Happy New Year everybody! In my continual quest to make life simpler…and more fun…I will be using my blog week to create background papers from stamps, accessories and dimensional effects from stamps, and using Hero Arts supplies in unique ways throughout the year.

This week is about layering, layering and more layering! Why layering? Because one of my (permanent) New Year’s resolutions is to use up the paper I have. Then I started thinking about all the other layering possibilities: paper flowers, buttons, ribbons, colored pencils, felt flowers, gemstones and images. So this week is all about layering and I am using a single set with three additional background images the entire week.

The minute I got the Together Set (LP141) I knew it was destined to be one of my favorites. Use any of the images with the techniques shown each day. Because the sentiment can be used for many different occasions this set will always have a place on my desk. I look forward to seeing what layering techniques you all come up with.  Your ingenuity always inspires me.

These new felt flowers are so much fun! Try using paper with a small pattern to mount under the flowers.

Supplies:

• NEW Together
• NEW Houndstooth Background
• StazOn Jet Black Ink
• ArtPrint Brown Dye Ink
• Kraft Notecards
• Chocolate Notecards
• NEW Neutral Felt Flowers
• Neutral Art Flowers
• Small & Medium Accent Pearls

Instructions:

1. Stamp “Together” image in black ink on Kraft paper, allow to dry and trim close to image. Stamp houndstooth pattern on Kraft paper in ArtPrint Brown ink and trim close to the pattern.
2. After mounting the houndstooth pattern on black paper, set aside. Mount the trimmed “together” image on Chocolate paper. Add the additional layers shown, matching bottom and right sides.
3. Attach the mounted houndstooth pattern on a Chocolate notecard and add the layered “together” image. Remove the backing from a white and a brown felt flower and attach to Kraft colored paper. Using the scissors, trim around the flowers. Add the felt flowers, layer with smaller flowers in contrasting colors and add pearls to the center of each flower.

Now think of all the messages you can put inside that go along with “together”:

• “…we can have fun”
• “…is the best way to spend a vacation”
• “…for the rest of our life”
  
• “…we can overcome anything“

Please add any other idea in your comments, as this is one of my favorite easy-to-work-with sets.

Using basically the same supplies as the card above you can create a very different look (and use up those “adorable” little knots of ribbon you are saving).

Using layers of chalk pencils gives you the opportunity to change the colors of the bird image to match the colors of the paper you wish to use. Chalk pencils are available at most craft stores and are very forgiving to use. They can be blended with cotton swabs and several colors can be layered together.

Supplies:

• NEW Together
• StazOn Jet Black Ink
• Notecards in Kraft, Hyacinth, Black, Chocolate & Cantaloupe
• Other:  ribbons, chalk pencils

Instructions:

1. Stamp “Together” image in black ink on Kraft paper, allow to dry and trim close to image.
2. Add color to the image using chalk pencils. Add a soft layer of color, blend with a cotton swab and add more layers if desired. Layer the trimmed image on Black, Hyacinth, and Kraft papers as shown and mount on a Cantaloupe notecard.
3. Add small knots of assorted ribbons to the upper corner of the card.

As you’ve probably guessed, this week’s challenge is to include layering on your projects.  Please use at least one Hero Arts stamp and load your creations into the Hero Arts Flickr pool by Sunday, January 11th at 11:59pm PST.  Tag your submissions with the word “layers” and have fun!  Here are the prizes…

• Fresh Face Winner (someone who has not yet won a contest): $50 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog
• Scrapbook Page Winner: $50 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog
• 1st Place: $50 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog
• 2nd Place: $25 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog
• 3rd Place: $10 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog

And…as a special surprise the winner of this week’s challenge will receive (in addition to the regular prize) an autographed copy of “Footsteps In The Fog”, an intriguing book about Alfred Hitchcock by Aaron Leventhal (the owner of Hero Arts). More about his book can be seen on www.santamonicapress.com.

Tomorrow the cards will look very different but use the same stamp set as today. We will be layering colored pencils, gems and ribbons. Changing the color of the paper you stamp on dramatically changes the look of your card.

See you tomorrow!  In the meantime we are so excited to have our entire new catalog up on the website for all of you to see. Read all about it HERE in this post.

Filed under: layers

This entry was posted on Monday, January 5th, 2009 at 2:59 am and is filed under Motivation Mondays. 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.