Hi everyone!  It’s time to announce the winners from last week’s Window Challenge!  I know we’ve said this before — but, we’ve just got to say it again — this was the hardest challenge to judge yet!  WOW, what truly AMAZING submissions!  Check out all 437 of them HERE.

And now, without further ado…let’s have the winners!

…drumroll…

Tied for third place are Elin A and maylee q!

Feast your eyes on this visual delight by Elin A — the judges love the colors, use of stamps, and that scallop square window framing everything.  WOW!

Then, there’s this simple, yet oh-so-effective circular window by maylee q! Check her photostream for more views of this simply stunning card!

Coming in second place is Jenyfur with this elegant card featuring a scallop circle window and the Clear Design Asian Frame set. This card could be used for so many different occasions!

And now, for first place…

…drumroll…

crzy4stamps-kathy with her super duper clever card! Just look at all the little details, like the lace “curtain”, the woodgrain, the hinges, the gems on the bear!  It totally blew the judges away!

And!  Check out the inside too!  How clever is that picture frame, the wallpaper background, and the bear holding the bunny?

This week’s Fresh Face winner — someone who has never placed in a challenge before — is sharon.holden10!  Just look at this cute birdhouse window card! The judges LOVE it!  Especially the branch holding the birdhouse and the paper nest!

Here’s the inside of the card — so “tweet”!

For the Scrapbooking category this week we have another tie!  The judges loved silvakelly54’s literal interpretation of the window challenge, her use of alphabet stamps, and that woodgrain!  YUM!

Then there’s this “hoot” of a layout by craft side of life!  She was inspired by her newphew Josh’s love of owls to create this treehouse.  Woo hoo!

Now, how about some Honorable Mentions?  The judges and I all flipped when we saw this window shade by Paper Girl!  Oh. My. Word!

Here it is with the shade pulled up so you can see inside the window — wow!

Next up is this fun shaker card by mi kasa! Love how the hearts in the shaker go so well with the hearts on the stamped image!

Then there’s this super fun card by stampersuzz!  The judges all love her unique take on the challenge!  Who wouldn’t smile when they received a card like this?

For another take on a window with the Clear Design Japanese Doll set, we have this card by Virginia L! How fun is that lantern hanging out from the inside?

Finally, we have this fabulous birthday shaker card by Lucy, England! What a brilliant idea using sprinkles!  Be sure to check out her photostream — Lucy really outdid herself with this challenge!

Winners and honorable mentions, please email the blog with your addresses and we will get your prizes out to you.

Don’t go away just yet, there’s MORE!  We’ve added a new feature over there in the blog sidebar on the right — a Weekly Challenge Archive! Just click on a topic to find all the posts for it, plus the winners of the challenge.  YAY!

Now, how about a giveaway? Three random winners will receive some great Hero Arts goodies.  All you have to do to enter is click on one — or more! — of the archived challenges, check it out, then leave a comment on this post letting us know which one(s) you looked at.  That’s it!  We’ll announce the winners tomorrow.  Feel free to include a note for this week’s challenge winners in your comment, too!

Ready, set, go!

Hi everyone, hope you’re having a great weekend!  I had a super fun time sharing window cards this week!  Here’s a wrap-up in case you missed anything:

And here are the daily links:

• Monday - Step-by-step photos for making a window for messages, plus circle and square window ideas
• Tuesday - Special guest Gaëlle Fauglas created a wonderful scrapbook page with a window, and I did a card  that looked like an actual “window”, with ribbon “curtains”
• Wednesday - Two shaker cards plus a video to show how to make them
• Friday - Three more window cards, plus lining with acetate! Plus a giveaway that runs until Monday — don’t forget to enter!

There’s still time to enter the weekly challenge!  Just check out Monday’s post for all the details.  Can’t wait to everyone’s window cards!

Be sure to join us next week as we celebrate the one year anniversary of the blog!  We’ll have giveaways galore, a store special, special guests, and MORE!

See you then + happy weekend!

Hi + Happy Friday! Today I have some fun window cards to share with you, so let’s jump right in!

In this first one, I’m using a window technique that I love — putting acetate behind a die cut shape so that you can build a scene.  The acetate also helps strengthen the card when you use a larger shape like this one

Featured Supplies

• Pop Stems
• Together Special Edition
• Clear Design All Occasion Messages
• Sunshine, Pool, Acetate Notecards
• Rose Petals, Misty Meadow Chalk Queues
• Assorted Crystal Gemstones
• Other: ribbon (American Crafts), colored pencils (Prismacolor), pop dots, shaped die (Nestabilities Labels One, Spellbinders), dry adhesive or gluestick

I adhered the acetate to the inside of the front of the card with dry adhesive — you can also use a gluestick — just wait for it to dry.
Here’s a tip — get more from your stamps by cutting out stamped images and using them for different purposes. After I used the butterfly from the Together Special Edition set on the card above I thought — hey! — that would make a great mini window card!

There’s also a sneak peek stamp, too — the Design Block Dots and Flowers stamp (S5213)!  I just LOVE it!

Featured Supplies

• Together Special Edition
• SNEAK PEEK! Design Block Dots and Flowers stamp (S5213)!
• Pool Notecards
• Soft Pool Shadow Ink, Memories ArtPrint Brown
• Assorted Crystal Gemstones
• Other: pom-pom ribbon (Bazzill), colored pencils (Prismacolor)

Retailers can begin ordering sneak peek stamps on Monday, March 30th! WOO HOO!

Speaking of sneak peeks, here’s another — the Design Block Designer Woodgrain (S5208)!  You know how I LOVE woodgrain!

For this card, I used a smaller die and then put a matching one on the inside of the card so that you could see it through the window

Featured Supplies

• SNEAK PEEK! Design Block Designer Woodgrain (S5208)
• Flower Branch with Owl
• Design Accents A Little Note
• Wallpaper Flowers
• Garden, Pink Notecards
• Memories ArtPrint Brown, Rose Petals and Primary Elements Chalk Queue
• Assorted Crystal Gemstones
• Other: ribbon (Bazzill), colored pencils (Prismacolor), pop dots, shaped die (Nestabilities Labels One, Spellbinders)

Now, how about a giveaway?  I told my friend Kim from Spellbinders that I was doing “window week” here on the blog and asked her if she would like to do a giveaway and she said YES!  She sent me a set of their best selling Nestabilities Labels One dies!  WOO HOO!  These are the same ones that I used on the cards above.  Feast your eyes on the six different sizes that come in the set — they all nest together!

And, that’s not all!  Also included in the giveaway is the springy Flower Branch with Owl!

I just love using this stamp with those Nesties. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post. We’ll announce the random winner on Monday.

Speaking of Monday – that’s the one year anniversary of the Hero Blog! WOW! Come celebrate with us!  We’ll be having LOTS of giveaways, special guests and MORE!

Have a great weekend!

Welcome back to “window week” here on the blog!  Today I have another idea for a window card to share — making a shaker card!  What’s a shaker card, you ask?  Well, the best way to explain it is to watch the video and see!

Here’s a closeup of the card with the sequins and glitter “unshaken” so that you can see it better:

And here’s one after it’s shaken!

Featured Supplies

• Two Bird Birthday
• SNEAK PEEK! Design Block Modern Lines (S5218)
• Assorted Sequins
• Artprint Brown
• Kraft, Acetate Notecards
• Other: ribbon (American Crafts), colored pencils (Prismacolor), fun foam, chunky glitter

I’ve got to tell you — I am loving this new Design Block Modern Lines stamp — it goes so well with everything!  Hero Arts Retailers can order it starting Monday, March 30th!  WOO HOO!

Now for one more taken on a shaker card, this one with a little twist!

I made everything the same as the card in the video, except I made the bottom part of the window shorter than the shaker box.  This way the shaker elements remain partially hidden until the card is shaken and the Easter eggs are revealed!  So fun!

Featured Supplies 

• Pattern Bunny
• Pattern Egg
• Happy Easter Flowers
• Design Block Wallpaper Background
• Artprint Brown, Primary Elements Chalk Queue
• Spring Mix, Garden, and Acetate Notecards
• Other: pom-pom (for the bunny’s tail), brown marker (to outline the window)

Here’s a tip: use a pen to outline the window and give it that little “extra something”. And another tip: a pom-pom makes a great bunny tail!

Be sure to visit tomorrow when Sally will announce the winners of last week’s spring challenge!  I’ll be back with more window card ideas on Friday, can’t wait!

Until then,

It’s “Take TWO Tuesday”, and I have TWO more window ideas to share with you!

The first one is by a very special guest, Gaëlle Fauglas! Gaëlle is one of the amazing French artists who worked at the Hero booth at the SMAC the trade show in Paris. Watch for more work from these super talented ladies in future blog weeks!

Now, feast your eyes on Gaëlle’s simply stunning layout featuring a window! I just love it!

(Layout by Gaëlle Fauglas)

Here’s a closeup of the window so that you can soak it all in!  What a great way to frame a photo — this one was taken at Santa Monica Beach when Gaëlle was here for CHA back in January — it was so fun getting to know her and the rest of the team better.  And,  I love how she used the Raindrop Background on the photo + the patterned paper! And the scalloped border is super cool!

(Layout by Gaëlle Fauglas)

Next, here’s a closeup of one of the torn edges — isn’t it yummy?  LOVE it!

(Layout by Gaëlle Fauglas)

Thanks so much, Gaëlle!  I just love your style!

Featured Supplies:

• Raindrop Background
• Design Block: Flowers
• Heart Winged Butterfly
• Houndstooth Background
• Screen Shadow
• NEW Hero French stamps, just released at SMAC!
• Other: acrylic paint, rose patterned paper, ribbon, paper flowers

Next, I thought I’d share another window idea — make an actual window!

To create the “curtains”, I adhered two strips of ribbon to a recycled wooden coffee stirrer.  Not sure if you can tell, but the “glass” in the window is a piece of acetate.

Now for a look at the inside!  The cloud background is a sneak peek of a NEW Design Block stamp.  I just stamped it in Soft Pool Shadow Ink and ta dah — instant sky!

Featured Supplies:

• Raindrop Background
• SNEAK PEEK Design Block Clouds (S5215)
• SNEAK PEEK Clear Design Everyday Sayings (CL342) (for the message)
• Clear Design Sky’s the Limit
• Soft Pool Shadow Ink, Shabby Shutters Distress Ink
• Assorted Crystal Gemstones
• Garden, Sunshine, Acetate, and Pool Notecards
• Other: ribbon (Strano Designs), recycled coffee stirrer, colored pencils (Prismacolor), twine

The funniest thing is that Gaëlle and I used the same color palette — but we didn’t plan it at all!  Really!

Hope you enjoyed today’s window ideas!  Tomorrow I’ll be back with another idea to share + a video.

Until then,

Hi everyone, it’s Lisa here! I usually don’t “do windows” — I’m a Mac person, ha ha! — but this week I’m going to make an exception and show you lots of ideas for using windows in cards and scrapbook pages.  Let’s hop right in with this simple bunny window card!

Here’s the inside, plus one of my favorite things to do with window cards: tying on ribbon!

And, here’s a closeup of the bunny so you can see her little plaid dress — I used colored pencils to create it.  The “hill” was created with a recycled coffee cup sleeve:

This kind of window is so easy to make with just about any message stamp! Here’s some step-by-step photos that show how to do it:

First, stamp the message on the card front.

Next, punch a circle out of each end of the message.  Position the circle so that you punch out a little past the message on each side.  It doesn’t really matter what size the circle is, as long as it is wider than the font size of the message.

Use a ruler and a craft knife to cut along the top and bottom as shown:

Finally, close the card front and stamp the message again:

Ta dah!  Hero Notecards are white inside, so this works super great!

Here’s a tip:  if your card isn’t white inside, you can line it with white cardstock.

Featured Supplies:

• Clear Design Sending Happy Thoughts
• Design Block Scattered Flowers
• Spring Art Flowers
• Smooth Gemstones
• Garden Notecards
• Primary Elements Queue
• Other: ribbons (Making Memories), colored pencils (Prismacolor), corrugated cardboard (recycled coffee sleeve)

Now, how about another super easy window card? For this one, I cut apart the message that I used on the bunny card so that I could stamp “just saying” on the front

And here’s the “hello” on the inside!

Of course, I couldn’t resist adding a little glitter to the paisleys!

To figure out where to punch the window, first stamp the Three Birds on the inside of the card.  Punch out a circle out of scrap paper the size you want to make your window. Then, with the card closed, hold it up to a window or a lamp, then trace around the scrap circle right where the window should go.  Hold your punch upside-down so you can position it over the traced circle, then punch out.

Another tip: To accentuate the circle window, I like to first punch a circle out of coordinating paper using the same punch that was used to punch out the window.  Then, punch out a larger circle around it to create the ring and glue in place.

Featured Supplies:

• DesignBlock Paisley Swirl
• Three Birds
• Clear Design Sending Happy Thoughts (for the message)
• Diamond Stickles
• Spring Mix Notecards
• Rose Petals Queue
• 1 1/2″ circle punch (EK Success), slightly larger circle punch (EK Success “Whale of a Punch”), colored pencils (Prismacolor), pop dots

Finally, I thought I’d share one last card that’s a bit more complicated using a super useful stamp from the 2009 Catalog, the Swirly Frame, plus an owl from the Four Stylish Owls Special Edition set to create an “Easter Owl”, ha ha!

I started out by stamping the Swirly Frame with black on a Pool Notecard.  Then I cut out the frame in the center.  Next I stamped it again in tangerine and cut out just the frame part.  I used pop dots to adhere it to the card — love the added dimension!

Here’s the inside:

And another look at the front:

Tip: after you cut out the window, use the craft knife to distress the edges.  This will help hide any overcuts that you may have made, plus add texture!

Featured Supplies:

• Swirly Frame
• Four Stylish Owls Special Edition
• Clear Design Sending Happy Thoughts (for the message + eggs)
• Pale Pink Gemstones
• Pool Notecard
• Other: polka dot ribbon (American Crafts), pink gingham (unknown), colored pencils (Prismacolor), pop dots, wiggle eyes

Now for the weekly challenge, if you haven’t guessed it already: create any project with a window on it!  It can be a card, scrapbook page, or whatever you dream up.    Please include at least one Hero Arts stamp on each of your projects.  Then, upload your creations to the Hero Arts flickr Group by 11:59pm PST on Sunday, March 29 and include the tag “window”.  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

Let’s start the week off with a giveaway!  Three random winners will each receive a Swirly Frame stamp!

Just leave a comment on this post, and I’ll announce the winners tomorrow. I’ll also have a special guest joining me — can’t wait!

Until then,