Category: Paper Art

Cardstock Creations, Die cutting, Fall Vibes, Paper Art, Paper Layering, Self Challenge, Spellbinders

A Spellbinder Story

Erika L Hayes
Spellbinders Non-Traditional Fall Colors

I am that girl that likes to make seasonal cards with non-traditional colors. I like traditional colors but sometimes in the middle of the red and green season, or orange, brown and read seasons I like to mix it up. That is how this card came to be. I had been working on a Christmas card and thought I wonder how these colors would play on a fall card.

I grabbed my new Spellbinders Fall Leaves and my super skinny alphabet and went to work. Gotta say, I don’t hate it. I stacked the white on white leaves to give them pop and really loved the look. I would also like to add, Spellbinders makes amazing dies. They cut beautifully and score when they are supposed to score and are the highest quality I have used in a long time!

Now for the story. At one time I worked as a concept designer at Fun Stampers Journey, and then they were owned by the same investment company and Spellbinders warehouse was right next to ours. In fact, they kind of shared a space in that when I walked to the photo/video production for something we cut through part of Spellbinders warehouse. I wasn’t a fan of the “look” of the intricate designs that seemed to be Spellbinders “look”. I would like a few things now and again, but I wouldn’t say Spellbinders was a go to company for me.

I love that not only do we change as artist, but bless those companies that keep up with trends and produce the things we really want. Spellbinders is one of those companies for me. About a year ago, I started noticing some super cute stuff coming out from Spellbinders. I started looking for the new releases at my local store (Scraps of Love). They would show me the cute samples that had been made and I kinda loved them. Soon, I found myself purchasing more and more Spellbinders and then my husband gave me a Glimmer Hot Foil System and I was HOOKED!

I have been bound by Spellbinders! I purchase often from them and look forward to the next release. They still carry some of the dies and products that kept me away from them for a long time, but now I see the artistry in those dies.

This story is more to share that just because a company didn’t appeal to you before, doesn’t mean you should count them out! You change as an artist and so do companies looking to find a place in a very competitive market. I am glad I gave Spellbinders a second chance because they have upped the game and thus making me do the same!

Just like this card, I took a new look at fall colors and found I really liked how these cool colors played with the fall leaves. I also took a new look at a company I had previously seen as “not my style” and found so many items I loved as they like me have grown and changed over the years.

Craft Blessings My Friends

Erika

Copic Markers, Day One, Die cutting, Heat Embossing, Ink Blending, Interactive Cards, MFT, MFT Summer Camp, My Favorite Things - Outside the Box, Paper Art, Prisma, Stencils

Summer Camp at MFT!

Erika L Hayes

It’s a beautiful day and I finished my first camp assignment! Shaker boxes. I am excited because I love how this assignment came out. Let’s not waste time, here is my first assignment

I made this fun “Out of the Box” and added a fun shaker on the front. I added the mermaid tail on the bottom to give a perception depth as well as the fish are secure in the shaker. I had to use two layers of foam tape so I stuck one fish between the layers and one on the top layer. The puffer fish is simply stuck down with adhesive. Also added a little kelp here and there for some fun. Of course the back drop has her friends frolocking in the waves behind her on a sunny day. I mean this is how I want to spend my birthday. How about you?!

Please leave comments and follow me on Instagram. Have a fantastic week. I am already on project two and hopefully will finish them all before the deadline!

Keep elevating your art!

Erika

Christmas, Christmas Cards, Colored Pencils, Copic Markers, Foiling, Hero Arts, Paper Art, Prisma, Spellbinders

Monday Crush – Hero Arts

Erika L Hayes
Shop Box release – Available only in stores currently

Hey, Hey, Hey! Well, I mentioned that Hero Arts in support of local stores (YAY!) has a “shop box” that is only available in said local stores. When it came in to the best LSS (Scraps Of Love) the girls let me know as I am crushing hard on most everything Hero Arts right now. I pretty much purchased everything available from the box. I went ga-ga over this amazing stamp set (Holly Berry) then I added the Spellbinders Elegant Holiday Glimmer Sentiments and the Essential Duo Lines using my Glimmer machine.

I enjoyed coloring this Holly Berry so much and love how it came out. I hope you enjoy it too! Please feel free to leave a comment below. It helps me know if I should continue this content.

UPCOMING: I have the instructions for the “Flippin’ Awesome” Lawn Fawn interactive die cut almost ready. I will add a page to my blog for the interactive die written instructions.

I hope you have a most excellent day!

Erika

have the best day ever
Christmas, Christmas Cards, Colored Pencils, Copic Markers, Doodlebug Designs, Faber-Castell Polychromos, Heat Embossing, Ink Blending, Paper Art, Prisma, Simon Says Stamps, SSS - Monthly Kit

Christmas in July?!

Erika L Hayes

In Arizona, Christmas means 67 degrees and sunny. Sure, we want to dream of Christmas all year long, especially in July and August. This weekend, I started my Christmas Cards. Night scenes are some of my favorite to create because I like the think about where the light falls from a full moon. I was playing around with a bunch of my Christmas stamps from last year. Doodlebug and Simon Says stamps came together to make a kit last year that I just loved! It landed on my desk again and I pulled some Lawn Fawn and another Simon Says Stamp kit set and this baby was born.

Believe in the magic of Christmas

I did color the craters in the moon with prisma and polychromo pencils. I added a few lights in windows to keep the eye flowing through the image. Notice they are creating a natural triangle. it really also lights up because the brightness of the moon.

Have a fantastic week. Merry July and hopefully you enjoyed the card.

My blending combo for the sky in order moving out from the center of the moon: Old Paper, Iced Spruce, Evergreen Baughs, Chipped Sapphire and Blueprint Sketch and finally a little Black Soot on the edges to give the light some pop.

Keep Creating

Erika

ACEP, Altenew LLC, Colored Pencils, Copic Markers, Embossing Paste, Faber-Castell Polychromos, Paper Art, Prisma, Stencils, Uncategorized

A Celebration of Stencils

Erika L Hayes

Stencils one of the most versatile tools in your crafting stash! They are easy to use and also are relatively inexpensive! This is one reason I love them so very much.

One issue I have when using stencils is shifting, especially the edges. It can be really annoying when you have a beautiful start to the stenciling and then it shifts. Using a bit of removable adhesive on the back of your cardstock and press it into your work surface. I found especially on this card when using the embossing paste on the edges it was particularly helpful.

I love adding texture visually with stencils and ink. Adding to the fun can be using texture pastes and glazes. I used the Altenew Embossing Paste and let me tell you, it was the best embossing paste this girl has ever used. Using texture paste can be a very messy process. When using the Altenew paste I found clean up to be very easy and it takes ink like a breeze. I will link to it here because once you use it, you can never use another!! Click here.

A few other things you can try with embossing paste is adding color to it with ink. On this card I used Altenew Half Tone stencil and simply used my ink cube (Ruby Red) added a dollop of paste and mixed it on my worksurface. The paste will soften the color a bit because in color theory if you add white to a color it will lighten the color. I would suggest if you want a brighter color that you increase the amount of ink and go brighter than you think you need.

If you find that you made a little too much? That a great thing you can do a few things, you can put it in a plastic baggie and save it. Another fun thing if you put it in a baggie is to use it like a piping bag on another project or you can grab another piece of cardstock and a stencil and make a background for future use!

One more thing I found to be helpful is to swatch your stencils. I know another swatching project. (You’re welcome) I discovered using black and grey ink to swatch my stencils was the best as it kept the stencil images the focus. I keep my swatches with my inks swatches to encourage me to use them more often.

A flip through my stencil swatches

Thanks for taking a look! Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or if you want to contact me directly, please go to the contact page!

Blessings Friends!

Erika

Altenew LLC, Challenges, Colored Pencils, Copic Markers, Faber-Castell Polychromos, Hero Arts, Ink Layering, MFT, Paper Art, Self Challenge, Techniques, Uncategorized

Koi, Oh Koi – Mix it up with multiple stamp sets

Erika L Hayes
Stamps – Hero Arts -Lotus Flower, Koi Fish – Altenew Inks – Hero Arts ,Catherine Pooler, Tim Holtz, Copic Markers and Polychoromos colored pencils; Stencil – My Favorite Things

Have you ever had a moment when you get a new stamp set that you say, “Oh, Boy, I know what I want to do with that!” I love how this card did that!

I had two stamp sets show up on the same day and I had one of those moments. I opened my happy mail and set them out on my desk so I could put them in the storage sleeves and these two stamp sets, from Hero Arts and Altenew, popped an idea into my mind and Koi, oh Koi did I love it.

I did ink over the image of the koi to give it a look of being underwater. I thought it came out great when I used the “Pool” stencil from MFT to give the water a look of motion. Simply using an ink that is slightly lighter (TH Tumbled Glass) over the new Catherine Pooler Cummerbund ink that I used with the stencil. I did put the ink over the image of the koi. (Which made me nervous– but hey, it’s only paper right.)

It’s sometimes hard to imagine mixing stamp sets and stamp sets from different companies even more so when it comes to images. I try to stretch my stamps by mixing them with not only images from within a company line but look outside the company as well. In this example, it worked great.

I encourage you to make something and combine many companies images. It is fun and a great challenge.

Blessings,

Erika

Altenew LLC, Challenges, Copic Markers, MFT, Paper Art

MFT Sketch Challenge

Erika L Hayes
MFTSC529

Beautiful new release this month with NEW colors of ink and cardstock. Most of us have heard the Pantone colors being yellow and grey and of course I love that color combination. I decorated my house with these colors a few years ago.

Sketch Challenge this week was really cute and I love how quickly this card came together in my mind. I did spend time assembling this card once I had the idea and a few things changed from my original thoughts. That is something I love about sketch challenges. Well, all challenges really. I love that they are a “launching pad” for a creative session.

This was the sketch this week:

Every week there is a sketch challenge at My Favorite Things. Click here for more information.

Remember, you can always go back and use the previous sketches or other challenges to get your mojo flowing.

Blessings my friends!

Erika

ACEP, Altenew LLC, Ink Layering, Paper Art

New Adventure with Altenew

Erika L Hayes

Hello friends!

I have great news, I am taking part in the Altenew Certified Educators Program. I am very excited to share this wonderful experience with you as I take this road of creativity!

I will be taking several classes from the program and sharing my “homework”. If you are not familiar with Altenew I really encourage you to take a look. There are so many wonderful ideas and they carry more than just card making supplies. Pop over when you have a moment. Click HERE for more information.

This is my project for my first class on layering. Did you know that in most of the packaging of the layering stamp sets by Altenew, they have a guide to ensure you get a perfect (or near perfect) image! Lining up images can be difficult even with a stamp position tool. In my class I was exposed to some amazing practices on how to ensure you will get a beautifully ink layered image. I encourage you to check out the Altenew classes on layering which you can find right HERE. (It’s a bundle and it’s FREE!)

Let me know what you think of my ink layering card.

Altenew LLC, Autumn Blessings, Colored Pencils, Embossing Folders, Faber-Castell Polychromos, Fall Vibes, Paper Art, Prisma, Sizzix, Warm Blessings

Fall Vibes, Warm Blessings and Altenew, LLC

Erika L Hayes

When I see a stamp set that I click buy without even a thought of the price, I know I need to get it. That is just what happened with this Altenew set. I got an email and opened it, and when I saw this set, I was gaga. (Did you know they give away a gift certificate in every one of the emails they send and if you are signed up to get them you have a chance at winning? GO SIGN UP NOW! Click Here scroll all the way to the bottom).

I had to have it. I ordered it and when it showed up I thought oh my it is as beautiful in person as I had hoped. I ordered the Autumn Bounty and Warm Blessings sets and with them made this card. (If you are interested in Altenew stamps please use this link . I don’t get paid for anything but that is my referral link I get points which are helpful 🙂 Thanks! )

I first thought I would color with markers but something about this image cried out for colored pencils. I also used the Sizzix 3D leaves on the kraft paper.

Prisma & Polychromo pencils used to color this image.

Enjoy the Pumpkin Spice season my friends. Peppermint season will be here soon enough!

Blessings!

Challenges, Copic Markers, MFT, Paper Art, Uncategorized

Superstar Card Contest

Erika L Hayes

Well, it has rolled around again and I am going for it in two categories. Color Virtuoso and Clean and Simple. I am excited to share my creations for the contest. I am both proud of myself and I am nervous for getting back in the game. I’m also considering looking for a Design Team to join. It has been a while but I am in my own craft room again so that makes it a little more fun. I also know that I love working under deadlines and truth be told, I kinda miss it! So why not. I always loved working on DTs.

Enough about me, I wanted to share my cards for the Superstar Card Contest. So, here they are:

Coloring Virtuoso – I spent a lot of time making sure each house was different and adding texture to the buildings. I also had to alter the puppy to make him to not be itching his ear.

For the Clean and Simple Category, I used a set that is most often used as a “fall” card. Lots of orange and reds. I went another way. I also didn’t make a “fall” card. I really enjoyed making this card and sharing it. I am very happy with the result of this one.

There you go now I wait, with a flip floppy stomach. I don’t know why it makes me so nervous other than having another person judge your work 🙂 I like them and I know that’s all that matter but there is so much talent out there, so many better than mine. What I do know is you can’t win if you don’t enter 🙂

Be blessed my friends!