Christmas Joy

Maybe it's time to start making Christmas cards.  For this card I've used stamps from Hero Arts AC026 Brush Strokes, a very non-Christmas stamp set, to make the tree and the baubles using my favourite stamping technique, which is stamping without embossing (lazy).

Hero Arts are having a Holiday Challenge, with three categories (mine's the third category):

• Deck the Cards — ‘Tis the season for decking the halls…and of course the cards, too! Use at least one Hero Arts embellishment to deck-out your holiday card. A few options include metallic decor, gems, pearls, and felt embellishments.

• Merry and Bright – Brighten up your holidays with NEON! Use any Hero Arts neon ink or neon dauber on your project.

• A Few of My Favorite Things – Create any Christmas/Holiday/Winter card with a favorite stamping technique plus a Hero Arts holiday stamp.

• 
  

And the challenge at Less is More this week is TREES:

It doesn't matter what kind of trees, but we would like to see a little more than just leaves!

So mine's a Christmas Tree:)

Hero Arts: AC026 Brush Strokes, CL630 Miracle of the Holidays

Red Washi Birthday

Over on the Hero Arts Flickr Group, Barb is having a challenge to make a card using grey and one other colour, and using only Hero Arts stamps.

At Less Is More, this week's challenge is:

WASHI TAPE

You can use the shop bought type or you can make your own one way or another. We know you will be inventive if you don't have any in your stash...

So the other colour I used alongside grey was dictated by the red striped washi tape.  I stamped the celebrate sentiment in the top border of the ledger (both in Versafine Smoky Grey) and everything else in Brilliance Rocket Red.

Hero Arts: CG138 Ledger, CG275 Birthday, AC026 Brush Strokes, CL611 Many Birthday Messages.

Graffiti Dosh

Here's a card for those hard-to-make-for young men who don't appreciate cards with golfers or racing cars on them.  It's got money on it instead - far nicer to look at, and even nicer to spend :)

I'm entering it into A Blog Named Hero challenge 29, Reduce Reuse Recycle.  

The recycled bit is the paper bag which contained a pack of sequins from Neat & Tangled (don't forget to pop over for their month-long birthday bash - still lots of inspiration and prizes to be won).  I thought it would make a nice holder for dosh or a voucher card.

I've used the colours from colourQ's new challenge:

And as I've used all Hero Arts AC026 Brush Strokes stamps, I'm also entering it into the Hero Arts Stamp Your Story Inspired By challenge:

The tag made me think of using the bag on a card and the arrow - well I just got carried away with it :)

DIY Day Mk1

I've been doing some DIY.  With triangles.  Well, with non-triangles.  I wanted to make a card featuring triangles for four challenges but the only triangle set I have wasn't inspiring me, so I made my own with some of the stamps from the Hero Arts AC026 Brush Strokes set.

Simon Says Wednesday challenge is ...

TRIANGLES!

Moxie Fab World has a challenge called Trendy Triangles.

Hero Arts are having a Stamp Your Story Inspiration Challenge until the end of September where you trawl their galleries for inspiration.

My inspiration is from this card by Jennifer McGuire:

And oh, look! This week's Case Study card is also by Jennifer McGuire:

Hero Arts: AC027 Brush Strokes, CL611 Many Birthday Messages
Mei Flower pearl grey gems
Tombow pens

Inspired By

Just squeezing into the challenge at A Blog Named Hero to create a card inspired by one of the Hero Arts Artists.

I chose Shari Carroll, and this card in particular:

I used the colour scheme from this week's ColourQ:

Stamps by Hero Arts:
S1832 Italian Poetry Background
H4464 Two Flourish Flowers
CL139 Birthday Messages

Happy Wedding Day

This is my second post today.  Click here for Birthday Splatters.

So, I wanted to use some of the other stamps in my new Hero Arts set, using the colour scheme from The Play Date Cafe:

I wasn't intending to make a wedding card, but when you start off with a heart stamp, there's a fair chance that you'd end up making one.

In it goes to the Hero Arts Stamp Your Story challenge:

And at last I can enter a card into Simon Says Anything Goes without busting on another challenge!

Images Hero Arts AC026 Brush Strokes
Sentiment Printworks Q012 Always & Forver
DP Tim Holtz

Birthday Splatters

I've been lusting after this set from Hero Arts Stamp Your Story collection ever since it was released, but it's been rarer than hens' teeth in the UK.  I finally found it at one online retailer, and it arrived yesterday, just in time for a couple of last-minute entries into the Stamp Your Story challenge.  It's obviously very popular because it's even limited stock at the Hero Arts store.

As I've now got some new arrows, it's going into the CAS-ual Fridays challenge:

And I've got new splatters, so I can have another go at this week's One Layer Wednesday, hosted by Karen:

Splats and Splatters- add them to your card

I've used the colour scheme from ColourQ.  (My splatters aren't that yellow IRL.)

Birthday Banner

I've been coveting this tweed stamp from Hero Arts for some time, and I couldn't resist any longer.  Although it's been around for a while, it's also part of the new Stamp Your Story range, so I can enter this card into the month-long Stamp Your Story challenge.

Inspiration for the card has come from:

The colour scheme from Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger

Sweetness and Light

CAS(E) This Sketch by Chrissy Larson

And CAS-ual Fridays Banners and Flags.

All stamps by Hero Arts.

Let Love Soar

The inspiration for this card came from the Runway Inspired Challenge:

I love the sheer floatiness of the dress and thought it would be good to create some spotted vellum butterflies.  And I was quite taken with the panelled wall in the background so I scored a panel to add to the base card.  Which means I can link it to Addicted to CAS, whose code word is:

And their big sister, Addicted to Stamps and More, is having a CAS party this week.

And at Hero Arts, this month's challenge is try something new.  Well I don't think I've ever die-cut vellum before.

Hero Arts F4136 Assorted Dot Border, sentiment from CL646 Happy Birthday.  Butterfly die-cuts from Clearly Besotted.

Christmas Snowflakes

I do enjoy making one layer cards.  This week's One Layer Wednesday, hosted by Cheryl, is to create a  card or tag using snowflakes.

The challenge at The Paper Players is to make a clean and simple card with snowflakes.

And over at Lawnscaping they want us to Make It Shine.

I cut a square out of a sheet of paper and used the negative mask to sponge Distress Inks.  Flicked some water over it and blotted it off, then stamped the snowflakes (hero Arts) with Memento London Fog, and treated them to some Stickles and gems.  Stamped the greeting (Clearly Besotted) in Brilliance Rocket Red to overhang the frame.

Bring On The Bling

During my daily blog-stalk yesterday I found this card by Therese, and was inspired to CASE it.  I don't have that particular memory box die, so I decided to use these flowers from Hero Arts Framelits instead.

The colour scheme at Dynamic Duos this week is ideal.

Add a bit of bling, and it's eligible for the Hero Arts November challenge, Bring On The Bling.

And because the bling is so old (Suze Weinberg Puttin' On The Glitz glitter glue - I must have had it 10 years, and it's a tad gloopy now from lack of use) it's also eligible for Lawnscaping's Dust 'Em Off challenge.

I also made this card for the Hero Arts Bring On The Bling challenge,

and this one for the colour challenge:

I created a vague tree shape using the Hero Arts CL519 Many Dots set, and added silver self-adhesive gems.  Sentiments on the top two cards are from Hero Arts CL611 Many Birthday Messages.

When in Doubt...

...make a Christmas card.  So I did.  Two.  Then when I photographed them last night they were far too dull and dark, so I left it until this morning so that I could photograph them in natural daylight.  Well, in typical English fashion, it's been persisting it down all morning, too dark to take photos, and now I've missed the deadline for one of the cards.  And when I re-took the photos, I found out why they turned out badly last night - I'd left the camera on twilight setting.  Duh... :)

But I'll show you both the cards anyway, because I'm entering them into the Hero Arts competition for October.

This first one is still within the deadline for the Paper Players challenge.  Not very Christmassy colours, you'd think, but I like using non-traditional colour combos.

And this is the card that missed the colourQ deadline.  Again, you wouldn't necessarily think Christmas with these colours (especially with the witch's hat as a visual).

The bauble stamps are Hero Arts LL947 Decorative Ornaments Fancy Notes, and the sentiment is Hero Arts F3682 Christmas Wishes.