Welcome back to our week of “favorite stamps!”

Today we want to share the favorite stamps of some important folks here at Hero Arts.  We thought it would be fun to see what they liked and then to create cards using those stamps.  AND… we have a video!

[Enabling Update: Today's featured stamps, as well as ALL of the week's favorites, are now available in the Hero Arts Online Store right HERE!]

First up, we have Aaron Leventhal, the CEO (and all-around good guy) of Hero Arts. Here is what he says about his favorite stamps:

“Over the years, my favorite stamps often gravitate towards the ‘combined art’ images or collage style.  The idea of combining type, graphic art, illustrations and/or patterns always makes the most interesting designs in my opinion.  This catalog is no different.  From 2009, I love the large shadow, swirl and collage designs, such as  Misty Swirl Pattern, Woodgrain Pattern, and Old Writing and Flower Collage.  For completely different reasons, I have a special affinity for the Asian-influenced images on pages 22-23 of the 2009 Catalog.  They evoke a certain emotion in me that combines both creative inspiration and daydreaming of travel and faraway places.”

Jennifer decided to use Aaron’s favorite stamps to create a scrapbook page and video.  The video talks about the different kinds of inks we love, along with tips for stamping with large stamps.

Page by Jennifer McGuire
Supplies:

• Misty Swirl Pattern
• Woodgrain Pattern
• Old Writing and Flower Collage
• Clear Design: Simple and Basic Alphabet
  
• Clear Design: Travel Frames
  
• DesignBlock: Bold Flourish
  
• Soft Sand Shadow Ink (background)
• Tim Holtz Broken China Distress Ink (blue piece)
• Colorbox Chalk Ink Queue Pumpkin Patch (green piece)
• Colorbox Chalk Ink Queue Chocolates and Blueberries (brown)
• Memories ArtPrint Brown Ink (title and journal block)
  
• Pearls and Felt Buttons
  
• Other: Patterned paper (Scenic Route - brown and BasicGrey - blue and green), border punch (Fiskars), shell buttons, string and sewing machine

Next up is Jackie Leventhal, Founder and Creative Director for Hero Arts.  Here is what Jackie has to say about her favorites…

“I love the ‘creating and drawing’ part of making stamps to enhance peoples creativity.  There is nothing more fun than coming up with a great idea and then seeing what stampers do with it.  Therefore, I am somewhat biased to hand-drawn stamps… although we do create great ones with the help of the computer.  My grandson Ethan - who is almost 8 - gave me the idea for the Four Stylish Owls.  He and his buddies all like Ugly Dolls.  I thought it might apply to our ever-popular owls.  We played around with some  and came up with this set. I also like the All Occasion Messages because, although the messages are fairly common, the technique of mixing them together seems really fresh.”

Tami used the “friends forever” sentiment from the All Occasion Messages set and paired it with two owl pals for a sweet friendship card…

Card by Tami Hartley
Supplies:

• Four Stylish Owls
• Clear Design: All Occasion Messages
• Blush Notecards (Taffy)
• Memories ArtPrint Brown Ink
• Watercolor Wheel
• Spring Card Buttons
• Gemstones
• Other: patterned paper (Colorbok - green grid and Bo Bunny - pink dots), ribbon, machine stitching, pop dots

Last but not least, we have Todd Mullins, the VP of Marketing and Sales (and resident funny man) for Hero Arts.

“After visiting England last year and touring the Crown Jewels collection at the Tower of London, I’ve been taken by the history and majesty of British Royalty. Throughout the year I began noticing crowns as an accent design on many things - from stationery to pillows. I have been quite taken by our collection of crown motif stamps on pages 64-65 of the 2009 catalog. Each one is wonderful in its own way.  Crown Collage is dramatically detailed combining vintage styling with collage accenting. Yet, the card sample on page 64 is stunningly simple using just one color with pearl accenting. You don’t need to be a Queen (or King) of Cardmaking to make this elegant card.”

And here is a card by Jennifer using a crown stamp - what a great way to add some fun to a photo!

Card by Jennifer McGuire
Supplies:

• Swirl Crown
• Clear Design: Card Messages
• Sparkle Clear Cute Letter Alphabet
  
• Colorbox Chalk Ink Queue Primary Elements
• Black Memories Ink
  
• Hero Arts Notecards
• Assorted Crystal Gemstones
• Other: Color pencils
  

We hope today’s quotes and cards inspire you.  Thanks once again for stopping by!

Filed under: favorites

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 5:02 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.