making

Concord & 9th Color Buddy System

Erika 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.

JANUARY *CCC *Christmas Card Challenge & Goal Report

Erika L Hayes5 Comments

Well, as the end of January makes its way toward us, I wanted to share the first 10 of the 120 Christmas Cards for 2023. I put the main product used for each card in the caption. If you see something and want to know what it is, just shoot me an email and I can most likely give you the product name or where I picked it up. I keep pretty good notes in my Color My Life App.

  • JAN 2023 – MFT Stamps
  • JAN 23 – Simon Says Stamps
  • JAN 2023 – Stampin’ Up!
  • JAN 2023 Simon Says Stamps
  • 2023 – My Favorite Things Stamps
  • JAN 2023 Cathy Z with Simon Says Stamps
  • 2023 – Pink & Main
  • JAN 2023 – Spellbinders
  • JAN 2023 – Stampin’ Up!
  • JAN 2023 – CC Designs with Silhouette Cameo 4

I hope that you find some kind of inspiration from these cards, and know I am excited to show what’s in the mix for February. It’s kinda fun to know you can get out your Christmas goodies and play all year long. I have a lot of great ideas and am really excited to use some of the products I got this year more than just for a month!

Some other fun cards that went out this month include some birthday and and a few anniversaries. Of course some of my encouragement cards are going out tomorrow or the next day.

I completed a class from Sandy Allnock. The pen & ink class I started and didn’t finish is now done! Upcoming classes I am signed up for include, The Altenew/Spellbinders class in February and in March the Concord & 9th class. I am very excited for both of these classes. I have also several classes I have in the wings.

Some of the stuff I learned in Sandy’s class was amazing. I don’t want to share the techniques as it wouldn’t be fair to give away her content. I can tell you she has a way of teaching that is fun. You don’t really feel like you can do it wrong, or that you aren’t good enough. She really did give some great ideas and I enjoyed the class a lot! If you are interested, you can follow this link to the class I took. (It is NOT an affiliate link, I get nothing for sharing this class). As of the timing of this post, the class is at a discounted price so….check it out!

Feburary has some fun stuff I’ve made for Valentine’s day I will not share just yet.

Happy Thanksgiving

Erika L Hayes1 Comment

A day of thanksgiving. What are you thankful for?

I am thankful for my God, my family, my church and my friends. Today however on the eve of a traditional holiday for us in America I’d like to give thanks for something more.

The indigenous people of this land. Had it not been for them, there would be no celebration.

While the settlers came, the peoples that were already living in what we call the Americas were kind to help the new arrivals. They brought a peace that later would be exploited, but for a moment it was how it should be. It was kindness and thanksgiving, it was people living in harmony. It was how it should be.

This year along with a celebration of thanksgiving for all the blessings God has bestowed, I give thanks for the kindness, generosity, and blessings of that time. When we were harmonious, not seeking to tear each other apart with right and wrong. A moment in time when it was about people.

I am a first-generation offspring of an immigrant, I am thankful that my father was welcomed into this country. He was given the opportunity and was able to find and make it our home.

This year, as you sit and enjoy your family and some yummy food, remember that people that gave up so much so we could be a part of their land. Try to extend that thanksgiving the first settlers had toward those that aided them in an uncertain time. Extend your kindness to those living in uncertainty. Give more than you get and love each other.

May God bring you special blessings over the next year and try and live a life of ThanksLiving for all the people and seek harmony in all you do.

Have a good day of family and friends. IF you are local and don’t have someone to spend this time with or are just hungry and need a place to go, please consider our church, Desert Christian Fellowship. We have a Thanksgiving meal where all are welcome. If you need more information, please click here for location information.

Many blessings on you friends.

Erika Lee

100% Chance of fun

Erika L Hayes1 Comment

GOOD NEWS! I finally have my new computer! This is good news because I get to start playing with my videos. I am still learning the software and pray for your consideration while I learn and improve. Now onto our card for today!

I take a lot of classes. I love learning about my different mediums. One of the things about card making is I get these little canvases to try my newly aquired skills! This card is a combination of many of my classes and playing.

The background of this card has been built using several sets. I enjoy the masking and adding many different elements to create the one of a kind look. I loved this Whimsy Stamp set I ordered from Simon Says Stamps. Gnome Get Well (click image below to find it).

I also used Cathy Z Design for Simon Says Stamps and it was the actual inspiration. The 100% chance is what triggered my rainy day feel. Living in a state that sees very little rain, any chance to enjoy it (even if I am only creating it on a canvas) is a must!

I hope you like this card and get a little inspiration.

I really did enjoy making the rainy-day look. I hope to make a video with this technique for you very soon. Let me know if that is something you would be interested in seeing.

Have a wonderful day! I’ll be back soon!

Great News!

Erika L Hayes1 Comment

It’s been a few since my last post. I have been working on something and think I can share the news. I have been able to get my camera and now have the video editing software. I am still learning all the how-to’s, but I think you will soon see the first video up on my youtube channel! Filming starts this weekend.

I don’t want to leave my blog unloved, so I am adding this fun card I made using Honey Bee Stamps Designs – Market Card Builder.

Honey Bee Stamp Designs

Now I have plenty of cardstock something in the crafter of me must not only use but save all the scraps that I could possibly find a future use. While I was making this card, I realized a couple of things. One that it is a fantastic scrap paper user. Second that if you use a large scrap, you can get impressions from the acrylic plates (they of course have cut hundreds of dies and do like to leave behind some lines and shapes on the paper usable portion of the remaining scrap. Usually, I just toss them if they are too bad. To counter those little impressions, I took a lesson from the hot foil tricks and tips. I found after placing my die on the scrap, that cutting it around the die before running it through my machine preserved the rest of the paper for future use. All the dies in this card with the exception of the actual cart are scraps.

This tip is really effective on foiled
and specialty papers

I’m excited about what is coming to my blog and I look forward to sharing, inspiring, and educating. If you have any questions just go to my contact page and send me a note!

Blessings to you all!

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