Swirling Autumn Leaves

The starting point for this card was when I saw the Offset Scallop Gallop Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. I really liked the idea of using offset scallops on a card and wanted to use an autumn theme for Jenny’s "Fall into Autumn"challenge and Hero Arts’ “Everything Autumn” challenge.


Stamps (Hero Arts) Scattered Leaves, Flourish Background, Scallop Borders and Messages.

I embossed the Flourish Background in white on a piece of fabric from an upholstery fabric sample book. The leaves are clear embossed on scraps of upholstery fabric. Because the embossing is all over the leaves they didn’t fray when I cut them. Even if they did fray I wouldn’t mind because it would give that tattered autumn look. I clear embossed some pieces of card with a scallop from the Scallop Borders set and layered them. To finish I just added some gems and machine stitching.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Hero Arts' Virtual Cardmaking Party

Over the weekend Hero Arts held a Virtual Cardmaking Party in celebration of Operation Write Home’s birthday. There were lots of great challenges and fun games to take part in. Amazingly, over 600 cards were created by members of the HA Flickr group during the weekend to donate to Operation Write Home. These are the cards I made over the weekend.


Stamps (Hero Arts) Froggy, Clouds Background, Write Your Message and Flourish Background.



Stamp (Hero Arts) Birthday Messages.



Stamps (Hero Arts) Froggy & You’re the Best.



Stamps (Hero Arts) Heart Owls, Flourish Background & Branch Background.



Stamps (Hero Arts) Antique Engravings & Birthday Messages.

A big thanks to Hero Arts and everyone in the HA Flickr group for making it such a brilliant, fun weekend!



As you can see I had fun getting inky!

Shades of Autumn

This is a card I made for three challenges - Jenny's Challenge #22 - Fall into Autumn, Hero Arts' Everything Autumn Challenge and Allsorts Week 69 - Colours of Autumn.



I love Jenny's inspiration photos but now I have a yen for toffee apples - I must make some!



Stamps (Hero Arts) - Antique Engravings & Birthday Messages.

Except for the white base, everything on this card is from my scrap drawer. The butterflies are coloured with ProMarkers and I added thread for the antennae. I used the Cuttlebug distress stripes embossing folder for the top part of the card, embossed the sentiment in white and added some more scraps with machine stitching. The card was made for Hero Arts' weekend-long Virtual Cardmaking Party in celebration of Operation Write Home’s birthday. I'll include the other cards I made over the weekend in my next post.

PaperPlay Challenge – Autumn is a Comin’

Julie set the challenge on PaperPlay this week and it is to use an autumnal colour scheme on your card\project. I love all the glorious colours of autumn so I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Simon Says Stamp is kindly sponsoring this week's challenge and the lucky winner will receive $15 to spend in the store. There are so many wonderful goodies to choose from here.



Stamps used (Hero Arts) – Antique Engravings, Scattered Leaves & Flourish Background

I used distress inks (worn lipstick & spiced marmalade) for the sky and stamped the wheat using two brown chalk inks. The dragonflies are stamped on acetate and I added copper stickles to the wings for some sparkle.



I stamped the leaves with shabby shutters distress ink and an orange chalk ink. Then I raided the garden shed for the raffia and snipped some berries off a wreath I have around a candle. For a bit of sheen I covered the berries with glossy accents. I clear embossed the Flourish Background on the cream card and added machine stitching using a dull gold thread.



I’m submitting the card into the current Hero Arts challenge – Everything Autumn.

A few of my favourite things gift bag

Part of the Hero Arts' challenge this month (Everything Autumn) is to make a gift bag. Sometimes I recycle bags from shops and use them for gift bags and here is the one I used today.


I decided to add a few of my favourite things to the bag - the Large Flower, Scallop Borders and fabric. To start with I cut a piece of upholstery fabric from a sample book for the background. Then I white embossed the flowers on vellum and embossed parts of the petals using sparkling stardust embossing powder.


Stamps (Hero Arts) - Large Flower & Scallop Borders

I layered the flowers and added assorted beads and pearls to the centres. For the scallop edging on the top of the bag I white embossed one of the scallops from the Scallop Borders set and applied worn lipstick distress ink. I used some left over pieces of tulle for the handles.



It's such a cloudy day here today so I'm afraid the photos aren't great and don't capture the sparkle on the flowers.

More cards from Linda

As I've mentioned before I love being in the Hero Arts Flickr group for all the inspiration and fun. It has also been brilliant getting to know the lovely and talented ladies in the group like Linda (ScrappinBari on Flickr). Because of a comment that she left on one of my cards, we recently ended up doing a little card swap.

Linda surprised me with this absolutely adorable card which I had included in my favourites in the Flick group. The flower box with the beautiful flowers has such gorgeous dimension, colours and colouring.


Stamps (Hero Arts) - Curly Flowers & Easter Set AR176 (exclusive to Archiver's)

And who could resist this cute little bunny peeking out from the ribbon and flowers?


Linda also sent me a mini card and ATC which she had made at an Archiver's class. The mini card is 3 inches square and is such a dote! If you know me you'll know I love sewing so I've put the card on the shelf above my sewing machine so I can see it as I'm sewing away. I wish my sewing machine looked as pretty as this one!


Stamps (Hero Arts) - Sew Artsy

Unfortunately my photo doesn't capture how beautiful Linda's ATC is in real life. The distressing and stamping are wonderful and there is such a delicate sparkle off the pretty butterflies.


Stamps (Tim Holtz) - Urban Chic

Here is a link to Linda's photostream where you can see lots more of her gorgeous cards.

This is the card I sent to Linda (more details here)


Stamps used (Hero Arts):- Antique Engravings, Wild Flowers & Messages

and the ATC is below. The butterfly is embossed on a shimmery fabric using sparkly embossing powder and the background is one of the beautiful papers from a Kaiser Craft pad that Paula and Dawn sent me. Thanks again Paula and Dawn!


Stamp (Hero Arts)- Heart Winged Butterfly

Thanks again Linda for the fun swap and for all the gorgeous goodies you sent me to play with!

Butterflies, flowers and a teabag.

I keep seeing Lin creating wonderful cards like this and these for The Shabby Tea Room Challenges and keep thinking I must try the challenge. Although I love shabby chic style cards I find them very hard to make and never know if I’ve added too much or too little on my cards – maybe too much on this one! So here's is my first attempt at the challenge.

Butterflies, flowers and a teabag., originally uploaded by heather maria.

Stamps used (Hero Arts):- Antique Engravings & Silhouette Grass

The current Shabby Tea Room challenge is to use something old and something new. Since I only started making cards less than two years ago, I don’t have anything very old in my stash. So the things on the card that qualify as being old are the buttons which I’ve cut off old clothes over the years and the copper and diamond stickles which I bought when I first started making cards. The new things are the rhinestone flourishes, a technique which is new to me, the lace and a new teabag! Because of the faded flowers and the wheat in the background, I'm also submitting the card to the Everything Autumn Challenge at Hero Arts.



I just came across this brilliant video for making paper flowers and had to try it out. It’s great fun and I’ll definitely make lots of these in different colours and shapes. I made the two bigger flowers using this technique and the smaller flower is made up of two layers of Hero Arts flowers – thanks so much Vanessa and Linda for these!

I clear embossed the Silhouette Grass on a piece of silk and dyed the lace (originally white) with tea. The butterflies are stamped on paper which is cream and has green and copper swirls – thanks Paula and Dawn, I’m enjoying using the goodies you sent me. Sue (Stampersuzz) sent me these gorgeous rhinestone flourishes - thanks again Sue. I'm delighted to have used so many items on this card from blogging and non blogging (you need to start a blog Linda!) buddies in the U.S., Germany, Australia and New Zealand!



To finish I just added machine stitching, thread for the antennae, stickles and lots of buttons and beads.