a card a day in may - 5/31: TRULY GRATEFUL

Hi, friends! It's time for my last ACADIM post. Can you believe it... 31 days of cards? from ME?! I have to admit, I'm a little surprised I did it! And a little proud of myself, too. :)


I know this card is a little busy for my style, but as cards often do, it just took on a life of its own. The Hero Arts Leaf and Floral background was inked up with Distress inks and then spritzed with a Perfect Pearl/H2O mixture for some shimmer. I'm sorry it doesn't show up in the photo, but it's so pretty in real life. :) The sentiment panel looked a little stark, so I sponged some Distress ink on it to soften it up a bit.

I can't thank you enough for supporting me through this journey! Even though when I started out I had every intention of giving it 100%, I still wasn't sure I would make it all the way through to the end of the month. Sometimes life gets in the way and ends up altering our best laid plans, KWIM? ;) But thanks to your wonderful comments and encouragement, I did it! So this card is for you... THANK YOU, so very much. Big hugs to each of you! ♥

See you soon...

SUPPLIES
paper: Hero Arts (pool), unknown olive, black, and white
stamps: Hero Arts CG405 and CL569
inks: Ranger Distress (broken china and crushed olive) and Memories (black)
other: Fiskars scalloped border punch, Nestabilities (labels 4), Hero Arts gemstones, and pop dots

a card a day in may - 5/30: MISSING YOU

Hello, friends! I'm back with my second-to-last ACADIM post. :)


I've had this Memory Box Leafy Branch Globe stamp on my desk for a long time. I knew what I was going to do with it, but just kept putting it off, ya know? ;) Finally got around to it today. Just some light sponging with some Soft Pool shadow ink, stamp the image, color with colored pencils, and cut out. I love this Memory Box bird die, too... really sweet. He seemed a little lonely perched up on that branch, so I went with a "missing you" sentiment (a REALLY old one from Stampin' Up). I discovered that I don't have a lot of "miss/missing you" sentiments. Good thing this one was nice and small, it seemed to fit with the delicacy of the branch image and bird.

Tomorrow's the last day. :) See you then! Thanks for reading. ♥

SUPPLIES
paper: Georgia Pacific
stamps: Memory Box E1850 and Stampin' Up (set unknown)
inks: Hero Arts (soft pool shadow) and Stampin' Up (choco chip)
other: Prismacolor pencils, sponges, and pop dots

a card a day in may - 5/29: SUPER FUN BIRTHDAY

Hi, peeps! Time for today's ACADIM! :)


I wanted to go outside my comfort zone a little with this card... a different color combo. I think it's pretty, very subdued. And it came together very quickly... gotta love that! The flower is from Prima and I've been hoarding forever. It's so gorgeous! I think it goes great with the rest of the card and gives it just enough "lift" so the card isn't so flat. What do you think?

Only two more posts to go... kinda having mixed feeling about it! On one hand, it will be nice to take a break (I really do need it)! On the other, it has pretty much become a habit and will feel odd not posting every day. I'm sure I will do it again at some point... I think it's been good for me. I'm glad I've stuck it out, no matter what. ;) Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for reading. ♥

SUPPLIESpaper: Hero Arts mixed layering papers (earth) cranberry shade unknown - scrap
stamps: Hero Arts S5507, CL510, and CL578
inks: Hero Arts (Cup o' Joe) and Ranger (Barn Door)
other: Prima flower

a card a day in may - 5/28: I'M SORRY

Hi, friends! Time for another ACADIM post, once again. :)


I know this design is very similar to the last card I made.. it seems that sometimes when I'm make a lot of cards all at once, designs tend to cross over from one card to the next, slowly morphing and eventually changing. Does that ever happen to you? Plus, I have a bunch of other projects I'm working on at the moment that I just can't show yet and because of that, I think my creative mojo is about tapped out for now. Anyway, super simple one here, I just used that Impress Leafy Stem again and a little generation stamping with some Stampin' Up inks. Not sure how I feel about this one yet... I like it, but sometimes I think there's something missing..... ??

Alrighty, thanks for checkin' in today! Only a few more days to go, can you believe it?! See you tomorrow!

SUPPLIES
papers: GP (white) and SU" (celery)
stamps: Impress 5169E and Hero Arts CL342
inks: Stampin' Up (celery and choco chip)
other: Hero Arts pearls

a card a day in may - 5/27: THANKS

Hello again! Time for another ACADIM post. :)


Just a quick one, this time with a little embossing from a PTI impression plate, and one of the gorgeous images from the Hero Arts Untitled Word Shadow set. I love this set, along with Untitled Love... I don't know, I guess I have a thing for reverse images and bold geometric shapes. ;) Here, I stamped the image with VersaFine, which is excellent when it comes to detailed images like these. I still had the black pearls on my desk from yesterday, so those made it onto the card as well.

Thank you for reading, and as always, thank you for your amazing comments. They are appreciated more than you know! See you tomorrow!

SUPPLIES
paper: GP (white), JoAnn's (black), and PTI (kraft)
stamps: Hero Arts AC005
inks: VersaFine (black)
other: PTI Woodgrain impression plate, Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Circles dies, Hero Arts black pearls

a card a day in may - 5/26: BEST WISHES

Hiya, peeps! How's your weekend going so far? Mine is abnormally busy... and that's sayin' somethin'! LOL So let's get to the ACADIM post, shall we? :)


I really wasn't sure about posting this one today, seeing as how I have made several black and red cards lately... but it's what I could get the best photo of at the moment. I used a great dotted border stamp from Mint Motif called 'Beyond Borders', and it is just the coolest, muti-purpose set! I've never used Mint Motif stamps before, but they're excellent quality, and designed by my super sweet friend, Kimberly Crawford. :) Can't wait to use them more!

Here, I just did some generation stamping again with Hero's chalk ink (in 'Punch')... it seems to give the best second - and even third! - impressions (the third impression on this card is kinda difficult to see in the photo, but you can definitely see it IRL).

Anyhoo, thanks again for stopping by tonight! See you tomorrow with another card. :)

SUPPLIES
paper: Hero Arts mixed layering papers (Blush), JoAnn's (black), and GP (white)
stamps: Mint Motif (Beyond Borders) and Hero Arts CG277
inks: Memories (black) and Hero Arts chalk ink (Punch)
other: Hero Arts black pearls and pop dots

a card a day in may - 5/25: I APPRECIATE YOU

Hi, friends! This has gotta be quick, as I've only got about 15 minutes to type this up.. so please excuse typos, and I will come back and correct them! LOL It's been one mishap after another in the craft cave tonight... quite comical, actually. But, I finally have my ACADIM post:


This card is completely inspired by my super talented, fellow design team member, Tina Basa. I absolutely LOVED her card seen HERE, and knew I had to CASE it one day! I wish I would've had enough time to do her card at least a little justice, but after all is said and done, this is what I have for now. :) Another gorgeous Impress image (that I just have SO many ideas for) called 'Climbing Blooms', which was simply stamped in Hero's Bubble Gum mid-tone shadow ink. That button is actually a clear Hero Arts button, and a last minute crafty experiment: stamped and heat embossed, then painted on the back with acrylic paint. Hmm... perhaps a video tutorial on that would be a good idea...! ;)

Thanks for peekin'! Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully a little earlier. LOL I don't know what it is with me lately... :)

SUPPLIES
paper: Hero Arts note card (pink), Georgia Pacific (white), and JoAnn's (black)
stamps: Impress 'Climbing Blooms', Hero Arts CL272, and Stampin' Up (argyle)
inks: Hero Arts (Bubble Gum), Memories (black), and Colorbox (black pigment)
other: Hero Arts clear button, black EP, Stampin' Up ribbon, and glue dots

a card a day in may - 5/24: YOU'RE SO SPECIAL

Hiya, friends! Time for another ACADIM post. Remember the last card I used this fabulous Impress image on? This one HERE? Well, to get that lighter impression, I had to stamp off on scratch paper first. And I saved those impressions to use on another card later. ;) Guess what.. it's "later"! LOL


Another technique I knew I wanted to do with this image is fussy cut different parts of the image, and layer with foam tape (click to see larger/dimension). LOVE how it turned out! And I got so much positive feedback from the last black card I made, I decided to make another one. What do you think? :)

Well, exactly one week left of my ACADIM series... hard to believe! Sometimes I feel like it's been forever, and other times I feel like it's gone by so fast. LOL Thanks for being there along the way. ♥ See you again tomorrow!

SUPPLIES
paper: Stampin' Up (black), JoAnn's (red), and Georgia Pacific (white)
stamps: Impress #5271G and Hero Arts CL380
inks: Hero Arts (Punch) and Memories (black)
other: Hero Arts black gemstones, WRMK Corner Chomper, and pop dots/foam tape

a card a day in may 5/23: FRIEND

Hi, friends. A real quick and simple one today, as once again, it's late. It was a long, busy day, full of appointments and errands. No energy to even think... so this one was was simply inspired by scraps and ink colors still left on my desk from the last project:


I wanted to mask off the rectangle area, and lightly sponge on the Pool shadow ink to give a soft sky-like background. However, in the interest of saving time, ;) I used an old Lisa Spangler trick, and just used the back of the "Friend" dictionary image to stamp the Pool background ink on there instead. You could also use a small acrylic block, too, but the backing of the dictionary stamp I was going to use anyway was obviously the perfect size already. ;) "Lotus Leaves" was still sitting on my desk, too... that's where the flower came from.

Super duper tired tonight... having some tea, then heading to bed. Thanks for peekin'! See you again tomorrow! :)

SUPPLIES
paper: Georgia Pacific
stamps: Hero Arts CL542, CL487, and CL479
inks: Memories (black), Hero Arts Pool shadow, VersaMagic (Red Magic & Tea Leaves)

a card a day in may - 5/22: YOU BRIGHTEN MY DAY

Hi, friends! Thank you for your wonderful comments yesterday about my first post over at ABNH. :) I was super nervous!

Back again today with another ACADIM for ya! But just one card this time. ;) I loooove this new 'Flower Table Cloth' background stamp from Hero/Basic Grey... absolutely GORGEOUS! I knew right away that I wanted to clear emboss it and color it in. I tend to do that technique a lot, LOL:


First, I stamped the Hero Arts 'Thank You Definition' in the background with the Soft Sand shadow ink. Then, just clear emboss the 'Table Cloth' background over that, and go to town with the markers! I tried to do a little shading on the leaves with two different green markers.. hee! And even though I used a "thanks" sentiment on the background, I thought "you brighten my day" was perfect for a colorful card like this one. So basically it says, "Thank you for brightening my day!" :) I don't know what set that sentiment comes from, but I DO know for sure that's a Hero Arts one... so if anyone knows and would let me know, I'd appreciate it!

Thank you so much for reading! My ACADIM journey is 3/4 of the way over, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support through your thoughtful comments. It helps me keep going! See you again tomorrow. ♥

**UPDATE** I received a really nice email from Pamela informaing me that the sentiment is from the Hero Arts set 'Big Hugs', CL456. Thanks so much, Pamela! :)


SUPPLIES
paper: PTI (kraft) and Hero Arts (red & pool)
stamps: Hero Arts CG431 and CL456
ink: Hero Arts (Soft Sand) and Colorbox (White Frost)
other: white embossing power, Memento & Stampin' Up markers, and pop dots

a card a day in may - 5/21: 4 FOR THE PRICE OF 1

Howdy, peeps! I told you I'd have a special ACADIM post today, so here it is:


It's my first day blogging over at A Blog Named Hero, and I have not one, but FOUR PROJECTS for you to see! I was quite inspired by the current Dust 'Em Off challenge, and went a little nuts. LOL Just click the graphic above to be taken over to my ABNH post!

Hope you enjoy, and I'll see you again tomorrow! :)

Sorry guys... graphic link is fixed now... oops!

a card a day in may - 5/20: JUST SAYING HELLO

Hi, friends! Hope you had a lovely weekend. :) I know it's super late, AGAIN, but better late than never, right?! Weekends are just such a spontaneous time for us... I never quite know when I'll get to sit down stamp/write up a blog post. ;) Anyway, here's another ACADIM post for ya (sorry for the bad photo):


Another really simple one, but a much more cohesive look this time. :) Once again, I just put this together using some scraps that were left on my desk. I really love stamping images with Memories white dye ink these days... such a subtle look:


This was really quick to put together... and it would make a great set if you just changed out card stock colors and sentiments!

As always, thanks for looking. ♥ See you again tomorrow with a very special post! ;)

SUPPLIES
paper: Hero Arts mixed layering papers ('Floral'), Georgia Pacific (white) and JoAnn's (black)
stamps: Hero Arts/Studio Calico #331067 'Chevron' and Hero Arts CL342
inks: Memories dye (in black and white)
other: Hero Arts lavender gemstones

a card a day in may - 5/19: YOU ARE VERY SPECIAL

Hello, friends. Hope you are having a lovely weekend! I know it's late, but I finally have my ACADIM post ready to go:


It's not great... *sigh* I've been working really hard on some projects for next week and I think I just ran out of creative steam today. :/ Plus, I have a LOT of other things going on in my life at the moment, and of course I'm not sleeping well, either... blahblahblah. LOL Sorry to complain. :) It'll all level out soon. I hope! :) Anyway, I just tossed this together from a bunch of recent scraps/stamps/inks that were already out on my desk. I used the Sakura Stardust gelly roll pen on the leaves... of course the camera doesn't pick it up all that well, but it's very pretty IRL.

I just realized that there is not one pop dot or piece of foam tape ANYWHERE on this card. Huh. So apparently I CAN make a card without dimensionals! ;)

Thank you very much for peekin' in today. I think I'm going to go grab a cup of tea and call it a day. See you tomorrow, though! :)

SUPPLIES
papers: Hero Arts Layering Papers multi-pack (Foliage) and Georgia Pacific (white)
stamps: Hero Arts CL477 and CL490
ink: Hero Arts mid-tone shadow in Green Hills, and Memories black
other: Sakura Stardust gelly roll pen, WRMK Corner Chomper

a card a day in may - 5/18: CONGRATULATIONS

Hello again, stampy friends! It's FRIDAY... AGAIN. Where does it go?? I know, I keep asking that. LOL Anyway, another ACADIM post. This one is super simple, taking maybe just ten minutes to do. I'm not sure I'm sold on it... what do you think?


I think since making Jen McGuire's baby card, I've got baby cards on the brain! This particular ric-rac image (another new stamp from Impress) is AWESOME... it's 7 inches long, so it completely covers a card very easily! Not to mention that it would work great on scrapbook pages, too. I thought it might look neat stamped kinda like a plaid baby blanket, so that's what I did. The ink colors are a little softer in real life, I didn't have a lot of time to edit the photo. I'm not sure this is quite what I had pictured in my mind's eye when I started this card, but it's what came out. LOL I made a stampy boo-boo over to the left side, so I needed to cover it up with some ribbon. But, I wanted to still be able to see the ric-rac, so I used sheer ribbon. The sentiment is an OLD one from Hero Arts... like, vintage old. ;) I think it's one of the first clear sets that Hero ever put out! I wish I would've stamped it better... oh well.

Whew! That's a lot of chit-chat about a card that I'm not even sure I like! LOL

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I will see you again tomorrow! Thanks for reading. :)

SUPPLIES
paper: Georgia Pacific
stamps: Impress Ric-Rac Border 3134H and Hero Arts CL047
inks: all VersaMagic chalk inks (Aloe Vera, Pink Petunia, Aspen Mist, Thatched Straw, and Spring Pansy)
other: sheer ribbon unknown

a card a day in may - 5/17: IN MY PRAYERS

Hello, friends! Time once again for my ACADIM post. :) I've got a vivid one for you today...


I've had this Memory Box stamp for a while now, and it's been ever-so patiently waiting for me to ink it up. Being a solid, reverse-silhouette image, of course I had to do some sponging with clear embossing over the top! ;) I tried to achieve a sunset look... what do you think?

You can see another example and read a brief description of this technique HERE (second card down).

Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments. See you again tomorrow!

SUPPLIES
paper: Stampin' Up (old summer sun, I think?), Georgia Pacific (white), and JoAnn's (black mat)
stamps: Memory Box Reverse Bird & Grass, PTI (sentiment - Lovely Vases)
inks: VersaMark, Ranger Distress (Scattered Straw & Spiced Marmalade) and Vivid (Fuchsia & Plum)
other: sponges, Ranger clear embossing powder, heat tool, Memento marker (black), Hero Arts gemstones and pop dots

a card a day in may - 5/16: SO HAPPY

Happy hump-day, peeps! Middle of the week again... good grief, where is the time going?? I could use a WHOLE lot more of it these days, so if anyone else finds it, let me know! ;)

Another ACADIM card for you today! I've decided that since I'm now over the half-way point for this series (go me, YAY!), that I can start abbreviating it now. LOL Anyway, this one features that gorgeous Memory Box 'Wild Blooms' die:


This is a tricky die because the pieces that come out are so tiny! However, there are ways around getting those pieces out and glued down on to your project in all the right places (without it taking five hours LOL), but I'm going to save that trick for another post. ;) Here, I just used the negative instead... still just as much impact! I even ran it through with a few extra card stock shims so the edge of the die would emboss around the negative area, but my camera was unable to pick it up very well (perhaps clicking the photo to see it larger will make it clearer..?).

And I know some people would say that unless it's a Halloween card, black cards are a no-no, but I personally LOVE black: any time, any where. I thought this would make a very striking combo. :) And yes, there's another banner again... GAH! I think I need a 12-step program. ;)

Thanks for reading and for supporting me on this journey with your lovely comments. ♥ See you again tomorrow!

SUPPLIESpaper: Bazzill Licorice, Neenah Solar White and Desert Storm
stamps: Hero Arts CL487
ink: Memories black
other: Memory Box 'Wild Blooms' die, Hero Arts button, jute, and pop dots

a card a day in may - 5/15: SENDING SMILES

Hello again, stampers! Back with another very special card for my A Card A Day In May series. :) This one was made for the fabulous Mary Dawn. The ABNH DT decided to get together and maker her cards to encourage her and just all-around brighten her day. :)


This card was most definitely inspired by Mary Dawn! I absolutely LOVED the card she posted HERE, and went with similar colors for my card. :) It's difficult to see, but I stamped the Hero Arts Envelope Pattern on to the green panel with Memories white dye ink, which is much more subtle than using a pigment ink, and unfortunately doesn't show up well in pictures. LOL Maybe a close up?


The yellow scallops were made with an image from the Hero Arts Many Dots set, and then punched out with a circle punch. Click HERE to head on over to fellow DT member Michelle's blog to see the rest of the DT's cards for Mary Dawn... we lurrrve you, MD! :D

Thank you for checkin' in and for your sweet comments. They truly make my day! See you tomorrow with anther card!

SUPPLIES
paper: Hero Arts Mixed Layering Papers (Foliage) and Georgia Pacific (white)
stamps: Hero Arts S5507, CL519, and CL490
inks: Hero Arts (Butter Bar) and Memories dye (black and white)
other: 1" circle punch, Hero Arts black gemstones, and pop dots

a card a day in may - 5/13: THINKING OF YOU

Hi, friends! Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! I know my post is REALLY late... sorry about that. It's 11:30pm here, so I'm getting this in just under the wire! ;) The card I originally planned to show you today was for a special post that I recently learned I'm just not allowed to put up yet. So I had to hurry up and race home (we've been out & about all afternoon/evening) and get another one photographed to put up in its place. Whew! :)


This was made with another Impress image that I just LOVE! It's a huge stamp... pretty much covers the entire front of a card when left whole! Here, I used Punch chalk ink and stamped off on some scrap paper first, then on my card stock. It's that generation stamping again. ;) I wanted the flower to have the same Punch ink color, but not be so intense that the sentiment had to compete with it. Generation stamping fixes that. :) After stamping my flower, I stamped the sentiment, and then trimmed around the whole thing. A black border punch on one side balances out the heavy sentiment.

See you again tomorrow! Can you believe I'm almost at the half-way point?! I know, me either! LOL Thanks for peekin'... inky hugs!

SUPPLIES
paper: Hero Arts Mixed Layering Papers (blush), Georgia Pacific (wht), and JoAnn's (blk)
stamps: Impress Chrysanthemum Solid and Hero Arts CL491
inks: Hero Arts (punch) and Memories (blk)
other: Stampin' Up scallop border punch and pop dots

a card a day in may - 5/12: THINKING OF YOU

Happy Weekend, friends! Once again, time for my Card A Day In May post. :) I've got another really basic one here... nothing special. That's the thing with me and blogging every card I make - they're not all going to be... *ahem* favorites. ;) Sorry. My strokes of creative luck are few and far between! LOL


I remember making this one right after getting the Hero Arts/Sizzix "Floral" stamp/die combo set. I love how easy the dies are to use with the stamps! I've since made another card using this set that has a little more oomph to it, ;) and you can see that card HERE.

Thanks for reading and for your most lovely comments. They mean the world to me. ♥ See you tomorrow with a very special card! :)

SUPPLIES
paper - The Paper Studio (kraft) and Georgia Pacific (wht)
stamps - Hero Arts 'Floral' #657776 /4.4
inks - Colorbox chalk inks
other - black pen (faux stitching), Corner Chomper, Ranger Enamel Accents (flower center), and pop dots

a card a day in may - 5/11: LOVE

Hi, friends.. TGIF! :) Back again with another Card A Day In May post for you, and this time, one of my most favorite that I've made recently. I remember when I first saw the Hero Arts 'Untitled Love' cling set I HAD to have it... it was my #1 pick from the 2012 Catalog. Mostly because of this reverse butterfly "Love" image:


I knew it would go perfectly with the Heart Winged Butterfly (also from Hero), and I've been trying to come up with a design incorporating the two for a while now. I realized that I was just over thinking it a bit (can anyone relate?) and that's when the design finally came to me. What do you think? :)

I absolutely LOVE this set. :) I know I'll be reaching for it time and time again. To see other cards I've made with its images, you can go HERE and HERE.

As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read my little ol' blog. Your comments are so appreciated and I am humbled by every one of them. ♥ See you tomorrow... "Same Bat time, same Bat channel!" Heehee!

SUPPLIES
paper: Hero Arts Pool Mixed Layering Papers (pool) and Georgia Pacific (wht)
stamps: Hero Arts AC004 and F5158
inks: VersaMagic (Turquoise Gem) and Hero Arts Shadow Ink (Soft Pool)
other: Hero Arts pearls and pop dots