Hello, everyone!I am here to announce the winners of the holiday challenge from last week. We all picked our favorites and then randomly picked the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. And, of course, we have a few honorable mentions!But first, I wanted to quickly remind you that you have until September 30th to send in your Cards for Heroes cards to ship overseas to the troops. We are collecting holiday cards, but you can also send others. You can find more details HERE. Anyone and everyone is welcome to contribute for this good cause… and a chance to win some stamps! Now for the prizes…First place ($50 gift certicate and catalog) goes to Susanne Nilsson for these adorably adorable tags. What clever use of masking!Second place ($25 gift certificate and catalog) goes to kiaraleestudio for this super clever card. We just loved the combination of embossing, stamping and circles.Third place ($10 gift certificate and catalog) goes to krolski for this great clear card. We loved the floating snowflakes on the acetate card! Great design.And we couldn’t stop there. We have three honorable mentions who will each receive a pack of notecards, gemstones and a Holly Bird stamp.The first honorable mention is to judy1223 for this classy card. We loved the touch of the candy cane.The second honorable mention is to sifullerton for this simple yet fabulous card.The third honorable mention goes to ethel769 for this elegant masterpiece.To all the winners, please email us with your address so we can get your prizes to you.Thanks again to everyone for playing along!
I thought I would wrap up the week a bit and share another card.
We have several contests still open…
Enter our weekly challenge for creating holiday cards. Just post in our Flickr group by tomorrow (Sunday) night at 11:59pmPST. For more information, click HERE.
Please participate in our Cards for Heroes Card DriveHERE. All you have to do is send any holiday cards in to us by September 30th. These cards will then be sent to our troops overseas for the holidays. What a great cause and such a fun and easy way to help. From all the cards we get, we will pick three winners of stamp sets!
Just leave a comment on THIS post telling us your new favorite Hero Arts stamp for a chance to win a Stars and Stripes stamp set.
Can you believe it is Friday? Time flies when you are stamping, eh? Today I have a video, a set of stamped cards, some ideas from TWO incredible guests, and a giveaway. Whew! Let’s get started.
First, here is a video with tips on making your playful stamped images sparkle…
For a closer look at each, click on the images below.
Diamond Stickles and white Inkessentials pen from Ranger, Bo Bunny patterned paper, Diamond Glaze (or any other liquid glue), google eyes, punches, colored pencils,
Now, I have two special guests for you. Both have ties to the military, so it seemed the perfect way to share the importance of our Cards For Heroes Card Drive.
First, allow me to introduce the adorable Stephanie Howell. Stephanie is an incredible scrapbooker/mom whose husband, CPT James Howell is currently deployed to Afghanistan for a 15 month rotation. Stephanie said, “My two little girls (Harper - 2 years and Sadie - 7 months) keep me so busy it is not even funny. I miss Jimmy most at night, when the little ones are asleep and the house is quiet. It is only then when I allow my heart to ache. I am so grateful to have scrapbooking as my therapy.”
Stephanie also mentioned that her husband knows many young men serving who are single and not close to their families. It is men and women like this who need the most love. Stephanie is so very grateful for this card drive and the support it will bring to the men and women of our military.
Here are two adorable cards that Stephanie created with Hero Arts stamps to send to her husband overseas. I love how she personalized them both!
Vintage ledger paper, Paper Studio patterned paper (red), Cosmo Cricket patterned paper (green), Heidi Grace letter stickers and Making Memories metal heart clip
Thank you, Stephanie. Big hugs from all of us! Please visit her sweet blog HERE. (She will be having a Hero Arts giveaway!)
Next, we have Karen Russell. Karen is a very successful scrapbooker with her own line of products: Narratives. And, to top that off, she is one of the kindest people around. Karen also has ties to the military, so I asked her to contribute to our blog this week to support our card drive. Karen said, “My husband Josh has been in the Air National Guard for 8+ years. Just a few months ago, his boss was deployed to Afghanistan and will be spending Christmas away from his wife and four kids for the first time. I feel so indebted to his family and to all families who are serving our country. My hope is that our cards can make them feel just a little bit closer to home and to the people they love throughout the holidays.” Here is her fabulous holiday card…
Thanks, Karen. I recommend that everyone check out her incredible blog HERE. (I bet she has a Hero Arts stamp to giveaway over there, too! :0)
How about another giveaway here?
Just leave a comment on this post by Saturday at 11:59pm PST telling us what your favorite stamp from the new Hero Arts “‘Tis the Season” catalog is. (You can find the catalog HERE.) I will randomly pick THREE winners for this hard-to-find Stars and Stripes stamp set! (EDITED TO ADD: THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED.)
… Gina Van Vliet! I will email you to get your address. And thanks to everyone who entered. If you are still wanting to get your hands on that set, you can buy it HERE. :o)
Sewing machine stitching and Creative Impressions silk ribbon
How about a few more tree cards? These two are from from an amazing guest - Sandy Allnock. Sandy is the President of Cards For Heroes, who we are supporting this week via our challenge. (For more information, click HERE.) When I asked Sandy on how she ended up leading this organization, she said: “Our deployed heroes are my inspiration. In the midst of challenging circumstances, they RAVE about what it means to them to be able to simply send a card home to their wife or child! Handwritten contact with their loved ones makes a huge difference to both the troops and their families, and I love to be a little part in that connection between them. It’s a little something that we in the craft community can do to make their tours of duty just a bit easier and show our gratitude to those who serve our nation so selflessly….while doing what we love!”
Sandy used some Hero Arts holiday tree stamps, too. Here are her fabulous creations…
Ribbon, brad, wire, watercolor, Penny Black birthday greeting and Die Cuts With a View paper
Thanks so much, Sandy. You are an amazing person.
Tomorrow I get to announce the winner of the snowman stamp set - you still have time to enter HERE! AND, I get to say who I picked to lead a day on the blog here with me in October! See you soon…
Today we have lots of holiday goodness to share, including a how-to video and some project ideas from a special guest. And what makes these projects even better - they all include photos. I love photo cards!
First, here is a video sharing a fun way to include photos inside your holiday cards.
White Inkessentials Pen from Ranger, Creative Impressions silk ribbon, vintage text paper, Fiskars star punch
Since we are encouraging folks to send their holiday cards entries in for soldiers via cardsforheroes.org, I thought it would be interesting to ask Kimber McGray to be our special guest. Kimber’s husband, Capt William McGray, is the Commander of the 38th MP Company out of Danville, IN. He is currently serving a 12 month deployment to Iraq. When I asked Kimber how she handles him being away, she said, “I stay busy between the kid’s (Andrew-5 and Laura-3) activities and working on my second scrapbooking book. We keep a fairly regular daily routine which helps us all keep organized and helps the kids to know what to expect everyday.”
Kimber, who is an accomplished crafter, was kind to give us a peek into a package and cards she has put together for her husband. I love that she included photos on some of the cards.
Thanks for sharing, Kimber! To learn more about Kimber, her family and her work, be sure to visit her blog HERE. (She will be doing a Hero Arts giveaway today, too.)
Looking for more ways to include photos on cards? Click on these images to find out more information:
And, speaking of photos… how about some holiday ideas for all you scrapbookers? Click to find out more:
Welcome to another fun week at Hero Arts! This week we are going to start thinking about the holidays. I know a lot of stampers like to start early. But I have a twist on this seasonal theme - a way for us to reach out to some folks who could use a smile. So keep reading! (Oh, and as a thanks for reading this long post, there will be a prize at the end!)
First, let’s start with a couple holiday card shares. Both use stamping snowflakes on a clear card/tag. The second is inspired by the fabulous Shari Carroll.
Supplies: (for a video with tips on stamping on clear cards, look HERE.)
Circle punch, colored pencils, black permanent pen, ribbon and glitter pens.
This week will be filled with holiday ideas, videos, giveaways and special guests. Such fun! Now for the challenge…
The challenge for this week is to create a holiday card. Just load them into Hero Arts Flickr group with the tag “holiday.” Be sure to use at least one Hero Arts stamp on your card and post them by September 7th at 11:59pmPST. From the entries we will pick winners for these prizes:
1st place: $50 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2008 catalog
2nd place: $25 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2008 catalog
3rd place: $10 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2008 catalog
and a few honorable mentions
And since this industry is full of such goodness, I thought we could “pay it forward.” Here’s how…
I heard of a great website called Cards For Heroes. This sites mission is “to support our nation’s armed forces by sending greeting cards on which deployed troops can write home, as well as cards full of gratitude sent to injured heroes recovering in hospitals.” I started talking to Sandy Allnock, the site’s generous and talented president, and we thought that it would be fun to collect the holiday cards for this weeks Hero Arts Blog challenge.
If you would like to participate, you can send your card(s) to the address below. (The cards can either have a message written in them for a soldier, or the cards can be blank so that the soldiers can write in them and send them home to their families.) We will collect them and send them via Cards For Heroes to soldiers overseas. (For all of you stampers who aren’t in the USA, you are welcome to still send them in to us or pass them on to a program in your own country. I am collecting a list of contacts for each country, so you can also email me at jennifer(a)heroarts.com if you would like that information.) On September 30th, we will randomly pick three winners from the cards that were sent in and will send the winners a Hero Arts Let It Snow Clear Design stamp set (see image below)! So, send those cards in. Here is the address:
Jennifer McGuire
Heroes Card Drive
PO Box 428612
Cincinnati, OH 45242
I hope you all have fun creating holiday cards and/or cards for heroes! In the meantime - as a big thank you for reading this long post - I have some stamps to giveaway. Just leave a comment on this post by Wednesday at 11:59pm PST telling us your favorite holiday. I will randomly pick a winner of this snowman stamp set! [Thursday update: The winner of the snowman set has been announced HERE. There's still plenty of time to enter the other two challenges, tho!]
Lots of ways to win, huh? Be sure to come back tomorrow for a how-to video and some really special holiday shares from a woman whose husband is a true hero. Happy Monday!
Show your support for Hero Arts by adding one of these blinkies to your blog!
Then, add a comment HERE to this post to let us know. You never know when we'll be giving away goodies...!
Second place ($25 gift certificate and catalog) goes to kiaraleestudio for this super clever card. We just loved the combination of embossing, stamping and circles.
Third place ($10 gift certificate and catalog) goes to krolski for this great clear card. We loved the floating snowflakes on the acetate card! Great design.
And we couldn’t stop there. We have three honorable mentions who will each receive a pack of notecards, gemstones and a Holly Bird stamp.The first honorable mention is to judy1223 for this classy card. We loved the touch of the candy cane.
The second honorable mention is to sifullerton for this simple yet fabulous card.
The third honorable mention goes to ethel769 for this elegant masterpiece.
To all the winners, please email us with your address so we can get your prizes to you.Thanks again to everyone for playing along!
