creating

Concord & 9th Color Buddy System

April 21, 2023Erika L Hayes2 Comments

Well, I was fortunate and took the IN THE CLASSROOM: Color Edition over at Concord & 9th in March. It was fantastic! One of the best “online” classes” I have ever taken! It was very interactive and just a wonderful time. Also, very generous with prizes (never expected but was wowed and for the winners, it was a blessing, I am sure.)

While in that class, all the new colors were not yet available. In our kits, we received samples of all the colors in cardstock and a selection of the new inks in cubes. During the class, we played a few games, and one was color combos. Of course, with the new Swatch stamps and dies included in the kit it was a logical choice. (Swatchbook Combo).

There was a lot of love given to Dragon Fruit, Lemongrass, Juniper, and Tidepool. Makes sense as they are beautiful. However, I think there is an under-noticed color in this release and have found it to be a new staple in my crafting. In fact, it earned a spot on my desk. I already have an order for additional cardstock and a second ink pad — just in case. Let me introduce you to…

HARBOR

This is a perfect example of what I like to call “blending” color. Blending colors are those colors that help elevate the other colors. In this case, Harbor brings brightness to the color combo. Here it is in action

When I began creating, I had the more talked about “color buddy” Blueberry in place of the Harbor and found it to be a bit too dark for my liking. Even though it looked great when I picked it up, I needed to lighten the color combo. The way Greg and the C&9th Crew put together this color system they work no matter what. I ended up discovering Harbor for the incredible color it is!!! Here are two cards I made with the Harbor color combo.

If you are interested in replicating these cards, I will have a PDF in the resources tab available.

Have a fantastic day filled with plenty of creative opportunity!

Any questions? Go to our contact page.

Erika Hayes

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.

MFT Superstar Contest!

November 5, 2022Erika L Hayes3 Comments

This year I am entering the contest. They have three categories my first is the coloring category. In the past, I’ve gone overboard trying to guess what they are looking for and add my own art. This year I made a fun little scene and I didn’t think about it. I didn’t draw a ship or add anything but the stamps I put them center stage. So here is my color entry

Next up was the Out of the box challenge! I love the out of the box challenges. They are so fun to put together. I got the idea for my HoHoHo Santa is coming to town card while sitting in my studio sorting stamp sets! Here is my entry for the out of the box category

Finally, CAS (clean and simple). I’ve had this idea since last year. I struggled with which to make for the contest and went with my other idea last year. This little baby has been waiting 360+/- days to be created. I sketched it out but waited to make it. Now that I have made it I wish I would have made it last year. Here is my CAS entry

Now, I’m not expecting to win anything, but you never know. I really do this contest for the fun of it. I love MFT Stamps (just look through my blog, you’ll see lots of their product is my literal favorite things.

I hope you get joy or inspiration from these cards. Enjoy your night!

Blessings!

ErikaLee

In Stitches with Spellbinders

August 23, 2022August 23, 2022Erika L Hayes1 Comment

Spellbinders All Dies, Hot Foil Plates & Foil; Pixie Cardstock Lawn Fawn; Pattern Paper My Favorite Things; Floss, DMC

When the stitched alphabet came out from Spellbinders I liked the idea, but I couldn’t really see buying ALL the letters. (I made a big mistake.) I bought a few to spell “Hi” and “love” well soon after these few cards I realized; I need the entire alphabet. I am so glad I did and would highly recommend if you are considering the stitched alphabet, just buy the bundle. It really opens your world to so many possibilities. (It is an investment, but really, I have used these so much that I think it was one of my better purchases for card making.)

Because I love these little guys so much, I put some tips for using these dies to be the most successful.

Tips for stitching on your paper crafts.

Choosing your thread (floss) will make a significant difference. My first craft was cross-stitching, and I can tell you a few things to make you successful.
The number of strands. Two is most commonly used, but if your floss is light on light you may want to add one or more strands to ensure your intended color shows as you want it. (In the sample above, I used all six strands
Floss comes in many brands and materials. You may want to test them on your paper before you commit.

A single sheet of card may tear when you stitch with several threads of floss. To ensure your card can hold up, simply cut two additional letters and glue them together to create stability.
Use your finger or fine tip applicator, (such as Barely Art glue tip) to apply glue to prevent seepage through the premade stitch placement holes.
remove any excess glue immediately
Make sure your glue is completely dry before stitching. (If you notice any glue at this time, use a needle to remove it.)

As a cross stitcher for many years, I learned one especially important thing. Always go in the same direction. Start each grouping in the same place.
Light is caught by the floss and keeping it in the same direction and same placement will give a better finished look.
Place your needle over the last stitch and press all other threads under the stitch you are adding.

If you have any questions, feel free to click over to the contact me and shoot me an email. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

Coming Soon!

I have finally been able to get everything I need to set up my YouTube channel. I will be sure to let you know once we’ve gone live. Color-A-Longs are coming soon! I’m working hard to make this a place for inspiration and education. Please share with all the crafty peeps you know. 🙂

Wheelie Happy Hump Day

August 10, 2022Erika L Hayes1 Comment

All Stamps, Dies & Paper
My Favorite Things

As promised, I AM going to try and keep more stuff on my blog. Here we are, more stuff.

I want to encourage all crafty peeps out there, that it’s okay to copy a card. Most of the time what happens is you begin it helps break those mental blocks. I really loved this card from Vika Silmina. It’s a bit aged as these products came out a while ago. I looked at it and really wanted to use the Build-A-Tree die set that had been sitting on my desk for a bit. I loved the idea of a bear and trees so this was my launching point.

You can see where the inspiration took on its own life. I really liked the idea of the smaller scale “scene” from this card too.

While I loved the “thank you ring” die and I do own it, I decided to abandon the use of it when this card began to build itself into a more of a scene. I did get to use the Build-A-Tree set and love how it worked in this card. In case you don’t have this little lovely, You may want to check it out here.

It is my hope that you can see that finding inspiration in the beautiful designs of others is a great way to break the block. It also often pushes you to try new things. You may start off with a copy (in my opinion, the highest form of flattery) and end up with something completely different. Of course, it’s also okay to just copy a card you just like. (Be sure, of course, to give credit for the design if you post it online somewhere.)

MFT Sketch Challenge

February 22, 2021Erika L Hayes1 Comment

Beautiful new release this month with NEW colors of ink and cardstock. Most of us have heard the Pantone colors being yellow and grey and of course I love that color combination. I decorated my house with these colors a few years ago.

Sketch Challenge this week was really cute and I love how quickly this card came together in my mind. I did spend time assembling this card once I had the idea and a few things changed from my original thoughts. That is something I love about sketch challenges. Well, all challenges really. I love that they are a “launching pad” for a creative session.

This was the sketch this week: