Lunar New Year Challenge + Giveaways | July 2024

The Lunar New Year Challenge is back and we've partnered up with your favourite craft companies all year long so that means there are giveaways every month! This month, we're giving away ONE $25 gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp, ONE $25 gift certificate to Lawn Fawn, ONE $25 gift certificate to My Favorite Things, and ONE $25 gift certificate plus a mystery box of goodies from Hero Arts. That's a total of $100 in giveaways in July!

I'm always excited when a new month begins because it means I get to dream up something special for the challenge. My first card for this month features our July special sponsor Hero Arts who was kind enough to share a few products with the team.

My colour palette includes Peony, Papaya, Coral and Azalea cardstock from Hero Arts. To create the background, I cut three A2 panels from Papaya, Coral and Azalea cardstock, cut them at an angle and taped them together to form a full A2 panel.

I cut the Cherry Blossom Cover Plate from Peony cardstock, twice, and glued the layers together. After attaching the blossom panel to the card base, I die cut the small flowers from the Bonsai Fancy Die from Papaya, Coral, Azalea and Silver Glitter cardstock.

After laying the coloured flowers on silver glitter cardstock and attaching them to the cherry blossoms, I white heat embossed the sentiment from Crane Wishes and popped it on to the card with foam tape.

The rules are simple. You must create a new Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year or a 2024 Dragon Birthday card and add the link to your post in the link-up party. Multiple entries are allowed. Backlinking to an older project is strictly prohibited.

Our July Lunar New Year Challenge will run from 12:00am EST on July 1, 2024 through 12:00pm EST on July 31, 2024. We would love to see you using products from our four generous sponsors! The four lucky winners will be randomly selected from all eligible entries and announced at the start of the August Challenge. 

(save and share with your project)

Visit the July Link-Up Party post HERE to see all of the design team projects and be inspired to create your own! When sharing your challenge entries on social media, feel free to save this badge and post it along with your project. Please tag us @lunarnewyearchallenge on Instagram and use the hashtag #lunarnewyearchallenge so everyone can find and be inspired by all your amazing projects.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you again soon!

Supplies: 

Ellen Hutson | Essentials by Ellen June 10th Release | Reveal Week - Day 4

It's an exciting week with a new Essentials by Ellen Release available this Friday, June 10th! Today is Day 4 of Reveal Week and we're sneak peeking the last set - Oval Hoops Dies. If I said that another product was my favourite prior to today, then I may have lied. LOL In all seriousness though, this is such a great release and there's so much to love!

I'm sharing a pair of cards using the Oval Hoops Dies with other release products. This first card also features images from One in a Buzz-illion and a sentiment from the Positive Vibes stamp set die cut with the Sentiment Strips Die.

There are three hoop sizes in this set, with proportionately-sized screws and backers, which makes it super easy to layer. This card features two of the small hoops and one medium hoop. I stamped the images (top to bottom) on Candy Corn, Sorbet and Papaya cardstock, then die cut them using the backer dies.

I cut two layers of hoops, once from heavyweight white cardstock and a second from wood veneer, glueing them together. I just love how realistic the wood looks! The screws were die cut from silver foil cardstock. After assembling the hoops, I set them aside.

On the card base, I created A2 panels from Candy Hearts and Ballet Slipper cardstock, then cut the pieces diagonally and attached one half of each to the card base. I added texture to the heavyweight white cardstock panel using the A2 Piercing Plate 2. The sentiment from Positive Vibes was white heat embossed on Pitch Black cardstock and die cut using the Sentiment Strips Die. All of the pieces were popped on to the card with foam tape.

My second card is super clean and simple and it features the largest of the three hoop dies. I love the size of this hoop because it offers more possibilities, which is why I chose to feature a portion of the Abstract Mountain Die inside. I wanted to fit as many colours as possible inside the hoop, so I choose the bottom-left section of the die and flipped it 180 degrees.

The colours featured (top to bottom and left to right) are Gold Coins, Grapefruit, Ballet Slipper, Candy Hearts and Sorbet. After I taped all those pieces together and die cut the section using the large hoop backer die, I added texture using the A2 Piercing Plate 2.

As mentioned in the description for my first card above, I cut two layers of hoops, once from heavyweight white cardstock and a second from wood veneer, glueing them together. The screws were die cut from silver foil cardstock. 

I also added the needle and thread from the Thread Friends Die Set. I stacked two additional layers of the needle to provide support since it sits on the edge of the wood veneer hoop. I created the card base from white linen cardstock, cut a panel of light grey cardstock and stamped the sentiment from the Old Spool Stamp Set in VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink, then popped on the embroidery hoop with foam tape.

If you missed my other three posts for this new release, you can find them here:

Reveal Week: Day 1

Reveal Week: Day 2

Reveal Week: Day 3

Thanks so much for stopping by! I'll see you again tomorrow for the Release Day Instagram Hop with giveaways!

Sources: 

Spellbinders | Congrats Card feat. Be Bold Color Block Collection + Sale!

Hello, crafty friends! I had the pleasure of playing with the Be Bold Color Block Congrats Etched Dies from the Be Bold Color Block Collection and it was so much fun! I love the bold words because there are so many design possibilities on big surfaces like this.

I die cut the congrats plate with cardstock in Mist, Paradise, Adriatic, Lavender and heavyweight white cardstock. I used Stick It adhesive to adhere the entire panel of Adriatic cardstock on to a sheet of copy paper. Then I adhered only the white letters to the Adriatic panel using liquid glue.

I created the congrats word using a mix of Mist, Paradise and Lavender die cuts, flipped them over and used tape to attach the word into a single piece. Using the Hex Floral Glimmer Hot Foil Plate Set and Skybright Glimmer Hot Foil, I heat foiled the floral pattern into the letters.

Next, I used liquid glue to adhere the heat foiled letters to the panel. The Adriatic panel is a single layer and the letters are three layers. I die cut the yay word from heavyweight white cardstock and silver glitter cardstock, stacking them with liquid glue.

The leaves are from the December 2021 Small Die of the Month -- Sketched Florals & Frame (which may be released for individual purchase at a later date) and I layered vellum over heavyweight white cardstock. Vellum on its own was too subtle and white was too stark so the vellum softened the white for the right opaqueness.

As I mentioned earlier, the Hex Floral Glimmer Hot Foil Plate Set is currently 25% off as part of the Feel the Love Sale. This sale includes so many great deals of up to 40% off select products and runs through 11:59pm MST through January 24, 2022.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sources: 

Spellbinders | Feel Better Soon

Hello, crafty friends! Long time no post. I've actually been doing a lot of work behind the scenes and I'll be sharing some of that very soon. In the meantime, I've been enjoying some personal time simply because life has been so hectic and I needed it!

Did you know that Spellbinders releases some of their club kits for individual sale a few months later? These Hex Floral Glimmer Hot Foil Kit of the Month came out in August 2021 and you can see my original inspiration project HERE.

I actually made this mini slimline without remembering the original design and it's funny how this one also happens to be similar in concept! This time, I used Hero Arts cardstock in Mist, Adriatic and Lavender. Then I heat foiled the Hex Floral plates using Skybright Glimmer Hot Foil. 

I chose several uplifting sentiments from Mini Everyday Sentiments and heat foiled them on Mist,  Lavender and white linen cardstock using Skybright Glimmer Hot Foil. I played around with the colours and arrangement before settling on this combination of colours and sentiments. The sentiment in the centre coordinates with the white linen card base. I finished by adding Prismatic Sky and Radiant Orchid pearls to the heat foiled flowers.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies: 

{Two Many Cards Video Series} featuring Hero Arts: Birthday Celebration + Giveaway!

Hi, everyone! Kalyn and I are back with our video series, Two Many Cards. If you missed our other videos in this series, check out the original post HERE, which explains how and why we're sharing our own unique take on the same products. 

Today, we're featuring Birthday Celebration by Hero Arts! This fabulous set is perfect for birthdays and other celebrations. I love the solid images and coordinating dies, which make it perfect for stamping when you don't want to colour. The dies make it easy to create pop-ups and recessed images perfect for making shaped shakers.

I used several different techniques on this card and I go into detail about that in my video. I used five of Hero Arts' fabulous ombre inks, including three ombre neon inks, which are my favourite ink colours of all time. They're so vibrant and pretty!

I used Ombre Neon Chartreuse to Blue for the martini, Ombre Neon Red to Purple for the party hat and bottom half of the sentiment, Ombre Neon Yellow to Orange for the cupcake, Ombre Tide Pool to Navy and Ombre Mint Julep to Emerald Green for the balloon string.

I combined Ombre Neon Chartreuse to Blue and Ombre Mint Julep to Emerald Green to stamp the fizz above the martini. The word 'Celebrate!' was stamped with Blackboard Mid-Tone ink. I double-stamped it, first on the panel and again on the cupcake so I could place the cupcake perfectly on the panel.

I used Hero Arts Sparkle Embossing Powder on the cupcake for added visual interest and created a shaker from the balloon to give this card a fun element.

I added a strip of silver glitter cardstock to the left side of the card before adhering the panel to the card base. The silver complements and highlights the crystal star sequins.

GIVEAWAY
We’re giving away a $25 Hero Arts Store gift certificate to one lucky winner chosen randomly from Kalyn’s video or Emily’s video. You must be a subscriber to both our channels!

Be sure to leave some love for both of us to increase your chances of winning! Comments will close at 11:59pm EST on August 21, 2018. The winner will be announced on both our blogs and YouTube channels on August 23, 2018. Be sure to check back then.

Please head over to Kalyn’s blog and YouTube channel to see her take on Birthday Celebration! Thanks so much for watching!

Supplies:

Last-Minute Holiday Gift Bags

As usual, I was making these gift bags for my son's teachers the night before they were due! Lucky for me, a few handy supplies and the original MISTI made them easy to create. I used the Lawn Fawn Goodie Bag die and the smallest of the Paper Smooches Gift Tags 2 dies. The poinsettia and masked foliage were stamped with Catherine Pooler's Tis the Season stamp set with Red-to-Purple, Yellow-to-Orange and Chartreuse-to-Blue neon ombre inks. 

The sentiment is from the Hero Arts Kelly's Fa La La La La stamp set and was stamped with Vintage Steel ombre ink. The flowers were stamped on both sides of the bag but the sentiment was only stamped on the front. I looped a bell through silver string and tied it to chevron ribbon, which was used to close the bag after it was filled with Lindt chocolate balls.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas with your loved ones!

Sources:

{Hero Arts} Christmas Crystals + Joy to the World

For Day 5 of Kathy Racoosin's 30-Day Colouring Challenge, I shared this card on Instagram. It features Christmas Crystals, a retired set from Hero Arts. I love the shapes of these crystals and they can even be used as terrariums for so many of the succulent stamps available right now. Since this set is retired, I've included a couple of alternate stamp and die sets in my supply list below.

The crystals were heat embossed and I used daubers to add three different shades of each colour on the crystals, before splattering with water, as well as shimmer mist. I trimmed the crystals with scissors and attached them to the background panel with glue dots. Then I added silver string, sequins and enamel dots for further embellishment.

The sentiment is from a much-loved favourite called Joy to the World, also from Hero Arts.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sources:

{Hero Arts} Hostess Alumni Blog Hop + VIDEO + Giveaways!

Welcome to the Hero Arts Hostess Hop, featuring fabulous stamps and dies from the Winter 2016 Catalog! If you've been following along, you should've arrived from Virginia Lu's blog! Hero Arts will be awarding four prizes, including two $25 shopping sprees to the Hero Arts Online Store from randomly drawn comments from all the blogs along the hop and two surprise giveaways at the Hero Arts Blog. For a chance to win, simply comment on ANY of the stops along the hop on October 24th and 25th, including each day's post at the Hero Club Blog. The more comments you leave, the better your chance of winning! If you find a broken link, you'll find a master list at the Hero Arts Blog.

I used four different stamp sets for my holiday card. The frames are from Holiday Messages and Tags, the animals are from Hipster Animals, the mason jar is from Hipster at Heart, and the snowflakes are from Holiday Animals.

Every stamped element was stamped with a pigment ink and heat embossed with various powders, including Hero Arts gold embossing powder and their new sparkle embossing powder for lots of sparkle and shine. Both the background and the Hipster Animals were watercoloured with distress inks.

Thanks so much for hopping with us! Be sure to leave a comment by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, Oct 30, 2016 for a chance to win one of four $25 shopping sprees to the Hero Arts Online Store. Now it's time to head to Sue McRae's blog for more inspiration and beauty!

Sources:

InLinkz.com

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