Top Flight Stamps 6th Birthday Celebration!

Hey everybody! We've got a birthday to celebrate today! Topflight Stamps is turning 6 and to celebrate I'm teaming up with some talented designers to showcase some of our favorite products from Topflight Stamps.  You can find a list to the other designers by clicking here to head to the Topflight Stamps blog. We are also celebrating with an Instagram Hop (Click here to head to the IG hop). There is also a generous GIVEAWAY so be sure to enter both here and on Instagram (details are at the bottom of this blog post).

Today we are all working on a "Celebration" theme so you're in for a treat! For my card I've combined the All & Create Coffee First stamp set (dog) with the All & Create Steampunk Stamp (background). I started out by stamping the Steampunk stamp onto white cardstock twice. I stamped it in black on the left and upside down and in gray on the right (not that there's a "right" way to stamp it but I did flip it). Then I inkblended my background with Distress Oxide inks in Candied Apple, Carved Pumpkin and Mustard Seed. When that was done I glued the background to a black cardbase.

Next, I colored the dog with copic markers and colored pencils. I added some extra detail with white gel pen. I cut the dog out by hand and added foam tape to the back.

I wanted the sentiment to say "Celebrate" so I used a gel pen to hand-write it on a strip of black cardstock. Next, I used foam adhesive to attach both the sentiment and dog to the card. To finish it up I added some black enamel dots and some scribbles with a fine-tip Sharpie.

That is all I've got for today you guys today but please make sure to head on over to Topflight Stamps blog so you can check out the other designers who are celebrating with us today.

Have an awesome day!

Maria

GIVEAWAY:

Of course, it wouldn’t be a birthday celebration without prizes! Topflight Stamps is giving four lucky winners $50 Gift Certificates to the store. Two winners will be chosen from commenters on the blog hop and two will be chosen from commenters on the IG hop. For a chance to win, make sure to visit the stops on the hop and leave a comment by April 1st. Winners will be announced on the Topflight Stamps blog on Monday, April 3rd. U.S.A winners only due to shipping issues. Good Luck!

Picket Fence Studios March 2023 Release!

Hello everyone and welcome to a fabulous new release from Picket Fence Studios! I'm excited to have been invited to guest design for this release and have three cards to share with you.

My favorite set from this release is this gorgeous Escape With Me stamp set. I stamped it on watercolor cardstock with Versafine ink and watercolored it with my Hero Arts Liquid Watercolors.

I wanted to add a little more subtle color so I added some inkblending with Distress Oxide inks and splattered the background with ink and water. 

To add a little extra magic to the tree I added some Gold Glimmer Metallic ink to the leaves and trunk. I adhered my watercolored piece to a black cardbase and that was it for this card.

My next card showcases one of the new stencils from this release. It's the 6x6 Pathways Stencil and I inkblended it onto white cardstock with some inks from Hero Arts. I used pink, yellow and blue so that I could mix the colors to get a full rainbow. 

I used a mini slimline die to cut the Love sentiment so that I could create a shaker card. 

I finished the card off with a die cut sentiment and some fun, black heart embellishments. 

My final card showcases the new Royal Sweet Peas Stamp set. I stamped it in black and colored it with copic markers.

I added gray drop shadows to add a little extra depth.

I also used a fine-tipped sharpie to add some random dots and shading.

That's it for today you guys! I hope you will all head over to Picket Fence Studios to check out all of the other amazing new products in this release!

Have an awesome day!

Maria

 

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero March 2023: Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Hey everybody! The wait is over! It's time for the Hero Arts March 2023 My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is a fun, fruit and vegetable themed bundle! 

Before I get to my cards, if you aren't familiar with the My Monthly Hero kit, it's a kit that is released by Hero Arts on the first Monday of every month. It always has a fun, themed, collection of stamps, dies and other goodies. The cost of this Classic kit is just $34.99/month and the value is always much greater! This month's kit is valued at $74! Starting with this release there is now a PREMIUM KIT option!!! The Premium Kit will include everything that the Classic (original) kit includes plus some additional upgrades. Premium Kit subscribers will receive the kit for $49.99 and the value for this month's kit is $108 so you'll be receiving over double the value! All current MMH subscribers (signed up prior to January 31, 2023) will receive this upgraded kit at no additional cost! Lucky you guys!

Check out the kits to see what is included:

-CLASSIC KIT

-PREMIUM KIT

You have the option to subscribe (subscribing now means your first kit will be the April 2023 release), or, to buy your favorite kits as one-off purchases. Be aware that once these kits sell out they are gone for good. If you see a kit you like make sure to snatch it up quickly! There are also a ton of amazing add-on products! You can buy the add-ons as a bundle at a discounted rate or just pick up your favorite products. 

For my first card I am using some of the new Neon Brights Liquid Watercolors (Pink, Orange, Yellow and Red). I used a large paint brush to watercolor the paints horizontally across the background. Then I dried the background with my heat tool and splattered it with White Glimmer Metallic Ink. I used the Nesting Circle Infinity Dies to cut a window out of my background piece.

Next, I heat embossed the citrus slices in White Puff embossing powder and the sentiment in Onyx Pigment ink and clear embossing powder.

To make the card into a shaker I glued some acetate to the back side of the watercolored background. Then I added foam adhesive to the back. I picked through the embellishment mix that comes with the kit and used all of the citrus slices for this card. I made a little pile of the embellishments on a black card base then glued the watercolored piece on top of it trapping the embellishments in the window area.

For my next card I went for a mixed media style card. I combined the new Produce Labels Stamp & Cut XL with the Grocery Bag Fancy Die, the Farmer's Market Icons, and the Brick Wall Stencil. I started out by spraying a piece of Luxe watercolor paper with my DIY liquid watercolor sprays. I think I used Teal, Indigo and Cocoa. Once that was dry I applied some white Hero Paste through the Brick Wall Stencil to add some great background texture. I applied it randomly so the paste is not on the whole background. I rubbed Gold Hero Wax over some of the bricks with my finger and ink blended some Indigo ink around the edges. Then I put the stencil back on the background, added Onyx Pigment Ink and heat embossed that in clear. I added splatters of White Glimmer Metallic ink over the top of all of that.  

Next, I cut the grocery bag out of Sand Cardstock. I heat embossed it with the "Farmers Market" sentiment and strawberries and then folded it into a grocery bag (it makes a complete grocery bag that you can put things inside of!). 

 

I glued that to the front of my card...

...but it was empty and it needed some veggies. So, I used the Produce Labels Stamp & Cut XL to create the "rooting for you" piece that you see below. The rectangular die cut from this set fits perfectly inside of the grocery bag!

I wanted to add a variety of root vegetables so I added some extras from the Farmers Market Icons set to round it out. I love how perfectly all of these sets work together and it is super fun to be able to put secret messages inside of the grocery bag!

Just in case you didn't see my post from yesterday... here is another card I made using the Classic Kit. You can find out the details for this card by clicking HERE and heading to yesterday's blog post. 

Ok, that is it for today you guys! We have a blog hop with a ton of inspiration so make sure to check out what the rest of the crew has made. Giveaway details are below!

Have an awesome day!

Maria

GIVEAWAY:
We will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, March 12th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

BLOG HOP LIST:

Hero Arts

Hero Arts Creative Team: 

Channin Pelletier
Dana Joy
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Kelly Taylor
Lydia Fiedler
Maria Willis
Mindy Eggen
Pocono Pam
Seeka

Special Guests: 

Jennifer Kotas
Meg Brooks
Nichol Spohr
Rebecca Keppel

Instagram: 

BreAnn Loveland

Hero Arts Countdown to Creativity: March 2023 My Monthly Hero Release

Hey everybody! It's almost time for the March 2023  Hero Arts My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is a fabulous kit for creating some colorful fruit and veggie themed cards and projects!

If you aren't familiar with the My Monthly Hero kit, it's a kit that is released by Hero Arts on the first Monday of every month. It always has a fun, themed, collection of stamps, dies and other goodies. The cost is just $34.99/month and the value is always much greater! 

BIG NEWS!! Starting with the February 2023 release Hero Arts will now be offering both a Classic Kit and a Premium kit every month! The Classic kit will be what you're familiar with and will stay priced at $34.99. The Premium Kit will include everything from the Classic Kit plus some fabulous extras! If you are already a kit subscriber you will receive the Classic Kit unless you upgrade your subscription to Premium.

You have the option to subscribe (subscribing now means your first kit will be the April 2023 release), or, to buy your favorite kits as one-off purchases. Be aware that once these kits sell out they are gone for good. If you see a kit you like make sure to snatch it up quickly! 

Today is Day Three of the Countdown to Creativity and I've got a card featuring a large background stamp that is included in the March 2023 kit (it's in both the Classic and Premium kits). I used the new Neon Brights Liquid Watercolors to color the image and I love the colors so much! I started by stamping my image in Onyx Pigment Ink on Luxe Watercolor cardstock. I covered the pigment ink in clear embossing powder and heat set it. This gave the image a glossy, raised look.

 

Next, I used my Neon Brights Liquid Watercolors (and a couple of the regular colors) to watercolor the background. For the grapefruit I added some of the white liquid watercolor with the neons to get a more muted color. 

To finish the card off I added the background to a black cardbase and a sentiment from the kit (heat embossed in white on Pitch Black cardstock).

Ok you guys, that is it for today! Tomorrow is the full release so make sure to come back here at 10am Pacific time to see the whole release! And, if you'd like a chance to win a kit before you can buy it then leave a comment below and head to the Hero Arts blog to see posts from the other team members.

Have an awesome day!

Maria