The stars are in alignment for this week's Clean & Simple #311, and In{k}spire Me #168! I love matching up challenges! This was such a tasty color combo, I really went straight to the cupcake sets at first. But then I just felt like playing with DSP, lol - I love going through my collection and finding fun patterns to put together, and this still came out pretty tasty! Love this stamp set and the dies - even though I had to fussy cut the little one, sigh. Still in my top ten, though! Flower Patch Stamp Set; Whisper White & Early Espresso CS; Quatrefancy Specialty (retired), Trim the Tree & Moonlight DSP Packs; Early Espresso, Hello Honey & Strawberry Slush Inks; Flower Fair Framelits; Neutrals Candy Dots in Early Espresso.
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So today I'll be doing something a little different - my own dear Jesse, our challenge Mom over at My Pumpkin Challenge, tagged me to participate in a "Creative Hop" that tells a bit of the story of my creative journey. What? No card? No design? No way! So, I'm doing the hop, but you know I have to post a card every day, so scroll down for the deets on that, too! Now, let's dive right in! What am I working on right now? Well, I have to say, I do a little bit every day - cards, sketch challenges, decor items, class projects, Pumpkin kits - I try to challenge myself to post a new offering on the blog EVERY SINGLE DAY. I really strive to treat it like a discipline, and see what that kind of sustained energy can do for my business and my creativity. As time goes on, it has gotten SO much easier, and SO rewarding! It was actually stressful for me to take a week off for a trip recently, lol. I'm also working hard at stocking up fun holiday items for the upcoming Mountainview Presbyterian Holiday Sale & Mission Marketplace - an annual craft show I participate in. I tend to have Christmas on the brain year-round! How does my work differ from others in my genre? Hm, this is a tough one. There are so many creative people out there that I follow, and admire! I try to use that inspiration to challenge myself, and especially to add those special little extras that really take a creation over the top. And of course, I have never met a shape or image that I'm not all too happy to fussy-cut, lol. A little extra dimension is my go-to trait! I also LOVE to color in line-drawing type images... Why do I create what I do? Well, I truly believe that having the gift of creativity to use and share with others is God's gift (and sometimes challenge!) to me. To not go that distance is to not respect that gift. His creation is so beautiful! Color, shape, movement, form - my work is just one giant celebration of that. I truly want to inspire everyone around me to tap that inner spark as well, and to have confidence in their own gifts and creativity. EVERYTHING is possible - He says so! And we are called always to respond to Him, if we can just get out of our own way... "Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in Heaven!" I hope I continue to do that, however He inspires me... How does my creative process work? If you follow my blog at all, you know that I am a sketch challenge junkie! These days I've settled on 8 or so that I try to hit regularly, and I switch out some after a while, to give new endeavors my support... I find sketch and color challenge blogs to be a terrific tool to get started. I always want to turn something about the sketch on its head: how can I change out the shapes in a funny or unexpected way? How can I add texture, color, dimension? Shall I switch it up and make the sentiment the focus? For all I'm a total color addict, I most often start with shapes, and look for what could fit in the spaces provided, then add the other elements. But you know, like the pirate says, they're really more like GUIDELINES, lol... Oh - and when in doubt, pull out the chickens! Tag - you're it! Now it’s my turn to tag someone for the Creative Hop! These creative ladies will be posting their responses next Monday but in the meantime, please go check out their beautiful work! I'm so delighted that Brenda Quintana will be joining this hop, make sure you check out her creative adventures at Qbee's Quest (if you haven't already!) and check back in with her on Monday, October 20! Kathya Hidalgo has also accepted her tag - make sure to visit this crafty chica at Stamp With Kathya for her beautiful creations, too! You may know her from her design team work for Sunday Stamps and Nacho Average Challenge - woot! Best of Cluck & Chicken Wire Stamp Sets (retired); Whisper White, Crushed Curry & Cherry Cobbler CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight; Cherry Cobbler, Calypso Coral, Old Olive & Pumpkin Pie Blendabilities; Color Lifter Marker; White Gel Pen; Decorative Dots Embossing Folder. Oo, fun times! In honor of World Card Making Day, Retro Sketches #135 is challenging us to an "anything goes!" I decided to check out their archives and go all the way back to their very first sketch - what a cutie! So, it's a bit overcast and cooling today here in AZ, finally, which weirdly, means it's gardening time! I just finished my direct-sow items this morning, I've had my seedlings started a couple weeks, and fresh Spring colors are on my mind! That's the inspiration for this card - getting the garden going makes me happy! And has anyone else noticed how obsessed I seem to be with dots lately?? Well, they're happy, too! Yippee-Skippee! Stamp Set; Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Pistachio Pudding & Garden Green CS; Calypso Coral & Garden Green Inks; Gold Soiree Specialty DSP; Decorative Dots Embossing Folder; Gold Basic Metal Button; White Baker's Twine. Always room for a "sweet saying" with this week's Nacho Average Challenge #109! (Insert snicker here, lol...) So, I started out by looking around for what I could use to address the vertical and horizontal elements of the sketch along the lower left corner of the sketch. I'll be honest, I was first thinking ribbon or twine. Then, I thought, hey, what about barbed wire?! Because of course, I just got my new set, Yee-Haw! How could I NOT have this set, living in Arizona?? Yes, yes, I totally got it for the phrase "Rootin' Tootin'" and yes, I have once again started out by NOT using the stamp that first caught my eye, but have patience my pretties, I'll get there! I did put a horse-shoe on the inside, at least... Yee-Haw Stamp Set; Early Espresso, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake & Whisper White CS; Early Espresso, Basic Gray, Pear Pizzazz & Crushed Curry Inks. Hey, hey! The stars are out at Freshly Made Sketch #154! I love sketches like this - where I can just play with pieces, mix and match colors, textures - they always come out SO different from each other - so exciting! For my card, I felt like I should pay homage to the first cup of coffee I've had since the beginning of summer, and pull out Perfect Blend to play. This sentiment really makes me laugh, because on Saturday after my Grande Mocha (thanks, Brenda!) I was revving on ALL cylinders for the whole rest of the day! Lol, just ask my family... Perfect Blend Stamp Set; Park Lane DSP; Whisper White, Blackberry Bliss & Calypso Coral CS; Basic Black & Old Olive Inks; 1/4" Grosgrain in Old Olive; Brights Button in Old Olive; White Baker's Twine; Corner Rounder Punch. Pumpkin Club September 27! Did you get your September Pumpkin kit yet? Spooky! (Just a note, SU! tells me they're running a little late - DON'T PANIC! They'll be here JUST in time! Watch the video to see what's coming!) I hope you can join us for our next Pumpkin Club, Saturday, September 27, 3 pm, chez Heroldt - RSVP to let me know you are coming! Club is free for my subscribers, and includes any extra supplies you might need, drinks and snacks! Let's take this Pumpkin out to play! You're going to LOVE our projects! Remember to subscribe here if you haven't already - sign up by October 10 and you can join us in time for next month! Now here's a combo that doesn't happen for me too often: Nacho Average Challenge #106 and Clean & Simple #306! This sketch and color scheme gave me a chance to try something I've been wanting to do for a while. The possibilities in the What's Your Type? stamp set intrigue me SO much - what kind of home-made DSPs can I make? What kinds of abstract backgrounds? How random can I go? Will it hang together? What will happen to colors doubled over each other? These were the thoughts I had while playing with this scrap of Whisper White today. In the end, I trimmed it down, ran a thinlet sentiment over it, and mounted it on the Coastal Cabana to give it some pop... It's been an interesting, if abstract, experiment today - I want to keep working on this! Off to watch some Buck Rogers instead, lol... What's Your Type? Stamp Set; Coastal Cabana & Whisper White CS; Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe & Daffodil Delight Inks; Large Polka Dots Embossing Folder; Label Card Thinlets; Linen Thread. Blendabilities Class Sep 18 or Sep 20! I'm so excited to announce this class - it's kind of a new style for me! The goal of this class is to PUT THESE MARKERS IN YOUR HANDS, for some serious play-time! I want you to see how easy they are to use, and how many different ways you can use them, to add some color ZING to your projects! Class will include 4 complete projects featuring Blendas, with as much prep as I can do for you, so you have all kinds of time to color away! We'll be exploring several fun techniques and embellishment ideas. As an added bonus, included in this class is your own Blendability Color Lifter to keep! You know you want it! So, class is announced for Thursday, September 18, 6:30 pm, or Saturday, September 20, 4 pm. Class is $20 and will have the usual drinks and snacks on hand! RSVP now! Big Blog Happenings over at Nacho Average Challenge #100 this week - the Big 100! Woo Hoo! Congrats, ladies, on keeping us all well-fed on Nachos for a whole 100 challenges - awesome achievement! Since we got to pick any challenge we wanted, I went back to before I started playing regularly, and selected NAC #43 - love the banner shape, always! Putting together the stamps I knew I wanted to use on this card, I was having a bit of trouble picking colors (I know, weird, right?) so I decided to go with all of them, lol... When in doubt, go for the rainbow! Be the Star & Perfect Pennants Stamp Sets; Real Red, Basic Black & Whisper White CS; Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pacific Point & Rich Razzleberry Inks; Stars & Banners Framelits; Large Polka Dots Embossing Folder; Basic Jewel Rhinestones. If you're anything like me, you absolutely love when BIG opportunities come your way. And because we all know the Big Shot is a big deal, Stampin' Up! thought they'd offer you something you couldn't miss; an exclusive Big Shot opportunity that lasts for the entire month of August! I want to put a Big Shot into the hands of every customer before the holiday catalog - full of sweet Big Shot accessories! That's why with every purchase of a Big Shot in August, you will receive one of five free stamp set/framelits bundles, your choice! Not only that, but if you already own a Big Shot, you can still purchase these designated bundles at an amazing 15% off! This is one deal you won't want to miss - only available from August 1-31- as these bundles are one-time only exclusives. Click the picture to see the full flyer, and check out the awesome bundles! I'm so excited to share what I created for this week's Freshly Made Sketch #146! I have NO idea what sent me in this direction, but looking at the finished card makes me laugh like a loon. I'm totally taking this along for hubby on our end-of-summer camping trip, lol! My idea of relaxing camping is a stack of crosswords I save for a few weeks, a fully-loaded and -charged Kindle, a comfie chair (preferably purple) and chilled adult beverages. Maybe with a straw. HIS idea of ideal camping is slogging around in the water all day with a fishing pole. Getting sunburned. And waterlogged shoes. To each their own. I think this will make a perfect afternoon welcome "home!" Simply Celebrate, Alphabet Rotary & The Great Outdoors Stamp Sets; Soft Suede & Whisper White CS; Park Lane DSP; Soft Suede, Old Olive & Blackberry Bliss Inks; Aqua Painter. It's going to be another week of color match-ups - can you tell already? Here we are with Sunday Stamps #79, paired with Retro Sketches #122! I decided the way I wanted to play with the colors was in map form - just thought they'd look extra nifty together that way! So out came my trusty Map It Out photopolymer set, which really doesn't get enough ink time, anyway... Rather than "full-fat" versions of the colors, I used aqua-painters to roughly add the dashes of color - still fairly good with staying in the lines, but sort of slap-dash applied, to give a little texture illusion. A nice gender-neutral card, too - mission accomplished! Map It Out, Greetings From, Just Sayin' & World Map Stamp Sets; Whisper White & Marina Mist CS; Basic Gray, Marina Mist & Wild Wasabi Inks; Word Bubble Framelits; 5/8" Satin Ribbon in Basic Gray; Subtles Candy Dots in Wild Wasabi. Summer School is OPEN! For the months of June and July, we're still having summer school - your chance to take any past class you want! Browse my past offerings, or describe to me something you remember us doing and then just email me which one you'd like to make up or repeat, and if you prefer day, evening or weekend. We'll schedule just for you, and work around your summer plans! No need to worry about being away for our regular class nights! Once classes are scheduled, I'll post them here, so if anyone else wants to jump in on your choice, they can! We'll be meeting for the Back To School Shadow Box Insert on Wednesday, July 9, 10 am, if you'd like to join us! RSVP today if you plan on attending! This quick project is only $8, and a great filler for your shadow box collection! Our Fall/Halloween Clothespin Wreath Class is now scheduled! We'll be getting together on Saturday July 19, 3 pm to put this cutie together! RSVP now if you'd like to join us, and remember that additional dates are available - the beauty of Summer School! $25 all supplies provided, along with yummy snacks and drinks! I love that Freshly Made Sketch #142 gives us so much room to play with! You never know WHAT could happen, lol! I decided this layout gave me a nice open space for the cute new single stamp, Hey There Buds. (Yes, folks, THAT'S where the post title came from - sheesh!) This stamp was MADE for markers - yes! While I kept the card layout to a pretty clean rendition of sketch, I decided that I wanted to add some cute extra details. This whole card basically evolved from the ribbon - you HAVE to try this new 1/4" Cotton Ribbon - it's so yummy! Hey There Buds Stamp; Calypso Coral, Whisper White & Pear Pizzazz CS; Calypso Coral Blushing Bride & Pear Pizzazz Inks; 1/4" Cotton Ribbon in Blushing Bride; Adorning Accents Edgelits; Essentials Piercing Template; Petite Curly Label & Corner Rounder Punch; Basic Jewel Pearls. Summer School is OPEN! For the months of June and July, we're still having summer school - your chance to take any past class you want! Browse my past offerings, or describe to me something you remember us doing and then just email me which one you'd like to make up or repeat, and if you prefer day, evening or weekend. We'll schedule just for you, and work around your summer plans! No need to worry about being away for our regular class nights! Once classes are scheduled, I'll post them here, so if anyone else wants to jump in on your choice, they can! Additional Summer Classes Forming!
Classes are now forming for the Rosette Wreath ($20), the Fall/Thanksgiving/Halloween Reversible Clothespin Wreath ($25), and the Back-to-School Shadow Box Insert ($8). Email me if you are interested in getting in on any of these projects! I'll post confirmed dates once they are established! |
About MeWelcome to my blog! I'm a stay-at-home wife, mom and empty-nester, who, in addition to WAY too much volunteering, loves to create, whether it's in paper, fiber or in the kitchen! I live in sunny Scottsdale, AZ. July 13, 2 pm
Summer Fun Cards July 27, 2 pm Pumpkin Club August 17, 2 pm Snow in August 2024! August 31, 2 pm Pumpkin Club September 14, 2 pm Fall Cards 2024 September 28, 2 pm Pumpkin Club Don't forget to RSVP and bring a friend for a special gift! Categories
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This content is the sole responsibility of Heather Heroldt as an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator and the use of and content of the classes, services, or products offered here, on my DBWS, or any other Internet medium is not endorsed by Stampin' Up! All Stampin' Up! images used for my projects are copyrighted to Stampin' Up!, and used with permission under their Angel Policy.
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