Mushroom Hunting with Hero Arts

Hello Crafty Friends,

How about some fantasy mushroom hunting using the latest printable from Hero Arts -- are they not adorable?  Kind of Autumnal Alice in Wonderland goes wild, I think?

I drank my morning coffee while watching the AMAZING Kelly Taylor do some bokeh/Copic backgrounds--her video was so inspiring that I had to try it myself! 

I spent today recovering from jet lag and coloring the grouped mushrooms in this digital printable (while binge-watching Better Call Saul...how have I missed this show?).  My back ground did NOT come out smooth and dreamy (sigh...it is not like Kelly's...), but the streaky colors still made me smile and I carried on coloring my little mushroom patch.  

Following Kelly's lead, I used Hero Arts unicorn white pigment ink with the Large Sprinkled Dots stencil to add that bokeh effect (Kelly does that a little differently, but I think this stencil really gets the job done).  I added a sentiment from the printable that's appropriately punny, backed both the mushrooms and the sentiment in HA's woodland cardstock, mounted them on an A2 card base and BOOM!  presto-card-o, ready to mail.  

I'll have more digital-based cards later this month for you (there's also a tree printable and a leafy digital kit to play with).  Until then, enjoy the changing season and thanks for stopping by. 

Essie

New Adventures with Hero Arts Digitals

 Hello Crafty Friends!  

My son's return to college is on my mind (we'll be road-tripping to Ohio soon in my minivan to help him move into his very first apartment), so I've made a couple of cards that nod to his future in a positive way. 

These cards are two-fer, because they use a single design and a single sheet of foil to create two different card fronts--one using the positive design, and the other using the "waste material" or negative space  that the design left behind on my piece of toner foil.  

Note:  To foil digital designs you need:  a laser printer, a laminator or Minc machine, toner foil, and, for the black background card, either specialty toner paper, or very glossy black card stock.  

Here's my how-to for the design and the white background card:  Using the minivan image I discovered among the over 20 images in the Roadtrip Adventure Digital Kit, I created a line of minivans and copied that line o' vans again and again, until it covered a space about the size of an A2 card front on a Google slide in a design that was pleasing to my eye.  

Another note:  I've never taken a design class, and never had a lesson in Google docs/slides or anything else, this is just me playing around until I have something that looks right.  Google slide software is free, which is what I love most about it. 

I printed that slide/page on my Laser Jet printer onto lightweight card stock (yes, the cheap stuff I do NOT use for card bases), added summer-y rainbow toner foil, and ran it through my Minc machine/laminator.  After cutting the Google page to an A2 size, I cut a star shape  from the upper right corner of the foiled background using the 5-point infinity star dies and cut another star, one size larger, from Hero Arts pitch black card stock.  I also cut out 5 of the smallest-sized star from the pitch black card stock.  Using foam tape, I added the black star over the star cut out, and then adhered the smaller star cutout on top of the black star, making sure to align the smaller star's minivans with the background.  I like this semi-eclipse design--it's slightly subtle, but adds texture and interest.  I adhered the panel to an A2 card base, again made from pitch black card stock, scattered around the 5 smaller stars and added a sentiment I like from the Encouragement Sentiment Strip set which I'd pre-cut using the Sentiment Strip Fancy Die -- I love having these sentiments ready to go. 

To make the second card--the one with a black background, I used the leftover/negative space toner foil.  I've found that shiny black card stock, or specialty black toner card stock take toner foil perfectly.  

I just placed the minivan "leftover" foil piece over an A2 piece of glossy black card stock.  I made a quick video of the reveal as I remove the foil backer from the card, just click the arrow below. 

 

For the sentiment tag, I used the Travel Tag & Notes Printable--I printed the tags in black onto black card stock, cut out the tag I wanted (you can see the ink on the card stock--if you're looking for it!--and ran it through my Minc machine/laminator with gold toner foil.   Eureka!  The tag came to life in gold on black.  I gold heat-embossed a sentiment from the Seaside Highway HeroScape onto the tag and added a gold bow to complete the tag.  I mounted the panel onto a white A2 card base, and used foam tape to pop up the black tag.  

(Final Note:  Hubby says both cards are  "somber."  I say they are modern and urban cool and good masculine cards for my son.  We have agreed to disagree.)

Thanks so much for stopping by--I love that you took the time to drop in (and your comments always make my day!

Essie

Flower Arranging with Hero Arts Digitals

 Hello friends!

I had such fun working with the July digital kit from Hero Arts called "Real Flowers."  They are really gorgeous and ready for arranging.  Using (as ever) free software from Google, I made a set of 4 different cards, and added a surprise inside each one. 

There are 16 (yes, 16!) different flowers in the digital kit.  Each is presented in a bright color and also in black.  

For each card, I simply arranged flowers into a small bouquet--3 different flowers, sending the taller ones to the back of the arrangement, the smaller ones in the front, and tilting the flowers so that the stems overlap near the bottom.  I turned each arrangement into a grouping and added a green drop shadow to the arrangement --the shadow adds so much dimension. I placed this image into the left lower corner of the page.

Using sentiments from the new Park Scene Printable, I added a sentiment to the bottom right of each bouquet.  

I used Hero Arts peony card stock for card bases and, to create sparkle and a little something extra, I blended a piece of Hero Arts silver glitter card stock with pinks on the top and dark green on the bottom, creating a sort of ombre using Hero's inks in pine, azalea, cotton candy, and peony.   I cut this glitzy ombre paper into  1/4 inch strips and placed a strip on the left side of each card--again weighting the design to the left.  

 

And so that's the card set--clean and simple--for me!

Well, that's almost it. The flowers were so easy to work with that I created an interior panel for each card using a single bloom from the card's bouquet, sized large, and with a lot of transparency (I moved the "opacity" to about 25% for those interior blooms.)  It was such a quick and easy addition, and sweetly completes the cards.  To show you these special interiors, I added a teeny tiny video to my teeny tiny YouTube channel--here's the link:  Essie's Flower Cards on YT 

Thanks so much for stopping by--I'm excited to see what you create with these latest Hero Arts digital designs.

Essie 

Totally "shellfish" weekend with Hero Arts Digitals

 Hello Crafty Friends,

Hero Arts Printables always make me happy -- and this month there is lots to smile about:  Great sentiments, and sweet ocean images that were perfect to remind myself that I still love Copic coloring.  After making a couple of cards using the Printables for June early last week, I thought I was done with digitals for a while.  I do love the two cards I made using the dolphins and sea turtle images:

 

But late Friday night, I popped open the new digital kit called "She Sells Seashells," and decided I wasn't done after all--and the seashell images were so cool that I had to use them all!   So I pulled each image into a single google slide, positioned them in a pattern that was pleasing to me, changed the colorway to a "delft blue" image (I'm stuck on blue...always!). I also made a second colorway using more of a pool blue color.  I printed them onto lightweight cardstock, die cut some shells using my Seashells Fancy Dies, some "hello there" sentiments using the Hello There Stamp & Cut, and, for the pool blue card, I also die cut the Swirling Tide Border Fancy Die with Frame and ink blended  that border in pool shades.  With all those bits & pieces in hand I quickly put together my two seaside greeting cards--ready to send to my friends and kick my summer crafting into high gear.  

I'd love to see what you're making this summer!  If you have a blog or IG page, just pop it into the comments below -- I'd love to drop by and see what you're up to!

Thanks for visiting!

Essie

Summer Fun with Hero Arts Digitals

Hello Crafty Friends!

Much to my surprise and delight, summer is just around the corner.  Happily, Hero Arts new digital kit is  is just the thing to help me turn to summer card making.  

Here's my first Hero Arts Digital card this month: 

How to:  Using the Summer Memories Digital Kit, I copied the Summer Memories background image into a google doc and recolored it green in the google app and printed it onto onto copy paper.  I used a sticky adhesive sheet to paste the copy paper to a piece of light cardstock, cut it to 5.25 X 4 and lightly (sooo lightly!) blended some light blue ink in a cloudy kind of way everywhere except the bottom inch.  For the bottom inch I saved for some green ink blending.  Over the top I added the flamingo from the Lawn Ornaments Fancy Die set and its grass tufts so the flamingo has something to stand on.  These die cuts are just ink blended with ink that was left on my blenders.  I colored the flamingo's eye and beak with my black copic and then covered those with my Hero Arts Crystal Clear Lacquer Pen--because every card needs a tiny bit of shine, right?! Took my flaminigo'd, summery panel and popped into my A2 card base and that's it!

Digital images are so easy and quick to use--and they are a great way to showcase diecuts and other bigger parts of your crafty wardrobe!

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Essie

Hero Arts - Digital Petals Pop Art

Hello Friends,

Today is release day for the April My Monthly Hero Kit, which is choc full of slightly mod flower and some fab textures -- while waiting for my kit to arrive,  I played with images and sentiments from two of the digital sets, which release today.   Can you tell which artist I'm channeling? 

Card How To: 

1. I opened a google doc, copied my favorite bloom from the Patterned Petals Digital Kit, and dropped it four times onto the blank page in the square formation (the blooms line up pretty automatically.  
2. Printed it on very lightweight cardstock and colored the bloom in Copics--3 colors per flower (R32, R24, R26; Y00, Y06 Y17; B000, B02, B04; YG01, YG03, G14.) I did a drop shadow around the blooms using N0, N1, and N3. 
3. Cut the design with my Square Infinity dies, and framed it with Hero Arts Pitch Black cardstock (best black cardstock evah.). 
4. On the card base, I used a light gray ink and the Abstract Frames stencil to give my "wall" a little texture and mounted this picture using 3 squares of heavy cardstock to pop up the picture and a little ink line and a silver dot from my stash as my picture hanger.  
5. The sentiment (also matted in black and popped up with 3 additional layers of cardstock) is from the Flowers in Vases Printable--which has such cute images and great sentiments--and I love the happy look of this font.  

I'm trying to channel Andy Warhol here with the same image in four colors--I find the symmetry and bright color pretty pleasing to my tired eyes.  What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by,

Essie

Meaningful Wishes (but no Meerkat)

     I love that the Meaningful Meerkat stamp  from The Rabbit Hole Designs set has a "no meerkat" image and a useful, non-meerkat, get well sentiment.  I find that I do often need a get well card and try to always have one or two in my stash.  Well, the Meaningful Meerkat offered just that, courtesy of the bucket full of daffodils and the Get Well Wishes sentiment that are part of this 4X6 set.  

    My coloring technique for this card is no-line coloring using my colored pencils (I generally use Prismacolors).  No-line coloring is something I rarely do, but this bouquet is so lovely that I decided to give it a try so that these precious flowers wouldn't fight the black line of my usual stamping method.  I like how it turned out, and it was good to strrrrretch my crafty brain.  I even stamped the sentiment in navy ink, instead of black--again, my thinking was to not overwhelm the colored bouquet.  

    I diecut the main panel using the You've Been Framed die set backed with yellow card stock to peek out behind the diecut dots.  And speaking of dots, I decided that the white panel was a little too CAS for me, and so I added five enamel dots.  These are actually the Matte White Enamel Dots, but I used my Copic markers to mimic the colors in my daffodils.  (Gotta love that I can turn these white dots into any color!

    Finally, for extra fun, I used some blue patterned paper from my stash, as my background on the A2 card, and offset the main panel instead of just centering it.  I like the added interest created by that unexpected angle.

    And that's the card--I hope you enjoyed it!

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Essie