Hey, Hero Arts stampers!  I am here to announce the incredible winners of the distress challenge.  I am AMAZED at the entries - you all rocked it!

First, I want to announce the winner of the Fresh Face award - countryheartandhome. Look at the details on this card - the distress touches make it so warm and inviting!

Ah… and check out the winner of the scrapbooking prize:  dancingpeardesigns.  The tearing of the papers and roughed up edges add just the right amout of dimension.  Fantastic!

I am in love with the card that won First Place… by jen ink.  Wow.  I love every bit of this card - it is the perfect example that distress and color can go hand in hand.  Nice work!

Second Place goes to TRace44 for this eye-catching card.  Not only is the design amazing, but the distress touches are perfect.

Third Place goes to Jacqueline.fr for this masterpiece.  I am in awe of how soft and delicious it is - so pretty.

Next, we have an Honorable Mention, going to kathyrosecrans.  I just love how this card would be perfect for a man or woman - so warm and gorgeous.  (As the winner of an HM, this week the prize includes some Tim Holtz goodies!)

Congratulations, everyone! Please email us at the address in the blog sidebar with your information and we will send your prizes.  Thanks!

Now, for an extra dose of inspiration, here are some challenge creations from our wonderful Hero Hostesses! While looking through the Flickr group, I noticed they were creating some great distress cards, too.  Click on each thumbnail for a closer look at these distressed projects.  (Thanks, Hostesses!)

Thanks for playing along with the challenge.  See you soon…

Thank you all for joining us for this fun week of distress stamping.  Here is a summary…

• Monday - We started off the week with three cards showing a variety of basic distressing ideas.
  
• Tuesday - In addition to a scrapbook page and two cards, we had TWO videos - one with a special birthday message for Hero Arts.
• Wednesday - Wednesday brought five card ideas and a video - oh my!
• Friday - We finished off the week with four more projects… and FIVE giveaways… which you still have time to enter!

Oh, and I have a quick, informative link for any of you that like Distress Inks.  Click HERE for a great tip from Avital.  Avital - thanks for letting us share this!

Thanks for stopping by this week.  I can’t wait to look through all the entries for the distress challenge.  You still have until Sunday night to enter.  For more information, click HERE.

Big hugs to all my fellow stampers…

I have lots to share today.  Not only do I have several projects, but I have FIVE giveaways!  Woohoo!  Let’s get started…

First, I have some good news: We now have Distress Inks for sale in our online store - just click HERE and scroll down.  Also, we added my favorite “distress” stamp - The Old Letter Writing background.  Enjoy!  Also, remember that you have until Sunday night to enter the distress challenge.  Any kind of distressing is welcome, even simple tearing, etc.  Hope you can play!

Next…

Here is a project I did.  This one has very simple distress - just ink rubbed around the edges.  Look closely at the butterfly wings.  See the watercolored background on them?  I stamped over a “reject” piece from the fern cards shown HERE.  A fun way to use up scraps!  Also, I used a white pen to add dots to the background - a great way to make it pop.

Card by Jennifer McGuire
Supplies:

• Together Special Edition (butterflies)
  
• NEW Dots and Flower (background)
• NEW Clear Design Friends (greeting)
  
• Old Paper Distress Ink and Soft Leaf Shadow Ink
  
• Hero Arts Notecards
• Other: Tim Holtz clip, scrap stamped paper (for butterflies), White Inkessentials Pen from Ranger, Fiskars corner rounder, Studio Calico (thin woodgrain strip) and Bo Bunny (dotted) patterend paper)
  

Awhile back, a friend of mine introduced me to an incredible girl named Richele Christensen.  Not only is she very kind, but it turns out she is super-talented, too.  After getting to hang out with her at Ranger U, it became clear to me that she is great at distressing, so I thought I would ask her to create a few things for us to share.  I love how she used bright and colorful patterned papers and toned them done with Distress Inks.

Card by Richele Christensen
Supplies:

• NEW Designer Woodgrain
• NEW Be Yourself (bird)
• Clear Design All Occasion Messages
• Various Distress Inks
• Meadow Art Flowers
• Sparkle Gems Small Blossoms
  
• Water Mist Bottle (to spray Woodgrain stamp before stamping)
• Other: Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, Sizzix die

Here is another card from Richele.  On this card, not only did she distress (ink) with green ink, but she also stamped with the Distress Inks.  Gorgeous!

Card by Richele Christensen
Supplies:

• Bold Flourish
• NEW Butterfly Garden
• Clear Design All Occasion Messages
• Broken China, Faded Jeans, Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint Distress Ink
• White and Cream Art Flowers
• Neutral Felt Flowers
• Light Blue Gemstones
• Other: Cosmo Cricket patterned papers, Sizzix die

I just love how distressing can be colorful and work with even playful stamps!

Next up is a fun page from another special guest, Vicki Boutin.  If you have ever met Vicki, you know that she is outgoing, friendly and funny.  And I love that her pages reflect this.  She did this colorful page with a few slight distress touches: Check out how she only partially stamped the dot background on the top and bottom.  This is a very simple touch, but it really adds to the fun of the page…
Layout by Vicki Boutin
Supplies:

• Clear Design Scallop Borders
• Clear Design Mix and Match Elements
• Clear Design All Occasion Messages
• Bold Flourish
• Screen Shadow
• Raindrop Background
• Broken China and Fired Brick Distress Inks
  
• Other: Prism cardstock, Scenic Route and Bo Bunny patterned paper, buttons, American Crafts chipboard letters
  

Last but not least, I have a card from Kimber McGray.  Kimber has been a guest here before, back when we did the Cards For Heroes Card Drive.  (Her husband was serving in Iraq.  We are happy to say he is now home safe and sound!)  I asked her if she could do a simple yet eye-catching distress example.  Here is what she came up with.  I really like the inky kraft notecard and texture-filled jute.

Card by Kimber McGray
Supplies:

• Card Messages
• Scallop Borders
  
• Kraft Notecard
• Soft Pool Shadow Ink (to stamp scallop) and Walnut Ink Distress Ink (to distress edges) and Black Memories Ink
  
• Other: Studio Calico patterned paper, jute, clip (which is a great way to hold photos inside the card!)
  

And!  Guess what?  Kimber has a new book out called Scrapbooking Secrets.   Want to check it out?  Just leave a comment here by Saturday at 11:59pm PST telling us what time of day is your favorite to stamp and we will pick FIVE winners to receive a copy of the book!

See you tomorrow…

It is day 3 of our distress week and we have lots more to share, including several cards and a video!

First up, here is a video showing watercolor stamping with Distress Ink, along with additional tips for adding simple distress details.

Click images to see a large close-up image…

Cards by Jennifer McGuire
Supplies:

• Three Ferns
• NEW Thank You Sayings
  
• Old Letter Writing
• Various Distress Inks
• Water Mist Bottle
• Watercolor Paper and Hero Arts Notecards
• Liquid Pearls - White Opal
  
• Other: Jute, buttons, Ranger Inkssentials Foam Ink Blending Tool, watercolor paper, paint brush, Ranger craft sheet, buttons, Creative Impressions silk ribbon

If you are interested more in watercolor stamping, check out this great article by Shari Carroll… click HERE.

I thought I would try out a slightly “grungy” card as a distress example.  This card is actually made from plain Grungeboard.  (Grungeboard is somewhat chipboard, but it is pliable, durable and excellent to alter.)  I cut it to 5.5″x8.5″ and scored it at the half point.  I folded on the line, creating a grungeboard card.  I embossed it with an embossing die and then painted it with acrylic paint, wiping off any excess.  Once dry, I added the stamped pieces and embellishments.  To add a bit of a fool’s gold shine to the card, I rubbed a bit of Distress Stickles on the edges.

Card by Jennifer McGuire
Supplies:

• Just a Note Bird (thank you background)
  
• NEW Thank You Sayings (greeting)
  
• Tea Dye Distress Ink (to age flowers)
  
• Hero Arts Meadow Flowers, Neutral Buttons and Green Pearls
  
• Other: Tim Holtz Plain Grungeboard (for card), Tim Holtz Idea-ology metal flowers and leaves, Ranger Antique Linen Distress Stickles (looks like fool’s gold chips), Ranger Paint Dabbers (to color Grungeboard card), Sizzix embossing folder, ledger paper, circle punches, string
  

Now, time for a masterpiece from the wonderful Tami Hartley.  This card made my jaw drop in awe when I first saw it!  Be sure to check out her tips below the card - there are some really creative ones…

Card by Tami Hartley
Supplies:

• Clear Design Printed Flowers
• Clear Design Fancy Friendship
• Wood Finish
• Raindrop Background
• Kraft Notecards
• White and Cream Art Flowers
• Memories White Ink, Peeled Paint Distress Ink, Soft Stone Shadow Ink, Chocolates & Blueberries Chalk Ink Queue
• Other: Antique Linen Distress Ink, Making Memories dotted paper, white string, button, pop dots, machine stitching

Here are some incredible tips from Tami:

• Background: Use the Wood Finish stamp to create a rough crosshatch pattern. Do not ink the stamp thoroughly; instead ink certain areas of the stamp more heavily than others. Stamp Wood Finish horizontally several times on the kraft paper. Then turn the stamp 90 degrees, reink, and stamp vertically several times.  Overstamp with the Raindrop Background using white ink. Stamp the straight edge of the white Memories inkpad directly onto the paper around all four edges to create a rough frame.
• Layered flower: Stamp various sized flowers from the Clear Design Printed Flowers set and trim. Crumple the petals a bit, add ink, and glue layers together. Curl individual petals under slightly and use pop dots for dimension between the two largest layers.
• Stem and leaves: Stamp designs from the Clear Design Printed Flowers set in green ink and sponge additional green ink over images. Handcut stem and leaves. Fold leaves in half and glue only one half of each leaf to the card so that part of the leaf pops up.

I hope you are feeling inspired to try some distressing.  We still have lots to share, so stop back by…

Jennifer

Welcome back to our distress week. I have lots of fun things to share today, with a variety of distressing styles and TWO videos!

First, how about a little fun?  Remember that we recently celebrated our 1st anniversary of this blog?  And that Hero has been around for 35 years as of this year?  Well, a few weeks ago at Ranger U, I ran into two of our favorite industry friends - Tim Holtz and Claudine Hellmuth.  We had fun putting together this “Happy Birthday, Hero Arts” message…

Next, let’s get distressing!

I thought I would share a video showing some fun techniques to get a distressed look.  This card features distressing and stamping on Hero Arts flowers and a fun resist method with Distress Inks.  No worries - it is simple and addictive.  Just check out this video…

Card by Jennifer McGuire
Supplies:

• Heart Flourish
• NEW Clear Design Friends (greeting)
  
• NEW Designer Woodgrain (background)
  
• Walnut Ink, Tattered Rose, Scattered Straw and Tea Dye Distress Inks
• Versamark Ink and White Embossing Powder
• Soft Sand Shadow Ink
  
• Hero Arts Meadow Flowers and Clear Buttons
• Cream Notecard
  
• Other: Fiskars corner rounder, vintage textbook paper, jute, office tag

Next, how about an example of distressing using bright colors?  While at a stamping retreat this weekend, all of my friends joined in on the fun of distress with me. Jana Millen created this beautiful card, and it is proof that distressing can be colorful.  She softened all the edges of the card with colored Distress Ink, which gives it a soft and inviting look.  I love how she even added Distress Embossing Powder to the pearls to change their look, too.

Card by Jana Millen
Supplies:

• Heart Flourish
• NEW Mother’s Day (greeting)
  
• Pearls
• Hero Arts Notecards
• Diamond Stickles (rubbed on butterfly wings)
  
• Broken China Distress Ink (inking on edges of card),  Shabby Shutters Distress Ink, Staz-On Black Ink and Versamark (to emboss pearls and flourish)
• Other: Cuttlebug embossing (dot background), Ranger Distress Embossing Powder (on pearls), Ranger Embossing Powder (on flourish), Bazzill cardstock (butterfly), Paper Studio Butterfly Punch, Ranger Inkssentials Foam Ink Blending Tool

Distressing isn’t just for cardmaking.  Here is a great layout by Nichol Magouirk.  Isn’t it so soft and pretty?  I love that she individualized each die cut shape by stamping on them with Design Block stamps and a bit of distress inking…

Layout by Nichol Magouirk
Supplies:

• Clear Design Fancy Friendship
• Clear Design Hugs and Hearts
• DesignBlock: Old Letter Writing
• DesignBlock: Four Leaf Grid
• NEW Dots and Flowers (on the big heart)
  
• NEW Dot Flourish Border (on the heart on the right)
  
• Walnut Stain Distress Ink, Baby Blue Shadow Ink and Memories Black Ink
• Other: Making Memories patterned papers, American Crafts ribbon, buttons, string, Quickutz Silhouette die cutting machine, brad
  

I hope our examples are showing that there are many ways to distress.  Be sure to come back tomorrow for another video and more fun…

Hello, stampers!  It is Jennifer McGuire here and I am so excited about this week - it is a theme I have wanted to do for a long time.

For the next several days, we are going to explore the wonderful stamping world of  “distress.”  Distress just means adding an “aged” feel to a project, providing a warm, timeless look. The classic look of distressing can vary from simple to complex, and colorful to “grungy.” I know this may be new and challenging for some of us, but I can promise you - it is incredibly fun… and addictive.  There is something for everyone!  I have many projects to share, along with even more fun techniques.  Let’s get started…

Here is a card I made with a bit of distressing.  It shows an easy way to get a distress look, which helps to soften the overall feel of the card.  I simply rubbed the edges softly with Distress Ink and stamped softly with the Old Letter Writing stamp.

Card by Jennifer McGuire
Supplies:

• Clear Design Asian Frames
  
• Old Letter Writing (stamped softly on edges)
• NEW Thank You Sayings
  
• Cream Notecards
• Versamark Dazzle Ink (to make floral circle shimmer), Tea Dye Distress Ink (all brown stamping and inking of edges), Black Memories Ink
  
• Clear Embossing Powder
• Hero Arts Buttons and Pearls
  
• Other: colored pencils (for flowers), jute, vintage textbook paper, Ranger Inkssentials Foam Ink Blending Tool (great for inking edges!)
  

If you look closely at the floral circle on the card, you will see a bit of shimmer and shine.  After stamping, coloring and cutting the circle, I pressed Versamark Dazzle Ink directly on the image, covering it completely.  I then added a layer of clear embossing powder.  While it was still hot, I shook on another layer.  I repeated this several more times, resulting in an epoxy-like embellishment.

Here is another distressed card example from the amazing Shari Carroll.  Shari is incredible at the aged and timeless look of distress.  So, I had to ask her to play along!  I adore how she distressed her card’s edges with white ink for a fresh look!  She also accidentally tore the pink paper when sewing, so she decided to make it a “distressed touch” - I love it.

Card by Shari Carroll
Supplies:

• Clear Design Paris
  
• NEW Modern Lines (the thin lines in the background)
  
• White Memories Ink (rubbed directly on the edges and also for the background stamping) and Walnut Stain Distress Ink
• Kraft Notecards
• Pearls
• Other: sewing machine, Paper Studio butterfly punch, Prima patterned papers, K&Company lace border sticker, jute

I have another distressed example for today.  This one is from one of my favorite crafters, Nichol Magouirk.  This girl is so talented - especially with color combinations and creative use of die cuts.  So, while at a stamping retreat with her this weekend, I asked her to create a distressed card for us - done “her way.”  And check out this colorful, diecut, stamped, distressed creation!

Card by Nichol Magouirk
Supplies:

• Houndstooth Background
• NEW Thank You Sayings
• NEW Dots and Flowers (on orange flower)
• NEW Grid Pattern (background stamp)
• NEW Designer Woodgrain (on yellow flower)
• Versamark Ink and Clear Embossing Powder (background)
• Walnut Stain Distress Ink (for distress inking), Black Memories Ink, Primary Elements Chalk Ink Queue (yellow), Soft Apricot Shadow Ink (orange) and Soft Pool Shadow Ink (blue)
• Chocolate Notecards
  
• Other: Quickutz Silhouette Die Cutting Machine, Creative Impressions patterned paper, buttons, string

Now it is time for the challenge details. This week’s challenge is to create a project with some sort of distressing.  Make it your own style - with as little or as much distressing as you would like.  (Think of it as “distress your way.”) All you have to do is use at least one Hero Arts stamp. Easy!  Upload your projects to the Hero Arts Flickr Group by Sunday, April 26th at 11:59 PM PST and tag them with the code word “distress“.

We will then award the following 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: $15 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog

Now, how about a giveaway?  Up for grabs is a set of several Distress Inks from Tim Holtz and Ranger! Hero Arts proudly carries these inks as we feel they are the perfect companion to our stamps.  And they are perfect for distressing and blending inks since they stay wet longer than most dye inks.  They are fun to use!  Just leave a comment here telling us if you have ever distressed a project before (and if so, what is your favorite way to do so) by the end of Tuesday and we will pick a lucky winner of…

Be sure to stop back all this week as I will have videos, LOTS of techniques, amazing guests, a variety of distress styles and more! Oh, and if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments and I will be sure to stop by to answer.

See you soon…