Simon Says - No Stamps Allowed!

Hey there!  I just saw the new Wednesday Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp and lo and behold I just finished making a card that totally works for this challenge so I thought I'd pop in here with a blog post.

If you saw my last post, then you know that I have been playing a ton with some of my new goodies from Hero Arts and the Delicates Dies from Papertrey Ink.  The most recent kit from Hero Arts is Art Deco in Style which I love so I am still playing with that and other dies I have in my collection.  When I first started cardmaking, I couldn't stamp worth a darn, so I made lots of cards with die cuts only.  This is definitely a  throwback to those days.  

Part of the reason I really like Art Deco is that the lines are always so graphic which makes for a super striking look in a card.  

The cover die I am using is in the Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Kit for February 2019.  With other things I have in my supplies, I could play for weeks with this stuff!  

My card project for the Challenge is simple die cutting at it's best for the most part.  I did decide to use a technique that Jennifer McGuire shared during that blog hop that you can find at this link.

This card uses Light Blue, Medium Grey, Dark Blue Shimmer Cardstock and of course the gold cardstock that gives all of that shine.  The diamond die cuts are from very old QuicKutz dies that I have had for many years with 5 different sizes in the group.  I have another card that I will be using them for coming up ad the "hello" die cut is from the Hero Arts Stamp and Cut Hello Set.

Everything here is super simple and all you have to do is the die cutting and assembly.  I cut several of each piece I was working with so I could just play with the colors and see what combinations I could come up with.  In fact, I will have more cards to share in the coming days.  I am enjoying my time playing with these dies, stencils and other products.  

Just a short and sweet post for today.  I'm still working on getting my links list straightened out but hope to have that done by the end of this coming weekend.  

A Simple Art Deco Card

Hello Everyone!  It's good to have time to sit and write a blog post with some detailed information for you!  My card today is for the Fusion Card Challenge and my card is loosely based on the sketch provided.  For me, it seems like a background, with a frame and a central focal point.  So that is what I made.

I'll also be linking this up over on the February Show and Share Challenge at Virginia Lu's Blog, Yes, Virginia.

I've been playing around with my Altenew Watercolor 36 Pan Set just to get a feel for how the color moves on different types of watercolor paper.  For this card, I used Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades and a touch of Evergreen Watercolors on Arches Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper.  The hardest part of watercolor for me is letting it dry to see what I have.  I haven't attempted to watercolor actual objects, I am simply making soft watercolor washes to use for backgrounds.  Sometimes I speed it along with the help of my heat tool but on this particular day, I was working on two pieces and just switched back and forth.

When my best friend was up over the weekend, she noticed this particular background piece and wondered what I was making with it.  She loves greens, so I decided I'd make something for her with it.  I'm also playing with the My Monthly Hero Kit for February 2019.  The particular die I used for the frame on this card was a part of the Add-On Items that were available with the kit.  This one is called Vintage Window Fancy Die.  There are other gorgeous add-on's available and the kit itself has a gorgeous cover style die and stencil in it that I haven't yet gotten to play with or use.  The kit and another order both arrived on Friday and I got my Delicates Dies from Papertrey Ink.  They were out of stock for quite a while and last evening was the first time I had a chance to use them.

For this card, I primarily used only dies with a simple stamped greeting.  I knew after seeing my friend, Kelly Lunceford's cards back when these dies were released, exactly how I wanted to use them.

Anytime I have flowers or leaves that I am attaching to a card, I like to use my bone folder to add some curve to the petals or leaves. Because it is so slick, my Teflon Bone Folder is the perfect thing to do this with.  Since the dies are very delicate, I did this gently.  I took them bottom flower and curved the petals downward and then attached it with a double layer of foam tape.  For the top flower, I curved the petals upward and just used a glue dot underneath to attach it to the bottom flower.  Then I added a gold gemstone in the center of the flower.  This gives a lot of extra dimension to the blooms.  I don't know if it was the intent or not of the designer, Dawn McVey, but these make me think of Dahlias.

This was super simple and quick to do if you already have backgrounds made, which I feel like I always do.  I have a lot of watercolor washes and alcohol inked backgrounds plus I'm always experimenting so this is a great and easy way to use them without having to drag out a ton of stuff.

I'm adding a couple of additional views for you here so you can see the extra dimension.

I love how this card turned out and it was super easy to do.  I'll have more upcoming projects for you soon using more Art Deco Styled products because I absolutely love Art Deco.  I also like Art Nouveau styles but with its cleaner graphic lines, Art Deco is my #1 Favorite.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I really appreciate it when you take time to comment so I know if you enjoy my content.

February 2019 My Monthly Hero Kit - Art Deco

Hello there!  I know its been quite a few days since I wrote a blog post but I wanted to share this news with you all.  I just became an affiliate for Hero Arts and they actually send a Newsletter out to their affiliates with information to share with my readers, so I wanted to be sure you got to see this month's, My Monthly Hero Kit!

I fell in love with Art Deco Architecture when I was in high school.  Until we moved to Tulsa in 2010, I had no idea that Tulsa boasts one of the nations largest collections of Art Deco Architecture.  They have a Deco District in Downtown Tulsa as well as many other buildings throughout the city and even a museum called The Tulsa Deco Museum.  You can see all the possibilities on the Tulsa Convention and Visitors Bureau page HERE.

While I did order this month's kit with most of the add-ons, I haven't received mine yet, but I'm providing links for you in this post.

Are you ready to party like it's 1922? Step back in time with this month's kit, inspired by the sophisticated glamour and swinging jazz of the era. Your projects will be the bee's knees when you craft with the stylish stamps in this month's kit! We've included a bag of gold and black Mirror Confetti, as well as the prettiest, shiniest silver and gold reflective cardstocks, which look amazing when die cut with this month's Art Deco-inspired Fancy Die. A fun new element rounds out the kit - a smaller stencil of gorgeous architectural design, sized perfectly for handmade cards! Be sure to check it out:

February 2019 My Monthly Hero


The Kit Price is $34.99 and includes the following:

• 6" x 8" Clear Stamp Set
• 7 Coordinating Frame Cuts
• 4.25" x 5.5" Fancy Die
• 4.5" x 5.75" Stencil
• Art Deco Mirror Confetti
• 1 5.5" x 8.5" Sheet of Silver Reflective Cardstock
• 1 5.5" x 8.5" Sheet of Gold Reflective Cardstock

Once the kit sells out, that's it, it is no longer available. As I am writing this, there is still stock to promote.

If you'd like to subscribe to the kit each month, You can sign up for one of three options here: https://heroarts.com/pages/subscribe.

In addition to the main kit, several other products were released this month:

February 2019 Monthly Release



I got several of the add-ons myself and I can hardly wait for my kit to arrive.  There is one die and a background stamp that I am hoping to get later on but since they are not part of the kit, they'll be around after the kit is sold out.

They did a huge Blog Hop on Release Day and you can see all of the projects here:  https://heroarts.com/blogs/hero-arts-blog/february-2019-my-monthly-hero-is-here-giveaway

I hope you enjoyed this update! Shop soon before the kit is sold out.  As always, thank you so much for stopping by!