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Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

Hero Arts

Getting back to my roots.

Hi there! I have a totally random post today… I made this card a few weeks ago and haven’t had time to blog about it yet. This project uses products from a newer company: Birch Press Designs. This card uses one of my favorite color combinations and some pretty pink blooms, as well as a beautiful stencil from Hero Arts. I wanted to just play with my inks, and this beautiful stamp set and stenciling definitely fit the bill!

I started by stamping the beautiful blooms from Birch Press Design’s Brushed Birthday using Altenew’s Frosty Pink and Coral Berry inks, then cut them out with the coordinating dies. (I can’t really remember which green inks I used for the leaves…. whoops!) I then heat embossed the greeting from the same stamp set onto some vellum using white embossing powder and die cut it, as well.

For the background, I used the Hero Arts Glorious Petal stencil using my Clarity Stencil Brushes and some Hero Arts Tide Pool ink. I love the subtle tone-on-tone effect this color has on the turquoise card stock. I arranged my bouquet and picked it up using Press ‘n Seal, then adhered it with dimensional tape. I also popped up my vellum greeting with some clear dimensional adhesive, which I find to be wonderful when working with vellum.

And that’s it! No coloring on this one, but I do enjoy getting back to my roots sometimes with just some good, old-fashioned stamping.

A Blog Named Hero: One Layer!

Good morning! Today marks the beginning of another challenge for A Blog Named Hero. This month, we are teaming up with CAS-ual Fridays to present our challenge:

One layer. Eeek. Don’t panic though. The A Blog Named Hero design team is here with plenty of inspiration for you.

For my card, I worked with the Tin Roof background set from CAS-ual Fridays. It’s such a pretty, dainty set. I chose to do some masking to create a one layer card…. but I used a few layers of ink. I started by cutting an A2 sized piece of masking paper, then die cutting an oval from the center. I adhered it to my top-folding A2 card base, then stamped the pretty Tin Roof background over the top using some pale blue ink.

Next, I used the Hero Arts Hello by Lia Griffith stamp set with some Versafine ink to stamp my bold sentiment over the pale stamped background. To make it pop even more, I covered the sentiment with clear embossing powder and heated it up. It always amazes me how much more crisp lines are when you add a little clear embossing powder to it. I also used one of the tiny flowers in the mini Hero Arts set to stamp the centers of the background pattern in a bit darker shade of blue, just to add a little more interest.

The final step was to use my fine tipped black pen to add tiny little black dots to the centers of the flowers.

Not gonna lie, this month’s theme challenged me. But sometimes, that’s a good thing! It’s good to think outside your comfort zone and stretch your creative wings. Now, it’s your turn! Create a one layer card using at least one Hero Arts project, then link it up to our blog post to be eligible to win a fabulous prize from our sponsor, CAS-ual Fridays! (Be sure to read all of the rules to ensure that your project is eligible to win!)

Please help support A Blog Named Hero by shopping through our links. These are affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. We appreciate your support.
Simon Says Stamp
Ellen Hutson
Hero Arts

Have a fantastic Labor Day, friends! While you’re celebrating with barbecues and parades, I hope you’ll take a moment to thank your union members, because without them, the working world would look entirely different! Enjoy your time with your family!

A Blog Named Hero, August Edition!

Good morning! Today is the beginning of a new challenge for A Blog Named Hero. Our theme is embossing, and this month (appropriately) we are collaborating with Wow! For my project, I wanted the embossing to shine, so I chose the beautiful Spice Market background stamp.

I started with a panel of turquoise A2 card stock, then heat embossed the gorgeous Spice Market stamp using Wow’s Calypso Embossing Powder. Look at how beautifully that detail came out!!! So sparkly.

Next, I die cut the Stamp ‘n Cut Hello three times from black card stock and glued them all together to create a dimensional embellishment. I covered them in Spectrum Noir shimmer pens, then added some Glossy Accents to the top. I heat embossed the sentiment onto a black strip of card stock using white embossing powder. Finally, I die cut some hearts from the black card stock and added them in a downward cascade, covering them in Glossy Accents.

Easy peasy! The gorgeous Spice Market background from Hero Arts really shines through on such a simple card, though.

Now, it’s your turn! Create a card using at least one Hero Arts product and following the Embossing theme, then post your card on our link up. Have fun, and good luck!

Please help support A Blog Named Hero by shopping through our links. These are affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. We appreciate your support.
Simon Says Stamp
Ellen Hutson
Hero Arts

A Blog Named Hero and Chibitronics!

 If you’re looking for The Ton’s Summer Release, Day 1 post, please click here. 

 Good morning, again! I’m back with my second post for today! Today marks the beginning of a new challenge for A Blog Named Hero. This month, we are teaming up with Chibitronics, those wonderful purveyors of lights for your crafty projects! Our theme for June is “interactive.” For my card today, I chose to use these fabulous little lights to create an interactive night sky scene with some great Hero Arts products. Let’s get started on the details of how I created this card!

I started by creating my night sky. I used an A2 sized panel of white card stock, then used my blending sponges to blend Hero Arts’s True Navy, Grape Juice, and Raspberry Jam down the front to create a beautiful summer night sky. Next, I heat embossed my sentiment (from Hero Arts’s Dreams Are Made) along with the pretty star clusters using silver embossing powder. Next, I added some more stars from the same stamp set, but for a more subtle look, I stamped them first in silver Delicata ink, then brushed some Perfect Pearls over the top to add a bit more shimmer. I punched out three holes, then backed them with vellum to create a pretty glow. The last step was to add a die cut bridge using some pretty glossy black card stock. After the card front was finished, I punched some holes in the front so that I could begin my light construction on the card base using the Chibitronics starter kit.

I’m not going to lie, I was a tad intimidated by these fantastic little lights. My husband is an electrician, and when he talks about specifics from his job, my eyes start to kinda glaze over in boredom, because it’s so far outside of my realm of expertise that I have utterly NO clue what he’s talking about. (Love you, mean it, buddy!) I asked him if he would mind being on standby in case my complete right-brain-ness took over and I was unable to complete the circuits for my project. However!!! I am pleased to report that after watching a few videos on YouTube (namely this one from fellow teammate Jessica and this one from the ever helpful Jennifer McGuire), I was able to create my project without his help! Using my holes as a guide, I created a template on my card base, complete with a map of where to put my circuits and which direction to place the positive and negative stickers, then added the copper tape and battery (I found the battery “house” tip from Jennifer McGuire’s video extremely helpful!). Hooray!!!

I will say, that in Jennifer McGuire’s video, she recommends using 3 layers of foam tape as the “walls” for her battery house so that you have to push down on the battery to complete the circuit, thus creating the “interactive” element, but my tape must be slightly thinner than hers, as my lights stay on by themselves if the stars are aligned right and I don’t breathe directly on it haha. Next time I will use four layers of foam tape. 🙂 Hindsight is 20/20.

Here is the finished product with the lights off. Amazing how bright those tiny little lights are!! Love it.

Now, it’s your turn! Create an interactive card using your Hero Arts products, then be sure to link it up to our blog post to be entered to win a prize from our fabulous sponsor, Chibitronics!


Good luck!! Thanks for stopping by!

Merci 

Good morning! I’m back today with this project that would make any Francophile proud. I have been obsessed with my Daniel Smith watercolors lately… I’m loving all of the color options, and the pigment moves SO beautifully on the watercolor paper. I’m in love. Happy sigh…

Anyway, I purchased the Eiffel Tower add on with April’s My Monthly Hero… What is more Parisian than the Eiffel Tower? A beautiful stack of macarons fit to grace the window of a French patisserie. I’ve been watching The Great British Baking Show while I craft at night, and all of the delicate French goodies they make are swoon-worthy. Since I’m too chicken to attempt to make my own tower of real macarons, I thought I would stick with a medium I know: watercolor.

I started with a few stamp sets from The Ton: Sweet Macarons and dies, and the Sending Peonies and their coordinating dies. I die cut them from Arches Cold Press paper, then used my silver detail embossing powder to heat emboss the images. I watercolored the macarons and the pretty peonies using Alizarin Crimson and Quinacridone Magenta. To create my background, I used the same watercolors to create a pretty ombre wash down the front of an A2 sized panel. I started by getting the panel really wet, then using watered down color to start, then gradually adding more color and using clean water to pull the color down into a nice faded wash.

I die cut the beautiful Eiffel Tower from some black glitter paper and added the “merci” from Hero Arts Ooh La La stamp set heat embossed on a strip of vellum. I added a pretty rouge shimmer frame cut from the Double Stitched Rectangle dies from The Ton. I popped it up with some dimensional adhesive, then added the pretty tower of macarons and the peonies.

This might be one of my new favorite cards. I love when products from other companies work so well together! Thanks for stopping by today. Have a wonderful day, friends!