Hello! It’s Julie back with another lovey dovey card! But first, I am super excited to announce that we have a new blinkie contest!

Three lucky winners will win a $20 Hero Arts shopping spree! To enter, just grab the code from the sidebar at right for the blinkie or badge — your choice. Add it to your blog, then let us know by leaving a comment on THIS post, making sure to include a link to your blog in the comment. We can’t wait to see those hearts blinking and we’re nuts about the sweet squirrel, too! Randomly selected winners will be announced Friday, February 3rd.

Now on to the card! Punched hearts tucked inside an itty bitty envelope sends such a sweet message, don’t you think?! Check this out…

Card by Julie Ebersole. Find complete supplies and instructions here.

I stamped the Friends Definition background stamp with a soft tan ink onto some cream colored stock and then trimmed it down just ¼” smaller than the A-2 card. I added some twine, and stamped a tiny heart from the  XO stamp set—I inked it with Barn Door Red Distress Ink then stamped it off onto scratch paper before stamping it onto the background to look like little hearts floating up into the air. A little banner with the “sending hugs” sentiment across the top completes the look. How could you not feel loved when you got this in the snail mail?

Thanks for joining me all this week during my time here on the Hero Arts blog. I hope you got some great ideas for letting the people you love know just how special they are!

Hello! It’s me again - Julie - with a card AND a video on this wondermous Wednesday!

Isn’t it fabby how all the sentiments in the XO clear set work on their own or together? Watch the video to see how this super fun effect was created. It is so easy you’ll definitely want to try it yourself.

Card by Julie Ebersole. Find complete supplies and instructions here.

Thanks for sharing a part of your day with me here on the Hero Arts blog!

Julie

Hello! It’s Julie Ebersole and I’m tickled to be guesting here on the Hero Arts Blog this week. Today I have a love-dovey clean and simple design to share.

Sometimes, short, sweet and to the point just says it all, like this sentiment from Amour. After wetting and tearing the edge of some watercolor paper, I stamped the greeting with Punch Chalk Ink, and then wrapped the gutter crease with some metallic cord. The watercolor paper already has a beautiful texture, and the torn edge gives a hand-made paper look to the whole design!

Card by Julie Ebersole.  Find complete supplies and instructions here.

Thanks for stopping by! I’ll see you tomorrow with some more lovey-dovey goodness to go with this month’s theme of Love & Hugs & Kisses.

Julie Ebersole

P. S. - We’ll be back later today with the announcement of our blog hop winners!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today I have a couple of simple Valentine card ideas to share. And even better - they fit with this month’s featured technique of “kissing”!

These cards are so easy to make. First, I inked the In the Garden stamp with a Hero Arts Shadow Ink (Soft Blossom or Soft Pool). I then inked the Envelope Pattern background stamp with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. Before stamping, I pressed (kissed) the stamps together, transferring ink from one stamp to another. Finally, I stamped the inked In the Garden image onto white paper. I love the textured look that results! (By the way, if you are new to the kissing technique, be sure to check out Shari’s technique video.) I was inspired by the fabulous Lisa Spangler to add the heart being passed from the boy to the girl. So fun!

Card by Jennifer McGuire. Find complete supplies and instructions here.

By the way, do you like those background patterned papers? I love them! They are new from Basic Grey and we will be selling them here.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for another “kissed” card. See you then!

Hi everyone! It’s Thursday, which means it’s time to announce the winners of last week’s Valentine Challenge.  You did a GREAT job using those heart stamps…and it made MY heart happy to view them all.  Thanks everyone for participating!

Before I announce the prizes, here’s a quick photo of one of my make and take sessions at CHA.  We made (what else?)….a heart card!

And now for the winners…

The Fresh Face prize this week goes to LysaQ for her altered Valentine mailbox…so cute!  She created several variations you can view in her photostream.  Of course this pink and orange combination is my favorite…

The winner in the Scrapbooking category is Pocketful of Paper with this great page full of heart.  In case you can’t read it, the t-shirt says “my parents are exhausted.”  HA!

Coming in 1st Place this week is quilterlin! Just look at the festive hearts, pearls and dainty scallop edge on her pretty Valentine…

2nd Place goes to Paper Girl, who created a sweet gift box in springtime colors.  I love the touch of flower sequins dotted with pearls.

And…stampstudio1(Susan) is our 3rd Place winner for her beautiful card featuring a washi paper heart.  So crisp and elegant.  Well done!

We were impressed with so many of the entries that we’d like to feature a few more Honorable Mention winners.

This amazing card from julie21566 is full of vintage charm…

We loved this sweet “dancing hearts” card by anette.hjerpaasen.  It’s simple, yet has big impact.  Wonderful coloring on those hearts!

And finally, look at this sweet and dainty teacup creation from Paper Preferred!  Great, simple design!

Congratulations everyone!  Winners and Honorable Mentions, please send us your address using the email address in the sidebar and we’ll get your prizes sent out to you. 

Thanks again to everyone who entered this week.  I enjoyed seeing each and every work of “heart”!

Until next time,

Thanks for stopping by during this heart-filled week on the blog!

To see ALL of my Valentine cards from the week check out the links below.  I used a different Clear Design heart set each day.

• Monday: So Sweet
• Tuesday: Hugs and Hearts
• Wednesday: Love Many Ways
• Friday:  Combining heart sets

Happy weekend everyone…create to your heart’s content! ♥

Oh my gosh…this week went so fast. We are all en route to our annual CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) trade show today in LA…bring on the sun! We’ve got a few new FUN stamps coming out for the show… these won’t begin to show up at retailers until Valentine’s Day.  We are so excited because they coordinate with 2009 catalog stamps PERFECTLY! We’ll be doing some fun sneak peeks from the show, here’s a little one of a new owl PEEKING out to whet your appetite…

Watch the blog for more sneaks next week!

Now, how about even MORE heart ideas? I would have kept stamping, but my husband demanded some table space to eat!!

These cards are all from different sets or made from the scraps I had leftover. I can NEVER have too many hearts!

This pink and brown combo can be made in minutes. I loved using the scallop to make the kraft border. My trusty scissors get a workout here.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Scallop Borders
• Clear Design: Hugs and Hearts
• Clear Design: Hugs and Kisses Heart
• Kraft, Pink, Chocolate & Blossom Notecards
• Memories ArtPrint Brown Ink
• Soft Blossom Shadow Ink
• Sparkle Gems Hearts
• Pink Gemstones
• Pink Accent Pearls
• Sparkle Gems
• Other: ribbon

This next design requires just one ink color and no adhesive. Simple stamping and some heart gems make this a quick stamp-and-go card!

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Travel Frames
• Clear Design: Love Many Ways
• White Notecards
• Sparkle Gems Hearts
• Memories Black Ink

You know I love my tags…

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Hugs and Hearts
• DesignBlock: Country Hearts
• White Embossing Powder
• Kraft, Pink & Blossom Notecards
• Memories Ruby Ink
• VersaMark Ink
• Other: ribbon

And here’s my new favorite heart…AGAIN…

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Hugs and Hearts
• Clear Design: Love Many Ways
• Kraft, Crimson & White Notecards
• Memories Black Ink
• Memories Ruby Ink
• Sparkle Gems Hearts
• Other: ribbon

A dainty plus bold combo…

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Hugs and Hearts
• Clear Design: Love Many Ways
• Blush & Wisteria Notecards
• Memories Black Ink
• Memories Ruby Ink
• Other: colored pencils

Next is my “pieces and parts” collage.  It includes all the stamp sets from this week and a watercolored background with black and red ink.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Hugs and Hearts
• Clear Design: Love Many Ways
• Clear Design: So Sweet
• Clear Design: Hugs and Kisses Heart
• Raindrop Background
• Memories Black Ink
• Memories Ruby Ink
• Other: watercolors

Here’s a card with a photo of Jasmine, my sweet granddaughter…

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Love Many Ways
• Sparkle Gems Hearts
• Blush Notecards
• Memories Black Ink

And you didn’t think I would leave you without ONE orange and pink card, did you?

Supplies:

• Houndstooth Background
• Clear Design: Hugs and Hearts
• Clear Design: Valentine Flourishes
• Sunshine & Blush Notecards
• Memories Black Ink
• Memories Ruby Ink
• Soft Blossom Shadow Ink
• Art Flowers Summer
• Other: gem brad

So, happy weekend! Get going on your Valentines. You have until this Sunday at 11:59pm PST to submit your creations to the Hero Arts Flickr Group. All of the details are on Monday’s post.

Long live HEARTS! ♥

Welcome back to a softer, gentler day of hearts. I love using vibrant colors, like my signature orange and pink, but some stamp designs just look better in soft colors. This new Love Many Ways set just might be one of them.

Today’s featured set is available in the Hero Arts Online Store — right HERE!

Once again, I tried to use many of the stamps from one set. I only used black ink and then got out my watercolors and played. The gems gave it a little sparkle.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Love Many Ways
• Memories Black Ink
• White & Pink Notecards
• Pink Gemstones
• Sparkle Gems Hearts
• Other: watercolors

I thought the big heart belonged on a square or scallop card…just seemed to fit better than a rectangle.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Love Many Ways
• Memories Black Ink
• White Notecards
• Sparkle Gems Small Blossoms
• Art Flowers Neutral
• Other: ribbon, dot patterned paper, watercolors

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Love Many Ways
• Memories Black Ink
• White, Wisteria & Pink Notecards
• Other: ribbon, watercolors

I *LOVE* RIBBONS…so, I stamped this LOVE in black and got a little edgy by watercoloring the word in bright pinks, oranges and reds. I stitched coordinating ribbon scraps along the bottom.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Love Many Ways
• Memories Black Ink
• White & Crimson Notecards
• Other: ribbon, watercolors

I *Ti Amo* my daughters-in-law, so I made this cute little photo card.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Love Many Ways
• White, Kraft & Crimson Notecards
• Memories Black Ink
• Assorted Crystal Gemstones

I love Washi Paper Quilting.  A heart is the perfect shape to “quilt.” Just Google it after you watch today’s video below, to learn more about the technique.

Supplies:

• Clear Design Love Many Ways (note: it’s HERE in the store!)
• Memories Black
• White Notecards and Envelopes
• Watercolor Paint Wheel
• Crystal Gemstone (I used a red permament pen to color red)
• Other: Origami (washi) paper

I certainly hope you are all working on your Valentine entries for this week’s challenge (see Monday’s post)…and making extras for your family and friends. Don’t forget to use the cute heart postage stamp when you mail them! ♥

Come back Friday for even MORE Valentines.

Welcome to another day filled with hearts! ♥ Our country is full of love and hugs on this Inauguration Day. How is it that I got both the Election AND Inauguration Day for my blog week…?

Today we are using another new Clear Design set — Hugs and Hearts.

And…it’s available in the store! :)  I made 6 cards to get you inspired!

First I have a fun folded card design to share with you.  In this photo, you will see the folded card from the outside. It is a pink notecard on the INSIDE. The front panel of the card is folded back and a layered heart image is attached to part of the panel.

The outside part is white.  Here’s a closer view of the inside, showing how the sentiment hides behind the heart.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Hugs and Hearts
• Raindrop Background
• Blush Notecards
• Colorbox Chalk Ink Queue - Rose Petals
• Red Gemstones
• Other: ribbon

I love trying to incorporate ALL the stamps from a set on one card, and in this next one I came close! I made a “grid” with the long heart vine and then stamped various hearts and words inside each area.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Hugs and Hearts
• White Notecards
• Hot Pink Inkpad
• Memories Ruby Ink
• Sparkle Gems Hearts
• Sparkle Gems Blossoms
• Other: ribbons

This card isn’t really a Valentine, but it incorporates two of the stamps I didn’t use in the card above. It’s simplicity says it all.  AND, I am totally addicted to that heart. I used it on a LOT of cards this week. It has become a favorite!

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Hugs and Hearts
• White Notecards
• Memories Ruby Ink
• Memories Black Ink
• Pink Gemstones

I love this simple cutaway card. It is a kraft notecard with the right front cut off with a wavy edge. I put pink inside for contrast.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Hugs and Hearts
• Kraft & Blush Notecards
• Memories Ruby Ink
• Pink Gemstones
• Other: ribbon

AND, I love making these scallop cards. I put my notecard through the Sizzix with the scallop die, but the folded edge doesn’t touch the die area. It gets put below so it remains folded and then becomes a scalloped note card that opens.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Hugs and Hearts
• White & Blush Notecards
• Memories Black Ink
• Memories Ruby Ink
• Other: ribbon

Here’s one more scallop card.  If you look very closely at the top you can see the straight edge where the card folds.  Ribbon helps hide the fold.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: Hugs and Hearts
• Crimson & Blush Notecards
• Colorbox Chalk Ink Queue - Rose Petals
• Hot Pink Inkpad
• Other: ribbon

Now how about a giveaway?  I found this unopened “vintage 2004″ Little Sketch Hearts set while cleaning out our Michigan- no- more- house.  It is a set that I designed for HERO over 5 years ago. I love using it with watercolor washes.

For a chance to win this set just leave a comment here on this post and tell me what your favorite Hero heart or heart set is from the 2009 catalog.  I’ll draw a random winner on Friday morning. Good luck!

Lots more heart creations on the way tomorrow — see you then! ♥

Welcome to my world of hearts week. As some of you might know, my nickname is “the Queen of Hearts”.  I tell everyone it is because I was born around Valentine’s Day. In reality, I think it is because it is just a beautiful shape and a universal symbol of LOVE.

I had different plans for this week, but when I started stamping HEARTS, I couldn’t stop making them. Ideas kept coming. So, I’ve shelved my other ideas until the next blog. Since Valentine’s Day is around the corner, they are my focus this week.

For this week, I have decided to feature a different heart set each day. Today all of my cards will feature the new Clear Design So Sweet set.

[Enabler Alert...So Sweet is available HERE in the Hero Arts Online Store. And...use coupon code flickr1000 to receive 10% off your order!  Today (Monday, Jan. 19) is the last day for this offer.  The code is valid until 11:59pm PST.]

Here are a few ideas to get you started.  For this first card I stamped several different hearts using three different ink colors.  This is a simple go-to design idea for just about any stamp set.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: So Sweet
• Crimson & White Notecards
• Memories Black Dye Ink
• Memories Lavender Dye Ink
• Memories Ruby Dye Ink
• Hot Pink Ink Pad
• Small Mixed Gemstones
• Other: gingham ribbon

The  hearts on this next card are embossed in white. It gives such a clean, dainty look on darker colors.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: So Sweet
• DesignBlock: Country Hearts
• Kraft, White & Blush Notecards
• White Embossing Powder
• Other: scallop border punch

To achieve the “shadow” hearts below, turn the scallop heart over and use the wrong side. Then stamp the scallop in black on top of the solid area.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: So Sweet
• Memories Black Dye Ink
• White & Blush Notecards
• Memories Ruby Dye Ink
• Memories Mango Dye Ink
• Colorbox Chalk Ink Queue - Rose Petals
• Other: pink stripe patterned paper, button, ribbon

Gotta have those candy conversation hearts! And a pale wash of watercolor makes them look good enough to eat. Turn the blossom note card inside out so the white is on the front and pink inside. Trim along the hearts for a cute border.

Supplies:

• Clear Design: So Sweet
• Memories Black Dye Ink
• Blossom Notecards
• Other: ribbon, watercolors

Now for the challenge!  This week’s challenge is to create a Valentine project (card, scrapbook page, or other) that incorporates hearts and at least one Hero Arts stamp. Submit your creations to the Hero Arts Flickr Group by 11:59 PM PST on Sunday, January 25 and tag them with the code word “Valentine”.  Here are the 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

On your mark, get set…GO!  Happy heart stamping! ♥