1 challenge...more pics

Hero Arts is soon going to release some 12" long stamps August 1st in their new winter catalogue. As a prep for these new stamps the Hero Arts blog featured a wrap around card challenge this week. Here is what I created~


The image begins on what is the tradition back of the card. This card will go in the envie facing out so the reciever understands the ongoing design of the card.






Full outside of card.






Full inside of card.





Thanks for looking!...Jan

Inspiration

Soaking in all the beauty and colors at the University of Alaska's Botanical Gardens helps one get through our long winter months. Today many artists were enjoying the beauty.

The purpose of the gardens is to conduct research on what plants can thrive in our harsh winters. Over the last several years the staff have been researching peonies to learn if they could be a viable international export crop. These beauties are blooming here right now which would make them available at times when they are not blooming in other parts of the world.

Catch-up on Posting

Here's a few cards I didn't get a chance to share-



I made some inchies for a Hero Arts challenge incorporating them into a card. I used my new Spica pens but unfortunately the photographed colors did not stay true.

Sometimes a card works out to be a lot easier than you ever expected...this was one of those happy surprises. After the initial scoring, the Ranger Ink Blending Tool made simple work of accenting the tiles in all the right places with distress ink. Three coats of UTEE added a wonderful glossy look to these tiles.











This is an ATC challenge to use the cuttlebug. Oh I had tons of fun playing with lots of ideas for this one! I used a soda can for the embossed metal image. I call the background a double-double dip for I inked the inside of the embossing folder and ran it through the CB. Inked a 2nd folder in a 2nd color and ran through again. This eliminates most of the embossed texture of the first design but leaves the inked look. I used cranberry ink with the diamond pattern for the first pass and the script with a watermelon light ink for the second. This textured background can be used for times when you don't want a distinctive design. Lots of different combinations are waiting to be tried!

Thanks goes to Tim Holtz for the inspiration for this background from a tip he shared...know if you get tired of your grungeboard pattern you can do a similar thing of passing it through the CB to create a new different texture.

Summer is here!

Yes, it reach temperatures in the low 80's F this weekend! Gosh that is warm enough to go sockless! Oh it was glorious with wonderful breezes and blue skies for as far as you can see (at least 250 miles to the Alaska Range). Yes, we do enjoy warming up for a few days each year!

The 1st lettuce is now ready to harvest from the gardens. These huge leaves fill 2 slices of bread. 1 leaf or 2 for your salad?

The flowers are now filling out nicely!

A bee enjoys the last of this season's Wild Roses.