our cards came out better in this one.  Here's all of the cards we made.

This was the first card we made... I think it was my favorite technique!  We finger painted using distress inks.  At first my sister was not into getting her fingers dirty, but after she realized she had to do it, she actually enjoyed it.  We couldn't wash the ink off after class and later recognized who was in the class by their dirty fingers!

This was my other favorite card of the day.  I think its cause its using one of my favorite color combos- pink and brown! you can't tell from this photo, but the pink heart is actually attached to the inside of the card and you can see it through the die cut heart.  I think its one of those dies that match the stamp system.

Sis and I decided that we should have taken more classes as this one was really fun.  I don't think we could take as many as Patti did- she didn't even have time to eat! But I think there might have been a few more that I would have wanted to go to.  If I ever go again, I'm gonna register really early and try to get into the Tim Holtz class- I'm sure that one is worth waking up early for!

Hero Arts CHA Class!

So you are probably wondering if I took any classes while at CHA?  Well, I managed to get into 2 Hero Arts classes and dragged my sister along with me.  She was hesitant at first, but after the class starting going, she managed to keep up and ended up enjoying herself.  In this first class, we made 5 cards in 2 hours!!  Of course, all the kits were cut, so we didn't have to take time for that.. just had to cut out a few stamped images, but nothing major.

The best part about taking the class was that it was taught by Hero's Designers that you see all the time on their blog- Jennifer McGuire (stamp god) and Shari Carroll and a few others.  It was fun to see them in action and get great tips along the way.

The pace of this class was FAST!  Even I had a hard time keeping up, but I think it might have been because I was trying hard to listen to the instruction over my sister whispering to me.. "what did she say?, what do we do now?"  I think it didn't help that we picked the back of the room either.  The cool thing was that during the class, they picked names and gave away stamps from the new catalog and at the end of class, they told us what stamps and supplies we could take with us.  All that free loot was so worth it!  Did I mention the class was included in the badge fee?  Others around us told us that last year you had to pay $30 per class, so this was a good deal.  Free is good to me!

As you can see, that newsprint background stamp was used a lot.  I think I need to get that stamp!

We also used that pretty Basic Gray paper.  Love it!

Since this was a basic card making class, the cards were pretty simple to make. The only thing we did really was put them together.  It did give me some good ideas in terms of layering etc.  If you want to see these cards in person, head down to Island Scrapbooking- I dropped them off there for customers to check out.

I took another class the same day, so I'll share another post on the cards we made in that class.  Ja mata!

Stamp Layering Card Class Bonus

Every now and then I like to treat my students to a bonus project. Its fun to give them something extra when they least expect it. I had bought this new Hero Arts cling set by Basic Gray after the class announcement was made, but I really wanted to use it in a layering card, so I thought it would be nice to feature it in the class. I procrastinated and procrastinated, and finally came up with the design the morning of the class! Yikes- talk about cutting it close! So- here's the card... And here's the close up of the berries I stamped in versamark and added some gold mica powder. Mica powder doesn't seem to photograph well, but I think you can see enough of it here. Supplies:

• All stamps- Hero Arts
• Cardstock-Bazzil
• Mica powder
• Distress inks
• Brilliance inks

Embossed Tree Christmas

In between Sister Stamps stuff, I've been working on ideas for my Christmas Card class series. Here's one that I think will be saved until next month's class. I was finally able to use my new Spellbinder frames dies that I love. Decided to go with a cream and gold theme, but you can't really tell from the photo. It looks more like white and silver yah? I guess the lighting was bad at Island Scrapbooking when I took the picture. I love this new cling set by Hero Arts. It also comes with sentiments- I used one on the inside but didn't get a photo. After coming up with the idea, this card came together really quickly. No coloring, just stamp, emboss, cut and you're done! I suppose if you wanted to add some color, you could add some colored crystals to the tree. Personally I like it just using cream and gold. Hope you are having a nice weekend! After having 2 furlough weeks in a row, I feel like the regular weekend is so short! Gotta go get ready for class and the upcoming rummage sale at Island Scrapbooking... need to make room for new supplies! Check it out next Saturday for great deals.

Another Wreath Card

I didn't realize it until Debi told me the other day... "You like wreaths yah?". I guess I do. I didn't think I did, but I guess I do use them a lot on my projects. Here's another Hero Arts holiday stamp that I picked up and yup... its a wreath! I thought it was more rustic looking and that I could use it for "manly" christmas cards. The challenge was to figure out what color to ink up the image. After discussing it with Debi, I decided it was best to ink it up in brown and add the green to the wreath using my copics. I tried it out on white cardstock, but decided to try it out on kraft- since its all the rage. I liked the results a lot on the kraft, so I stuck with that. To jazz it up a bit, I added some gold stickles to the needles. It reminds me of those fake pines that you can decorate your home with. Love it! Too bad you can't see the glitter in the photos that well. Here's the result... Since it was screaming for a sentiment, I chose a banner from my new favorite stamp set by Lawn Fawn. It is so easy to stamp and cut out and looks really cute. I chose a Hero Arts sentiment from an old clear set. The wreath still needed something, so I used the two doves from the same banner set and cut them out to put on the wreath. For a touch of color, I added a small punched red heart between them. Never thought I'd use those doves, but they came in handy here! Supplies:

• Wreath stamp- Hero Arts
• Doves and banner stamp- Lawn Fawn
• Sentiment- Hero Arts
• Heart hand punch
• Stickles- red and gold

It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas?

Well, not really... but I must say that summer is almost over in Hilo- there's been a lot of rain and not that much sunshine considering its the middle of summer! Anyway, I'm gearing up for my upcoming Christmas card class, which I started last year about this time. We had a lot of fun making simple Christmas cards and projects that I decided to do it again this year. Plus, my regular students were all asking me when it was going to start up again and I can't let them down! Here's a card that I don't think we'll do in class, but I thought I'd share it anyway. A bunch of new Hero Arts holiday stamps arrived at Island Scrapbooking and I couldn't wait to start playing with them. I must admit it was a nice break from Sister Stamping. The green came out different from what I visualized, but I like how it came out anyway. This snowman just called to me, so I added him on as the focal point. Here's a close up of Mr. Snowman. Doesn't he look so happy? He made me happy- can't wait for the holidays now! I will share another card that will be in the class soon. Ta ta for now! Supplies:

• Snowman- Hero Arts
• Dot background- Hero Arts
• Border and corner punches- Martha Stewart
• Distress Inks- Ranger

Stamp Layering Class

Hope you are having a nice weekend so far. Celebrated my last furlough Friday (for now anyway) by teaching a class on stamp layering. I got inspired by the Hero Arts blog a few months back and have since bought a lot of stamps that are ideal for layering. I also got me some shadow inks to work with my distress inks, along with some mica powder. We had a lot of fun in class yesterday and were able to finish all three cards pretty quickly. If there were more supplies, I think the class would have been done in about an hour. Used the gold mica powder on this one. I think you can kinda see it on the top left corner of the card since the light got to it in the photo. Used this one as a sample- we didn't make it in class, but I always like to show them different ways of applying the same technique. All stamps are by Hero Arts.

Full of Words

Guess I forgot to post this one... Made this a few weeks ago while getting ready for one of my classes. I really like using words as an accent. This card is just full of examples of how I've used words not only as the sentiment, but also on the background and on the flowers, which are the focal point of the card. My other favorite thing to use lately is kraft cardstock as my background. This card was very simple to put together.. just cut a piece of kraft and punched the corners only using the French Scroll corner punch by Martha Stewart. After I punched it, I thought it was a bit plain, so I stamped it using my Hero Arts background writing stamp in distress ink. I liked how this turned out since it gave it a vintage look. Cut the flowers and leaves using my Spellbinder nesties and used Pearl Brads (American Crafts) and pearl accents (Kaisercraft) for the centers. Topped it off with the Lawn Fawn banners and sentiment sets. Love how they coordinate so well together. The Lawn Fawn banner set is quickly becoming one of my faves. Sometimes a simple card is just as nice as a fancy card!

More Embossed Thank Yous

Since I had my embossing gun out, decided to get a few more embossed cards done for the fair. I wasn't sure if I could stamp and emboss over already embossed images, but I guess it worked on my first card. I like how the white embossing powder shows up on the kraft cardstock. Kraft is my new favorite card base. This next card was inspired by the Hero Arts blog. I wanted to replicate a similar card but couldn't figure out how they colored in the flowers in red and white. I thought using my trusty white uniball gel pen would work, but I didn't really like the results. I guess I may never know how they did that. I'm guessing some kind of red and white enamel ink? Fabric ink? Anyway, hopefully I figure it out one day. If anyone knows, let me know- here's the link to the card I'm referring to... Don't forget to come and visit me at the Japanese Cultural Center Craft Fair! See you then!

Thanks So Much

Finally sat my butt down to make some cards for this weekend's craft fairs. Decided to do simple cards so I don't stress myself out... Its all about production, not necessarily details. So I busted out my new Hero Arts cling set and new shadow inks to try them out. I must say I like the subtleness of the shadow inks. It came out nicer than I expected. To give it a more worn vintage look, I added distress Vintage Photo to the ends along with some other distress colors. Since I get bored easily, decided to do them in different colors... Here's the close ups.. Yay! This week is another furlough Friday for us. Teaching a class tomorrow and then 2 craft fairs on Saturday. Please come and visit me if you are in Hilo at the Japanese Cultural Center craft fair. Puna Taiko will also be selling butter mochi for $6 a pan. My other craft fair items will be available at the FCE fair at Aunty Sally's. Hope you can stop by!

Embossed Thank Yous

While making cards for the craft fair, I decided to make either Birthday or Thank you cards. That way, if they don't sell, I'll have a stash for myself for later. Either way I win... right? Anyway, keeping it simple by embossing in my favorite Queen's Gold embossing powder on this brown metallic cardstock. It has a gold undertone, so the gold embossing really adds to it. All stamps except for the Thank You stamp on the first card are by Hero Arts. The Thank You Stamp at the top is by Paper Inspirations. I have a feeling this company doesn't exist anymore, which makes me sad since they had really nice stamps. I'm glad I picked them up when I did since you can't seem to find them anymore. Hopefully they will start manufacturing again because I know a whole mess of people who want their stamps!

It's Time To Celebrate!

A few months back, I saw this post on Donna's blog. Since then, I've been totally inspired by her work and have bought many of the stamps she features on her blog. This card is definitely CASEing her work. There's not much deviation from her original design. I guess I couldn't improve on it! I think the main difference is the ribbon and lace punch that I used for the border. Other than that, its pretty much the same. Here's a close up of the image. All stamps are by Hero Arts and lace punch is by EK success. Thanks Donna for such great inspiration!

Inspired

Have you been inspired by other crafters? I'm sure we all have... I'm inspired all the time by fellow bloggers too. Awhile ago, I saw a card posted on Donna's blog that made me want to buy this stamp. I love her creations and even bought the canvas stripes stamp as well. Finally got around to playing with it recently. I had made a bunch of distress watercolor backgrounds that were ready to go, so putting together this card was super easy. First, I stamped the musical notes background using more distress ink. Then stamped musical walk and the sentiment in black. Then added pearl accents randomly on the background. I love how it came out! Here's a close up... Wow, can't believe Easter is this Sunday! Have a great (short) week!

Last Class Samples

Woah! Didn't realize I scheduled so many classes this month! I have a break this weekend but then I teach one or two classes each week for the next 3 weeks. Yikes! Hope I can remember which class I'm teaching and don't show up with the wrong kits. Anyway, here's the last of the card samples for my classes. Decided to teach Copic Blending again since its been awhile since I've done that class. The great thing about that class is that the cards are very simple since the focus is on coloring technique. We always make 2 cards in this class along with "practice" coloring. I get bored, so I normally change the cards every month. I love this new Hero Arts set called Life of the Party, so I included the cute cotton candy image in this card. I thought the loopy border punch gave this card the exact feel I wanted when it was combined with the flag paper- so festive! The first card uses the CC's girl that's lying down. It just seemed perfect to use the cloud paper and grass punch for that card. Hope I don't get my classes mixed up! Have a great weekend!

Thinking of You

Finally getting around to practicing more of the stamp layering technique. I used the distress/watercolor technique by putting some distress inks on my craft mat and spritzed water over it. Then got some watercolor paper and soaked up all the distress ink to make this background. I love how it came out! The watercolor paper just soaks it all up so nicely. After it dried, I used my new Thanks definition background stamp in antique linen distress ink. You can't really see the words itself since its on the watercolor paper, so I wasn't stuck using a "thank you" theme. After the definition stamp dried, I stamped the weed looking stamp using broken china distress ink and then added the dragonflies with peeled paint distress ink. For a fun look that I always forget to use, I ended up tearing the bottom of the paper and added distress ink to cover up the white that showed through. Finished it off with a sentiment, crystals and a bow. This is becoming one of my favorite techniques!

Happiness

I wanted to get in the girl's day mood, so I searched for some of my japanese girl stamps. Forgot about this Hero Arts clear set and decided to ink it up for old time's sake. I've been trying out stamp layering and thought it might be cool on this card. Started with the ledger background cling stamp in Antique Linen (Distress). Then I stamped the Happiness kanji stamp and the cherry blossom branch from Stampendous. Love it! Kept with the brown theme instead of black ink and I love how it turned out! Finally stamped the girl and added a fan to her hand. After coloring in all the flowers, I decided to add some diamond glaze for a lacquer effect. Here's a close up look of this asian cutie.

Copy Cat

Yes, I'm a copy cat. I couldn't help myself. I saw a card made by Robin ("cardrageous") on the Hero Arts blog, which took me to Flickr where I started browsing her cards. I totally fell in love with the card that looks like this one and got inspired to copy it. I love the colors she used too, so I used the same colors. She used the canvas stripe stamp for the lower half of her card, but I don't have that stamp (yet), so I just left it as is. Added some scattered pearls to my card and just stamped the sentiment over the flowers. Since its been at Island Scrapbooking, this card has caught the attention of our regulars. Unfortunately I can't take credit for the design, so I'll happily give credit where credit is due. Thanks Robin! I love your work!

Happy Early Valentine's Day!

I couldn't wait for this new Hero Arts cling stamp to come in. Ever since I saw Donna Mikasa use it, I knew I had to have it (thanks for the inspiration Donna!). I had some difficulty using it with my distress inks as she did- will have to try again later. Instead I decided to try embossing it and then using my distress inks over it in an emboss resist technique. Went with gold embossing powder (Queen's gold- my favorite!) and then Red Barn distress ink over it. I love the results- looks very fancy schmancy. Since it was so fancy looking, decided to keep it simple and just layer my new nesties over it and accent with some crystals. I did one more card using this background stamp that I will share with you soon. Totally different look just by using different colors! Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been up to! Have a great week! Supplies:

• Sentiment: Denami Designs
• Background stamp- Hero Arts
• Queen's Gold- Ranger
• Crystals- Kaisercraft
• Distress ink- Ranger
• Labels nestiblilities- Spellbinders