Happy National Scrapbooking Day everyone!  I thought I would hop on the blog today to share a few new page ideas for you - and do some giveaways!!!

First up is a wonderful Mother’s Day page by Sheri Reguly. I just love the tree she created…

Layout by Sheri Reguly

Supplies:

• Screen Shadow
• Patterned Background
• Woodgrain Pattern
• Sparkle Clear Happy Greetings
• ClearDesign Big Circle
• Patterned Hearts
• Soft Pool Shadow Ink
• Colorbox Chalk Queue - Chocolates & Blueberries
• Colorbox Chalk Queue - Rose Petals
• StazOn Jet Black
• VersaMark
• White Embossing Powder
• White, Lime Notecards
• Assorted Clear Circles
• Spring & Neutral Card Buttons
• Art Flowers White and Cream
• Other: cardstock/kraft paper (Bazzill Basics), patterned paper (October Afternoon), ribbon (Michael’s), circle punches (EK Success 1 1/8″ & 1 1/2″), scalloped edge border punch (Stampin Up!), font (Baskerville Old Face), thread, staples

Next up is this cute baby page from Kandis Smith.  Such a happy color combination and fun handmade flower!

Layout by Kandis Smith

Supplies:

• Dots
• Clear Design Friendship
• Three Designer Leaves
• Clear Design Big Circles
• Clear Design  Hello Circles
• Rose Petals Chalk Ink Queue
• Colonial Blue Memories Ink
• Versamark
• White Embossing Powder
• Shabby Shutters Distress Ink
• Kraft Notecards
• Small & Medium Accent Pearls
• Card Buttons Summer
• Antique Round Mini Fasteners
• Other: cardstock, circle template (Coluzzle), machine stitching, linen string

And here is another great layout from Kandis.  The little touches of Liquid Pearls on the butterflies and flowers are so pretty. I just love spring…

Layout by Kandis Smith

Supplies:

• Design Block Silhouette
• Raindrop Background
• Clear Design Sending Happy Thoughts
• Clear Design All Occasion Messages
• Lime Notecards
• Card Buttons Spring
• Pale Pink Pearls
• Shabby Shutters Distress Ink
• Soft Pool Shadow Ink
• Soft Blossom Shadow Ink
• White Opal Liquid Pearls
• Other: linen string, border punch (Fiskars Threading Water), patterned paper (Making Memories), cardstock (Core’dinations), machine stitching

Now, let’s celebrate National Scrapbooking Day with a giveaway! Hero Arts Design Blocks are perfect for making backgrounds for scrapbook pages, so today we thought we’d give away two of our newest Design Blocks — Designer Woodgrain and Dots and Flowers!  Picture these on your next layout…

To enter, just leave a comment on this post by the end of today (11:59 PM PST) telling us your favorite way to incorporate stamps into your scrapbooks and we will announce the lucky winner tomorrow.

But wait — there’s more! We’re doing a blog blinkie giveaway today too! There are three fun blinkies over in the blog sidebar.  To be entered into a random drawing for a great assortment of Hero Arts goodies, just click HERE and leave a comment on THAT post once you’ve added one of the blinkies to your blog. (Tips for adding are HERE.) If you have already added one of the blinkies to your blog, you are automatically entered too!

Whether you’re stamping, scrapbooking, or BOTH today, I hope you have fun!  Happy NSD from all of us at Hero Arts!

WOW!  As of this morning, there were 1,097 comments entered for the World Cardmaking Day giveaway!  Tami and I really enjoyed reading them — each and every one.  It’s so great to be a part of such a giving, caring community of stampers.

I used random.org to pick the winner of the giveaway…

And…

…drumroll…

The winner is…

#365, Kristisb, who said on October 4th at 9:32 am:

My favorite thing is that the people I send/give the cards to really know I took time and effort to make the cards, instead of just buying a card and signing it. These are really gifts in themselves.

Hoo-ray, Kristisb!  We will email you to get your address and get your goodies right out to you.

Many thanks to everyone who stopped by for World Cardmaking Day Weekend!  Hope to see you around the blog again soon,

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Welcome to day two of World Cardmaking Day Weekend!    Tami and I are back as your hostesses — and today we’re being joined by the fabulous Sally Traidman!   We have bunches of ideas to help you get started on your fall and winter cardmaking.

Let’s start off with this fun cardmaking idea that can be adapted to any season or occasion.  Tami often makes small cards to tuck in her kids’ lunchboxes as a little surprise.

They are quick and easy to create and make great use of the small paper scraps we all tend to accumulate.  The card above measures a wee 2×3 inches.  Lunchbox notes can be any size since there’s no need to worry about envelopes.  (Tip: simply wrap the mini card inside a folded napkin!)

You can also attach the mini card to the front of a standard size card panel and send them through the mail.  The flap lifts up to reveal a message — in this case “BOO!” — a fun interactive twist.

Featuring:

• Clear Design Happy Halloween
• DesignBlock Flourish
• Green Apple Notecards
• Christmas Queue
• Memories Black Ink
• Orange Gemstones
• Other: patterned paper (Bo Bunny, Pebbles Inc.), ribbon, white pen

Quick Instructions:

For the lunchbox mini card, stamp the haunted house directly onto Halloween patterned paper. Adhere to top-folded white card.  Stamp message inside.  Embellish with ribbon, gemstones, and white pen dots.

For the standard card, just attach the mini card to a black panel that has been layered to a flat white card.

Tip:  Makes LOTS of mini cards ahead of time.  When you need a last minute card, attach one to a flat panel and voila — instant card!

Next, take a look at this beauty by Sally!  It can be used for Christmas or all winter long — just change out the message on the inside!

Featuring: 

• DesignBlock Poinsettia & Birds
• Clear Design Owl Christmas (for the little tree ornament)
• Green Apple, Pool and Kraft Notecards

Quick Instructions:

Sally created the tree with her “Paint it, stamp it, cut it, collage it” technique.   She has a video HERE to show you how the technique is done.   Tip: Want to see more videos?  Just click that video camera over there in the blog sidebar to the right.

Here’s another card by Sally in her fun style: simple, but with a twist!

Featuring:

• Pattern Joy
• Felt Poinsettias
• Christmas Queue
• Large Brads

Quick Instructions:

Ink the “J” of the Pattern Joy stamp with red and the “Y” with green.  Stamp on the front of a trimmed white notecard.  Here’s the twist: Punch out a scallop from a Green notecard and add it where the “O” would go.  Then attach a Felt Poinsettia with a brad,  and a gem to the center!

Now for a super cheery Christmas card by Lisa!   Lisa says, “When I get stuck in a cardmaking rut, I like to switch things out a bit by playing around with different color combinations and shapes.”

Featuring:

• Santa Owl (enabling alert — just added HERE in the store!)
• Christmas Tree Brad
• Clear Design Owl Christmas (for the Merry Christmas message)
• Clear Mixed Gemstones
• Christmas Queue (for the gold pigment and red inks)
• Black Gemstones
• Other:  ribbon (Strano Designs), glitter glue (Frosted Lace,  Ranger), paper edge distressor (Tonic for Tim Holtz), patterned paper (Bo Bunny), permanent marker (Bic), circle punch (EK Success), scallop dies (Nestabilities), die cut machine (Cuttlebug), pom pom (Tree House Studio), colored pencils (Prismacolor)

Quick Instructions:

Stamp Santa Owl a little left of center on a white cardstock circle.  Color with pencils.   Stamp again with red, cut out the hat and adhere in place.  Stamp one last time with black, cut out the brim and adhere.  Stamp “Merry Christmas” with brown on a white strip.  Distress the edges of the circle piece and the message piece and then rub with gold pigment ink.  Assemble card.

Now the fun begins!  Use an awl or a heavy duty needle to poke a hole through all the layers and add  a green tree brad.  Color two clear star gems with a pink permanent marker and adhere one to the tree top and one to the dot of the “i” in “Christmas”.  Add ribbon and pom pom with glue dots.  Add black gemstones for eyes.  Finally, create a snow drift for the owl to stand on with glitter glue, then add more glitter glue to the hat brim and pom pom.

Tip:  To make the base card, use a die cut machine + dies to create two 3.5″ scallop edge circles, one out of white cardstock (for the back) and one out of green patterned paper (for the front).  Score the top of the white scallop about 1/2″ from the top and fold, then apply glue generously and adhere green piece in place.  This way the score line will be on the back, and won’t mess up the card front.   You can hang things off of the circle and it will still fit in a standard envelope, too!

Another tip:  The Santa Owl is our mascot for the Holiday “Win a Day on the Hero Club Blog” Contest!  Look for it over there towards the top of the blog sidebar, then follow the link for more!

Now for one last card by Sally!

Featuring:

• Clear Design Let It Snow
• Clear Design Joys of the Season (for the little tree)
• DesignBlock Stunning Snowlakes
• Sparkle Clear Warm Wishes (for the message)
• Winter Mixed Notecards
• Other: white acrylic paint, glitter glue, a twig
• LOTS of gems!

Quick Instructions:

Use a foam brush to “ink” the DesignBlock Stunning Snowflakes with white acrylic paint and stamp on a dark blue notecard.  Trim and layer to a baby blue notecard.  Stamp snowman with black on white and cut out.  Stamp a hat with red and cut out.  Create a little sign.  Assemble card, adding the twig for an arm, then bling it up with glitter and gems!

Want more card ideas?  Check out these great resources:

• The Cardmaking Section HERE on HeroArts.com.   There’s a new card (or more!) EVERY week, plus SEVEN card galleries, including one with 18 pages full of holiday cards!
• Browse our digital catalogs - they’re all right HERE.   Then click on any sample to see a complete materials list + instructions.
• Search for samples! Find samples made with a stamp by going HERE to the Catalog page and typing the stamp name or product number in the search box (next to the holly bird).  The product number is right on the stamp label.  There’s a sample for EVERY stamp, starting with the 2008 Catalog!
• Watch our videos!  See that video camera over there in the blog sidebar?  Click on it to go to our archive of videos, featuring cards, techniques and more!
• Click on over HERE to the Hero Arts Flickr group – it’s loaded with creative cards from the Hero stamping community!  Join the group and join in the fun!

Hope you’ve enjoyed World Cardmaking Day Weekend as much as we have!  Don’t forget to enter the great giveaway that’s going on and claim your Sparkle Clear Cupcakes set by adding it to your shopping cart!  Check out THIS POST for all the details.

Happy cardmaking,

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Hi everyone!  It’s Lisa + Tami here, your hostesses for World Cardmaking Day!  What’s this you ask?  It’s a day for cardmakers all around the world to come together and celebrate the joy of cardmaking!  It’s also a time to get a head start on cards for the holidays.  We have bunches of ideas to share with you today and tomorrow,  plus a super giveaway and a very special surprise!  Let’s get started…

We thought we’d start with this fun “Joy, World Peace + Love” card by Lisa, since it suits the occasion!

Featuring:

• Pattern Joy
• Special Edition Travel
• DesignBlock Stunning Snowflakes
• Clear Design Jolly Christmas
• Red, Crystal, Black and Clear Mixed Gemstones
• Other: glitter glue (Ranger), circle punch (EK Success), permanent teal marker (Bic)

Quick Instructions:

This is a simple card with BIG impact!  We have a template for you HERE to make it easy to create you own message bubble.  Just print, cut and trace it onto white cardstock.  After you’ve created your message bubble, add glitter glue along the edge.  Stamp the DesignBlock Stunning Snowfalkes with VersaMark ink on an Apple Green notecard and emboss with clear sparkle powder. The rest of the card is pretty straightforward.  Don’t forget to add bling:  Black gems for owl’s eyes, red gems on the “J”, a heart on the world and crystal gems on the “Y”.

Tip: Sparkle clear embossing powder is a great way to add that little “extra something” to your cards without taking away from a main image.

Another tip: You can use a permanent marker to change the color of a clear gemstone!  A teal marker was used here.

Now for some Halloween fun from Lisa!

Featuring:

• Clear Design Owl-oween
• Fall Mixed Notecards
• Fall Queue
• Black, Crystal Gemstones
• Other: black striped/glittered paper (DCWV), plaid shimmery paper (Reminisce), ribbon (orange - American Crafts, black velvet - May Arts)

Quick Instructions:

Stamp the ghost owl with black on a white scrap.  Then,  using a VersaMark ink pad  as you would a stamp, “stamp” all over the ghost to coat it with ink.  Sprinkle with clear sparkle embossing powder, tap off excess and emboss.  The rest of the card is just plain stamping.

The “cat owl” card is also simple stamping.  Two fun additions to this card are a large black gem on the spider body and two small black gems for the owl’s eyes.

Tip:  Try cutting a notecard in half, then hanging things off  the edge like the ghost + ribbon.  Since the card is half-size it will still fit in an envelope!

Next up is a seasonal card from Tami, who has been feeling very grateful for the beautiful autumn weather in her corner of the world.   This card could be sent as a thank you note, a general fall greeting, or next month as a Thanksgiving card.

Featuring:

• Clear Design Happy Thanksgiving
• Card Buttons - Neutral
• Fall Mixed, Neutral Mixed & Kraft Notecards
• Memories Artprint Brown Dye Ink
• Other: ribbon, colored pencil, sewing machine, pop dots

Quick Instructions:

Stamp the pumpkin twice — first on a piece of okra notecard (from the Neutral Mixed Notecards) and then on a scrap of orange notecard (from the Fall Mixed Notecards.)  Cut out the orange pumpkin, omitting the stem and curly vines.  Adhere the orange pumpkin directly on top of the pumpkin stamp on the okra.  This saves you from a lot of detailed cutting and ends up looking great!  Stamp the little bird on top of the pumpkin for a fun touch.

Tip:  Use a light brown colored pencil to shade the pumpkin.

Tip:  Real machine stitching around the edges of the main image panel mimics the stitched look of the pumpkin image.

In addition to World Cardmaking Day, we’re also celebrating reaching over 5,000 entries in the Hero Arts Flickr Photo Pool!  WOO HOO!  This calls for CAKE!  LOTS of CAKE! See this yummy Sparkle Clear Cupcakes set:

It’s FREE with any order this weekend in the Hero Arts Online Store! Just add it to your cart — click HERE to go right to it!  HOO-RAY! 

Tami “baked” this cute calorie-free cupcake card to celebrate…

Featuring:

• Sparkle Clear Cupcakes
• Blossom & Kraft Notecards
• Rose Petals Queue
• Memories Artprint Brown Dye Ink
• Prisma Glitter
• Other: patterned paper (My Mind’s Eye), scalloped circle punch, circle punch, ribbon (American Crafts), sewing machine

Quick Instructions:

Stamp the small flower from the Sparkle Clear Cupcake set repeatedly on a blossom notecard.  Adhere this piece to a square white card and then add a strip of patterned paper which has been layered and stitched to a kraft strip.  Stamp the cupcake liner in brown ink on a blossom scrap and stamp the frosting on a cream scrap; piece together and adhere to a kraft circle.  Stitch the kraft circle onto a white scalloped circle and add it to the card with pop dots.  Repeatedly stamp the words along the bottom.

Tip:  Use a standard A2 Hero Arts white notecard for the base of this card, but cut off 1.25″ from the bottom of the notecard to make it square.  Use the standard envelope to avoid extra postage charges.

Tip:  Bring attention to the cupcake with a sprinkling of Prisma glitter and a flower gem.

If you haven’t seen the Hero Arts Flickr Group before, you really should click on over and check it out!  There are so many great ideas — over 5,000! — and a  truly wonderful community of stampers.   Join the group, join the fun!  (Check the FAQ for help with Flickr.)

Now, how about a giveaway?  Feast your eyes on all these goodies to help you get started on your holiday cardmaking:

• Special Edition Travel Tag
• Sparkle Clear Happy Haunting
• Clear Design Happy Thanksgiving
• Clear Design Jolly Christmas
• Mixed Fall Notecards
• Mixed Holiday Notecards
• Christmas Queue
• Felt Poinsettias
• Summer Art Buttons
• Small Sparkle Gem Blossoms

To enter,  just leave a comment here on this post and share what you like most about making cards.  The random winner will be announced on Monday.  [Update: The random winner has been announced HERE!]

Tami says: Is shopping for supplies an acceptable answer?  Kidding! (Partially.)  I really enjoy the entire process…from gathering ideas to shopping to actually stamping and pushing little scraps of paper around. :)  Something about the act of creating just makes me immensely happy, and I’ve found my favorite medium in stamps, inks, and paper.  I must say that nothing really compares to the moment when you give your card to the recipient…that’s the best!

Lisa says:  My favorite thing about making cards is seeing someone’s eyes light up and a big smile cross their face when they receive a card that I made.  I like to make specially designed cards tailored just for the recipient.   Sometimes I have a card planned out months ahead of time — then  I usually giggle when I’m making it, ha ha!  I’ve also been known to give people a card early because I can’t stand to wait to see what they’ll do.  Oh, and confetti is always a favorite, too (just ask my sister)!  For example, you could stamp some extra owl-ghosts to tuck inside a card for a Halloween “trick”!  HA!

See you tomorrow when we’ll be back with even more card ideas,

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