There is no doubt that in the heat I am making more cards! The last release of Hero Arts monthly kit brought an adorable template (watermelon layering stencil SA250). Currently working on the detail Project Sheet for this fun card. Check out the video above for a sneak peak!
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Cooling off with Hero Arts
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Friday was a long hot day here in Arizona. We got over 110 degrees. How do you beat the heat in Arizona? Stay inside and craft! This fun Hero Arts card was inspired by the yummy part of Summer. Bright, happy colors, fresh fruits, and delicious berries. I kept this one simple because that is how summer should be. Simple. It is part of the reason why people love this time of year. While outside activities happen in the desert happen after the sun goes down; it doesn’t stop us from enjoying summer too!
In Arizona, grapefruit are abundant. At almost every social gathering, at least one person will bring several bags of freshly harvested grapefruit, oranges, or lemons. When I was making this card, I made a color choice that was let’s say not great. My lemon slice was too bright, (we are talking put on those shades bright)! When I tried toning it down it went too honey. I thought I will just make a new one. Then realized I can make it a grapefruit. Not a common fruit for most people but it worked great! It also added as a blending step between the orange and the raspberries.
The Hero Arts My Monthly Hero kit has really been a great experience for me. I have found that the images and kit are new and fresh. I don’t love every one of the kits, but they stretch me to try new things. They have really helped me grow as a creator. This card may find its way to a YouTube video and I will keep you updated! If you are interested in the kits from Hero Arts you can find the subscription information here. (MMH Subscribe). There are two options both are great. I used the March Kit 2023 for this card and as of the writing of this post, there are a few still available. I love that Hero Arts makes the kits for sale not just through subscription. They cost a little more without the subscription but it is nice to be able to purchase individual kits.
I am adding this card to the store and am happy to make multiples if you are wanting to send out some sweet summery birthday greetings. Just let me know in the message box how many and we can talk about the price.
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Visit http://www.thecraftdash.com A fun place to explore art and crafting for all levels of artist.
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Crafter her entire life, Erika spends hours creating every day. She loves the crafting community and all the humans that are a part of expressing themselves in creative ways. She has been lucky enough to work in the industry as a concept designer and is a multiple-time published artist. Encouraging crafters to take part in education to better their craft is her life goal.
“Practice makes progress, perfection is unattainable.”
Here I was with a brand-new kit from My Favorite Things, and it is so beautiful, I decided to take a page out of Jennifer McGuire’s playbook and die cut the heck out of it. I grabbed some color cardstock and got to it. I wasn’t sure what colors I would use for the card, and I remember seeing a video in which Jennifer had cut like all the rainbows. She then keeps them for when it hits her fancy to use those dies. I of course decided that I should do that too because the card had not yet revealed its design or colors to me. — yes, my cards speak to me kind of… LOL
Here you can see my cuts. I think Jennifer McGuire must get completely overwhelmed with fans of her work tagging her. I did, and she saw it — I must admit, my inner fangirl came out even more. I had to make her proud.
I discovered that (if you look to the side of the buckets of flowers and greenery (AGAIN MFT Stamps made me giddy with these dies BOLD BLOOMS and BOLD GREENERY ), you will see the sheets I cut from in the above photo next to the dies in the containers. At the same time, my daughter posted a reel about Ukeleles (hopping fleas) making me return to my island days. When I pulled a Poppy paper it landed on the warm yellow and made me think of Hawaiian Quilts, this, of course, took me to the Hero Arts ALOHA cover plate and Vintage Paradise sets. Which is where my INNER INNER McGuire took off.
I was able to use what most people would consider “scraps” into cards. Check them out
Oh yeah, I love both cards. I was feeling it so much I made two with the “scrap” background. I even managed to pop an adorable beachy dino on the mahalo (thank you) card.
All cred goes to Jennifer McGuire for always encouraging creators to use what they have, to stretch those supplies. She rocks. YES, I love her, and want to be a fly on the wall when she creates. She’s amazing. Trust me when I say, her blog, (jennifermcguireink) should be on your list of MUST if you are a card maker.
I did make a video for the making of these cards, but it is far from complete. I was also excited to share my Hero Arts for the blog challenge this month. I will add some project sheets soon. I am still learning and finding that I need to video much closer than I originally thought. The video for this project will most likely not make it to the blog because I have learned A LOT in the filming of this one and will move forward.
Thanks for looking today, here are the two bonus cards in close-up for you.
Crafter her entire life Erika spends hours creating every day. She loves the crafting community and all the humans that are a part of expressing themselves in creative ways. She has been lucky enough to work in the industry as a concept designer and is a multiple-time published artist. Encouraging crafters to take part in education to better their craft is her passion.
“Practice makes progress, perfection is unattainable.”
Be kind, send handmade!
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HEY! The Craft Dash is going to have a new segment called SOS (Send Over Solutions) Cards
Have you ever had a beautiful card panel end up in the trash because you thought you messed it up? happened on this card!
Let’s start at the beginning, you have not seen the June 2023 Hero Arts, My Monthly Hero Kit you are missing out! You can check it out here. (June 2023 MMH Kit). It’s stunning! I couldn’t wait to try it out.
I created the watercolor background using the reactive inks that were included in the kit. (yummy). A project sheet for this card can be found on the RESOURCES Tab that will walk you through the entire process. Today we are focusing on the SOS
I used watercolor paper which was a bit rough and when I stamped it, the image would not clearly stamp. So after several attempts in my MISTI, I ended up with pock marks and I didn’t like it. So take a look at the quick video (my first try at it btw with my new software) to see how I corrected the issue.
Let me know what you think of this quickie video and check out the other pages on my blog. I will be uploading more SOS segments soon. If you have a card that is headed to the trash bin, STOP and send it to me. Go to the contact page and let’s see what we can do to add it to the SOS Line up!
Have a fantastic week! YouTube is still on the way. Baby steps my crafty friends! Be sure to like, share and subscribe. (I mean if you wanna, I would really appreciate it!)
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UPDATE: Project Sheet Available on Resources Page
Crafter her entire life Erika spends hours creating every day. She loves the crafting community and all the humans that are a part of expressing themselves in creative ways. She has been lucky enough to work in the industry as a concept designer and is a multiple-time published artist. Encouraging crafters to take part in education to better their craft is her passion.
“Practice makes progress, perfection is unattainable.”
Hi ho everyone – I have been hard at work learning my new camera and some newer software to get my YouTube and other goodies at you. It just so happened I had a few hiccups. I actually think I may be getting closer and closer. I also got new software that allows me to add content for my blog and other social media on a better schedule. I am working on project sheets and hope to begin posting all this content soon. I want to be sure it’s perfect for you. I also just threw my iron in the fire for the Hero Arts Dream Team (well, they call it a design team.) As you know I am a hardcore Hero Arts lover! So many cute stamps. I want you to know all the work that content creators do is A LOT of work. I am shocked at how much I have had to learn. I am getting the camera out and the new video editing software I have is “professional” software and thus has some learning curve. However, never let it be said that I am not a curvy girl (haha). With all this fun news I am happy to now move on to the fun stuff….
Here are some of the recent cards from my Christmas Card Challenge… Don’t yo worry some of these will have project sheets. See one you want for sure, drop me a line I will make sure I get it moved up on the list. Here are a few. I will be working on getting the rest of the CCC 2023 photos done. Hope you enjoy. Let me know your favorite.
Crafter her entire life Erika spends hours creating every day. She loves the crafting community and all the humans that are a part of expressing themselves in creative ways. She has been lucky enough to work in the industry as a concept designer and is a multiple-time published artist. Encouraging crafters to take part in education to better their craft is her passion.
Practice Make PROGRESS! Never seek perfection
Erika Hayes
