Hero Arts Butterfly

Our Midweek Throwdown challenge at Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps this week is "Thank You"!

My card says "grateful", that's the same thing isn't it?  I used a Papertrey Ink stamp that I thought was really pretty to finish my card and use up the large space I had, I'm grateful to have this beautiful script stamp set in my collection.

My Hero Arts butterfly  butterfly comes in an acrylic stamp set and as a digital image from Two Peas In A Bucket.  I used the digital image so I could make it as big as I'd like and colored it with Copic markers in one of my favorite color combinations, orange and blue.  

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Challenges:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - Thank You

From 2007 - 2013 The Growth of a Designer

2007

I've been blogging about paper crafting since 2007, last Sunday I took a trip down memory lane.  On my blog that is, I started at the beginning of 2007 just for fun.  I must say my style has changed for the better!

I've picked a card from each year my blogs' been in existence for my post today.

The card above is from a post I did in August 2007.  I used Watercolor H20's to color the flower and it looks like a couple of Stampin' Up! background stamps and hardware.

2008

It appears I was coloring with Copic markers here.  My blog post was pretty vague...

2009

These look a little better to me!  Here's an excerpt from my blog post on these:

I saw this technique on Stamp TV and loved the idea.

2010

I remember this cutie, I was on the Bugaboo Stamps design team and getting better using Copic my markers.

2011
Was definitely a year of paper crafting discovery and fun!

2012

Stamps by Papertrey Ink. colored with Copic markers.

2013

I made this card a couple of months ago using a Birdie Brown digital image.

The cards from way back are kind of hard to look at and post for everyone to see today but in doing so I can see the growth I've achieved as a paper crafter in the last 6 years.

All in all kind of a fun way to spend a few hours on a Sunday afternoon.

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Cuddly Buddly Lilyboo Sprinkle Some Love

My card today is for a new release at Cuddly Buddly by Lilyboo Designs, this cute digital image is called "Sprinkle Some Love".

I matched my Copic markers to the ancient (2008) Papertrey Ink 12 X 12 Pinks designer paper to challenge myself using new Copic marker colors.  The layout is Splitcoaststampers sketch #423 that I flipped.  I also used an old Word Window punch and my Corner Chomper.  The love you is part of a sentiment in another stamp set I have.

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Hero Arts OWH Happy Birthday

I have an Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps sketch card to share today using today's OWH sketch!

I used the new Hero Arts OWH Happy Birthday clear set for my card coloring with Copic markers:

B23, B24, B28

R35, R46, R59

B0000, B01, R000

My card stock choices are Neenah Red Pepper Linen, Astrobrights Blast Off Blue & Copic X Press It.

I hope you'll go and see all the eye candy from our OWH blog team today and play along in our sketch challenge too!

Thanks for visiting my blog today - 

Challenges:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - Sketch #138

Stampers Best My Hero Sentiments

My card today is for our Operation Write Home Midweek Throwdown Any Hero challenge.

I used the Stampers Best My Hero Sentiment set with a sketch from Stamping Royalty and papers I found in my scrap drawer.  I wanted patriotic papers but didn't want to print any if I really didn't need to.   I searched around a little and found the stars & stripes digital paper.  The blue is a sample I won from Hero Arts called "layering papers", the red is Neenah Red Pepper Linen.  I used my neglected Spellbinders Labels 4 dies to cut out the focal sentiment.  The other sentiment is stamped repeatedly on the Red Pepper card stock, cut into a strip and punched with a square EK Success punch to make the banner tail. 

I hope you'll join us for our Any Hero challenge this week at Operation Write Home Stars & Stripes!

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Challenges:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - Any Hero Cards
Make It Monday - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp & Show - Hero

Pollycraft Cherry Kisses He Loves Me

We have a new Midweek Throwdown challenge starting today at Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps, our theme is Flowers/Floral, etc.  

I've been feeling a little behind lately so I picked this cute Pollycraft image that I'd colored and hadn't gotten back to.  I was thinking it would make a quick simple card for this challenge.  I was wrong!  I picked a sketch out of my file and went to work.  Have you ever had one of those days where nothing you cut is straight or lines up the way you think it should?  That's what was happening while I was trying to make this card.  The image has a frame around it and I can't tell you how many times I cut around the frame trying to make it straight, then I cut the frame off when I discovered it was the frame that wasn't straight.  

Sometimes being a perfectionist isn't any fun!

My layout is a sketch  from Verve Visual, papers are Mohawk Bright White, Via Vellum Basic Black, Neenah Red Pepper Linen, Stampin' Up! small paper pad from years ago and Copic X Press It.  I used part of a Hero Arts stamp for my sentiment, it actually says "Hello Girlfriend" and a Papertrey Ink double ended banner die.  Miss Cherry Kisses is colored with Copic markers R27, R24, R22, E00, E000, E0000, E44, E43, E42, BV0000, BV000, BV01, YR24, YR21, Y21, G82, G40, R21.  

I hope you'll have time to play in our Midweek Throwdown challenge at Operation Write Home.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Challenges:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - Flowers

Creative Inspirations Paint - Inspired by Flowers

Incy Wincy - Mother's Day of Girlie

Hero Arts Operation Write Home Blog Skip

Welcome to our Operation Write Home Hero Arts blog skip, if you've arrived here from Yolanda's blog you're on the right track.  If not and you'd like to start at the beginning click here to be directed to the Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps blog.

My card uses one of the newest OWH/Hero Arts sets.  This set stayed on my desk for awhile and I kept looking at it and seeing patterned paper so I gave into the urge to ink up the entire set in it's packaging and stamp it on a sheet of Kraft cardstock.  I thought Operation Write Home's sketch #99 from this last Sunday would be the perfect way to use my "background". 

Be sure to leave comments because...
OWH is giving away one of each of the Hero Arts stamp sets, and the 3 winners will be picked from all comments on all the blogs in the skip - the more blogs you comment on, the more entries you have! Winners will be drawn Sunday night.

 Your next stop in our skip is Julie at 

"Handmade by Julie".

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Challenges:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - Sketch #99

Hero Arts Flutterbies

Hi blog friends!  You may have seen this card on the Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps blog last Thursday.  We're celebrating Operation Write Home's second birthday as an org. the month of September along with as many challenges as we can pack in to that time frame!  The challenge theme is "I'm So Grateful" and we have an awesome sponsor - Through The Craftroom Door online magazine.

Someone who enters this challenge at Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps is going to win a one year subscription to this fabulous online magazine!  You can enter into this challenge until September 30, 2011 on the Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps blog. 

I had to try another color combination on my Hero Arts butterfly.  Both of these are colored with Copic markers.  This butterfly comes in an acrylic stamp set and as a digital image from Two Peas In A Bucket.

Art Journal Pages Link Party

Art journaling has really caught my attention lately and I'm intrigued!  In my mind I could think of so many reasons not to try art journaling and I think the biggest reason is FEAR.

FEAR of not being good enough or not doing it right or sharing too much personal stuff... 

So here's my disclaimer:

This is my art journal, I haven't given myself any "rules" as to what I can put in it.  I'm not required to hand write my entries. It's o.k. to use and learn some new things using my Microsoft Publisher program.  This journal is for me to have fun and record what inspires me.

My journal is handmade.  I love coloring with Copic markers, but they bleed through the paper.  I decided my journal should be the Neenah Solar White cardstock I always use folded in half and bound on the 8 1/2" long edge.  You'll also see tabs at the top of my pages, those are cards that have the "ingredients" I used on my page or layout. You know, the technique, marker color numbers, stamps, digital images, etc.

I have a close up for you of my page.  I used Copic markers and soaked a piece of burlap with Copic blending solution to get the textured background.  

I also thought it would be fun to start an Art Journal link party on Thursdays.  This is JUST FOR Fun, no prizes to be won but I will post a featured Art Journal page/layout each Friday from the week before.  No specific challenge just inspire me with your art journal pages by adding your entry below in the Inlinkz widget!

Thanks for visiting my blog today-

Challenges:
Craft Your Passion - Anything But A Card

Creative Stamp Friends - Handmade Background
Craft Us Crazy - Anything Goes
Stamp Insanity - Anything Goes
Hooked On Craft Challenges - Things With Wings
Make It Monday - Anything Goes
Creative Craft Challenge - Anything But A Card

Hero Arts Out Of The Box Flower

I've discovered a color combination I really like, Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral and Ruby Red!

This flower is a Hero Arts stamp that I used Watercolor H2O's on. At least I think that's what they're called, they have lots of sparkle. My color combination was quite by accident because I started with the flower image and no real plan for what I was going to do with it. The colors of H2O's I used are Rose Gold, Moss Green and Sunflower.

As I was painting the flower I thought that Ruby Red might be a close match, I also looked at my SU color wheel and that's how this color combination came together. The background stamps are Stampin' Up!s Weathered and Floral inked with Ruby Red and stamped on Cameo Coral. I sponged a little Ruby Red around the edges and on the Floral panel I sponged just a little Close To Cocoa on top of the sponged Ruby Red. My sentiment is from a PAPERTREYink. set and I haven't perfected stamping inside the Hodgepodge Hardware yet but I'll keep practicing.