Christmas in July!

Well, I had to jump on the band wagon before July is over and join in on the Christmas in July trend! The other day I was looking about the internet for some ideas & inspiration & I came across some 'Tags' that Kristina Werner had made HERE. I liked them so much I decided to make some using my Hero Arts Supplies for this weeks HA Challenge - 'Tags'!

Ages ago I bought some acetate tags and they had been sitting in a draw waiting to be used! Once I had made one tag I had to go on & make 2 more! It got kinda addictive! Lol! I will most likely make more before Christmas!

For this first tag I stamped Hero Arts Holly Flourish Design Block onto the acetate tag using White StazOn. You can see this better in the photo below. I used some scraps of designer paper which are from SU! Dashing Collection. The coloring around the penguin I did using my Copics and I added a little bit of baby blue Stickles for the snow mound!

I kept this second tag really simple, I used one of my favorite holiday birds from the Holiday Dove collection as he fits perfectly inside my 1 3/8" circle punch!

I used some scraps of Spring Moss CS & Bitty Dot Paper from PTI & the darker green of the scallop circle is Old Olive from SU!

I decided to change the orientation of this last tag and again kept it simple. I used the Tiny Santa stamp from Hero Arts & colored him with my Copics & put a tiny bit of Frosted Lace Stickles on his hat bobble & brim!

The designer paper is again a scrap from the SU! Dashing Collection!

{Penguin Tag Ingredients}

Card Stock: Red from stash

Stamps: HA Warm Wishes CL243, DB Holly Flourish S5067

Ink: Memento Black, StazOn White

Accessories: SU! 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circle punches, SU! Scallop Punch, Fiskars Border Punch, SU! Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Copics, Stickles Baby Blue & SU! Dashing Designer Paper, Foam pads, Hero Arts Acetate Tags

{Dove Tag Ingredients}

Card Stock: PTI Spring Moss, SU! Old Olive

Stamps: Hero Arts Holiday Dove LL213, Hero Arts Warm Wishes CL243

Ink: Memento Black

Accessories: SU! 1 3/8" Circle Punch, SU! Scallop Punch, SU! Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon, Jute, PTI Spring Moss Bitty Dot Basics Paper, Foam Pads, Hero Arts Acetate Tags

{Santa Tag Ingredients}

Card Stock: Red from stash, SU! Old Olive

Stamps: Hero Arts Tiny Santa A139, Warm Wishes CL243

Ink: Memento Black & PTI Vintage Cream

Accessories: SU! Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Copics, SU! 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circle Punches, SU! Scallop punch, SU! Dashing designer paper, foam pads, Hero Arts Acetate Tags

This is my second post for the day so be sure to scroll down and check my previous post. I am guest host over on SPCC today! I am working tomorrow & Sunday :( but I have made some cards today so I will be sharing those. I received my PTI order today so have been playing with stamp goodies I have bought!!

Have a great weekend & thanks for stopping by!

Finally Friday over @ SPCC & I'm the Guest Host for the Challenge!

Morning! Well today is exciting because I am hosting a Finally Friday Challenge over on the SPCC blog. As I didn't make the design team Samantha asked if I would host a challenge & I said YES of course!!

If you head over to SPCC you will see the challenge & get to know a little about me thats if don't already know enough! I thought I would use an image from one of my Favorite Design Books to inspire everyone & me for this challenge. The book is called 'Think Colour' & it's by Tricia Guild of Designers Guild in London.

The colors in the photo really stood out to me & the flowers also & below is the card I created using the picture as my inspiration!

I used a SU! set called Beautiful Blooms. For some reason I found this two step stampin' set quite hard but in the end I got it how I wanted it!

The 'Just For You' sentiment is from Hero Arts. I tied jute around the pink layer & then matted it to the kraft card stock. The blue & cream layers are matted & adhered using foam pads. I loved the simplicity of this design with a crisp clean which are the feelings I got from the photo above.

{Ingredients}

Card Stock: SU! Bashful Blue & Pretty in Pink, PTI Kraft and Cream from Stash!

Stamps: SU! Beautiful Blooms, Hero Arts Warm Wishes CL243

Ink: SU! Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, SU! Markers in Rose Red & Always Artichoke

Accessories: Jute, Foam Pads, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Thanks for stopping by & be sure to check in over at SPCC & post your entry into the challenge! It would make my day even more special!!

Raspberry Suite Color Inspiration Challenge #13

Yesterday when Dawn posted her latest Raspberry Suite Color Challenge I found the time & inspiration to make a card! I incorporated Hero Arts latest challenge of 'Tags' also as it fitted into my sketch quite nicely!

I'm loving the color's that Dawn puts together recently & often find myself going back to them when I'm a little stuck for what to do!

I got to play with a couple of PTI products I haven't used much which are the Berry Sorbet Vintage Buttons & The Bitty Dot Basics Paper. I also used a new Hero Arts stamp on this project! The only Hero Arts products I used was the stamp which is used on the tags & the flowers!

I used the HA and stamped it onto the tags using real red ink from SU! The Spring Moss Bitty Dot paper is matted onto Whisper White which is punched using a border punch from Fiskars. I used the Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch to punch one butterfly from Berry Sorbet & one from Pure Poppy.

I really like the Berry Sorbet & Pure Poppy together & the Spring Moss & white soften the boldness of those colors really nicely!

{Ingredients}

Card Stock: PTI Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss, SU! Whisper White

Ink: SU! Mellow Moss & Real Red

Stamps: HA Heart Flourish K5153, PTI Handwritten Notes

Accessories: HA Flowers, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Fiskars Border Punch, PTI Berry Sorbet Vintage Buttons, Gems, PTI Bitty Dot Basics Paper, Organza Ribbon in Red & White.

Be sure to check out the Hero Arts Challenge & Blog this week as there is loads going on. They have just released their first digital products too which are available over on 2peas! Thanks for stopping by today! I will have more to share this week!

Friends Always!

Today I thought I would share a card that I made especially for my SPECIAL friend Karen. She has been a friend since I joined in on the fun over at the Hero Arts Blog & Flickr. She has been amazing & always sent cheery messages when needed the most!

This is the card I sent to Karen & now I know she has received it I can share it here, I didn't want to ruin the surprise! I really liked Kristina's card and it was my inspiration. I'm really liking the clean & simple look to cards at the moment.

Below is a close up of the butterflies. They are stamped first onto the kraft note card and then stamped & cut out & mounted on foam dots for dimension.

{Ingredients}

Card Stock: SU! Rose Red, PTI Kraft

Ink: Colorbox Chalk, SU! Chocolate Chip

Stamps: Hero Arts Pattern Butterflies LP110, Friends Always C3890

Accessories: Making Memories Just Chillin' 6x6 Paper Pad, Jute & Foam dots

Have a HAPPY day & thanks for stopping by!

Circle of Friendship Award

The Circle of Friends Blog Award , I would like to thank Cathy for bestowing upon me this lovely award and In turn I would like to pass on this award to some of my fellow blogging friends. Do pop over and check out their amazing work.

My first Circle of Friendship Award I would like to give to Karen. Karen doesn't have a blog but she has some amazing creations over on the Hero Arts Flickr Group.

My Second Circle of Friendship Award I would like to give to Diana, she has amazing work & amazing photographs.

My Third Circle of Friendship Award I would like to give to Chris.

My Fourth Circle of Friendship Award I would like to give to Kate.

My Fifth Circle of Friendship Award I would like to give to Samantha.

To pick up the Circle of Friends Blog Award:

Cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog.

Nominate at least 5 other bloggers you feel have become part of your circle of friends.

Link to your nominees within your blog post.

Include these instructions on how to pick up the award in your blog post.

Link back to the person who gave you the award in your blog post, to show your appreciation.

Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award.

Thanks for stopping by today. I will have a card share or two tomorrow!

I {HEART} Hero Arts Blog Hop!

WARNING LONG POST BUT IT"S WORTH IT!!! SWEETNESS AT THE END ;)

Today is the day for the I {HEART} Hero Arts Blog Hop that Ashley over at Cherry Hill Designs has wonderfully organized for everyone who {HEARTS} Hero Arts to join in and give a BIG THANK YOU to ALL at Hero Arts for what they do & to show them how much we enjoy and appreciate everything that they have done & continue to do every week on their BLOG.

You can join in with the fun & check over HERE for all the Blog Hop sites to visit. The first thing was to make a Thank You Card for Hero Arts using our favorite stamps. I made this card using two of my favorite stamps in this weeks Hero Arts Challenge theme - Monochromatic! I'm really loving ALL color at the minute so I found it quite card choosing a color! I had not made a card using Brown hues this week for the challenge so that was my starting point!

Sparkly close up!

{Ingredients}

Card Stock: SU! Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel. PTI Kraft

Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip & Close to Cocoa. PTI Vintage Cream

Stamps: Hero Arts Heart Winged Butterfly F5158 & Black & White Flowers F5132

Accessories: Corner Rounder SU! Gems Papermania, Stickles Ranger, Foam Pads

I first found out about Hero Arts because of My Mothers passion for all things craft. I think it was in 1997 or there about my Mother started rubber stamping & card making and got me hooked on it too! While gathering rubber stamps from craft shops I came across a company called Hero Arts and on the stamp it had a website address. The internet was quite new to me then! But I went on & found their AMAZING website full of their stamps, ideas & tips! WOW! Was one of the first things that came to me & instantly I fell in LOVE with their stamps! Being in the UK it was often hard to come across them but NOW I can buy them in all sorts of places!! Thats how I came to KNOW and LOVE Hero Arts!! I have so many of their stamps that I can't pin point which was my first! LOL!

I am THANKFUL to Hero Arts for their generosity, fun & friendliness! When the Hero Arts Blog started last year it was a VERY hard time for me as I lost my Mother very suddenly. I started to join in on the weekly challenges as a way of coping & removing myself from all the stress. Through the HERO ARTS BLOG I found FRIENDSHIP and SUPPORT and most of all KINDNESS not only from the Hero Arts Team but also from many of the Flickr Members & I will NEVER forget how MUCH they helped me through such a HARD time. THAT is WHY I AM THANKFUL!

To show my THANKFULNESS to EVERYONE :) I AM CELEBRATING by HAVING A BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY! It is open to EVERYONE & ANYONE who leaves a comment on this post telling me what your favorite HERO ARTS stamp is! To be in for an extra chance of winning, LINK this post to your BLOG (don't for get to say you have linked me otherwise I won't know!) The Candy will be open until 9th August! I will announce the winner HERE and on FLICKR too! I will be adding a few more bits to the candy once I find where I have put them! LOL!

Thanks for HOPPING BY today! I really do appreciate it!

SPCC Challenge #7 Card #2!

This is my 2nd post for today so be sure to scroll down to see my FIRST EVER DIGITAL SCRAPBOOK PAGE!!

I enjoyed this weeks SPCC color challenge so much that I had to make another card! I think I enjoyed it as it got me out of my comfort zone! This card is nearly a SU! only card and I am really pleased with it :)

It is a really simple card and I added a 'Get Well' sentiment as I thought this would cheer anyone up that was feeling under the weather. I just have to say too aren't those mini library clips not just the cutest...?!

{Ingredients}

Card Stock: SU! Whisper White, Old Olive, Summer Sun & Tempting Turquoise

Stamps: SU! Inspired by Nature, Sincere Salutions

Ink: SU! Tempting Turquoise, PTI Summer Sunrise

Accessories: SU! Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, SU! Mini Library Clips, Foam Pads

Well off to do a bit of this & that now! Thank you so much for stopping by!

My First Digital Scrapbook Page!

I have been wanting to dabble in digital scrapbook pages for a while now but I didn't really know where to start apart from getting a stash of digital scrapbook elements together! So I emailed the guru of all things digital and crafty Kristina Werner! She was very helpful and gave me a link to a 2peas lady called Sande Krieger who has a FAB list of video tutorials on her blog. They were extremely helpful and I managed to case the layout she created using the digital images I have stored on my Mac.

Below is the page I created and I am really pleased with is as it is my first attempt! The photo is of Karl and I at our Engagement Party which we had back in March this year. My brother John was the official photographer and you can see some of his amazing work HERE!

The photo was taken at the beginning of the evening and is one of my favorites of us both! I hope to make a few more pages from this evening.

{Digital Ingredients}

Papers: Carina Gardner May Freebie Papers @ 2Peas

Elements: Cherie Mask Twitterpated Hearts, Carina Gardner Photocuts Masks V5 & May Freebie, Rhonna Farrer Free Love

Font: 2Peas Barn Door

I just want to thank Kristina & Sande for their help and thanks for stopping by today. Comments are WARMLY appreciated!

Card Patterns Sketch #24

This is my second post of the day! Scroll down to see the first!

While I have been ill and surfing around the blogs I came across this NEW to me Sketch blog called Card Patterns. So I thought I would give it a go!! Below is this weeks sketch which is quite simple which I like!

Below is the card I created and I decided to make it monochromatic to fit in with Hero Arts challenge this week too. I stepped out of my pink mode for a little and went for some Aqua Mist and Kraft! Another color combo I into at the mo!

I used a Hero Arts Silhouette stamp that AGAIN I have had for ages and had NEVER inked up until last night! I must have way too much stuff in my craft room!! But it still doesn't stop me buying!!! Anyway, I inked the stamp with VersaMagic Aquatic Splash. The image is a lil' more subtle than I would have liked. Again I had to use my new upper crest punch and add a butterfly!

{Ingredients}

Card Stock: PTI Aqua Mist & Kraft

Stamps: Hero Arts CardArt Happy Wishes K4883, PTI Handwritten Notes

Ink: VersaMagic Aquatic Splash, SU! Close to Cocoa

Accessories: PTI Bitty Box Basics & Bitty Dot Aqua Mist DP, Martha Stewart Royal Butterfly Punch, Fiskars Upper Crest Punch, PTI Aqua Mist Satin Ribbon, PTI Aqua Mist Vintage Button, Papermania Gems, Foam Pads.

I have had quite a productive day even though I've felt quite nauseous :( and this bug is just hanging around. Today I have made a couple of cards for things I can't share quite yet but be sure to check back later this week and all will be revealed! There will most likely be some CANDY too! ;)

SPCC Challenge #7

Last night I worked on a couple of challenges and the first was the SPCC challenge #7. When I first saw this color combo it kinda freaked me out a lil'! It was the yellow! I don't often use yellow but once I got started I calmed down and now I have made one card I have an idea for another! So the color combo really wasn't that bad at all!

I thought the colors were cheery and so I thought of the sentiment 'Cheer Up Buttercup' from Scattered Showers from PTI. So I decided to use the stamps from that set too along with Polka Dot Basics.

I'm pleased with the turn out of the card & I'm sure it would make some one smile & cheer them up!

{Ingredients}

Card Stock: SU! Whisper White

Ink: SU! Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive. PTI Summer Sunrise

Stamps: PTI Scattered Showers & Polka Dot Basics

Accessories: SU! 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon Always Artichoke & Tempting Turquoise. Yellow Satin Ribbon from stash, Foam Pads.

I hope to share another card or 2 later for some other challenges I've been working on. Thanks for stopping by and your comments are ALWAYS appreciated.