Hello and Thinking of You

Hi friends! Today I'm popping in with a bunch of cards made with the Call Me Crafty Al December 2021 Sheetload of Cards sketch and cutting guides. This was my first time doing one and I had a lot of fun. This one made 9 cards with three sheets of 12 x 12 paper, plus cardstock for layering, images, and card bases.

I have lots of pretty 12 x 12 paper that needs a little love, so pulled out a favorite collection from Carta Bella. I'm not one to mass produce since I get bored with the same design. So I didn't stick to the sketch for all of my cards, instead moving the cut pieces around as I wanted.  I also went with a portrait layout instead of landscape because I prefer creating in that direction.

I'm getting ready to send off a box of cards to the Scrapbook.com Card Drive and right now they're looking for thinking of you and hello cards, so that's what I focused on for this set, mainly using the Script Sentiments (now back in stock!) set from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.

In addition I used the Nature Silhouettes set for the top right card and the bottom center card.  The thinking of you cards in the center row use sets from Hero Arts.

When I was done I had some leftovers, so decided to make a tenth card featuring a new to me clearance find, Painted Peonies set from Concord and 9th. Isn't that flower gorgeous?  I used C9 inks for stamping the layering stamps, then fussy cut the image to pop up as my focal point.

If you're interested in playing along, the January Sheetload of Cards is inspired by a Mojo Monday sketch of mine. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have an incredible start to you week!

-Julee

Reverse Confetti + Hero Arts Partnership Hop and GIVEAWAY

Hero Arts is celebrating 45 years and counting. To honor our beloved industry, we have teamed up with some of our favorite friends, and have together released co-branded designs focused on friendship, giving, and community. Today we're celebrating the release of the new Better Together stamp set and coordinating Better Together Frame Cuts in collaboration with Reverse Confetti.

Ellie, daughter of Reverse Confetti owner, Jen del Muro, designed this uplifting and versatile multi-step floral set for the Hero Arts Partner collaboration. Both mother and daughter have a passion for equality and equity, and proceeds from this stamp set will be donated to the Human Rights Campaign.

For my first card, I had fun with the floral layering stamps in blues, then die cutting and layering together for some fun florals.  I added a little white gel pen accent and popped the top layer of flower and greenery up from the stem and scallop layer.  subtle stenciling makes the background, and I finished off with the title sentiment, then added two of the die cut scallop trims behind it for a little border trim.

For my second card, I decided to create a flower pot with the striped stamp, hand cutting the shape, then sponging with inks and stamping the scallop trim at the top.  Next I stamped the layered leaves a couple of times and cut with the coordinating dies.  I trimmed off one leaf from one of the die cuts, then layered them together to make a plant.  I paired this with the grow through what you go thrrough sentiment.

HOP PRIZES

We are giving away $50 gift cards to TWO lucky winners, drawn from comments left across the blog hop. One gift code will be to the Hero Arts store, and the other to Reverse Confetti. Comment on the hop by Thursday, February 25th at 11:59pm pst. The more blogs you leave comments on, the more chances to win!

Your next stop on the hop is Nichol Spohr.

FULL HOP LIST

Hero Arts
Reverse Confetti
Kathy Schweinfurth
Lisa Henke
Jeanne Jachna
Amy Tsuruta
Candice Fisher
Tricia Barber
Amy Kolling
Audrey Tokach
Channin Pelletier
Daniel West
Ilina Crouse
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Libby Hickson
Lydia Fiedler
Maria Willis
Mindy Eggen
Seeka
Julee Tilman
Nichol Spohr

Hero Arts 2021Catalog Release Blog Hop + GIVEAWAY

I'm super excited today to be joining in on the Hero Arts 2021 Catalog Blog Hop today!  There are so many fabulous new products in the shop that you're going to want to check out and lots of inspiration along the hop. I'm sharing a few cards with some of my faves today.  Be sure and hop along (link list later in the post) and leave some comment love for a chance to win in the awesome giveaway!

My first card uses the new Better Together stamp set and coordinating frame cuts. This is a partner collaboration with Hero Arts and proceeds from this stamp set will be donated to the Human Rights Campaign.  I love this floral layering set and had so much fun playing with it! You'll see a couple more cards with this set from me tomorrow, too.

I started by stamping out the flowers in a light and darker shade of both pink and purple. Setting things up in your MISTI, so you only have to align one time, makes the layer stamping a breeze.  I did the same with the leaf shapes in green, then die cut them all with the coordinating frame cuts.

The large sentiments in this set are perfect for both A2 cards and slimline cards.  I went with a slimline design with this one, masking off a rectangle on a white panel, then blending with blues and stamping the sentiment in black.  I matted with navy cardstock, then added the panel to the slimline card base with a foam sheet for added dimension.  Then I layered on the flowers and finished with some white gel pen accents and liquid drops.

My next card features a sentiment from Better Together paired with the gorgeous Hero Florals Poppy Combo. I colored up the poppies with Copic markers, then cut with the coordinating frame cuts and arranged in descending order on my card base. The sentiment is embossed in white on black cardstock and popped up on dimensionals. 

Last weekend I was lucky to be able to participate in a virtual gel press workshop.  The focal point of this card was one of the techniques in the class using bleach as a mask for a stamped image. I then cut the print with a circle die and matted on black.  The background is blended in red, orange, and yellow to match, and I finished with a sentiment from the fabulous new Empowerment set.

My final card for today uses a couple of my brayered off prints from this weekend. I thought the blue really matched the storm part of this sentiment from Empowerment, and then added some stamped and die cut flowers from the Hero Florals Poppy Combo. I watercolored the flowers, then accented with Copic markers.  The sentiment is embossed onto a strip of vellum.

That's all from me today. I hope you enjoyed these creations. There are tons of new products in the 

2021 Catalag Collection, and lots of inspiration with them along the hop! Check out the prize info and full hop list below.

Your next stop on the hop is Laurie Willison.

Prize Info

Comment on the hop by Wednesday, February 24th at 11:59pm pst for a chance to win one of three $50 gift certificates to the Hero Arts store. The more blogs you leave comments on, the more chances to win!

Full Blog Hop List

Hero Arts
Channin Pelletier
Dana Joy
Daniel West
Debi Adams
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Libby Hickson
Lydia Fiedler
Maria Willis
Mindy Eggen
Pocono Pam
Seeka
Amy Kolling
Jennifer McGuire
Julee Tilman
Laurie Willison
Mariana Grigsby
Nichol Spohr

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙

December 2020 My Monthly Hero Release Hop + GIVEAWAY

Hi friends! It's time to kick-off another My Monthly Hero release! This month the kit is filled with blue skies, sunshine, and hope for a better tomorrow. Sounds good right about now, don't you think? The kit includes a fabulous 6 x 8 set, a few beautiful fancy dies, 4 reactive ink cubes, and some super fun yellow embossing powder. Plus there are also lots of amazing add-ons to round out the theme!

If you've been hopping along, you should have arrived from Amy Kolling's blog. Your next hop stop after this will be Mariana Grigsby's blog. The entire hop list can be found later in this post.

I absolutely love encouragement cards, and this kit is perfect for sending a little pick-me-up to a friend.  I just couldn't get enough of this gorgeous Hope fancy die from the kit, so my first card today (and several more) features the hope die. For this card I blended some reactive inks onto cloud white cardstock and then die cut, leaving me with a hope frame and a bunch of pieces.  Here I did the inlaid technique to piece those blended pieces back inside of a white die cut, then popped the whole thing up on foam tape and accented with some bling.

For the background, I used the cloud scape from the kit in pinks, purples and blues.  I added the sentiment in black, and then matted with some purple cardstock and finished off with a few sequins.

I just couldn't neglect the frame from when I cut the inlaid pieces, so created a clean and simple type card with it.  I cut the outline shape from the hope die out, then coated with a thin coat of glitter glaze and then glued down the frame over the top.  It's super sparkly!

Next I embossed white cardstock with a rays embossing folder, aligning the folder on the paper so the rays would be coming out from the o in hope.  After embossing, I then used the sun rays from the kit, stamping the smaller rays in the orange yellow combo up top, then again below with the pink purple combo.  I popped the whole panel up on a foam sheet and this ray of paper sunshine is ready to go!

The other fancy die in the kit is this beautiful cloud scene. I layered it with a larger circle die and cut it from white cardstock. I then separated the pieces, ink blending the outer portion with aqua inks and the inner portion with yellow and orange.  I stamped the sentiment in black, then used just one of the cloudscape stamps to emboss with white puff embossing powder.  I love that these clouds look great whether you use one, two, or all three layers!

For the background I lined the hope an sunshine stamps up in my MISTI, then stamped on adriatic cardstock, moving over and down each time to fill the whole background.  I matted and then finished off with a white card base.

This next card was my most involved card from this post, but it still came together super quick. Can you tell I'm smitten with this hope die? {grin} Here I cut the outline shape from vellum, then used both dies together to cut the frame from white cardstock and layered together.

For the background, I started off with the center half sun images, then worked my way out with the small and larger rays. I then masked off my stamping and ink blended the water below, adding a bit of white pain with a stipple brush for highlights in the center.  The it's a new day sentiment is stamped onto it.  I then stamped the birds twice in the sky section of the card and blended some aqua and white inks for a billowy cloudy looking sky.  I accented with the cloud die cut from cardstock and then accented with glitter.  I  then adhered my vellum and white hope die cut, centered over the horizon line and finished with a big rhinestone heart in the center of the o.

My final card for today came about while I was playing with color combinations for the clouds. I stamped the three layers in fun colors, then masked off a stripe as high as the letters in the die and blended in turqoise inks.  I cut the die again from yellow cardstock, then inlaid jus the o, adding a bit of highlighting with a copic marker for some shading.  Then I decided to coat the entire die cut with embossing ink and emboss with sparkle embossing powder.

I added some dimension with a foam sheet behind the panel and left the rest of the card white so the hope could really shine.

Crafty high five! You made it to the end of the post! I hope you've enjoyed my makes and a bit of my creative process.  I think this one is gonna go quick! If you're not a subscriber already, the kit is only available while supplies last, so pre-order your kit today! We estimate kit shipping will begin Friday, December 11, and continue throughout the following week.

Here's a closer look at the December My Monthly Hero kit. I've also linked the entire release along with the supplies I used for these cards below for your convenience.

Kit Contents:

• 6" x 8" Clear Stamp Set
• Hope Word Fancy Die
• Cloud Fancy Die
• Cloud Window Die
• 4 Reactive Ink Cubes (Early Dawn, Morning Mist, Yellow Chartreuse, Thistle)
• Yellow Prisma Embossing Powder 0.5 oz.

Kit Value: $78.00
Kit Cost: $34.99

GIVEAWAY:
Hero Arts is generously giving away one $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, November 8th at 11:59pm pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

 For a chance to win the $50 Gift Certificate giveaway, leave some comments for the talented designers linked below.  Happy hopping!

Next up on the hop is Maria Grigsby! 

Hero Arts
Channin Pelletier
Dana Joy
Daniel West
Debi Adams
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Lydia Fiedler
Maria Willis
Michelle Short
Mindy Eggen
Pocono Pam
Seeka
Amy Kolling
Julee Tilman
Mariana Grigsby
Nichol Spohr
Rebecca Keppel

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙

December My Monthly Hero Release

Thankful Grateful Blessed + Tons of Sales

Hi friends! It's hard to believe we're just a day away from Thanksgiving. This year has seemed like time stood still, while at the same time speeding forward. So strange of a time in history. As time speeds slowly by, I think I will look back on this year and be most grateful for the chance to spend time with my loved ones. Once the kids reach school age, it's so rare to get pajama days with no appointments, practices, or other commitments. It feels like even though it's been a VERY tough year, we've been given a great gift of time. Time we will cherish when our boys are grown and living elsewhere. My heart is full. As I look at the card above, I'm reminded of just how quickly time passes.  I created this card 10 years ago, and yet it feels like yesterday.  It's still one of my favorite Verve cards ever. He HAS made everything beautiful in its time.

Another thing I'm so very thankful for this year is the creative outlet of stamping. I'm so blessed to have been able to design for a fabulous list of companies this year. An excuse to close the door from all the twin angst and just spend an hour with my art has been a lifeline throughout this year. Many of my favorite companies are having Black Friday sales, so I thought I'd do a post on them, also sharing some fun cards at the same time. While never expected, if you see something you like, I'd love it if you'd consider using my affiliate links to shop. I get a small percentage when you place an order using one of the links, at no additional cost to you.  I so appreciate it and use the funds to help offset the costs of linky services, email subscription services, and Adobe software for my Mojo Monday sketches.

This sympathy card was created during my Splitcoaststampers Dirty Dozen term.  This Beautiful Memories set from Reverse Confetti is one of my favorite sympathy sets. 

Reverse Confetti Sale (going on now):
25% off your order through 11/29. No Code Needed

Here's another Dirty Dozen card. I love Hero Arts and their uplifting stamps! Such a generous company with a heart for their customers and the world and I'm blessed to get to create with their My Monthly Hero kits. This card combines the Lucky Star set and the keep going sentiment from Color Layering Moth.

Hero Arts Sale (going on now): 
Tiered sale 15 - 25% off through Nov 30. No Code Needed

Here's another Dirty Dozen card. It features the Sent with Love from The Cat's Pajamas. TCP was my first ever Design Team fourteen years ago.  I'm so glad Alma took a chance on me and I'm so grateful to be a part of her team today!

The Cat's Pajamas Sale (going on now):  
40% off sitewide through Dec. 2 No Code Needed

I guess today is Dirty Dozen day, so here's another one.  This one features Singing Praises, Timeless Hymns, and Texture Tiles 1 from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Sale (begins Nov. 27):

20% off sitewide through Nov. 30 (No code Needed)

Bundle Blitz with savings 25% or more on over 30 bundles

Plus a free not yet released Birthday Wordfetti set with $40 bundle purchase

This isn't a Dirty Dozen card since this company just opened in April of this year.  I love Sassy & Crafty's fun stamps and stencils and have had so much fun with their products! This card features Chronic Pain Warrior, Hearts Stencil, Comic Book 2 Stencil, Zebra Stripe Stencil, and Comic Book Stencil.

Sassy & Crafty Sale (begins Nov. 27):

25% off sitewide through Nov. 30. No code needed. 

Plus bundle deals and free goodies!

Alrighty, there are so many wonderful companies with sales this weekend, I just picked a few I knew I had recent-ish cards for. Click here for a link list of all my affiliates. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and start off your holiday season with thanks for the small blessings each day brings. Much love!

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙

More with the November Hero Arts Release

Hi friends! Today I'm popping in with some more inspiration with new goodies from the November My Monthly Hero release.

I'm totally smitten with the sweet deer in the Love You Deerly set! I colored them with copic markers and and a white gel pen and then cut with the coordinating frame cuts.

For the background I used the leafy circle silhouette from the awesome November MMH Kit, stamped in dusty blue and then stamped again after swiping the edges of the stamp while still on my MISTI with navy ink.  I then cut a circle from a post it note to mask off the stamped image.  I stamped the Abstract Linocut Bold Prints background in soft brown, then swiped over it in different areas  with cup o' joe to get a woodgrain look.  I sponged a little with the same color inks, then pulled off the mask.

The sweet little mistletoe from the Love You Deerly set hangs from the top of the circle, then I embossed the sentiment on red cardstock and cut with the Nesting Hearts Infinity Dies.  I love how this turned out and will be giving it to hubby for our anniversary. It's five days before Christmas so will go well with the holiday theme. 

As of my writing this on Wednesday night, the November kit is still available. It's a super fun kit and if you haven't hopped yet be sure to check out the November My Monthly Hero Release Blog Hop for more inspiration with this kit and a chance to win a $50 gift code to Hero Arts.

My second card for today is a slimline design featuring images and die cuts from the November kit, as well as some previously released goodies.  I started with the bird image from the kit, stamped in cup o-joe, then colored with copics and cut with the coordinating masking die (no fussy cutting and a perfect fit... yay!)  I then cut the branch die and colored with liquid watercolor inks and glimmer metallic inks, then nestled the two die cuts together.  

The ornament is from the Ornaments Infinity Dies which I cut from white chipboard and then colored with red glimmer metallic ink for the bulb and gold glimmer metallic ink for the topper. The poinsettia is also from the kit, stamped in a light ink, then accented with the same colors of glimmer metallic ink before die cutting.  I masked off the Peace on earth sentiment, then embossed in silver onto white cardstock and cut as a banner to layer under the poinsettia.

The ornament is then hung from silver cording on a panel I embossed in satin pearl with the Delicate Snowflake Bold Prints. This is a 6 x 6 background, so I made sure to line the widest part of my ornament up to cover up the slight shift in pattern when I stamped the bottom portion.  I added the ornament with a brad and then accented with a snowflake sequin and a mini pearl.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fantastic day!

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙

November 2020 My Monthly Hero Release Blog Hop + GIVEAWAY

Hi friends! It's time to kick-off another My Monthly Hero release! This month we've got a fabulous winter woodland theme to play with, and it's absolutely amazing.  The kit includes masking dies for the focal images in the stamp set that cut the images exactly with no white border, making it easy to layer up those stamps to create a fantastic winter wonderland. Plus there are tons of amazing add-ons to round out the theme!

If you've been hopping along, you should have arrived from Jennifer McGuire's blog. Your next hop stop after this will be Laurie Willison's blog. The entire hop list can be found later in this post.

I'm not a fan of owls, but my favorite card with the kit ended up using the owl. I must say I kind of like him and his regal attitude! He must be a good owl. Since we were anticipating a Blue Moon when I created the card, I thought he needed a moon. I stamped the owl with brown ink, then went in for some detailing and shading with Copic markers and a white gel pen. No fussy cutting required with the genius masking dies included in the kit.  I used the same technique for coloring and cutting the branch he's sitting on, adding in some glimmer metallic ink accents. For the moon, I stamped the branches circle from the kit on yellow cardstock, then used the Infinity Circles to cut a circle slightly smaller than the stamped image.  I then cut a matting circle and painted with gold glimmer metallic ink for some shine.

For my background, I pulled out some inks and blended a night sky, splattering some water on, then pulled out the fabulous big tree from the Winter Tree & Animals add-on set. I stamped the tree two times off the edge, then finished with a little black ink around the edges.  The sentiment is from the kit, and embossed on black cardstock in white.

Next I moved on to the adorable little snowman and tree image in the kit. Stamped colored and die cut, all I needed was a fun winter background. Cue the gorgeous new Winter Woods Heroscape add-on set. I started by stamping a row of trees with one of the tree stamps from the set across my panel.  I then embossed the snow bank image twice in silver below them.  I  then masked off my row of trees loosely with the coordinating frame cuts, stamped the falling snow stamp repeatedly and embossed with clear embossing powder. 

With everything still masked off, I blended in some blues for the sky, then wiped off for a distress resist on the falling snow. I matted this panel with red cardstock. The sentiment is from the kit, and I stamped the holly berries and leaves, then die cut to accent my sentiment strip

Next, I wanted to do something with that blizzardy snow mound background from the kit.  I stamped it in navy ink with the let it snow sentiment above it.  I coated the snow mound with liquid pearls and then added some icicle glitter for a sparkly look.

Next I cut a wood frame and swiped with cup o' joe and soft brown inks for a weathered wood look.  I trimmed my stamped panel to fit behind the frame and glued together.  Next I pulled out the darling new Love You Deerly add-on and stamped the deer ornaments and tree on cardstock, then colored and die cut with the coordinating Love You Deerly Frame Cuts.  Once everything was layered together, I added a polka dot embossed panel on foam tape behind my frame to finish off the card.

My final card for today is another snowy scene, this time starting with the lovely Etched Winter Scene Bold Prints. I used my MISTI to stamp multiple times in blues for the sky then switched to markers for the green on the trees and gray for the snowbanks, adding in some water effects for a more fluid feel to the background. I sponged a little darker blue around the edges of the sky, then colored in a full moon with watercolor markers.  

Next I pulled out the kit again and cut two of the Christmas trees, then painted with glimmer metallic inks to add to my scene.  I then stamped the cabin in brown, colored with markers and accented with some liquid pearls.  To ground the cabin in the snow, I added some liquid pearls around it and a loose trail through the snow to get to the cabin.  I created a coordinating mat by painting the edges of a panel of cardstock with glimmer metallic ink, then did the same for the sentiment strip mat, which is a fun one also from the kit.

Whew! You made it to the end of the post! I have a couple more cards to share, but I'll save them for another day. I hope you've enjoyed my makes and a bit of my creative process. If you're not a subscriber already, the kit is only available while supplies last, so pre-order your kit today! We estimate kit shipping will begin Friday, November 6, and continue throughout the following week.

Here's a closer look at the November My Monthly Hero kit. I've also linked the entire release along with the supplies I used for these cards below for your convenience.

Kit Contents:

•  6" x 8" Clear Stamp Set
•  5 Coordinating Frame Cuts
•  6 Coordinating Masking Cuts
•  Winter Sky Reactive Ombré Ink Pad
•  Red Vine Washi Tape
•  Winter Forest Sequins

Kit Value: $86.00
Kit Cost: $34.99

GIVEAWAY:
Hero Arts is generously giving away one $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, November 8th at 11:59pm pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

 For a chance to win the $50 Gift Certificate giveaway, leave some comments for the talented designers linked below.  Happy hopping!

Next up on the hop is Laurie Willison! 

Hero Arts
Channin Pelletier
Dana Joy
Daniel West
Debi Adams
Ilina Crouse
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Lydia Fiedler
Maria Willis
Michelle Short
Mindy Eggen
Seeka
Amy Kolling
Jennifer McGuire
Julee Tilman
Laurie Willison
Mariana Grigsby
Nichol Spohr

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙

November My Monthly Hero Release

My Supply List