a crafty blog hop with ellen hutson & hero arts

Welcome to the Hero Arts & Ellen Hutson hop! We have teamed up today to share some fun cardmaking inspiration and a few prizes too!

If you are hopping with us, you should be arriving from the super gorgeous blog of Janette Kausen! (And you can see the whole hop list over on the EH blog.)

Hero Arts is celebrating their 45th anniversary, isn't that awesome?! As part of their anniversary, they have some new "from the vault" sets that include classic designs from the past that have never before been available in clear stamps. 

I fell in love with the little pup from the From The Vault Birthday and I've been having a blast playing with the set! 

The images have so much fantastic detail, I feel like they don't really need much from me so I've just been adding a tiny touch of color. 

And for this card I used one of my most favorite Hero Arts sets, the Infinity Nesting Circle Dies to create a DIY coverplate. (Seriously I'm afraid I'm going to wear these dies out, LOL!)

I stamped the images to show inside the circle and used Copic BG32 to color all around them.

Did you know that you can also use your Copics to color white pom poms to match? I used Copic RV13 to make that little pom pink.

Now before you head off to do the rest of the hop, let's talk prizes! You can win one of three $25 gift certificates to the Ellen Hutson shop! Winners will be drawn from commenters along the blog hop so make sure to comment at each stop before Friday, June 28th at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be notified by email.

Your next stop is the amazing Ilina Crouse's blog! 

Have fun and thanks for stopping by!
Carly


And P.S. there is a sale on Hero Arts this weekend at EH, just in case you feel like shopping!

supplies:

affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. thank you!

From The Vault: Birthday, Hero Arts Clear Stamps

Hero Arts Dies, Infinity Nesting Circles

Memento Ink Pad, Tuxedo Black

BG32 Aqua Mint, COPIC Sketch Marker

BG11 - Moon White, COPIC Sketch Marker

Y15 - Cadmium Yellow, COPIC Sketch Marker

R35 - Coral, COPIC Sketch Marker

RV13 - Tender Pink, COPIC Sketch Marker

Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, 25 pk

Darice Pom-Poms, 5mm White

easy distress ink watercolor with trinity spring fling florals

Watercoloring with Distress Inks is one of my very favorite cardmaking techniques and I'm sharing just a little bit more about it on the Trinity blog today!

Come on by and say hi! Hugs!
Carly

more distress ink watercolor

I'm sharing a super easy Distress Ink watercolor background over on the Honey Bee blog today! It's the perfect canvas for an adorable sentiment like this!

Come on by!
Carly

rainbow distress ink watercolor

I'm over on the Stamp Market blog today with a little rainbow watercolor and big die cut words.

Come on over and say hi!
Carly

diy candy pocket card with neat & tangled

I'm over on the Neat & Tangled blog today with a simple DIY pocket card for when you need to send more than just love, LOL!

Come on over and say hi!
Carly

3 ways to add glitter to cards

I love glitter and today I'm sharing 3 of my favorite techniques for adding glitter to handmade cards. I'm also playing with the latest Essentials by Ellen stamps & dies (you can check out that whole release HERE).

Now let's talk glitter!!!

#1. Glitter Paper
This is the easiest and cleanest way to add a little sparkle. My favorite glitter paper is Lawn Fawn Pixie Dust glitter cardstock. And it's easy to customize with a little ink blending! I recommend using dye inks and letting it dry for a bit so you don't end up with finger prints.

#2. DIY Glitter Stickers
Glitter, double-sided sheets of adhesive and die cuts come together to create really fun & sparkly stickers. After stamping & coloring an image, I use the coordinating die cut to cut the shape from double-sided adhesive. I remove one side of the liner paper and place adhesive over the image. Then I remove the top liner paper and add glitter.

#3. Glitter Paste
Ok, if you have seen my IG feed recently then you know that I'm pretty darn obsessed with glitter paste like Nuvo Moonstone Glimmer Paste. I LOVE how it looks over ink blended backgrounds! If you don't have any of the Nuvo around, you can also DIY it with Glossy Accents (or similar clear medium) and glitter. Just add enough glitter to get a thick enough texture to spread.

Here's a quick video so you can see all the sparkle in action...

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope I've encouraged you to glitter something soon!

Hugs!
Carly

supplies:

affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. thank you!

Essentials by Ellen Good Times stamps & dies
Essentials by Ellen Big City dies
Essentials by Ellen Squeeze The Day stamps & dies
Essentials by Ellen Speech Bubbles dies
Essentials by Ellen Bear Ware stamps & dies (for teeny butterfly)
Essentials by Ellen Warm Fuzzies stamps (for "you're so sweet" sentiment)
Essentials by Ellen Everyday Hero Lady stamps & dies
Essentials by Ellen Unicorns 'N Rainbows stamps & dies
Lawn Fawn Pixie Dust Cardstock
Double Sided Adhesive Sheets
Warm Diamond Glitter
Nuvo Moonstone Glimmer Paste
Glossy Accents
Palette Knife
Blending Brushes
Copic Markers V05, RV04, RV02, RV10, RV00, R14, R24, R27, YR14, YR16, YR68, BG10, BG11, BG32, B0000, B000, B01, B21, B24, B26, B28, C9, C6, C3, C1, E51, E11 & E000
Distress Oxide Inks Cracked Pistachio & Peacock Feathers
Distress Inks Wilted Violet, Picked Raspberry, Abandoned Coral, Carved Pumpkin, Mustard Seed, Twisted Citron & Mermaid Lagoon

simple masking with glimmer paste

Masking is one of my very favorite stamping techniques for creating cool card backgrounds! Today I'm sharing a little video tutorial combining simple masking with ink blending and glimmer paste for showstopping results!

The Stamp Market has a beautiful new release for June that includes this fun Tropical Vibes set. Paired with glittery greens and coral flowers, it feels like summer to me!

Here's a quick video of how this card came together!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Carly

supplies:

affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. thank you!

The Stamp Market Tropical Vibes stamps
The Stamp Market Great Big Thank You dies
VersaFine Onyx Black
Smooth Bristol
Inkadinkado Mask Paper
Distress Oxide Cracked Pistachio & Twisted Citron
Blending Brushes
Moonstone Glimmer Paste
Glossy Accents
Zig Chisel Glue Pen