Hero Arts Color Layering Orchid in a Pot

Hi everyone, it's Esther here with a card inspired by the gorgeous new colour layering stamps that have been released by Hero Arts. 

By the time you read this, the new stamps will be live in store on the Hero Arts page, but I'm working a few days ahead and so used an old favourite instead. Peacocks, Koi and Fuchsias will all be "falling" into my basket very soon!

I inked up a panel of card stock at the top left and bottom right corners, then stamped, die cut and adhered the orchids using Hero Arts Color Layering Orchid in a Pot and matching die. The sentiment is from Mama Elephant Whale Wishes.

Thanks so much for visiting!

   

October Challenge Week 3

It's your final reminder to play along in our tone on tone colour challenge this month.

Pick at least 3 shades from one of the 3 options above and then get your stash out!  Remember you must use products we sell to be considered for the prize.

This week our DT newbies are playing along

Gemma

using Altenew Oriental Orchid and Avery Elle Sentimental

Esther

using My Favorite Things Inside & Out Stitched Circle STAX Dienamics and Mama Elephant Whale Wishes stamps and co-ordinating dies.

The deadline is 10pm on Tuesday 25th October so you have plenty of time to play and you can play as often as you like and combine us with other challenges where it fits.  Link up your project to the Challenge Page when you're ready.

Flowers, Whales and Extending Die Cuts

I have a couple of cards to share today and a little "how to" on extending the length of die cuts in case its a technique you haven't tried - it's a great way to make your stash do more for its money.

Firstly, I couldn't resist playing with the new Hillside Cover Die from Mama Elephant - this die is a little different as it only cuts a few lines - the rest of the stitched lines just give great embossing detail.  This means that your "hills" stay in the frame which makes it really easy to use and you can "insert" characters into the hills.   However I saw ocean waves not hills so I added whales!

I masked off the edge of the frame with post-it tape and used 3 shades of MFT blue ink to create an ombre ocean in the middle before emphasising the wave edges with a white pencil and some sponged on white ink foam.   I stamped the whales from Whale Wishes also by Mama Elephant onto white card and cut them out and tucked them into the waves.  The spray and sentiment from the set were stamped directly onto the waves.  A little co-ordinating paper finishes the card.

My second card uses another new die - this time The Double Panel Circle die from Reverse Confetti and I just love it - its a very clever 2 part die but it doesn't look like much until you see it in use!   I decided to lengthen it too so it covered more of my card.  If you don't know how to do this, its very easy - so I have a couple of how to photos and steps.

First - line up the bottom of the die with the edge of the cardstock furthest away from the rollers and hang the opposite edge out beyond the cutting plates as in the photo above.

Remove the die from the machine and repeat the process in the opposite direction.  Line the die up so it overlaps the area already cut (very easy with this die as the bumpy edges are great locators) and then leave the edge furthest away from the rollers hanging beyond the cutting plates so you don't cut off the length you previously cut.  (Use a little washi tape to make sure the die doesn't move)

I repeated the same process using grey with the top layer of the die and used that as a decorative base for my card.

The other elements from the card all come from Mama Elephant's Butterfly Kisses.  I stamped the flower and butterflies onto some olive green card stock and coloured them with Polychromos pencils.  I love this technique it gives such a different look to colouring on white - you can get the same results on kraft. The butterflies were stamped onto the base image before adding the card versions on top so I didn't have to fussy cut their fiddly legs!

 

NEWS FROM THE STORE

• We just had new releases from Concord and 9th (plus restocks on Sophisticated Script) and SugarPea Designs this weekend.
• We've been struggling with our UK distributor for Art Impressions and Thermoweb but are now happy to report we have found a better one so hope to have some new items and restocks from those brands by the end of this week.
• Our felt should be in store later this week too.
• We also have a brand new brand coming - watch this space for news very soon!