A Blog Named Hero

October Sketch

Hello! Leslie, here, with this month’s sketch. I’ve chosen OWH Sketch #147:

Thanks, again, to the lovely Sandy Allnock, Executive Director of Operation Write Home, for allowing me to use their sketches for posts here at A Blog Named Hero.

This month we’re collaborating with Lawn Fawn,

so you’ll see some of their images mixed in with our beloved Hero Arts.

Now, on to our sketch!

When I first saw this sketch, my mind went to the out-of-the-box option, which I’ll save for last. Even though my brain might be all over the place, for this post I like to start with a literal interpretation of the sketch and save the wacky stuff for the end. 🙂

Here’s my most literal interpretation:

I used Lawn Fawn Let’s Polka papers for the background, and a combination of a Lawn Fawn image (from the Lawn Fawn Awesome stamp set & dies), and a sentiment from the Hero Arts Enjoy Today stamp set. I even (mostly) used the actual measurements provided in the sketch.

I have to tell you: making the literal interpretation card was the most difficult for me. I guess I can’t handle people telling me what to do! 🙂

I curved the sentiment stamp to fit inside the circle. To deal with the loopy letters, I first trimmed around them, then tucked the circle die underneath them to cut the circle, keeping the tails of the loops on top of the die. It’s a little fussy, but pretty straightforward to accomplish.

Here’s the side-by-each:

For my second card, I remembered a piece of gradient paper in a paper pack I used a few weeks ago, so I used it to make this:

I think it’s fun when you can get your paper to do some of the work for you. 🙂  Even though the colors across that top piece aren’t separate panels, and the circle is smaller thank in the sketch, it still follows the idea of the sketch.

Here’s the side-by-each:

For my out-of-the-box card, I turned the sketch upside down (for you people not afeered of math, that’s 180 degrees):

and this is what happened:

I saw piano keys! I did, so I made some. I looked up a picture of a keyboard and cut strips of paper to make one. The patterned paper is from a 6×6 pack that shall remain a mystery. I was at a friend’s house, using her stuff, and there were about 6 or 7 different pads with sheets like this one, so if you’re looking for one, there are a bunch out there.

The center piece started out as a circle, but I thought there was too much space at the top and bottom, so I trimmed them into this shape. I also added some hearts to play up the theme of love, and to add a bit of color.

Here’s the side-by-each:

That’s it for this month’s sketch! I hope I’ve inspired you to look at a
sketch, flip it around, see it differently, and come up with some ideas
for a less-than-literal interpretation.

Just a reminder: The sketch segment here at ABNH
is not a separate challenge and there is no linky below. It’s just for
added inspiration and to help jump-start your mojo. Please feel free to
incorporate the sketch in your creations! If you do, please link back to
ABNH and also leave a comment below with a link to your post so we can come by and see what you’ve done with it. 🙂

Don’t forget to play our current Stretch Your Stamps challenge, where we ask you to use your stamp images for something other than their intended use. Check out the post for details.

There’s a Simon Says Stamp Gift Voucher up for grabs for one lucky player!

Card 1: A Muse bling, and the following:

Card 2: Chickaniddy Scrumptious 6×6 paper pack, and the following:

Card 3: Dymo labeler, misc paper for the music pattern, and the following:

September Sketch

Hello there! Leslie here with this month’s sketch. I chose Operation Write Home Sketch #44 to work with (with which to work):

Thank, again, to Sandy Allnock, fearless leader and Executive Director of Operation Write Home for allowing me to use their fabulous cache of sketches!

We’re also collaborating with Winnie & Walter this month:

 so you’ll see a few of their stamps mixed in with all the Hero Arts love. 

The sketch is very basic, and you can do almost anything with it. I only had one “outside the box” idea, so most of my examples will be different ways to execute the simple sketch.

First, I did my usual literal interpretation and made this:

This is a great way to use up paper remnants. You know those 2″ strips you get when trimming down a 6×6 piece of pretty paper? That’s what’s under the red-ish layer. I stamped a Hero Arts sentiment onto the red layer with Memento Luxe Espresso Truffle and clear-embossed it.

I felt the top of that panel was too nekkid, so I did something I haven’t done for quite a while: I used ribbon! It also added the missing horizontal element I thought the card needed.

For my second card, I used the same orientation of the sketch, but used something different for the top and bottom pieces:

I envisioned using wide ribbon (there it is again) through slots in the front panel, and after a few tries, I got it to work. I bought this SU ribbon several years ago, and actually had to open it to use it here. I’m also on a Navy + Kraft + White/Cream kick, and this card scratched that itch.

After I got the slits cut where I wanted them, I used a background from the Winnie & Walter Scenery: Big Bang Confetti set. I used several stamps from the set, really. First I stamped the diamond outline strip a few times in Soft Brown ink to cover the Kraft panel, then I went back with a solid diamond to stamp inside some of the outlined diamonds with Navy. Finally I used a teeny tiny circle stamp from the same set to add a few more filler shapes.

I threaded the ribbon through the Kraft layer, then layered that onto navy card stock. I mounted that onto a piece of Hero Arts Eggshell card stock, wrapped the ribbon around the back, and mounted the eggshell layer to the base with foam tape.

I added a banner for the sentiment, even though it’s not part of the sketch. No one said you can’t add something to a sketch as long as the original sketch is recognizable, and it is:

 

For my next card, I turned the sketch on its ear:

and made this:

You’re looking at my attempt to include the theme of the current ABNH challenge to employ letter stamps in our creations:

I used an old Hero Arts alphabet set, lined it up on a very long acrylic block, and stamped it several times with Versamark ink onto Charcoal card stock. For the “birthday” I left space to stamp the word on that line. It’s stamped with Delicata Gold ink, but not embossed. After all the Versamark ink dried, I stamped the Winnie & Walter “happy” with the same gold ink and set it aside to dry.

I made my own gold card stock for the bits you see around the charcoal panel. I did direct-to-paper with the Delicata gold ink onto some remnants of white card stock, then embossed it with a clear matte embossing powder. (I didn’t want it too shiny.) Next time I’ll emboss the gold words, too.

It totally follows the sketch:

And you can see some of the shiny here:

Yeah, I think I’ll emboss it next time.

For my last card, I bring you the one “out of the box” idea I had for this sketch:

I was so proud of myself when I pulled this off. 🙂 The silver buckle represents the center rectangle, and the belt stands in for the two side elements.

See:

 

And yes, that photo is fuzzy, but that’s because I had to change the contrast so you could see the handsome belt end:

I made the belt by cutting several pieces of black card stock with one of the Avery Elle Dotted Dies. It’s a banner, and I used two pieces for the ends, tucked under the silver buckle, and a whole banner for the part that slips through the buckle. I added some eyelets and a thin strip of the silver paper to complete the belt illusion. I might have been unnaturally excited when the belt worked like I saw it in my head. 🙂

That’s it for this month’s sketch! I hope I’ve inspired you to look at a sketch, flip it around, see it differently, and come up with some ideas for a less-than-literal interpretation.

Just a reminder: The sketch segment here at ABNH is not a separate challenge and there is no linky below. It’s just for added inspiration and to help jump-start your mojo. Please feel free to incorporate the sketch in your creations! If you do, please link back to ABNH and also leave a comment below with a link to your post so we can come by and see what you’ve done with it. 🙂

Don’t forget to play our current Spell It Out For Me challenge, where we ask you to use letters on your project.

There’s a Simon Says Stamp Gift Voucher up for grabs for one lucky player!

Card 1 (Patterned paper): SU dark brown grosgrain ribbon and card stock, and the following:

Card 2 (Striped ribbon):SU ribbon and navy card stock, and the following:

Card 3 (Gold & Grey):

Card 4 (Santa’s belt): black card stock, misc silver eyelets, sentiment from a Hero Arts class set, and the following:

August Sketch

Hello, everyone! Leslie here, with this month’s sketch. I’ve chosen OWH Sketch #62:

A big Thank You to Sandy from Operation Write Home for allowing me to use their sketches!

Also this month, we’re collaborating with Reverse Confetti

so you’ll see some of their images along with the usual Hero Arts loveliness.

Let’s get started! For my first card, I did a pretty literal interpretation of the sketch:

I used one of the stripe stamps from the Reverse Confetti So Stripey set to make the yellow striped background. I got it mostly straight, even. 🙂  The square/rectangle/heart image of the sketch immediately reminded me of a Polaroid, and while I may or may not have several different Polaroid dies, I know everyone doesn’t, so I made my own to show you it can be done with a square and a rectangle. My square is attached to the top of the rectangle, not inset. It’s so easy to fake this look. 

I even used a heart for the heart element, because I had some red felt next to my Big Shot, and it was a no-brainer. I also added a few wood veneer stars to balance out the red heart. No one said you can’t add something to a sketch as long as the sketch is still recognizable, which it is. Here’s the side-by-each:

For my next few cards, I rotated the sketch 90 degrees:

and it reminded me of a school composition book, so I made this:

I stamped the Hero Arts Envelope Liner stamp in black, and put a piece of black washi tape down the left edge to look like a book binding, then rounded the corners.

For the “Polaroid” element I used a Reverse Confetti sentiment from their Lots To Say set, stamped it onto a white square, then set that on a black rectangle. For the heart element I added two big eyelets and tied some twine through them.

I wasn’t sure I liked the square for the sentiment, so I made another one with a rectangle instead:

It removed a lot of that dead white space, see:

Not much difference, but enough to make me try to change it. And it’s still close enough to the sketch to pass muster:

While I was working with this orientation of the sketch, I thought I could make it into a flag, so I tried that:

Again with the washi tape. I was in a washi frame of mind, I guess. 🙂  Anywhere I’ve used washi tape, you could use a strip of card stock. I just have an embarrassing amount of washi tape, and I look for every opportunity to use it. ;/

I made a flag pole by putting some Distress Brushed Pewter Stain on a scrap of white, then trimmed off a strip. The flag was made with the Reverse Confetti stripe stamp I used on the first card. I left a space to stamp a few navy stars from the Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments set, one of my best purchases ever! I use that set ALL the time.

Every flag pole has a clanging metal chain that’s used to raise and lower the flag, so I added a piece of silver cord for that, and secured the ends with a few drops of Glossy Accents.

The sentiment is Reverse Confetti, and it’s on a die-cut oval only because I stamped it crooked on the card base and it needed to be covered up. I was NOT starting over. This is one of my favorite types of saves. 🙂 

And it still follows the sketch pretty much:

For my last card I turned the sketch 180 degrees:

and thought it looked like a framed photo hanging on a wall, so I made this:

The layered squares are the “Polaroid” in the sketch, and the bow is the heart in the sketch. Can you tell my red felt scrap was still next to the Big Shot?

I wanted the outer frame of the die-cut squares to look silvery, so I used the Distress Brushed Pewter on it. AGAIN with the washi tape across the top, only silver this time. In real life the Brushed Pewter is really close in color to the silver tape, which is a good thing since I also colored the edge of the white card base with the stuff before I attached the white panel to it.

I stamped the Reverse Confetti sentiment in Hero Arts Silver and clear-embossed it. Once I had everything assembled, I noticed a few smudges (ugh) so that explains the addition of a few clear sequins.

And I do believe this still closely follows the sketch:

That’s it for this month’s sketch! I hope I’ve inspired you to look at a sketch, flip it around, see it differently, and come up with some ideas for a less-than-literal interpretation.

Just a reminder: The sketch segment here at ABNH is not a separate challenge and there is no linky below. It’s just for added inspiration and to help jump-start your mojo. Please feel free to incorporate the sketch in your creations! If you do, please link back to ABNH and also leave a comment below with a link to your post so we can come by and see what you’ve done with it. 🙂

Don’t forget to play our current Die A Little challenge, where we ask you to use die cuts on your project.

There’s a Simon Says Stamp Gift Voucher up for grabs for one lucky player!

Card 1 (yellow stripes): Little B washi tape, scrap of red felt, scrap of navy card stock, and the following:

Card 2 (composition books): Black washi tape, scrap of black card stock, large eyelets, misc red twine, and the following:

Card 3 (flag pole): Spellbinders Petite Ovals Large, navy washi tape, misc silver cord, and the following:

Card 4 (wedding): Vat of clear embossing powder, taffeta ribbon, hole punch, misc felt, misc clear sequins, and the following:

July Sketch

Hello, everyone! Leslie, here, with this month’s sketch:

This is Sketch #167 from OWH. Thanks, again, to Sandy for allowing me to use the OWH Sketches for ABNH!

Also this month, we’re collaborating with Paper Smooches. I loooove Paper Smooches, especially their sentiments. So in addition to our usual Hero Arts, you’ll see us using Paper Smooches products here at ABNH all month. 🙂

Okay, let’s get going with the sketch. Here’s my first, most-literal interpretation:

I saw the large open background as an invitation to play, and I used the Hero Arts Looped Flower Background stamp with Tide Pool ink. The vertical border was cut from a Tide Pool scrap using an MFT die. The circle behind the sentiment was also cut from a Tide Pool scrap. That color has been one of my go-to colors lately, so I have a lot of it lying around.

The enamel dots and colored pearls came about when I got itchy thinking the background needed something else. 🙂

Here’s the side-by-each for this card:

I made a second card with the same sketch orientation, but I changed how I handled the circle element:

I die-cut a circle out of the front and put the sentiment on the inside. I also used a piece of washi tape for the scalloped border element.

To get that background, I stamped the Hero Arts Pinstripe Background in Navy, then inked it up with Green Hills and stamped it again a little offset from the first. I thought it might give people vertigo to look at it, so I broke it up with some stamped Navy circles. You can kindof see the stripes through the circles, but I’m okay with that.

Here’s the side-by-each:

For my next card, I flipped the sketch:

and made this:

For the scalloped edge element of the sketch I used the line of clouds image from Paper Smooches, stamped in Soft Granite onto a Hero Arts card base. To make them look more cloud-y, I colored them in with my white Big Brush Pitt Artist Pen.

The sun was die-cut from a scrap of card stock I had from some failed “ink your embossing folder” experiments. Don’t throw that stuff away, people! 🙂

The hills were cut from a scrap of green, and the sheep and sentiment are from the Hero Arts OWH Missing You set. The sheep is flocked with white and is very soft.

Here’s this card’s side-by-each:

For my next card, I flipped the sketch the other direction:

and made this:

The pretty paper is from my Heaplet, which is a pile of pretty paper in 6×6 pieces or smaller. It’s reached critical mass — about to explode out of its box — so I’ve been reaching for it lately. This is one of a few remaining pieces of Japanese paper from my distant past.

The paper was so pretty, I let it do most of the work. All I added was a strip of Hero Arts adhesive lace and the sentiment. The sentiment was stamped on heavy vellum in Memories Unicorn white, and embossed with Hero Arts white embossing powder. I cut the circle, then hacked off the bottom so it lined up with the lace. I put thin strips of Kool Tak behind the words to raise it up.  You can still sorta see it, but it’s not glaring.

Here’s the side-by-each:

It was at this point I realized I’d used circles on all of my cards, which just cannot be, so I made one more using the original sketch orientation:

I used very busy floral paper,  and added a coordinating strip for the scalloped edge element of the sketch. Then I stamped a Paper Smooches sentiment on a coordinating green strip and rounded the corners, giving a rectangle, not a circle. One of the things I’ve been doing lately is paying attention to the small images in stamp sets. (Thanks to Jennifer McGuire for that tip. :))  I thought the small image in the Night & Day Flowers set was perfect for the edge of the sentiment, so I stamped it in Memento black and colored it with a Copic and a Distress marker. I added a little Wink of Stella over the petals, mostly because I could. Then the left side of the sentiment looked empty, so I added a tiny Simon Says Stamp heart.

Here’s the side-by-each, so you can see the sketch in the card:

That’s it for this month’s sketch! I hope I’ve inspired you to look at a sketch, flip it around, look at it differently, and come up with some ideas for a less-than-literal interpretation.

Just a reminder: The sketch segment here at ABNH is not a separate challenge and there is no linky below. It’s just for added inspiration and to help jump-start your mojo. Please feel free to incorporate the sketch in your creations! If you do, please link back to ABNH and also leave a comment below with a link to your post so we can all come by and see what you’ve done with it. 🙂

 Don’t forget to play our current Color It In challenge, where we ask you to use coloring on your card. 🙂

There’s a Simon Says Stamp Gift Voucher up for grabs for one lucky player!

Card 1 (pool scalloped edge):

Card 2 (stamped stripes and circles):

Card 3 (sheep and clouds):

Card 4: (Japanese paper with lace):

Card 5: (floral paper with rectangle sentiment):

June Sketch

Hello! Leslie, here, bringing you this month’s sketch. Once again, thanks to Operation Write Home for allowing me to use their fine collection of sketches!

This month I chose OWH Sketch #96:

I saw many things in this sketch, and I’m actually bringing them to you in the opposite order I made them. I guess my less-literal interpretation was what came to mind first.  However, I’ll still present them to you from more literal to less literal.

Before I forget, we have TWO collaborations this month: Finding Nana has sent us some fun embellishments and washi tape (squee!), and Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft has sent us some fabulous pens and pencils. I played with most of them here. 🙂

Now on with the sketch! First up, this is about as close as I got to a literal interpretation:

The papers are from Authentique: Celebrate, and the balloons are part of that paper. The washi tape is from Finding Nana, and you can kindof see some silver dots I added to the dotted paper with a Faber-Castell Metallic Pitt Artist Pen.

The words are tough to see from afar, so I tried a close-up:

I stamped them with Memento Luxe Tuxedo Black and added clear embossing powder before I heat-set them. The close-up is actually from another card I made just like this one, but with the washi tape behind the balloon panel:

Either would pass muster for a sketch challenge.

The side-by-each:

Next, I used this orientation of the sketch:

to make this:

This is actually the first card I made, and I might love it. I started out with the three chipboard banners from my stash that I colored with Big Brush pens. I first coated them with Gesso, as the chipboard just soaked up the ink with my original attempt. Those banners dictated the colors of paper I needed to dig out, so I chose Basic Grey Kioshi.

I stamped an image (from the Hero Arts set Speckled Ornaments) at the bottom of the vertical purple panel using Distress Milled Lavender. It gives just a shadow of color, which is exactly what I wanted! I then stamped the sentiment over it in black.

The cute butterfly clip is from Finding Nana, and I glued it on using Glossy Accents. Bonus that it matches the orange in the Kioshi paper. 🙂

I did take a few liberties with the placement of the banners, but it still pretty much follows the sketch:

Next, I went back to the original sketch orientation:

and made this:

I used one of the first Hero Arts OWH sets – love that balloon! (It’s limited availability now according to the Hero Arts site. I’ve included it below in Inlinkz, but if you need it (heh heh) you may need to hit up Hero Arts’ site.)  My Faber-Castell Design Memory Crafts item used here is tough to see – invisible, even! I have a set of Pitt Pens, and I used the Scarlet Red one to color the “ribbon” around the base of the balloon. I wanted to make it more solid, but still close to the same color, and I think it was a perfect match!  The heart clip is from Finding Nana.

I made the words by stamping them on white card stock, drawing a line around each, then cutting them out.

This is admittedly a loose interpretation of the sketch, but it’s still there:

Finally, I bring you a card that probably would NOT pass muster for a challenge, but I wanted you to see how to take a sketch as a starting point and make it your own. Here’s the card:

I can hear you now. All that screaming and WHAAAA? So let me explain. When I turned the sketch like this:

I saw birthday candles. So I pulled out my Hero Arts Wish Big Candles set, stamped it on some watercolor paper, and started playing with my Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Aquarelle pencils. I got the yellow set and I can tell you the colors are so fun! They are a nice mix of yellows, oranges, salmons and reds. Right up my alley!  I painted outside the lines, and decided I liked it, so I left it that way.

I trimmed it down and put it onto a piece of Hero Arts Artist Patterned Paper, then added a sentiment and two pieces of flair from Finding Nana.

It sorta follows the sketch, but is really just influenced by it, and a starting point. See:

I might not win any sketch challenges with this one, but I was definitely influenced by the sketch.

That’s it for the sketch for this month. I hope I’ve given you some ideas for taking a sketch and interpreting it different ways, or letting it just spark your mojo.

Just a reminder: The sketch segment here at ABNH is not a separate challenge and there is no linky below. It’s just for added inspiration and to help jump-start your mojo. Please feel free to incorporate the sketch in your creations! If you do, please link back to ABNH and also leave a comment below with a link to your post so we can all come by and see what you’ve done with it. 🙂

 Don’t forget to play our current It’s Not In The Cards challenge, where we ask you to make anything but a card. 🙂

There’s a Simon Says Stamp Gift Voucher up for grabs for one lucky player!

First card (with washi tape):

Second card (with chipboard banners):

Third card (with red balloon):

Last card (with birthday candles):