A Blog Named Hero

Beautiful World

Hi there, Seeka here and today I’m sharing a card using the Beautiful World stamp set.  I love this globe wrapped in flowers and it felt perfect for this month’s challenge theme: Hugs From a Distance.

I started by stamping the globe onto Neenah Solar White using Intense Black ink. Then I colored the image using a collection of Copic markers.  I used YG03, YG25, and YG17 for the continents and leaves, and B11 and B12 for the oceans.  For the large pink/red flowers, I used R21, R22, and R27, and for the yellow/orange flowers I used Y08, Y17, Y38, and YR07.  I cut out the image and set it aside.

Next I used Clear Embossing & Watermark ink and white embossing powder to heat emboss the sentiment near the bottom left of a 4.25″ x 5.5″ inch piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock. 

Then, using foam blending tools, I blended four colors of Distress Oxide Inks onto the panel to create the background.  I started with a loose circle of Wild Honey and then, around that circle, I added some Ripe Persimmon, taking time to work back and forth between the colors to blend them.  Next I added a ring of Festive Berries, blending that in with Ripe Persimmon.  And last, I added Seedless Preserves, mostly to the bottom corners of the panel and with a touch to each of the upper corners.  I used a clean paper towel to gently buff away any ink that was sitting on top of the heat embossing.

To assemble the card, I backed the globe with foam tape and then adhered it to the background.  Then I adhered the card front to an A2-sized card base.

Thanks for coming by!   Don’t forget to visit this month’s challenge post for more inspiration and to link up your project for a chance to win one of two Hero Arts gift cards!

Thankful For You | No-line Watercolor

Hi there, I’m so glad you’re here! I hope you’re feeling well and staying safe.

I’ve been finding more comfort in crafting than ever, and this month’s watercolor challenge theme has given me extra motivation to practice no-line watercoloring.

For this card, I began by stamping the beautiful Hero Arts and Gina K. Designs Friendship Blooms collaboration stamp set in Gina K’s Warm Glow Amalgam ink onto Fabriano Artistico cold press watercolor paper.  Any light colored ink that’s suitable for watercolor would do, I just happen to have been using Warm Glow a lot recently.

Next I got out some red and peach Karin Brushmarker Pro markers: Fire Red, Lipstick Red, and Blush.  I scribbled Fire Red onto my glass work surface and then diluted it with a little bit of clean clear water.  Then I used a water brush pen to pick up some pigment and then painted it onto the stamped image.  Going petal by petal, I concentrated color in the area closest to the center of the flower and then pulled the color out to the tip of the petal.  I repeated this for each petal, never working on adjacent petals since it’s important to allow each area to dry before working on the area next to it.

Once I had colored all of the petals I went back in and added details, sometimes with darker-but-still-diluted Lipstick Red, and sometimes with a less diluted Fire Red. I really took my time with this, following along many of the lines that are part of the stamped image.  Once this layer was dry, I went back in for a third time, this time with a diluted Blush which I brushed over some of the lighter areas to create just the slightest hint of peach.  Note that I took care not to rewet the darker areas, which I didn’t want to reactivate and dilute.

I followed a similar process for the leaves, thought I took a little less care so I could finish them more quickly.  For the leaves, I used a mix of Lime Green, Olive Green.

When the panel was almost dry, I put it between two sheets of scrap typing paper and then put a heavy book on top.  I find that the typing paper helps absorb some of the very last moisture while the weight of the book flattens the panel.  I let that sit for a few hours and then came back to stamp the sentiment in black pigment ink.   To finish I adhered the card front to an A2-sized card base.

A Little Toucan Of Appreciation

Hello, crafty friends!  Seeka here, and today I’ve got a card featuring my favorite toucan!  I’ve shared other cards with this cute little guy and I never get tired of his clean lines, especially when paired with a vibrant background.

I started by stamping a toucan from the Hello Toucan stamp set in Copic-friendly Hero Arts Intense Black ink. Then I quickly colored him using N3, N4, N5, and N7 for his dark feathers and the tip of his beak, and Y18, YR04, and YR09 for his beak and the feathers around his eye.  I used the coordinating dies to cut him out and then set him aside.

Next, I treated an A2-size piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock with an anti-static powder tool before stamping the Jungle Bold Prints background stamp in Twisted Citron Distress Oxide ink onto the panel.  I poured clear Ultra Fine embossing powder over the panel and hit it with a heat gun to trap the stamped image under the embossing powder.  Then, using foam blending tools, I blended Pine Needles, Mowed Lawn, and Twisted Citron over the panel.

Next, I used black pigment ink and the same clear embossing powder to heat emboss the sentiment onto a strip of vellum.  I trimmed one end of the strip at an angle and wrapped the other end around the left side of the background, adhering it to the back with a piece of clear tape.  I added some very small dots of glue behind the letters in “toucan” and then weighed down the sentiment strip with an acrylic block while the glue dried.  

Lastly, I adhered the toucan with foam tape and then adhered the card front to an A2-sized card base.

Thanks so much for coming by!  Don’t forget that this month’s challenge is still going on!  The theme is “Anything But A Card.”

It’s Time To Paw-ty!

Hello, friends! It’s Seeka here, and today I’m sharing a birthday card featuring the Birthday Paw-Ty stamp set.  I’ve paired a sweet pup from the set with balloons from the Festive Balloon stamp set, and then set them against a backdrop I made using the Triangle Tapestry Bold Prints background cling stamp. 

If you haven’t yet, there’s still plenty of time to join in this month’s challenge! This month’s theme is “Birthday.”

I started by stamping the pup and balloons in Copic-friendly Hero Arts Intense Black ink onto Neenah Solar White cardstock.  Then, I took my time coloring with browns and reds.  I used E23-E29 for the dog and a whole mess of reds (R00, and R20, R30, R21, R14, R43, and R27) for the balloons and party hat.  After I finished, I used the coordinating dies for the dog and the balloons to cut them out before I set them aside to work on the background.

I stamped the Triangle Tapestry Bold Prints background in Fresh Peach Shadow ink onto an A2-sized piece of Neenah Solar White.  Next, I used a couple of dies from the Nested Rectangle Infinity die set to trim it down, and to create a smaller white panel.  I stamped the sentiment onto the smaller panel and then began assembling the card.

I glued the stamped patterned panel onto an A2-sized card base and then adhered the sentiment panel with foam tape.  I adhered two of the balloons with glue dots and then used foam tape to adhere the balloon in the foreground.  Before adhering the pup with foam tape, I used a W2 Copic marker to add a bit of shadow beneath where he stands.  Then, using a black pen, I drew the balloon strings.

Thank you so much for visiting!

Sending Lots Of Love

Hi there! It’s Seeka, and today I’m sharing a card using one of the first Hero Arts stamps sets I owned.  I love this big blue whale and that teeny diver. They remind me of the many many hours I’ve spent underwater wishing I could turn into a mermaid!

I started by stamping the three layers of the whale from the Color Layering Blue Whale stamp set.  I used, what else, three blue Hero Arts Shadow Inks: Dusty Blue, Stone Wash, and Navy.  I used the coordinating die to die cut the whale and then set it aside to work on the background.

Using foam blending tools, I ink blended three blue Reactive Inks onto an A2-sized piece of white cardstock.  I started with Splash at the top of the panel and blended that into Blue Hawaii.  At the bottom of the panel I blended a bit of Blue, which is a dark blue Reactive ink cube from an older Hero Arts Card Kit.  Then, I sprinkled clean clear water over the panel, letting the droplets react with the ink for a few seconds before blotting them up with a clean paper towel. 

I let the panel dry for a bit and then used white Hero Arts embossing powder to heat emboss the sentiment, which is from the same stamp set.  Then I stamped the tiny diver in black pigment ink.

To assemble the card, I adhered the whale to the background with foam tape and then adhered the background, again with foam tape, to an A2-sized card base.

Thanks so much for visiting, and don’t forget that there’s still plenty of time to join in this month’s challenge, Anything Goes!