Our Christmas Card-2010

Hi friends! Thought I would share my Christmas cards with all of you. I started out with a picture of Alex from his band's photo shoot this year, knowing I wanted to use something about a drummer boy in the card. I love that pic of him holding his drumsticks. So, I printed a whole bunch in a 2x3 size.

Here is the outside of the card...(sentiment-Hero Arts, patterned paper-Jillibean Soup)

A peek at the inside...Last year I included hot cocoa in my Christmas cards and this year I wanted to give a little something again so I created handmade gift tags. Here's a close up of the pocket that held them...

and the greeting on the inside...

Now for a closer look at the tags... I bought THIS stamp set and knew I wanted to create the tags out of it. It seemed like such a good idea until I had to stamp and color all 100 of them! LOL
The backs of each tag...

Believe it or not, I'm already thinking of next year's card. Yep, I'm crazy like that. lol

BTW, If you are new to my blog and want to see my Christmas cards from previous years, click HERE and HERE.

Okay, off to wrap some more presents. Thanks for stopping by! Be back soon...

Personalized Cards & Color Recipe

Today, as I was going through my Christmas shopping lists (yes, I'm still not done yet!), I felt like I needed something to add to Betty's gift. Betty is my next door neighbor and the sweetest lady you will ever meet. She is in her mid 80's and I always find it hard to shop for her because she has everything. We go to the same hair salon and I always get her a gift certificate there and homemade buckeye and peanut butter fudge candy....but I wanted to add a little something extra so I got crafty today...I decided to make her a set of personalized cards since I know she sends out many because most of her family lives in other states. I also wanted to create a Color Recipe to show what color ink and color card I paired together, for anyone wanting to whip up a set of these for a last minute gift. If you're like me and are a HUGE Hero Arts fan, then this will be easy peasy.

To get started, pick out a background stamp. I used THIS one like I did in my last post. I thought it was elegant and classy just like Betty. ;)

I'll start with the RED group first...

You will need THIS multi pack of cards. Here's a breakdown of each card...
1. Carnation card stamped with Soft Blossom Ink
2. Punch card stamped with Punch Chalk Ink

3. Grenadine card stamped with Ruby Dye Ink

Next, the ORANGE group...

You will need THIS multi pack of cards. Here's a breakdown of each card...

1. Poppy card stamped with Poppy Chalk Ink

2. Mandarin card stamped with Poppy Chalk Ink

3. Daffodil card stamped with Soft Yellow Shadow Ink

Next, the GREEN group...

You will need THIS multi pack of cards. Here's a breakdown of each card...
1. Celadon card stamped with Soft Green Shadow Ink
2. Grass card stamped with Grass Chalk Ink
3. Pine card stamped with Grass Chalk Ink

Next, the BLUE group...

You will need THIS multi pack of cards. Here's a breakdown of each card...
1. Powder card stamped with Soft Pool Shadow Ink
2. Cerulean card stamped with Cerulean Chalk Ink
3. Azure card stamped with Cerulean Chalk Ink

and finally, the PURPLE group...

You will need THIS multi pack of cards. Here's a breakdown of each card...
1. Lilac card stamped with Soft Purple Shadow Ink
2. Iris card stamped with Iris Chalk Ink
3. Aubergine card stamped with Iris Chalk Ink

Onto presentation. I LOVE THESE clear boxes from Papertrey Ink. I put each card inside the envelope flap and then place them inside like this...

except for the card that goes in the front....The final product...
I think Betty is going to love them. Thanks for stopping by!

Hero Arts 2011 & Tutorial

Hello! Hello! Hello! I am back and ready to share! I am happy to report that my Christmas cards are complete and will be mailed out tomorrow. Woohoo! I'm a happy girl. :)

Today, I have a tutorial using a NEW Hero Arts stamp from their 2011 Catalog. I purchased THIS stamp and I have to say it was love at first sight. lol Here is a quick card set I made with it...I have a tutorial for you on how I made these. It is a technique I use to turn regular cardstock into glossy/texture yumminess. :) See.....
Here is the play by play in case you want to try this technique...

(That great banner die is from Papertrey Ink)

A few more close up shots...

Thanks for visiting and not giving up on me. lol

Okay, off to take a hot shower and relax. Had a bad spin out on the expressway tonight due to icy roads and so happy that Alex and I are okay but I have some serious stiff muscles from tensing up! Feeling blessed. Night.

Publications & Music Monday

I've been under the weather but wanted to log on and share some recent publications of mine. :)

This specialty issue...features these snowflake embossed cards/tags....
and this issue...features my Christmas Card from last year. The hot cocoa card...
I also wanted to do another Music Monday. Here's some songs I've recently downloaded to my i-pod...

1. THIS song is my new favorite. She is so talented.

2. THIS song is so pretty.

3. I can't get THIS outta my head. What a fun song and the video is so funny.

4. You know how much I love PINK....THIS song makes me dance.

5. Love this artist's spunk...I just downloaded THIS song. :)

Alright. Off to rest and try to beat this cold. Thanks for stopping by!

Random Cards

Hi.

I have been so busy with to-do lists, creating Christmas cards, cleaning for a party, and work around here that I haven't had anything to post on the blog lately. Sorry. My life is simply crazy right now. I really need some R&R but I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon so I thought I'd share some random cards that I've been creating. Some holiday, some not. Just want to share. :) Enjoy! ...

This gift card holder card was inspired by one of Jennifer McGuire's cards. She rocks...

Well that's really all I've got for now. I'll be back soon with some recent publications. Thanks for stopping by!

Thankful...

Hello! Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and to let you know that I'm so thankful to have such great blog friends. Thank you for taking time out to stop by and read my blog and leave such sweet comments/emails. It makes my heart happy. Thank you.

Have a terrific holiday. Be back soon...

A day of creating...

Hello! I'm expecting a few friends over soon for a day of crafting so I'm going to keep this short but thought I'd show a card set I made recently...

I love to make multiple cards with the same layout but change the color. I am thinking of making sets similar to these as Christmas gifts.

To make this card:

-I started by stamping a different Hero Arts background on each card in the coordinating card color.

-I cut off a 1/2 inch strip from the bottom of the front of the card and glued it on top of the bottom of the inside of the card. I did this so when you open the card, you have some decoration on the inside.

-I embossed dots with my Cuttlebug on the white label die (from Sizzix) and stamped a Hero Arts Greeting in the center using black ink.

-I applied coordinating distress ink to the outside to make them pop using my distress ink blending tool.

-I added dimensional adhesive to the back of the label die and attached it to front.

-I strung three coordinating buttons with white string and attached them around the label.

-(Difficult to see in the picture) Finally, I sprayed the entire card with pearlized water to give it some shine.

That's all I got for now. Hope you had a great weekend! :)

Happy Birthday....

to my sweet hubby. I love you!

Grateful.

Hello! I'm sorry to be MIA lately. I've been creating cards for a class that I'm teaching this week and I'm organizing all my cards to sell at a craft boutique this weekend AND its Ted's birthday on Friday, so I've been a bit busy. ;)

Today I was inspired by Becky Higgins' post HERE and the second part HERE. I love what she's doing and really want to incorporate it in my house somehow.

Today I was really feeling grateful. Grateful for my sweet son Alex. We were talking about an issue, on the verge of arguing, and in the middle of all that he says, "You really shouldn't feel that way Heather. You're awesome." That stopped me in my tracks. It was so sincere. I don't think it would ever get old to hear that you're awesome, (LOL) but to hear it from your 17 year old. Good stuff.

Another thing I'm grateful for is my sweet nephew, J.T. I look forward to watching him every week at swimming lessons. He absolutely LOVES the water! We have a routine when he's finished....we always go sit in the lobby area and he gets a snack from the vending machine. He always gets fruit snacks, he always loves to push the buttons, and he always loves when Aunt Heather gives him money! So for last week's class, I whipped up this card for him...
(FORGIVE the AWFUL pic, I was running late and snapped it before running out the door.) I just put a small pop dot on the back of the coin so he could easily remove his money.

So, what are you grateful for today?

Thinking Inking Inspired-Week 4

Anyone else feeling like November snuck up on them? LOL I was out running errands today and all you see is Christmas items....Can they at least wait until Thanksgiving!? Ready or not I guess.

Anyway, I'm back today with my inspiration piece from Jennifer's Holiday Thinking Inking Series-Week 4. (You can see the video HERE) I wanted to do a gift tag instead of a card. I came up with this ACETATE tag...

I know it is difficult to see (boy, was it hard to photograph!) but that scalloped circle is sitting on an acetate tag that I made by cutting some acetate out of THIS die. Love what the stitching border looks like on clear! ....This week's lesson was on acrylic paint. I decided to do two techniques on this card. The first is the faux letterpress technique (seen in project 3). I did the swirls in silver paint, let dry, used broken china and tumbled glass on top, and finished it off with some pearlized water and glossy accents along the swirls to resemble ice.

I also did Jennifer's texture paint stamping technique. I didn't have a stamp image that would work well so I just swiped the paint across a strip of white cardstock and added the greeting on top in black ink. Love the look it gives...looks like metal! (BTW-I do have a video HERE that I did awhile ago that shows how to stamp with acrylic paint)

Thanks for stopping by! Be back soon with Week Five's inspiration project...

Thinking Inking Inspired-Week 3

Hi! Back with my inspiration from Jennifer's Holiday Thinking Inking Series-Week 3. (You can view the Week 3 video HERE ) This week was all about the embossing powder. Here is my translation... I actually just used two techniques on this one. I made some embossed roses (as seen in project one) but clustered them together to give the appearance of holly...I also used some peeled paint distress ink over the embossed white dot background (as seen in project 3). I sprayed the entire piece with pearlized water when I was finished. Gives it a great shine!

Hope you're having a great week! Be back tomorrow!

Thinking Inking Inspired-Week 2

Continuing with yesterday's post, here is the card I created inspired by Jennifer's Holiday Thinking Inking Series-Week 2... (Click HERE to watch the video) This card features all three of the techniques taught in the video. I used the block stamping (as seen in project one) for the blue background behind the lights. I used tumbled glass, broken china, and faded jeans distress inks. I also used pearlized water that gave a great shine just hard to see.

I also did some ink bleeding (as seen in project two) with the lights. I stamped the bulbs with fired brick distress ink and sprayed with pearlized water. I like this technique because now you can really see the inside of the bulbs.

Finally, I did some generation stamping (as seen in project three) with the snowflakes on the blue background.

I'm going to go on record saying Jennifer's a genius. I'm loving this class. That girl always inspires me to play...and enables me to by lots of goodies! lol

Have a good night. I'll be back tomorrow with Week 3...

Thinking Inking Inspired-Week 1

Hello and happy Monday! I'm sure many of you (like me) are big fans of the Thinking Inking Class taught by Jennifer McGuire. Well this time she is doing a Holiday Thinking Inking Class Series and I decided to create one card that uses all three of her techniques that she taught in the first week. Click HERE to watch the video for Week One. Here is my card inspired by her video...

HOW I MADE THIS CARD:

I started by using her waterinked backgrounds technique (seen in project 2) and used broken china, tumbled glass, and faded jeans distress inks on a hero arts cloud background. You can't tell in the photo, but I sprayed it with pearlized water instead of regular water like in the video. Gives a GREAT shine! Once it was dry, I used some faded jeans distress inks on the edge and LIGHTLY went over the clouds to tone them down.

Next, I stamped the Row of Houses stamp in black on white cardstock, cut them out, and cut off a portion of the bottom so only the top of the houses were showing on the bottom of the card. I used pumice stone distress ink on the windows to tone down the white and make it look like the lights were out. :)

Next, I downloaded the free reindeer image (as seen in project 1)and then used my copy machine and shrunk it to 50%. I did the waterink painting technique (as seen in project 3) on the reindeer using walnut stain distress ink. Then I put glue on the nose and added red flocking to it for some texture...See that ho, ho, ho greeting. I wanted to give the illusion that Santa was behind the reindeer. The bubble stamp was set up the wrong way for this card. So, I stamped it in black on white paper and then flipped it over (holding it up to a light) to cut it out....just a quick tip so you can get more out of your stamps! I used some pumice stone distress ink around it to make it pop.

Okay, I'll be back tomorrow to show you how Jennifer inspired me in Week 2. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Halloween!

First, congrats to LAUREL BEARD. You won some goodies from the last post! Email me with your address! :)

I hope everyone had a good Halloween! I love Halloween but with no little ones here, I decided to go visit my nieces and nephews. I took some shots of my nephew (J.T.) in his Halloween costume. As he likes to say, he was a "bootball player". LOL Here are a few of my favorites....I found an old football easter basket of Alex's. It worked perfectly with J.T.'s costume and he used it to collect his treats...He's such a cutie...That's all I got for now. Thanks for stopping by!