Coffee Tree for A Blog Named Hero

Aloha friends and happy Saturday.

Haha, anybody else ready for a do over just to have more time?

Time flies when you're having fun! 

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving, and if you don't celebrate, I hope it was at least relaxing!

I'm over at 

A Blog Named Hero today using these supplies

InLinkz.com

Here's a little sneaky peek...

I hope you'll stop by to see the entire card...it's so fun!

Also this entire month A Blog Named Hero is giving our commenters
a chance to win 1 of 2 Hero Arts $25 Gift Certificates!!
Enter the rafflecopter over on the blog!

Mahalo!

Hearted Christmas Tree for a2z Scrapbooking

Happy Monday friends!

I'm over at

a2z Scrapbooking 

using this fun and inexpensive Hero Arts Stamp Set

Baked by Lia

I used that heart to create a sweet little Christmas tree!

Hop on over to check it out!

There's also an AWESOME sale going on, so now's the time 

to get that item you've been eyeing!

Use code NICKI15 and save an additional 15% off your purchase of $25 or more.

Keep in mind that your purchase helps auto immune communities build awareness and programs

to help those with Behcets and Celiac Disease!

Mahalo for stopping by!!

Watercolor Cornucopia

Oh yea...it's Friday!!!

I'm feverishly getting ready for a craft fair on Sunday!  

I haven't done one in a couple years, but

it keeps my mom busy and gives me an excuse to just create.

Today I have an oldie but goodie (or in my eyes a classic) Lawn Fawn image 

perfect for Thanksgiving to enter the latest

I started with some Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder and 

 the retired Lawn Fawn's Harvest Season stamped out on a die cut

Simon Says Stamp Stitched Circle.

Then I masked the image with Fineline Masking Fluid Pen

and waited for a bit before using Distress inks to create a blended background.

Then I carefully rubbed off the masking fluid and used Tombow Markers scratched onto

an acrylic block and a wet brush to watercolor the image.

Because everything was so colorful I went with a tone on tone background using

Lawn Fawn's Woodgrain Backdrop inked in Lawn Fawn Doe ink.

Check out Instagram (StampnHI) for a closeup pic!

Mahalo for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend!!

Tis the Season with Hero Arts Blog Hop

Aloha and welcome to my blog!

I'm Niki G. with A Blog Named Hero and can't wait to share
my love of Hero Arts and their latest Holiday collection with you!

Going in blog hop order you came by way of the awesomely sweet,
Lisa Stein!

I've got some cards today filled with sparkle!
I'm a huge fan of multi-colored lights to trim the tree,
 but my husband prefers white lights.
Do you have a preference? I would love to know!

In today's first card I got to trim my own tree using
Hero Arts Sparkle Borders and Hero Arts Shadow inks.
Take a look...

I simply made my own triangular mask out of typing paper and used a sponge dauber
to define the Christmas tree edge, then stamp out my string of lights (leaving the mask in place.)
  I used a sponge dauber and some Hero Arts Shadow inks to color in the bulbs
 and stickles in coordinating color for more bling!
The "pot" is from Hero Arts Merry Cactus to You
 inked in Hero Arts Sand to Chocolate Brown ombre ink.
I lined the edge of my card base with some red glitter tape,
stamped the sentiment on the card front panel and adhered with foam tape.

Here's a closeup...

and just for fun I made a "white light" tree for the hubby
with Hero Arts Silver Shadow ink.

I have one last card to share for the upcoming New Year!
Can you believe we're that close to 2016?!

For my background I used the Hero Arts Sparkle Borders
heat embossed in Hero Arts Silver Embossing powder.
The sentiment (shine brightly) is from the same set
 (to get the "in" I just masked "sh" and "e")
The numbers is from Kelly's Outline Letters.
I'm thinkin' I'll be making a few of these in different colors!

Ok that's it for me!  MAHALO for stopping by!

Next up is the super fabulous
Amy Tsuruta
have fun hopping!!

 If you happen to find a link that doesn't work, you can hop back to the Hero Arts Blog for a list of direct links to all the blogs in today's hop or check below...

Hero Arts
 Linda Trace
 Libby Hickson
Lisa Stein
that's me-----> Niki Garcia 
Amy Tsuruta
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Mateja Povse 
Suzanne Dahlberg
Michelle Lupton 
Bhavana Kesarkar 
Mariana Grigsby
Chitra Menon
Gayatri Murali
Isabel Rivera Ruiz 
Clare Prezzia

and you've finally made it til the end!

GIVEAWAY 

We stashed away THREE of the November 2015 My Monthly Hero kits to giveaway to readers of this hop. The winners will be randomly chosen from all of the blog hop comments, across all blogs, received by 11:59pm PST on Sunday, November 22nd. Check the Hero Arts blog for the announcement of the winner on Tuesday, November 24th.

InLinkz.com

Silver Snowflakes for a2z Scrapbooking

Happy Sunday friends!

Today I'm over at 

a2z Scrapbooking

for a trio of cards using the beautiful

Hero Arts Silver Ink

on my favorite Hero Arts Pool Mixed Layering Paper 

Here's a little sneak peek...

Hope to see you over at a2z Scrapbooking!

As always when making a purchase at the a2z Scrapbooking store,

don't forget to use code NICKI15 for 15% off your entire purchase!

The best part is a portion of the proceeds goes towards helping those with auto immune diseases.

As a nurse, helping others and finding funds to raise awareness is so important,

so shop, shop, shop!!!

Mahalo for stopping by,

Plaid and Stocking Mouse

Got some free time...finally...and decided to play with my watercolors and create

that fun plaid pattern that Kristina Werner did in her Holiday Card Series.

Talk about completely inspired and totally fun to do!

This is how it started out...

I was not too happy with it in the beginning but was inspired by the latest

Curtain Call Challenge

so I pushed forward!  I knew my lines were a bit uneven and of course not straight, so 

I used some vellum to mute it a bit (wink, wink).  I used the Tim Holtz Holiday Words Script

to die cut DCWV Gold Foiled Cardstock.  

I felt like it needed some cuteness and there's nothing cuter than 

the Lawn Fawn Merry Christmouse set from Simon Says Stamptember colored in copics.

and a closeup...

I wanted the stocking to look like it was hanging from the "g"

so I snipped the letter to insert the Lawn Fawn image.

So that's my card today.  I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween!

Now to go create more holiday cards!

Mahalo for stopping by!!

Warm Wishes with a2z Scrapbooking

Happy Sunday friends!

Aloha and welcome to the latest
a2z Scrapbooking
 challenge:

ONE LAYER HOLIDAY!

One layer cards are a big challenge for me, but I've found that using
a bunch of different colored inks can help create a little more dimension.
What's even better?  Hero Arts Ombre inks!
These are my absolute favorite ink pads to get shading without much effort!!

Here's what I'm talkin' about...

I used only 4 inks pads and got all those different shades!
Pretty right?!

For me one layered cards also involves masking so I did some quick and easy snipping.

Can you see my little masks?  I inked up the hats, right owl, and pot on typing paper and
partially fussy cut them since I only needed certain edges to be masked.

I began with inking up the pot in Hero Arts Lime to Forever Green.
The pot is from the Hero Arts set Merry Cactus to You.

I love the owls from the Hero Arts Friends by Lia and wanted them nestled together in the pot.
I also wanted to create a more Christmas theme so I inked up the Santa hat from the
Merry Cactus to You set, masked it, then stamped the owl using Hero Arts Light to Dark Brown ink.
Then masking the right owl, I inked up the other owl with the darker brown and stamped.
Lastly I stamped the top hat in Hero Arts Gray to Black ink as well as the sentiment.

Aren't they just so cute together in the little pot?!
Now normally I would mount the card panel on to some colored cardstock,
but since this is a one layered card I decided to use the stripes from
Hero Arts Kelly's Outline Letters.  I first drew a pencil mark to create margins on each side
to use as a guide for where I would stamp.  Then took that stripe patter and inked
in each ombre shade of the Hero Arts Light Ruby to Red Royal ink and the Lime to Forever Green.
This took a bit of time, but I thought tied in nicely with my little cozy scene.

Hope you enjoyed my one layer card!
Can't wait to see what you create!!
Come join us HERE for your chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the store!

Need some retail therapy?  Stop by a2z Scrapbooking  and use code
NICKI15 for a 15% discount on your entire order!
The best part is a portion of the proceeds goes towards
helping the Behcet's and Celiac Disease Communities.

Mahalo for stopping by!