Welcome to a Watch It Wednesday with me, Jennifer.  Today I am very excited to share some wonderful creations by our guest blogger, along with a video and giveaway.

I am so honored to share with you my pick for the Win-a-Day on the Hero Club Blog Contest: Donna Mikasa!

Donna has such amazing talent.  Her colorful cards with creative touches have always grabbed my attention.  I am thrilled she is here today.  And, to top things off, she is as sweet as she is talented.  Let’s get to know her with some questions…

Q1: What is your favorite stamping technique?  (Simple stamping, embossing, collage, etc.)

Donna: My favorite technique is probably simple stamping with layering of different colored cardstock and printed paper to complement or contrast the image.  I’ve recently dug up my heat gun from hibernation and started to do some heat embossing and making intaglio embellishments.  Overall, I think I’m a simple stamper, and quick and easy works best for me.

Q2:  What is your “go-to” color combination?

Donna: I’m drawn to earth tones–browns and olive greens.  Sometimes I like to add a bit of pink, orange, or even red, for a pop of color and some interest.

Q3: What are your favorite Hero Arts embellishments?  (Gems, pearls, buttons, etc.)

Donna: Gemstones and pearls!  Gemstones add a playful bling to the card as a finishing touch and pearls give a subtle softness which I like.  I like how pearls can be colored with permanent markers so you can have custom-made pearls in colors to match your cards/layouts.

Q4: What inspires you?

Donna: Sometimes I’ll see a certain color combination or a sketch, which I’ve recently started jotting it down in a journal.  I love visiting blogs and watching tutorials of a new technique or card composition.  I also like the Kuler website which has taught me to experiment with new colors, and lead me outside of my comfort zone of earth tones.

Q5: What is your favorite dessert?  (Yum!)

Donna: My favorite dessert is a small scoop of Pau’wela (pow-wella) Sunrise, a flavor of ice cream that’s made here in Hawaii.  It’s an orange creamsicle flavor with small bits of pineapple in it.  So yummy and refreshing ! We’re lucky to have our own seasonal fruit, too, so often times, some chilled, sliced mangoes will satisfy a sweet tooth!  Double yum!

Boy…I don’t know what sounds better: living in Hawaii or that wonderful dessert!

When Donna showed me her creations for today, I was so excited.  These adorable cupcake cards caught my eye immediately…

Here is what her cards inspired from me…

Featured Supplies:

• Clear Design Cupcakes
• Clear Design Birthday Messages
• DesignBlock Flourish
• Sparkle Clear Sweet Moments
• Accent Pearls
• Assorted Hero Arts Gemstones
• Other:  patterned paper, sheer dot ribbon (Offray), scallop circle punch (Fiskars), word label punch (Stampin’ Up), pop dots, Stickles (Ranger), silk ribbon (Creative Impressions)

Tips on Donna’s Cupcake Cards:  I absolutely LOVE making Jennifer’s circle cards.  The back of the card is creased so it can open up without disturbing the front of the card. (Click HERE to watch a video on creating them.)

Tips on Jennifer’s Candy Pouch:  Interested in making a candy pouch like this one?  Here is a video showing how…

Don’t you love these three cards Donna created?  So colorful and eye-catching.

I loved how she added coloring with pencil.  Here is my take on the technique…

Featured Supplies:

• Bird on a Branch
• Silhouette Corner
• From the Heart Greetings stamp set
• Clear Design Anytime Messages
• Other: Cuttlebug Birds & Swirls embossing folder, Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol, ribbon (American Crafts), vintage textbook paper, ribbon (Creative Impressions), Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder

Tips on Donna’s Bird Cards:  I like the size of this K stamp and tried stamping different colored Hero notecards to see what they looked like.  All cards were stamped with the same ink and details were added with coordinating colored pencils.

Tips on Jennifer’s Card:  I was intrigued by how Donna stamped with a dark ink on colored paper and added shading with a colored pencil around the image.  So creative!  So I inked some vintage paper with green ink then stamped on it in black.  I added dimension with colored pencil - so easy and fun.

Donna also created this amazing clear card.  I love how she stamped with white on the acetate and then matched it with white embossing on the paper.

Here is my card with lots of white goodness…

Featured Supplies:

• DesignBlock Line & Flower Pattern
• DesignBlock Wavy Leaf Pattern
• Clear Design Sunshine Flowers
• Clear Design Wishful Messages
• Sparkle Clear Just Wanted
• White StazOn Ink
• Art Flowers and Accent Pearls
• White Embossing Powder
• Other: white pen (Ranger Inkssentials)

Tips on Donna’s Acetate Card:  I really wanted to try an acetate card and it just wasn’t coming together. I rewatched the how-to video (watch it HERE) and finally completed this card. It’s a thank you to Jennifer for choosing me and giving me the honor of working with her on my blog day. Inside I handwrote:  “…for the ride of a lifetime!” which is what this truly was.  Big hugs, Jennifer!  I lined up all the sentiments on one acrylic block and stamped it all at once and heat embossed.  The acetate card is trimmed into a square and since I lost some background flowers, I stamped small ones here and there to fill in the spaces. I also used a white Inkssentials pen and drew in a few more dots on the background.

Tips on Jennifer’s Card:  (Donna is too sweet, isn’t she?)  This card would be a great one to make multiples of at once.  Just mix of the flower colors and have some fun.

Now it’s time for giveaway!  This stamp set makes me think of Donna, since she creates joy all around her.  Just leave a nice message for Donna on this post by 11:59pmPST and we will pick THREE lucky winners of this From the Heart Greetings stamp set!

We will announce the winners on Thursday morning.  [Update: The winners have been announced HERE...but still feel free to leave a comment for Donna if you like!]

Donna, thanks for sharing your talent and creative masterpieces with everyone and for being a part of our Hero Arts Flickr Group.  I am so thankful I have gotten to know you.  Big hugs to you!

And here’s a little note from Donna:  

This has been the most awesome experience for me. From being chosen, then given the opportunity to work with Jennifer, whom I’ve always admired. Talk about a dream come true! Thank you, Hero Arts, for your fantastic blog, and giving us the opportunity of being showcased. I’ve been truly blessed!

See you soon,

Filed under: inspiredby

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 at 4:04 am and is filed under Watch It Wednesdays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.