Stretching Your Supplies!

I am on the Hero Arts blog today showing you how to stretch your embellishments and stamps! I hope you will go check it out! 

Handmade for Christmas Hero Arts Blog Hop

Hello! Today the Hero Arts Design team is showing off some Christmas goodness using the new products from the 2014 catalog. I used Stamp & Cuts Small Joy Tags and coordinating die. The cool thing is that the die comes with the set, so you are ready to go! 

This card is super easy to mass produce! I love the scripty font and the shape of the tag.


Giveaways - 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 they leave along the hop, the better their 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.

Here is the line up for this fabulous blog hop!

Hero Arts
Lisa Spangler
Kelly Rasmussen
Donna Mikasa
Tami Hartley
Cheiron Brandon
Jennifer McGuire
Mariana Grigsby
Lucy Abrams
Libby Hickson
Yana Smakula
Wida Miller  <---- last but not least ;)


Thanks for stopping by!

My Nieces Birthday Cards

My brother's girls turn 4 and their birthday party is this Saturday. One of the many reasons I wanted to move back to Ohio was so that I could be part of these little girls lives and not miss moments like these. I only have one brother and well, these cuties mean so much to me. My sister in law gave me some suggestions so I whipped up these little fun cards. I hope they like them!

For Ava, I made this cat card with fun balloons! Cat is from a set with Mimi called Frosty Fun and balloon dies are also from Penny Black. I was inspired by Jean Manis. She makes really nice CAS cards with die cuts. No frills, just nice scenes with die cuts and I like the impact her work has.

For Mia I made a penguin card. This little guy was a gift from Jennifer Ingle! It stamps wonderfully and was so cute, there wasn't much need for much else! The hill was created with JJ's die cut set called Custom Panels. I masked the penguin so I could spray the background with some Mr. Huey's. The sentiment comes from Nina's set by Waffleflower called Bowtiful.




All my friends are designing things...I can barely color.

Get to know ME!

Well, I bet you have seen this type of post ALL over blogland...here is my go at it:

I was tagged by the following lovely ladies to do this wonderful creative blog hop which basically is a way to get to know me and other bloggers:

Tammy Hershberger I met Tammy when we moved to Ohio. Kim Singdahlsen through the powers of the internet. I came to a blogging get together with some local ladies including Lin Brandyberry, Kelly Latevola, Katie Gehring and Kristin Macintyre who is the daughter of a professor I knew while working and attending the University of Akron! Small world! She is funny and honest, I enjoyed the instant friendship she was willing to offer a lady she didn't know well :)

Elena Roussakis Oh my dear Elena, how I adore you! I think we could listen to the same radio station, eat the same foods, laugh at the same jokes and appreciate the same art and yet our designs are not very similar. She has a way to make cute expensive. You can check out my Diagnosis Design of her HERE.

Jocelyn Olson I could spend hours talking to her about my life, my blog, my cards, my journey and she says what a therapist would. She is good for my soul. Her aesthetic has evolved to something I have never seen anyone do as well, layered, lovely, feminine and still a bit edgy.

Kelly Latevola   I had an instant connection with this girl. Known to me by her vibrant floral CAS cards with expert coloring, Kelly is a Hero Arts fan just like me!


What creative projects are you currently working on?

I am working on trying to make this Hero Arts card more interesting. Here is the original card. The butterfly is one "ordered" up from Kelly during our blog get together. She was making a bunch of them for a card, and I asked her to make me one! I embossed the SUBWAY LETTERS stencil (did you know you could do that?) to create the background and then created the aperture with a circle die. A fancy knot was my "something edgy" and then it was finished...I showed it to the ladies and they nodded at it but they didn't respond to it the way they did to Kelly's card.

I was disappointed.

So I left it on the shelf. And weeks later, I took it down and tried again.





This seemed more Wida-ish. I was happier with the result. The frame is from Crate Paper!


What inspires your designs?

The need to create original designs that are modern and fresh. When I finish something, I have to have a sense of satisfaction and if I don't, I will obsess until I get it right (see above story for example) . PINTEREST is always at the forefront of my inspiration. I enjoy seeing what people are making/pinning and seeing beautiful color combinations found in flowers, posters, and so on.

What method / process (if applicable) do you apply to each of your creative projects, and how long does each project take to complete?

It can take me all afternoon for 1 or 2 cards. I AM SLOW. I fuss. I will move things around, change color, add or subtract elements. Take photos of what I am making with my phone to be sure the placement is right until I get it right. It is almost painful at times. But the result, if I can get it right (in my mind and heart), is exhilarating!


If you had to describe your 'signature' style, what would it be?

Fresh and edgy with paper. My style is not for everyone, I alternate between more fresh and edge CAS, and more Fresh with paper and layered. and sometimes I am edgy CAS, it varies depending on my mood, who I feel recently inspired by, the products I use and the intention of the piece.

What three crafting tools/products can you not live without?

• Cuddlebug. HELLO! you can't die cut without it!

• Paper--> I love Crate Paper.

• Pop Ups. Gives dimension and helps us compete with Hallmark!

I am tagging:

1. Cristina Kowalczyk Innovative, at the forefront of design, someone whose posts I look forward to seeing. I loved her book.

2. Laura Bassen This girl can sell a product with the most minimal of supplies. AND she does it every.single.time. She was one of my first blog friends and I value to relationship so much  :)

3. Danielle Flanders In my dreams, I make cards like she does. I met her in Colorado where I was living and she moved to. Tenia Nelson introduced us and we were instantly friends. She helped me make my mother in laws Christmas cards. I couldn't believe it!

Look for their posts on September 22nd!

Snowflake Mini Card and Pinterest is Talking to Me

For some reason all the titles of my posts need to be really long, I think I like descriptive words! Today I embossed a stencil by Penny Black called SNOW DANCE. Before the paste dried, I sprinkled some white glitter on it and it gives a magical effect.

This card is tiny! It could even be used as a tag. The card stock is a soft stone color, from Papertrey Ink. The banner was made using  the Tagged creative die set and sentiment is from Beauty of the Season stamp set. 

Thanks for stopping by! I am leaving you with this...

My MAJOR card crush lately is the talented Emily Leiphart. She is such a clever crafter. I love the scenes she creates on a card. She spends the time to make the card special and I appreciate what she brings to the crafting table so much. What an inspiration to me! Geez can she just knock it out of the park again and again...


Lastly do you ever think Pinterest is talking to you? I found this pin and well, I felt like it was put there just for me!

Composition Inspiration

Crate Paper has asked the members of the design team to find a composition that we find inspirational. The moment I saw this photo I was in love. You can find the pin HERE. The layers of paper, the colors, the great font, the different sized images, the butterflies and the pops of gold in this random way that is so lovely and makes sense to my typically structured mind.

 See the ingredients and step by step instruction on how I made this card on the Crate Paper blog HERE!

Hero Arts FIRST blog post!

Hello! I am so excited, OK nervous really, to post for the first time on the Hero Arts Blog. Here is a sneak peek. Click HERE to see the full post :) I would love it if you would!