The Card Grotto

8 July 2020

Hero Arts + Honey Bee Stamps Partner Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hello there and welcome as we continue to celebrate Hero Arts 45th Anniversary collaborating with wonderful companies. Today, Hero Arts is partnering with Honey Bee Stamps to bring you the wonderful You Are Amazing stamp set. The stamp set is designed by Honey Bee Stamps and work perfectly on it's own or with other sets from both Hero Arts and Honey Bee.

If you are following along in the hop, you should have arrived here from the super talented Lisa, but if you get lost along the way, I have the full list of participants below.

I started off my card by taking a panel of Hero Arts Dove White Cardstock and blending on Hero Arts Reactive Inks on top using ink blending brushes. I used Thistle, Grape Slush and Blue Hawaii.

Using a Mini MISTI, I took the sentiment from the Hero Arts + Honey Bee You Are Amazing Stamp Set and stamped it on to the panel using Hero Arts Intens-ified Black Ink. I then stamped the hearts from he set too, around the sentiment.

Keeping the card very simple, I then simply adhered the panel to an A2 white card base with foam tape and then added a few Moonstone Sequins, adhering with Hero Arts Precision Glue.

Here is a look at the set in full, as you can see, it is filled with wonderful encouraging sentiments, plus great add-on images too.

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the card. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

BLOG HOP:

Michelle Short - you are here!

Mindy Eggen

Vera

GIVEAWAY:

We have two $50 shopping sprees to give away. One to the Hero Arts store and one to Honey Bee Stamps. Winners will be drawn from the comments left across the stops in the hop. The more you comment, the more chances to win! Enter by Wednesday 15th July at 11.59pm PDT and the winners will be announced on the Hero Arts and Honey Bee blogs the following week. Good luck!

Next on the hop is the wonderful Mindy. Thanks so much for visiting me today, I hope you have a lovely day!

7 July 2020

Peek-A-Boo Kitten

Hello there, I am over on the Hero Arts Blog today, sharing a card made using the new Squares Peek-A-Boo Doors Mini Infinity Dies. These dies are so fun as the create a window on your card and you can hide messages underneath, you can create mini scenes, you can pop money or gift cards inside or even create shakers! I have kept my card simple but you can definitely get more detailed with it.

For my card, I created a focal point of the door by adding ink blending on the front using Blue Hawaii Reactive Ink. I then stamped and coloured a kitten from the Kittens In Kimonos set and popped that on with foam tape. The sentiment strip (sentiment from the Hello Stamp & Cut) acts as a little handle to lift the door open to reveal the message inside.

For this, I stamped the sentiment from the Tranquillity set and another of the kittens popping it's head out from inside the door. The panel with the door was then added on top with foam tape.

SUPPLIES:

For more information on how I made the card, please head over to the Hero Arts blog post. Thanks so much for stopping by today, I very much appreciate it. I hope you have a lovely day!

6 July 2020

Happy Days

Hello there, today I have a card to share with you using the new Scene It Around and All Four Seasons Hippos sets from Clearly Besotted. I shared this card in my release preview, so I apologise if you are seeing it twice but I did not use it as part of the countdown, so wanted to share it today.

I started off my card by stamping two of the hippos from the Clearly Besotted All Four Seasons Hippos Stamp Set on to white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I made masks for them from mask paper, cut them out and placed them on top of the images. I then stamped the summer image from the Clearly Besotted Scene It Around Stamp Set on top and then removed the masks.

The scene was coloured using Copic Markers (the colours that I used are listed below the supplies area for reference) and then die cut the image out using a Hero Arts Nesting Circle Infinity Die. I took a white A2 card base and embossed the next largest of the circle dies on to the front, using my die cutting machine. The image piece was then added on top with foam tape.

I took the sentiment from the Clearly Besotted Anteater Antics Stamp Set and stamped it on to black cardstock with Versamark Ink. I applied white embossing powder and heat set. It was cut in to a strip and added to the card with more foam tape. To finish off, I added black glaze pen to the hippos eyes and white gel pen highlights to the image.

SUPPLIES:

COPIC MARKERS: Hippos - W7, W5, W3, W1. Umbrella/parasol - E57, E55, E53, YR18, YR16, YR15, YR12, R85, R83, R81, V17, V15, V12. Sea - B18, B16, B14, B12. Sky - B02, B01, B00, B000. Mountains - G46, G43, G40, G20. Sun - Y17, Y15, Y13, Y11. Sand - E44, E43, E42, E41.

Don't they look like they have having fun at the beach? and for the rest of us that are still social distancing and staying at home, happy days are ahead! :) Thanks so much for stopping by today, I hope you have a lovely day! Take care.

5 July 2020

VIDEO | Card Making Haul - June 2020

Hello there, I am popping in briefly this afternoon to share the rest of the products that I purchased in June 2020. For the most part, I do not use the products that I purchase before I share them in videos, so I wanted to share these few bits with you now, so that I can start using them!

Since I shared some items that I already purchased in June in my last haul video, there isn't much in this one but of course, I had to grab the new Distress colour! Plus some items that I custom ordered from Ruth's Reusables. Here is a look at what I purchased:

If you are viewing this post via email subscription, you can watch the video HERE on YouTube.

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have shared in the video. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Thanks so much for popping by today, I hope you are having a lovely weekend. Take care :)

3 July 2020

Spellbinders Small Die of the Month Club Kit | Thanks A Bunch

Hello there, today I have a card to share with you using the Spellbinders July 2020 Small Die of the Month Club Kit. This month it is the Ornamental Floral Card Creator and consists of beautiful floral clusters, individual flowers, as well as a beautiful ornate frame. I decided to use one of the floral clusters on my card today.

I started off by taking a panel of watercolour paper and adding clean water to it. I then dropped in dots of Jane Davenport Mermaid Markers and let them disperse in the water. I used Starfish for the floral areas and Siren and Sea Weed for the leaf areas. I set it aside to dry and then splattered on a little FSJ Sparkle Silk (sadly, you cannot see it in the photo but it looks like little splatters of iridescent shimmer).

Once the panel was dry, I scored lines around the edges of the panel and adhered it to an A2 white card base with tape runner. I took the floral cluster die from the Spellbinders July 2020 Small Die of the Month Kit and die cut it three times from white cardstock that has Stick It adhesive sheet on the back. They were then adhered one on top of another.

The cluster was then added to the card and pressed down to adhere it. I took the sentiment from the Spellbinders Everyday Sentiments II Glimmer Hot Foil Plates and foiled it on to black cardstock with Spellbinders Silver Glimmer Foil Roll. It was then cut in to two strips and added to the card with foam tape. To finish off, I added a few Moonstone Sequins.

SUPPLIES:

I hope you will check out the Spellbinders Small Die of the Month Kit. It is a monthly subscription where you receive the kit each month. If you do become a member, you will also receive other Spellbinder benefits too. For more information, please see here. You can also purchase previous kits separately but the price is increased for those. You can see them here. Thanks so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a lovely day!

1 July 2020

VIDEO | Clearly Besotted July 2020 Release Preview

Hello there and happy Clearly Besotted July 2020 release day! There are six new stamp set releasing today - two wonderful landscape/scene sets and four cute critter sets. You can purchase them separately or as a bundle (with free gifts).

The sets release tonight at 8pm BST in the Clearly Besotted Shop and over at Simon Says Stamp. Here is a look at all of the sets, plus a recap of my projects:

If you are viewing this blog post via email subscription, you can watch the video HERE on YouTube.

SUPPLIES:

For more inspiration using the new sets, please head over to the Clearly Besotted Blog, as well as Keren and Lisa. Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, I really do appreciate it. Happy shopping and I hope that you have a wonderful day!

30 June 2020

Hero Arts + Ink Blot Shop Partner Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

*This is my second post of the day, please see below for my Clearly Besotted Teaser*

Hello there and welcome as we continue to celebrate Hero Arts 45th Anniversary collaborating with fabulous companies. Today, Hero Arts is partnering with Ink Blot Shop to bring you the wonderful Please Deliver stamp set. The set is designed by Ink Blot Shop but works with lots of Hero Arts sets too. It has been designed to use with envelopes, but as you can see by my card, it works perfectly for cards and other projects too!

If you are following along in the hop, you should have arrived from the amazing Libby, but if you get lost along the way, I have the full list of participants below.

I started off my card by stamping the set of envelope stamps from the Hero Arts + Ink Blot Shop Please Deliver Stamp Set on to white cardstock with Hero Arts Intens-ified Black Ink. I then coloured the envelopes with Copic Markers (the colours that I used are listed below the supplies) and then fussy cut out with scissors.

I took a panel of watercolour paper (3.25" x 8.25") and using a paintbrush and water, messily added on Hero Arts Liquid Watercolours in the same order that I coloured the envelopes. I used Pink, Orange, Dandelion, Leaf, Deep Ocean and Purple. It was set aside to dry before adhering to a 3.5" x 8.5" slimline card base, made from Hero Arts Pitch Black Cardstock, with foam tape. I took the envelope image and added it on top using thin foam tape.

I then took the sentiments from the Hero Arts Blessings Stamp & Cut set and stamped them on to more Pitch Black cardstock with Hero Arts Clear Embossing & Watermark Ink. I applied Hero Arts Detail White Embossing Powder and heat set. They were cut in to strips and added to the card with more foam tape. To finish off, I added Hero Arts Crystal Clear Lacquer Pen to the hearts on the envelopes.

Here is a look at the set in full, as you can see there are lots of images that would perfectly for cards and envelopes especially, but also for tags too. Plus lots of smaller images as well.

SUPPLIES:

COPIC MARKERS: Pink - RV66, RV55, RV52. Orange - YR18, YR16, YR15, YR12. Yellow - Y17, Y15, Y13, Y11. Green - YG17, YG23, YG01. Blue - B04, B01, B00, B000. Purple - V28, V25, V15, V12.

BLOG HOP:

Here is the full list of participants taking part in the hop today:

Hero Arts

Tifany DeGough / Ink Blot Shop

Michelle Short - you are here!

GIVEAWAY:

There are two $50 shopping sprees up for grabs today. One to the Hero Arts store and another over at the Ink Blot Shop store. Winners will be drawn from the comments left across the stops in the hop. The more you comment, the more chances there are to win! Enter by Sunday 5th July at 11.59pm PDT and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week. Good luck!

I am the last stop in the hop but please head over to the Hero Arts Blog to start at the beginning. Thanks so much for visiting me today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful rest of the day!

Clearly Besotted Teasers | Hippo Christmas

Hello there and welcome to day four of the Clearly Besotted July 2020 Teasers. Only one more sleep till the new stamps hit the shops tomorrow! For my project today, I am using two new sets - All Four Seasons Hippos and Scene It Around II. These teeny tiny hippos are just the cutest ever!

I started off by taking the hippo with the Christmas hat on from the Clearly Besotted All Four Seasons Hippos Stamp Set on to white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I then made a mask for him and stamped the winter image from the Clearly Besotted Scene It Around II Stamp Set on top. I removed the mask and then coloured the image using Copic Markers (the colours that I used are listed below the supplies area).

The image was then cut out using a Hero Arts Nesting Circles Infinity Die. Using a size bigger, I then used the die set to cut two pieces of Hero Arts Nautical Cardstock for the card base. I scored one piece towards the top to make a hinge and then cut a small sliver off the bottom so that the card would stand up nicely. This piece was adhered to the other circle to make the card base. The image panel was adhered to the front with foam tape.

I then cut a further circle from white cardstock and cut the top and bottom off so that it fitted inside the card. I took the sentiment from the Clearly Besotted Saying Stuff Stamp Set and stamped it using Memento Paris Dusk Ink. The piece was then adhered inside the card with tape runner. To finish off, I added white gel pen dots to the image for snow.

SUPPLIES:

COPIC MARKERS: Trees- G29, G46, G43, E59, E57, E55. Sky - B39, B29, B26, B24. Moon - Y00, Y000. Buildings - C7, C5, C3, C1. Snow/ground - BG01, BG000. Hippo - W7, W5, W3, W1. Hat - R89, R37, R24, C3, C1.

I may go back in and add some glitter to the hippo's hat! These Scene It Around sets are wonderful! They can be used on their own or with cute critters to create wonderful scenes. For more inspiration using the new sets, please head over to the Clearly Besotted Blog, as well as Keren and Lisa.

There is one set that I didn't use during my teasers but I will be sharing that in my release video tomorrow, as well as a sneak peek of a card that I will share at a later date. Thanks so much for stopping by today, see you later for the Hero Arts Blog Hop. Have a lovely day!

29 June 2020

Hero Arts Summer 2020 Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

*This is my second post of the day, please see below for my Clearly Besotted teaser*

Hello there and welcome as we celebrate the summer 2020 release from Hero Arts. It is a smaller release this year but no less exciting! For my cards today, I am using the new Vineyard HeroScape, as well as the new Grapevine Window Fancy Die. If you are following along in the hop, you should have arrived here from Lydia, but if you get lost along the way, I have the full list of participants below.

My first card uses the new Hero Arts Grapevine Window Fancy Die. I really love these dies from Hero Arts, you can create scenes inside the frames, or like I have, create a fun background. I started off by taking a panel of watercolour paper and blending Hero Arts Reactive Inks on to it. I used Grape Slush, Berry Smoothie and Creamsicle.

I then took out my trusty Hero Arts White Iridescent Shimmer Spray and sprayed the piece using it. Instead of a mist, it accidently splattered over the panel but actually, I really like how it came out! Once the panel was dry, It was adhered flat to a top folding A2 card base with tape runner. I took the Hero Arts Grapevine Window Fancy Die and cut this three times from Hero Arts Pitch Black Cardstock.

They were then adhered on to the card, one on top of another (for dimension), using Hero Arts Precision Glue. I took the sentiment from the Hero Arts Vineyard HeroScape Stamp Set and stamped it on to more black cardstock with Hero Arts Clear Embossing & Watermark Ink. I applied white embossing powder and heat set. It was cut in to a strip and added to the card with foam tape. To finish off, I added a few Raindrops around the sentiment.

My next card uses the Hero Arts Vineyard HeroScape Stamp Set which is a stamp layering set that creates a vineyard scene/landscape. I took a panel of white cardstock and first stamped the most solid layer at the bottom. I used Hero Arts Green Hills Mid-Tone Shadow Ink for this. I then stamped the next layer using Hero Arts Lime Green Mid-Tone Shadow Ink. Usually with these sets, you would then stamp the next most solid layer but I found I got better results when I then stamped the fourth layer next, which is the grapes. For this I used Hero Arts Grape Slush Mid-Tone Shadow Ink.

I stamped this layer off a few times on to scrap paper so that the colour wasn't as intense. For the final layer, I stamped what is usually layer three, using Hero Arts Fresh Lawn Mid-Tone Shadow Ink. I then stamped the little house, tree and sentiment using Hero Arts Intense Black Ink. The clouds were stamped using Hero Arts Soft Sky Shadow Ink. The panel was then simply adhered to a top folding A2 card base with foam tape.

SUPPLIES:

BLOG HOP:

Here is the full list of participants taking part in the hop today:

Michelle Short - you are here!

GIVEAWAY:

Hero arts Are giving away a $50 gift certificate to one lucky blog hop reader. All you need to do is leave comments on every stop on the hop and a winner will be drawn randomly. Enter by July 5th at 11.59pm PDT and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

I am the final stop in the hop but you can start at the beginning on the Hero Arts Blog here. Thanks so much for stopping by today. Happy stamping!

Clearly Besotted Teasers | Flamingo Love

Hello there and welcome to day three of the Clearly Besotted July 2020 Teasers. Not long to wait till the release now, the new sets will be available in the shop on Wednesday 1st July 2020. For my project today, I am using the super cute Summer Corners set. This set features two fabulous floral corner images with adorable flamingos nestled inside. For my tag today, I thought I would use the individual image, rather than one of the corners.

I started off by die cutting the rounded tag from the Clearly Besotted Tag Along Die Collection from white cardstock. I then cut another from the MFT Black & White Dots Paper Pad. This piece was cut down and adhered to the bottom of the white tag with tape runner. I then cut a small tin strip of black cardstock to add on top.

I took the flamingo with the hibiscus image from the Clearly Besotted Summer Corners Stamp Set and stamped it on to white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I coloured it using Copic Markers (the colours that I used are listed below the supplies area) and then fussy cut it out using scissors.

I stamped the sentiment from the set on to the tag using more black ink and then added the flamingo image on top with foam tape. To finish off, I added Spica glitter pen to the stamen (Peach) and white gel pen to the flamingo's eyes, followed by twine through the top of the tag.

SUPPLIES:

COPIC MARKERS: Flamingo - R24, R22, R21, R20. Leaf and stem - YG17, YG23, YG01. Flower - RV66, RV55, RV52, Y13, Y11.

I thought this would be cute to add the tag to a little present or gift you might be sending someone. For more inspiration using the new sets, please head over to the Clearly Besotted Blog, as well as Keren and Lisa. Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, I will be back later with a Hero Arts hop. Have a wonderful day!

28 June 2020

Clearly Besotted Teasers | Thanks A Melon

Hello there and welcome to day two of the Clearly Besotted July 2020 Teasers. For my card today, I am using the super cute Thanks A Melon set. This is such a cute set with turtles eating melon and riding on a fun splash/wave!

I started off my card by stamping the background scene from the Clearly Besotted Thanks A Melon Stamp Set (it is one stamp) on to a panel of white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I then coloured it using Copic Markers (the colours that I used are listed below the supplies area), fading the sides off to white using dots. The panel was then adhered to an A2 white card base with tape runner.

I then stamped the turtle eating the melon (there are a few in the set) on to white cardstock with black ink. I made a mask for him and stamped the rubber ring/float on top so that when I removed the mask, it looked like he was sitting on it. I thought it reminded me of a lazy river type scene and that he is floating around it, enjoying eating watermelon as he goes around!

He was then fussy cut out with scissors and added to the card with foam tape. I took the sentiment from the set and stamped it on to black cardstock with Versamark Ink. I applied white embossing powder and heat set. It was then cut in to a strips and added to the card with more foam tape. To finish off, I added white gel pen highlights to the images.

SUPPLIES:

COPIC MARKERS: Trees - E57, E55, E53, G29, YG17, YG23, YG01. Sand - E44, E43, E42, E41. Sky - B00, B000, B0000. Water - BG49, BG15, BG13, BG11, BG10. Turtle - G29, YG17, TG23, YG01, YG00. Runner ring/float - V17, V15, V12. Watermelon - G46, G43, G20, R24, R22, R21.

For more inspiration using the new sets, please head over to the Clearly Besotted Blog, as well as Keren and Lisa. Thanks so much for visiting today, I really do appreciate it. Have a wonderful and a fabulous rest f the weekend!

27 June 2020

Clearly Besotted Teasers | Treehouse Treasures

Hello there and welcome to day one of the Clearly Besotted July 2020 Teasers. Release day is Wednesday 1st July 2020 and from now until then, we are sharing teasers with you using the new sets. For my card today, I am using the super cute Treehouse Treasures set. This set consists of a tree and treehouse image, along with adorable critters to add to your scene, plus fun sentiments too.

I started off my card by creating the background. I took an A2 white card base and placed the Taylored Expressions Rectangle Masking Stencil on top, securing in place with memo tape. I then took the Clearly Besotted Cloudy Day Stencil and placed this over the top. Using a blending brush, I blended on Tim Holtz Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink. I moved the stencil down as I went to create the cloud background.

Before getting to the bottom, I placed on the Clearly Besotted Freshly Cut Stencil to mask off the grass portion. I then flipped the stencil the other way and used this to mask off the sky, whilst ink blending in the grass. I used Tim Holtz Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks. I removed all the masks/stencils and then took the sentiment from the Clearly Besotted Says It All Stamp Set and stamped it in the left hand corner with black ink.

I took the tree/treehouse image from the new Clearly Besotted Treehouse Treasures Stamp Set and stamped it on to white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I also stamped the three birds, cat and dog from the set. They were coloured using Copic Markers (the colours that I used are listed below the supplies area) and fussy cut out with scissors. The tree and dog were added to the card with foam tape and the cat and birds with tape runner. To finish off, I added Black Glaze pen to the dog and cat's eyes.

SUPPLIES:

COPIC MARKERS: Tree bark and treehouse - E59, E57, E55, E53. Tree tops - G29, YG17, YG23, YG03, YG01. Birds - B26, B16, B04, Y11. Dog - E37, E35, E33, E31. Cat - W8, W6, W5, W3, W1.

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