Ericka Strange

Heat Embossing with Stencils

March 27, 2019

Happy Spring! I hope wherever you are you are enjoying some warmer weather. This is my last post as a Design Team member for A Blog Named Hero. I’ve truly enjoyed my time as a DT and working with these amazing women, especially Lisa and Jess and wish the best to the amazing team who will take over these fun challenges! You can always find me over at Strangely Creative.

Have you had a chance to play along with our current challenge Embossing?

I tried something a little different for my cards this month. I pulled out some stencils and Versamark ink and embossed my stencils for a different look.

It got a little sticky, but in general it was a fun way to make a card. I used Hero Arts Black cardstock since it is a heavier weight and could hold up to the heat embossing.

I took the stencil and placed it on the black cardstock and smooshed the Versamark ink onto the paper. I then used gold embossing powder for extra shine.

After my paper cooled off, I took out some colored pencils and colored the image.

I used the same technique with this stencil as well.

Once I finished coloring the spaces, I used a heart die to die cut the embossed cardstock. This sentiment is perfect for such a shiny card!

I hope you get a chance to play along with us this month. Thanks for stopping by and I can’t wait to see what you make for this fun challenge!

SUPPLIES

Want to find the products I used? They are listed below for ease of reference. (Affiliated links are used at no cost to you. Thank you!) Click on the icons below each product picture to go to a favorite store.

Hero Arts – Hand Drawn Everyday Messages Shop at: HA	Hero Arts – Glorious Petal Stencil Shop at: HA	Hero Arts – Scrollwork Shop at: HA	Hero Hues – Pitch Black Shop at: HA
	Hero Arts – Embossing Powder – Gold Shop at: HA	Tsukineko – VersaMark Ink Pad Shop at: HA

I Melt for You

February 27, 2019

I hope you are having a wonderful day. I’m still trying to figure out where February went lol. I know it is a short month but it went so fast. Anyway, I hope that you have a chance to play along with us in our current challenge “Love is in the Air” using the beautiful color pallet below.

Here is my card for the challenge using the new Pearl Alcohol Inks paired the Hero Arts Color Layering Ice Cream set.

I used the alcohol inks on Yupo paper and blended them with the Alcohol solution until I was happy with the look. These inks have a beautiful pearl shimmer to them and were fun to play with.

Once the ink was dry, I used the Alcohol Lift Ink and stamped the “Love” sentiment from the Hero Arts Snarky Mix & Match set. I stamped the ice creams and cones on some white card stock using some and fussy cut them out. I added the sentiment using Versamark ink and white embossing powder.

For added sparkle I used some sequins in my stash and randomly placed them on the card. I hope you get a chance to play along with us and I can’t wait to see what you create! Thanks for stopping by!

SUPPLIES

Hero Arts – Color Layering Ice Cream Shop at: HA	Hero Arts – Snarky Mix and Match Messages Shop at: HA	Hero Arts Embossing Powder – Detail White Shop at: HA	Tsukineko – VersaMark Ink Pad Shop at: HA
Hero Arts – Wagner – HT400 Precision Heat Tool Shop at: HA

Congratulations Roses

January 27, 2019

I hope you have had a chance to play along with us on our current challenge Crafter’s Choice? I can’t believe that January is almost over. The good news is that we are headed towards spring!

Here is my card for Crafter’s Choice bringing a little spring into the winter weather.

I stamped the Hero Arts Antique Rose twice on some Copic friendly paper and used some yellow Copics to color in this beautiful flower. I then fussy cut the flowers out and started working on the background. I went through several versions of backgrounds trying to figure out what would complement these roses the best.

In the end, I decided to take some heavy stock Kraft paper and stamp it with a script stamp in some Antique Linen Distress Oxide. I used the sentiment from the Hero Arts Peony set in Versmark in and heat embossed it in gold.

I added a couple of leaves I had left over from a previous project and adhered the roses to the card base with some foam tape. I finished the card off with some gold sequins to make a pretty spring Congratulations card.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you get a chance to play along with us in this month!

SUPPLIES

Hero Arts – Antique Rose
Shop at:
HA

Hero Arts – Peonies
Shop at:
HA

Hero Arts – Embossing Powder – Gold
Shop at:
HA

Tsukineko – VersaMark Ink Pad
Shop at:
HA

Christmas Tree Card Set

December 27, 2018

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are getting a chance to relax after all the hustle and bustle of the holiday. Or if you are like me, you are still sending out Christmas cards. Yes, this is the one thing that I always wait till the last minute to send, so instead they become “Hope You Had A Merry Christmas” cards lol.

Here are three more cards that I will be sending out a little later than expected but were so fun to make.

Have you had a chance to play along with out “Winter” Challenge this month?

The stamp and embossing folder is an older Hero Arts product that I still have in my stash, called Birds ‘n’ Trees Set. I made the gold embossed cards first.

I started the first one by using the embossing folder and then gold embossing the tree stamp. I wasn’t happy with the result and so reversed the steps by gold heat embossing first and then running the embossing folder through my die cut machine. The result was better details which can be seen on the card on the right.

I then trimmed down the panels and added them to a white card base. I added the “merry” die in glitter card stock and heat embossed the Christmas in gold. To finish the card I added a little Nuvo Glitter Drops.

I also wanted to stamp the trees in blue so created a third card.

The details of the stamp really comes through in the ink. I used the same sentiments and glitter drops to finish of the card.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you get a chance to play along with us in our Winter Challenge!

SUPPLIES

Hero Arts – Christmas – Merry
Shop at:
HA

Hero Arts – Embossing Powder – Gold
Shop at:
HA

Tsukineko – VersaMark Ink Pad
Shop at:
HA

MISTI Stamping Tool
Shop at:
HA

Grateful Peonies

November 27, 2018

We’ve been busy celebrating Thanksgiving but hopefully you are enjoying all the wonderful holiday sales this week including the Hero Arts one! Have you had the chance to join in on our monthly challenge. This month the theme is “Grateful” which is perfect for the holiday season.

I love coloring flowers and these Hero Art Peonies are the perfect addition to any thank you card.

I started off by stamping the peonies on Copic friendly card stock using Copic friendly black ink. I wanted a light pink flower so I choose the following Copics: RV23, RV10, R00, and RV0000. I added some R85 at the darkest part of the petals to add a little more depth. I added a little yellow in the center of the flower as well.

Once, I finished coloring the flowers, I used a black pen to re-trace the lines to give them a crisp look. I dind’t want to cover up these gorgeous flowers so decided to pull out the vellum. I stamped the sentiment in Versafine Black ink and clear heat embossed it on the vellum and then adhered the card to an aquamarine card base.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful week. Don’t forget to enter our challenge this month for an awesome prize.

Supplies Used:

Hero Arts – Peonies