Hero Arts Handmade for Christmas Blog Hop

Hello, and welcome to my stop on the Hero Arts Handmade for Christmas Blog Hop.

If you have arrived from the awesome blog of talented Mariana Grigsby, then welcome. If not, head to Hero Arts and start from the beginning.

Today we are hopping along to celebrate the release of Hero Arts' lovely Christmas and holiday collection. This release is fab - there is such a mixture of styles: vintage, modern and cute too. I chose to work with one of my favourites - the pretty Four Snowflakes stencil. I simply adhered it to a Shallows notecard, added white embossing paste and sprinkled it with Star Dust Distress Glitter. Once dry, I added some silver thread behind a die cut glittery heart, and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Christmas Crystals set.

I just love this soft aqua colour for Christmas… it's peaceful and pretty.

-------------GIVEAWAY------------

Hero Arts will be giving away one GRAND PRIZE that includes an assortment of stamps, inks, stencils and dies valued at over $75. Two $10 Hero Arts Online Store gift cards will also be awarded. The three prize winners will be randomly selected from all comments received on the participating designers' blogs, so the more comments you leave along the hop, the better your odds of winning. 

The giveaways will close at 11:59pm PST on Thursday, Oct 2, with the winners announced on the Hero Arts blog on Friday, Oct 3.

Now, it's time to hop on. And the next stop is the sweet, talented and very kind:

LIBBY HICKSON

Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies  

Four Snowflakes Stencil	Christmas Crystals	*PRE-ORDER Lawn Fawn HEARTS Lawn Cuts Dies	*Hero Arts Hues SHALLOWS FOLDED CARDS 2012 PS661
*Wendy Vecchi WHITE EMBOSSING PASTE Studio 490	*DCWV Cardstock 6 x 6 GLITTER NEUTRAL Paper Stack Printed Matstack MS-019-00032	*Hero Arts EMBOSS WHITE EMBOSSING POWDER	*Precision Heat Embossing Emboss Tool Gun Hero Arts PW200
*Versamark WATERMARK Rubber Stamp Emboss Chalk Resist INK PAD

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Happy Together

Hello.

Today I have a fun card to share that I created with a cute stamp from Simon Says Stamp's new You're So Sweet stamp set. I stamped the pears on some Doodlebug patterned paper, added wiggle eyes and alphabet stickers for mouths (see this post for details), along with stickers from THIS Cosmo Cricket collection. 

I think this would make a pretty fun and original anniversary card. :)

Can you BELIVE September is almost over… I'm in shock at how fast this year has flown by.

I've got lots of fun things coming up on my blog over the next few weeks, so stay tuned. Sorry I've not managed another Use It! class yet - I have one planned (well, I have several planned!!), it's just finding the time to make the cards!! Hoping to get on the case very soon…

Bye for now.

Supplies

You're so Sweet	*Cosmo Cricket PUNCH ME Tiny Text Stickers COS68299	*Doodlebug KRAFT IN COLOR - COLOR 6 x 6 Paper Pad	*Ranger Inkssentials MINI GLOSSY ACCENTS Glue Dimensional Adhesive .5oz
*Ranger Inkssentials GLOSSY ACCENTS Glue Dimensional Adhesive	Wiggle Eyes	Recycled Flecked Card	*Simon Says Stamp Premium Dye Ink Pad BLACK Ink008

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Watercolour Butterfly

Hello!

Today I have a card to share that I created with lots of products from Simon Says Stamp. It features the new Leaf Background stamp, watercolours, some butterfly dies and a lovely script sentiment. I've included a little watercolour photo tutorial below to show how I use watercolours with heat embossed backgrounds. But first, here's the card:

I added a trio of sparkly sequins to the centre of my butterfly. THESE by Neat and Tangled are my new favourites. :)

So, here's my little tutorial for you.

First, stamp the Leaf Background on white watercolour paper with Versamark Ink then add white embossing powder and heat set.

Wash over the whole thing with blue watercolour. I use Winsor and Newton's. Then wipe over it with a paper towel to remove the paint from the embossed image.

You could leave it like this - it looks lovely as it is - but I like to add some highlights. This technique works really well on backgrounds like this where you can create pools of ink.
Add more ink to a small brush, then colour in small areas of the design. Allow it to pool.

 

Repeat over the whole design. Don't be alarmed if it looks too dark...

When dry, it lightens significantly and looks much more natural. I love the way the darker patches enhance the design and draw the eye.

 

For my card, I die cut a Paulina Butterfly from the watercoloured panel and a Devonshire Butterfly from cream cardstock.

Adhere the butterflies together then adhere the sequins to the centre of the butterfly with Multi Matte Medium. This glue is GOOD. :)

And your butterfly is complete. :)

I hope that was helpful.

I'll be back soon.

Bye for now.

Supplies

Leaf Background	*Simon Says Stamp PAULINA BUTTERFLY Die S174	*Simon Says Stamp DEVONSHIRE BUTTERFLY Die S173	SSS Friendship Messages
Winsor and Newton Watercolours	Neat and Tangled Pink lemonade Sequins	*Versamark WATERMARK Rubber Stamp Emboss Chalk Resist INK PAD	*Hero Arts EMBOSS WHITE EMBOSSING POWDER
*Precision Heat Embossing Emboss Tool Gun Hero Arts PW200	*Cuttlebug Die-Cut & Emboss Machine Provo Craft 2000293	*Claudine Hellmuth Studio MINI MULTI MEDIUM MATTE Glue Adhesive Paint Ranger	*Tim Holtz DISTRESS WATERCOLOR CARDSTOCK Ranger Ink TDA39549
Natural Lightweight Recycled Card- Eco-Natural	Buy Now

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Autumn Leaf Shaker Card

Hello. Today I have a card up on the Hero Arts blog. It features some of their digital cut files for the Silhouette. For this card, I merged two different cut files - Fall Leaves and Thanks Script - to create a new design. I then cut it from some Doodlebug patterned paper, backed it with acetate, filled it with sequins and adhered it to some Echo Park polka dot paper. Easy and fun. I adore shaker cards. :)

 

I found this HUGE bag of sequins in my local craft store at the weekend for just a few pounds. Perfect for my daughter who adores "seeklins"as she calls them. She's just getting into gluing things, and sequins are her favourite embellishments. 

I stole a selection for my shaker contents - red, orange, golds - perfect for Autumn! 

Head over to Hero Arts to see the full instructions on how I made this card.

Have a happy day.

Bye for now.

x

Supplies

Fall Leaves Cut File	Thanks Script Cut File	Assorted Sequins	*Doodlebug KRAFT IN COLOR - COLOR 6 x 6 Paper Pad
*Echo Park PRIMARY DOTS 6 x 6 Paper Pad Essentials DTS10023	*Hero Arts ps509 Set of 8 ACETATE TAGS	*Silhouette CAMEO Digital Cutting Machine

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