I'm back......

...and I have more cards to share with you today!   For those who are Scrappers I hope you are enjoying National Scrapbooking Day.   I have quite a few emails this morning all about special challenges, prizes and fun ways to celebrate!!   Me, I'm a card gal only, so I'll look forward to World Card-making Day, which will be celebrated on October 4th this year!!

    Today over at the new a2z Scrapbooking Blog, we have started on new Linky Party which I invite you all to join.   This will be a monthly event and every month we will have a new theme.  For the month of May, our theme is "How Does Your Garden Grow", and you can enter any type of paper-crafting project that meets the theme and also includes at least one "Hero Arts" stamp.   All entries must be posted no later than May 31st to be eligible to win this month's prize!   A $25.00 Gift Certificate to the a2z Scrapbooking Supplies Store will be awarded to one lucky winner each month.  You'll find all the guidelines and more specifics over at the blog!

    To give you a little inspiration, I'm sharing two cards that I recently created, both of which would have worked out nicely for our theme, plus both were created with some of my favorite Hero Arts products.

  

Enjoy Today

   This card was created using one an older stamp/die set along with one of the newer sentiment Sets "Enjoy Today" which is due back in stock any minute.  It's already a popular set and sells out quickly.  The flower itself was created with one of the retired "Garden Stamp/Die" sets although this exact set is sold out.  We still have these in stock, but only while supplies last, so order quickly.   

    And this is another card that I shared the other day!  It was created using another very popular set "Dauber Bunch" along with a variety of Hero Art Daubers and Gemstones. 

    But, remember you do not have to limit your card/projects to garden flowers, you can also be super creative and add things from your garden, like veggies and food or even things for the home.  This set, would work great, as would this one, or even this one!   There are so many options with Hero Arts and the wonderful variety of stamps they make.

    My next couple of card were all inspired by new challenges and this first card was inspired by this week's "Cas(E) This Sketch" Challenge, which is always a favorite.  I'm sharing a copy of the inspiration sketch along with my card below.  

CTS #74

My Card

   If you've been a fan a Hero Arts as along as I have, you'll probably recognize that the stamp I used on this card is an Oldie but Goodie, and it's called "Floating Leaf Pattern".   

    I love this stamp and have used it is some many different ways.   For this card I 'masked' off most of the stamp and only inked the section that I stamped.   I then simply chose a sentiment that I could use to somewhat followed the same design and that was this "Hello" one which was designed by Kristina Werner for SSS!  I love Kristina's hand-writing and own several of the stamps and die cuts she has designed.

    My next card is a fun and new "Happy Birthday" card that I created this morning for the newest - SFYTT Challenge over at Reverse Confetti.    Below is a copy of May's new Sketch along with the card I created based on the design.   I used a variety of papers from my scrap bins, along with the a senitment and die, both from my RC collection.

Sketch for you to try - SFYTT

My Card

     And that brings me to another of my favorite challenges and that would be the newest one over at "CASology" where our cue this week is "Electric".

   From the very moment I saw the "Cue Card" I knew exactly which stamp set I would use, which just happens to be another of those that was created by Kristina as part of one of the monthly Card Kits.  This one was in the April Kit, now sold out.   You can still buy the stamp set, called "Watts Up" at the store.  I will also be sharing this card over on the SSS Wednesday Challenge Blog where this months' them is "Anything Goes"!

     I think the little light bulb is adorable and found it very easy to put this card together.  I simply colored the bulb with my Copics and then highlighted it with a clear Wink of Stella Marker which I then coated with a layer of 3d Crystal Lacquer.  I stamped on a matching sentiment form the set and added some sparkling yellow sequins and then added that to a black mat..  I finished it off by created a card base with this cute "gingham" cardstock from Amuse!

   That's it for today!!  Hope you are having a nice weekend and HOPE unlike here, you have some nice warm sunshine and spring weather.  It's overcast here and tomorrow doesn't look much better, which is a bummer, as we have some very dear family friends, who will be in town for one day only and all they want to do is go out for a nice seafood lunch.  We going to a restaurant that we've loved for years, a place I grew up going to with my parents and they will have some the best seafood you could ask for!  I'm also very happy that "Mary and Charlie" will be here, since I have not seen them for about 15 years now and that's been far too long.  They now live in Boca Raton, but I grew up with them being like my second family and we have kept in touch for all these years.  Mary is pretty much my Mom's best lifetime friend and I'm so happy they have this time together again!