Oh My Goodness.

I’ve never seen as much talent in one place as I have this last week in our Flickr group full of Shapes.  I brought in a couple artists (Tami and Jennifer) to help me out, there was no way I could have judged this one on my own.  We each made a list, the ones that overlapped that we liked the most won, simple as that.  I didn’t feel this week warranted a random drawing.  Now, since there were so many great cards and pages we had a tie and added an extra winner plus an additional Honorable Mention.

So are you ready?

Our Fresh Face Winner ($50.00 worth of stamps and a 2009 catalog) this week is lupahojowilly with her bird filled shoe…how cute!!!

Our Scrapbook Page Winner ($50.00 worth of stamps and a 2009 catalog) is Jaemom for her bear hug page…

Our First Place Winner ($50.00 worth of stamps and a 2009 catalog) is…none other than Scrapperjjb with her wonderfully detailed umbrella.

Our Second Place Winner ($25.00 worth of stamps and a 2009 catalog) is Shannavineyard with her hand drawn Volkswagen. I hit the floor with a thud with this one!

We had a tie for Third Place ($15.00 worth of stamps and a 2009 catalog)…One award goes to Sandeeallen for her utterly adorable COW!!! You’ve just got to go in and see the back end of this card!

Our other Third Place Winner ($15.00 worth of stamps and a 2009 catalog) is Ashley.M with her adorable Chick in an Egg.

Then as you know we couldn’t stop there, it was impossible, so here is our list of Honorable Mentions…

The first Honorable Mention award goes to Pajalu for her frogs on a Lily Pad. Love it!!

And another to Dancingpeardesigns for her tea cup invitation.  Also check her photostream to see the inside.

Lizhaworth receives an Honorable Mention for her cute love boat scene depicting “The Owl & The Pussycat”…awww they’re holding hands!

And last but not least is Sarah Belgium’s whimsical Jungle Crown!!! Gotta love it for it’s charm!

Congratulations everyone!! Please email us with your postal addresses and include “Shapes Winner” in the subject line.

This was truly one of the hardest challenges to judge because of your incredible talent.  Thank you for participating and making it one of the best weeks I’ve hosted yet.  I look forward to more shapes in the future.

Cheers!

More shapes keep popping up around me like spring flowers.  I’ve got to share some more with you coming all the way from France.  These wonderful cards below are from a group of designers who are displaying samples in the Hero Arts booth this weekend in Paris. Todd will be sending us reports, so stay tuned next week for exciting news from across the Atlantic.

Card by Prisca

 Card by Gauxanne

 Card By Steff

 Card by Elodie Touzet

Apron card + tag by Sylvie

Aren’t they just fabulous.  I love the style these designers use, so shabby chic, just beautiful.

Here’s a quick look back at our week of shaped cards…which was an amazing week for me.

• Monday: Started out with crowns and a few shape templates to print out.
• Tuesday: Was simple common shapes like hearts from Robyn, a circle and houses.
• Wednesday: Jennifer and I put some wind in the sails with boats and a video.
• Friday: Had a bunch of fun and flair with Kristina’s star, Gaelle’s bird and my Easter wagon.

Thanks for playing along with me this week, I hope to see many more shape cards out of you in the future.  The “Shapes” challenge will be open until tomorrow (Sunday) at 11:59pm PST. All of the challenge details can be found HERE on Monday’s post.

I’ve got a Blinkie Reminder for you. If you have a blog and you’re interested, we’ve got our fun Hero Arts blinkies HERE. 

Thanks again everyone.
Enjoy!

I’m so sad that this is the last day for my shapes, I wish I could go on for another week or two. I’ve had so much fun, especially looking through the Flickr pool at all the unbelievable entries. Wow, you all ROCK!!! I have to say, you have really accepted this challenge with all your heart, and I have no idea how I’m going to pick a few winners among so many wonderful ideas.  I’m in AWE!!

Okay, I’ve got much more to share with you…let’s get started!

I was recently introduced to Kristina Werner, she’s an incredible designer and 2 Peas Garden Girl. She is also known for her fabulous color challenges on her blog. We put our heads together and came up with a dual challenge…shape and color!

Kristina’s Star Template

Card by Kristina Werner

Supplies

“Just something I found completely awesome… When you stamp the Woodgrain Pattern stamp in brown ink on Kraft cardstock, it really does look like real wood. I LOVED it! I’m going to have to do a ton more of that. :)”

Card By Shari Carroll

Supplies

• Galaxy of Stars
• Reach For the Star design Block
• All Occasion Messages
• Tim Holtz Distress inks Faded Jeans and Walnut Stain
• VersaMark Ink
• White Embossing Powder
• Card Buttons Summer
• Other: Pattern Paper-Making Memories, Cardstock-Bazzill, string

 Hero Arts goes to Europe!

This weekend, Hero Arts is debuting in Paris at a trade show. Our very own Todd Mullins has flown over to properly greet the Parisians. From across the Atlantic we have Gaëlle Fauglas from France, who is an awesome designer and helped make samples for display in the booth over there.  She was kind enough to play by offering her adorable bird shaped card.

Card By Gaëlle Fauglas

Supplies

• Houndstooth Background
• Together Special Edition
• Kaleidoscope Flowers
• Wood Finish

And finally I made this little Easter wagon to celebrate the beginning of Spring (I saw a Robin the other day!!!)

Supplies

• Pattern Egg
• Pattern Bunny
• Scallop Borders
• Queue Primary Elements
• Soft Blossom Shadow Ink
• Soft Pool Shadow Ink
• Spring Felt Buttons
• Pale Pink Pearls
• Wagon Template
• Other:Cardstock-Bazzill and Bo Bunny, Large Eyelet-We R Memory Keepers, string and ribbon

Tip: Cut an extra front panel of the wagon, add eggs, bunny and ribbon with dimensional foam tape to look like the wagon is full.

Remember you have until Sunday evening to get your entries in. Check out Monday’s post for the “Shapes” challenge information and also a few templates.

To end my week off right, I’m going to do a quick giveaway.  I’ll choose one lucky winner to receive the Pattern Egg and Pattern Bunny!  Fun!  Just leave me a comment by Saturday, March 14th at 11:59am PST.  I’ll announce the winner shortly after.  Edited to say: This giveaway is now closed, thank you for your comments!

Thanks for joining me this week, It’s been a blast!!
Enjoy and create!

Today is all about transportation, well sort of… it’s a shape on the move.  Let me introduce you to the Sailboat…Ahoy Matey!.  This was a really fun template to work with.  You can download it here. Let’s take a peek at what we came up with.

First is Jennifer’s take on the template.  I love how she put a greeting just below one of the sails, she’s so amazing!

Oh how cute is Colin poking his face through the opening of the sails.  Simply Scrumptious! Argggg!

Supplies:

• Clear Design Galaxy of Stars
• Sparkle Clear Mini Messages
• Black and White Memories Ink
• Primary Elements and Misty Meadow Chalk Ink Queues
• Red Gemstones
• Other: Scenic Route patterned paper, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, cardstock, string and a photo of a little pirate.

“My son’s 3rd birthday is coming up this weekend.  And after going on vacation to the British Virgin Islands for vacation, he knew he wanted to have a pirate theme.  Shari’s boat template is perfect for his thank you cards!  I kept the card simple and easily mass-produced.  When you open the sails, a little pirate photo is inside.  Such fun!”

My version sticks pretty much to the template design, only I rounded the boat hull. I also added a sewn button to keep the flap of the sail closed.   I just had to make Colin a birthday card. Here’s a quick video.

The final card

And the message for Colin on the inside.

Supplies

• Curly Alphabet
• Happy Birthday Background
• Memories Black Ink
• Card Buttons Summer
• Card Buttons Neutral
• Other: Pattern papers Luxe Designs, Bazzill cardstock, hemp string

Let’s not forget that you have until Sunday evening to get your entries in for this weeks “shapes” challenge. Check out Mondays blog for more information.

Nancy will be here tomorrow to announce the winners of her “little things” challenge, and I’ll be back here on Friday with more fun shapes and special guests.

Until then, Enjoy and Create!

Welcome back my Friends!

Today I’m continuing my shape theme with ones that are simple or common, yet they have warm homey feelings and are from the heart.

To kick off the designs I bring you Robyn Werlich.  Oh how talented she is.  Love this heart layout and how it hangs off the side.

Layout by Robyn Werlich

Supplies:

• Houndstooth
• Wallpaper Background
• Raindrop Background
• Scallop Borders
• Elephants
• Smooth Clear Gemstones
• White Embossing Powder
• Versamark Dazzle Frost
• Other: Cardstock, staples, sewing machine, ribbon, scalloped border punch, small flower punch

Tip: Creating a shaped layout is creative and fun! Try tracing the design on the cardstock first so you don’t make mistakes. Then, cut.

Instructions:Trace 1/2 of a heart on brown cardstock and cut out around the heart. Cut out another heart with red cardstock, cut in half, stamp and add to the right side of the brown heart. Sew to page. On the brown heart, stamp patterned background stamp with VersaMark ink, sprinkle with white embossing powder and heat to set. Add smooth gemstones to middle of flowers. Add ribbon. Stamp raindrop dot stamp with Dazzle Frost VersaMark ink on the blue strip. Staple to page. Add photo and scalloped borders. Stamp ’so stinkin’ cute!’ 4 times in a row with red ink. Stamp scalloped border stamp with VersaMark and emboss with white powder. Add ribbon and punched flowers with smooth gemstones in the middle. Finish with some sewing.

Next I decided to take an ordinary shape (circle) and transform it into a sun shine card with my left over scraps.  I’m ready for warm weather with this one, it’s almost like an explosion of sun shiny goodness.  The inside greeting reads… Hope Your Day Shines.  Perfect!

 Card by Shari Carroll

Supplies

• Scattered Flowers
• You Sparkle Messages
• Message Circles
• White StazOn
• Soft Apricot Shadow Ink
• Acetate Cards
• Kraft Cards
• Card Buttons Summer
• Other: Scraps of yellow and orange papers, ribbon, string, 2″ and 1 1/8″ circle punches, sewing machine (optional).

Instructions
Trace and cut 4″ circles from an acetate and Kraft notecards. Stamp the acetate circle with the flower stamp using White StazOn ink. Cut strips and angled pieces of various yellow and orange papers. Affix in place. Sew as desired. Punch a 2″ circle from yellow cardstock, affix to the center of the sun rays. Stamp the Friend greeting on white cardstock with Soft Apricot ink, use a circle punch and affix it to the card. Secure a bow tied from ribbon with string and button to the card. Fold the side of the Kraft circle at about 1/2″.  Put adhesive only on the edge of the creased side and affix it to the acetate front.   Inside: (Not Shown) Stamp the message on white cardstock with Soft Apricot ink, mount to a piece of yellow cardstock and adhere in place.

Tip: Add sun rays off center from the circle, keep in mind how the card will stand up when affixing them in place.

And finally a couple little house. I made one a bit more complex than the other to show that you can make these quick if you’re in a pinch.

Cards by Shari Carroll

Supplies

• Together Special Edition
• Pattern Hearts Design Accents
• French Country
• Wallpaper Flowers
• Distress Inks Weathered Wood, Old Paper and Walnut Stain
• Soft Sand Shadow Ink
• Card Buttons Neutral
• Kraft Notecards
• Other: Pattern Paper (My Minds Eye, Making Memories), ribbon, string and sewing machine (optional)

Instructions for Scallop Roof House:
Cut a roof pattern for a house. Stamp each of the four hearts onto white cardstock using Weathered Wood, Walnut Stain, Old Paper and Soft sand Shadow ink. Cut out the hearts and apply them upside down to the roof starting at the bottom. Continue adding hearts until it is filled. Sew (optional) around the edges. Distress with Walnut Stain ink.

Cut a Kraft notecard to create the bottom of the house. Trim a piece of lined paper to fit. Stamp the lined paper with the French Country image with Weathered Wood Distress Ink. Sew (optional) in place.  Rough up the edges.  Stamp the So Special image three times, once onto Kraft paper with Walnut Stain Ink, again on cream paper with Weathered Wood ink and finally on cream with Walnut Stain in.  Cut out elements of the image and re-stack them as desired.  Add ribbon and buttons tied with string.

Tip: Follow much of the same instructions for a more simple version.

I am really enjoying this week.  I’m also impressed with the amount of shape cards that are popping up in the Flickr group pool, way to go!!!  I’ll be back tomorrow with yet more ideas and a little video.  Enjoy the day! Go and create something Fun!

Welcome back to the Hero Arts Blog!

I look forward to my blog weeks so much…especially this go round when I got the idea of doing Card Shapes!!!  Once I chose the theme, my mind became flooded with things to try. Each day this week I’ll use a different template or shape to create some fun cards.  I’ve also invited a few guests to join me later and I can’t wait to share their awesome creations with you.

Let’s get right to it.  Today’s cards use this Crown Template.  I created a few variations of cards with different colors and stamp combinations to inspire you.

Crown in Black
(perfect for those “upper” milestone birthdays!)

Supplies

• Country Hearts
• Notecards Neutral
• VersaMark
• White Embossing Powder
• Art Flowers Meadow
• Summer Embellishments
• Other: Ribbon, ribbon flowers, scallop lace trimming and glue dots

Instructions:
White emboss the Country Hearts onto a black notecard. Cut the card using the crown template. Add trim. Affix flowers and ribbon flowers.  Tie ribbon in a bow and affix in place with a glue dot.  Add heart gems.

Dreamy Crown in Mixed colors

Supplies:

• Heart Flourish
• Scallop Borders
• Accent Pearls
• Distress Inks: Broken China, Shabby Shutters and Walnut Stain
• Water Mist Bottle
• White Notecards
• Art Flowers White and Cream
• Clear Card Buttons
• Frosted Lace Stickles
• Other: Pattern paper (Prima, Basic Grey), string, trimmings, Glue Dots, circle punches 7/8″ and 3/4″

Instructions:
Press the ink pads onto a craft sheet; place the ink blots close to each other but not touching. Tap the Heart Flourish stamp through the three inks to mix the colors. Mist the stamp with water and press onto the card. Repeat until the top of the card is stamped. Allow the image to dry. Cut the card using the crown template. Apply Stickles on the stamped image. Allow to dry. Add a strip of paper to the bottom portion of the crown, trim. Stamp the scallop border onto pattern paper, cut out scallops, add pearls and affix to card. Add trim, flower and string tied in a bow on a button. Punch circles for the top, affix to the card. Tie string through the buttons and affix in place with Glue Dots.

Pink Princess Crown

Close up of acetate detail

Supplies

• Outline Flowers Design Block
• Scallop Borders
• Live In the Moment
• Acetate cards
• Cotton White StazOn
• Black Memories Ink
• Frosted Lace Stickles
• Accent Pearls: Pale Pink, Light Green and White
• Other: Pattern Paper (Basic Grey, Bo Bunny), Glue Dots, ribbon, white tulle, white string, button, circle punches 7/8″ and 3/4″.

Instructions:
Stamp the Outline Flowers image onto an acetate card with White StazOn. Allow to dry.  Cut the card using the crown template.  Cut a piece of pattern paper using the crown template and insert it into the card (affix with a few Glue Dots).  Stamp the greeting with black ink on the pattern paper.  Apply Stickles to the stamped acetate on the centers of the flowers, allow to dry.  Cut a strip of pink paper and affix to the the card.  Stamp the scallop border, cut scallops, add pearls and affix to the card.  Affix a strip of ribbon in place.  Cut a piece of tulle, tie with string secured with a button and bow (adhere to the card with Glue Dots). Punch circles and affix to the top of the crown.  Add pearls.

Tip:
Create frosted glass effects by using Stickles on acetate. Allow extra drying time.

Here are a few other shape templates that I’ve created. You can print them, paste onto cardstock and cut out to use again and again.  Also re-size them to your liking before printing.

Sailboat

Wagon

House

Arches

Okay, are you ready?  This weeks Challenge is to create projects that have a shape to them.  I’ll be looking for submissions where the actual project is a shape rather than a shape mounted to a standard card.  Feel free to use my templates or create your own and don’t forget about common shapes like circles, hearts and stars.  How Fun! I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Each project (card, scrapbook page, or other) should feature at least one Hero Arts stamp. Submit your creations to the Hero Arts Flickr Group by 11:59pm PST on Sunday, March 15 and tag them “Shapes”.   We will 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

I enjoy making cards that are interesting, sometimes out of the ordinary and definitely ones that take a bit more time. Most of all I enjoy the process of layering elements.  As a giveaway, I will pick one person to receive a personalized signed copy of my book “Layers”.  Just leave me a comment telling me what process of creating you enjoy most…by 11:59pm PST, tonight.  I’ll announce the winner tomorrow.   Edited to say: this giveaway is closed, thank you for your comments.

Good Luck and Enjoy!