Jennifer McGuire, ink.

Q&A and the first Card Drive prize...

Hi!  I am behind on answering questions around here.  I am so sorry.  From now on, I will try to answer your questions in the comments.  So, be sure to check there from now on. :)

Oh, and fun thing... this is my 100th post!  Wow.  Time flies.

Q: Hi Jennifer! If an item is not for sale on the Hero Arts website, do you have any suggestions on where I can find them?

A: There are many stores that have Hero Arts.  I highly recommend checking with your local stores - Hero is a big supporter of local stores. You can actually search for a store near you on the Hero Blog... it is on the bottom of the sidebar on the right.  Hero has a minimum order of 1 stamp, so stores can special order for you with no trouble.  As for chains, Archivers carries some Hero... some that are even exclusive to them.  But the other chains (Michaels, HL, etc.) only sell discontinued or older Hero stamps.  (That is one way Hero supports the local stores.)  For online, I know that 2Peas carries a lot and is starting to carry more and more.  Stampin' Treasures is another online store that I have heard fabulous things about and they carry all the Hero line!  Be sure to look THERE.  It is heaven. :) (And, if you are local, Stamp Your Art Out can order anything for you and carries a ton of it.  She is really good about getting whatever you need and places orders with Hero a lot! In fact, if you are out of town, I bet you can call her to get you stuff and she will ship it. Connie and her crew are the best.  Another store is Stampers Corner. It is in CA and the owner rocks.  I bet she could help you find product, too.)

Q: Another question from me-how do you photograph your cards? They always look great!

A: Thanks!  Well, I have this fancy light-box-photo-thing.  But currently it is on the shelf in the basement. :) Instead, i just take pictures on my table in my scraproom.  I put a piece of cardstock on the table and prop one up against the drawers behind it.  Then I put my card on it and shoot away.  I shoot in RAW and therefore can fix the white balance.  But the thing that makes the biggest difference is that I adjust the levels in PS. (You can do in Elements, too, I think.)  I go into Levels and click the little white eyedropper.  Then I click something white on my project and it magically adjusts it.  Love that trick.  :)  I am working on my PS video and will show this feature there.

Q: What kind of pencil sharpener do you use?

A: Well... it is a cheapo electric one from Staples.  It is Staples brand and bright blue and my son loves it.  (That is the reason many of my pencils are sharpened on both ends. :)  It happens to work well with my Prismacolors.

Q: How do store your stamps?

A: Ahh... I get this question a lot.  I just finished up my new clear stamp storage, which is in binders.  And I LOVE it.  Finally I found something that works for me.  I will share pictures soon.  And my wood-mounted stamps are all in cabinets on spice racks - love that system, too.  My scraproom was almost done and ready to share but then the girls summer started and KABOOM... a bomb went off. :)  They are with me a TON during the day down there.  In fact, Kay was down there form 8am until 5pm today.  Sewing, making cards, helping me organize.  Ahhh... I love it.  So, once we clean up again, I will get a video and pictures to share.

Q: Where did you get your jars? I love the size of yours & wouldn't mind getting some like that...just curious.

A: The jars that I use for buttons and flowers are from Hobby Lobby.  They are super inexpensive.  I used to have ribbon in it but decided it was too much of a mess, so I switched to THIS system for ribbons.

By the way, thanks for all the rainy day ideas.  I am bookmarking them for the future! :)

Now... check this out!

Wow!!!  This is our first prize for the Card Drive!  The super sweet Heather Ruwe from Scrapbook Bakery is donating this box of goodies.  How can you win this?  Just read the details HERE.  Basically, you get an "entry" into winning a prize for each card you send in.  There will be more prizes like this, so be sure to send in some cards for those cute kids. :)  And be sure to visit Scrapbook Bakery.  This girl is so sweet and her kits are marvelous.  Go take a lookie as a thank you for her generosity!

Off to work on my Hero blog entry for tomorrow.  Night!

The winner is...

... JanetZ!  I emailed you.  :)

I will be back today with prizes for the Card Drive, answers to questions and more.  Off to breakfast with the kiddos.  Love doing that. :)

In the meantime, you can check out Hero Arts' blog.  I am the blogger of the week, so there is a video over there today! :)

How-To Video: Raised (Glittered) Edge

Have you ever been making a card and then decide to add something... only to realize immediately that it looked better before?

This happens to me often.  I usually just leave it as is and move on to the next thing... thinking of it as a lesson learned.  I rarely redo things. Me + cardmaking = lazy. :)

Anyway, here is a video for a card that is on Hero Arts HERE.  It shows how to create a raised edge on a card.  And then I show how to mess it up by adding glitter. Hee...

As seen on heroarts.com.  For info and supplies, click HERE.

Off to go see a movie with my girlfriends.  I will post a winner for the giveaway tonight.  Have a good one...

Button and Flower Organization

Hi!

Just thought I would link you to my button and flower organization that is on the GG Team Blog on 2peas.  You can see it HERE.  (If the link doesn't work, go HERE then look on the bottom of the left sidebar and click GG Team Blog.)

Have a good Saturday!  It is rainy here - blech!  Have any rainy day ideas for a 2, 10 and 13 year old? :)

The giveaway...

...continues.  I am going to extend it through tomorrow night.  So, just leave a comment on the previous post HERE by Saturday night at 11:59pmEDT.  Good luck!

And if you are bored, you can check out an article about my CK stuff HERE.  I promise my answers will help you fall to sleep tonight immediately. :)

Kids Cards... and a giveaway...

Hello!

Thanks for the posts and many emails about the card drive.  It will be fun!  Yep, after I get all the cards, I will photograph and share the big pile here.

Kay (my 13-year-old-step-daughter-who-I-adore-and-is-my-big-helper) is going to put the prize packages together tomorrow.  She is so excited!  Hope to show pictures this weekend.

I thought I would share three cards I made for the kids.  It uses adorable little cards from Stampin' Up.  They are such fun! 

Supplies:

Hero Art stamps (animals, balloons and greetings, background) and gems

Memories Black Ink

Stampin' Up little cards

Creative Impressions silk ribbon

Other: circle punches, colored pencils and gamsol

A few people wanted to know what to write in the inside of the cards.  You don't have to write much - just say you are sending smiles or something and sign it, along with where you are from.  Or, you can get more creative.  Erin Lincoln was the first to send a card for the drive and I love the clever thing she wrote inside!  :) Erin, thank you so much.  Adore you.  Here it her fab card...

 

By the way, if you aren't a cardmaker, you can send a store-bought card.  Someone who is currently traveling emailed me and send they are sending a postcard - that is a great idea!  Really, anything goes.  And if I get a TON of cards, I will let you know and we can instead start sending cards in for our local children's hospital.

And, since you all have stuck around long enough to read this far, I have a giveaway! :)  Just leave a comment here telling me something that you are dying to try in scrapbooking/cardmaking.  Be sure to leave it by tomorrow at 11:59pmEDT.  I will pick a random winner and send them a copy of the Designing With Recipe Book!

Thanks again, all!  I have some videos coming soon.  Off to work on my PS video.  Smooch!

Card Drive for Kids!

Hi!

I am so excited to start this.  I love any excuse to make a card and I love any excuse to do something nice for someone.  So, why not combine the two? :)

Here is the info:

This card drive is for 3 adorable little kids living in Africa... Taylor (9), Lauren (7) and Samuel (3).  Their family just moved there and are building a home and dental clinic.  They are living there unselfishly - totally to provide dental care to those who would never get it.  To find out more information on their work, click HERE and HERE.

As you may expect, starting a life in Liberia has it's challenges, especially for the kids.  I thought it would be such fun to send them tons of cards from people across the world - cards that would just brighten their day.  You can simply send the cards to me.  I will then box them up and pay to send them to the kid's parents - my sister-in-law and brother-in-law.  Their parents will give them each a card a day, just to make them smile.  (I am having you send them to me since it costs a lot to get it there.)

The details:

• Cards can be anything cheery: "sending you a smile", "happy day", something silly, "thinking of you", etc.  The more cheery the better. 
• Please sign your name in the card, along with any message you want.  It would be fun to also say what state/country you are from.
• You can put a sticky note on it telling who the card should be for: Taylor (9), Lauren (7), Samuel (3)... or it can be for all three kids.  That way I can make sure it gets to the right person(s).
• Mail the card to me as you would any card.  (If you have more than one, you can pack them together - whatever is easiest.)  When I get it, I will put each card in a separate envelope with just their name(s) on it.  This will save in shipping for you since you won't have to double-envelope.
• If you have a few extra stickers you want to throw in for them to play with, great!  But please don't send anything heavy or big, though - shipping really adds up.
• You are also welcome to do a card for their parents, Keith and Kristin. (I have their permission to do this card drive for the kids, but a few cards for them would be nice, too.)
• Please send the cards to arrive to me by August 15.  This should give enough time for those overseas to play along.  The cards should be sent to:

                                     Jennifer McGuire
                                     Card Drive
                                     PO Box 428612
                                     Cincinnati, Ohio 45242

And... how about some prizes as a thank you for participating?  For each card you send, your name will be put into a basket.  At the end date, I will draw names for prizes.  You can see a complete list of prizes HERE.  Please keep in mind that I am unable to keep track of everyone's names and email addresses.  So, be sure to look back the week following August 15th to find out if you are a winner of a prize. 

I cannot thank you enough for participating in this.  Means the world to me... but mostly to three little kids a half a world away...

Need a smile today?

I did. 

And this did just the trick.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

A big thanks to Lisa for posting it on her blog... making me smile today.  Love you, girl.

There are some really great companies in this industry...

... and I talk about my favorites a lot.  Hero Arts, Close To My Heart, Cricut/Cuttlebug, Doodlebug, Ranger, etc.  And another great one is Fiskars.  They are incredibly generous to other companies (I can't begin to tell you the many donations they make) and have good people.  I met Melanie Bauer when she worked there, and am so thrilled she now works for 2Peas!  She rocks.  Anyway... blabbing... before she left, she asked me to be a guest designer on their site.  This is the project I did for them using their Tear Edgers.  (You can see them HERE.  They are fun little tools.)  Colin started counting at an early age and was really obsessed with numbers.  (He is a nerd like his Daddy.  Hee.  But we love nerds here, so I can say that lovingly. :)

As seen on fiskars.com.  All supplies are Fiskars.

Off to work on a post about the card drive.  More soon!  Have a great night. :)

I am a ditz...

... at heart still.  I completely forgot to pick a winner for the stamp set from last week!  Der.  I am so sorry.  But better late than never.  The winner of the Close To My Heart stamp set is Holly!  I will email you. :)

Hey... if I owe anyone a prize or CD of Keith's and you haven't gotten it yet, please email me.  My greatest fear is that something gets lost in the mail and someone never gets it.  Would hate for that to happen!

A few random things...

On my post from yesterday, a few people asked what white pen I used.  It was the white Sharpie pen.  Worked pretty well.

Someone also asked if you can use Cuttlebug embossing folders with the Big Shot.  I believe you can.  I would recommend doing a google search - there is likely even a youtube video on it.

I have gotten emails about the yummy silk ribbon.  It is from Creative Impressions - I believe you can buy it from their site!

Want some amazing inspiration?  Be sure to watch Hero Arts Blog this week.  Shari is sharing some amazing stuff.  Wow.

Just a quick card share using a new Hero Arts stamp.  I did this for the catalog work but didn't like how it turned out so I never sent it in. :)  It is a transparent Hero Arts card over a Chocolate Hero Arts notecard.  Yum.  Love that look.  (The card just took a turn for the worse when I started embellishing... hee. :)

 

Supplies:

Hero Arts stamps (background, hearts and greeting), clear tag, clear card and notecard

White Staz-On Ink

Artprint Brown Ink

Primary Chalk Ink

Creative Impressions silk ribbon

I think that is all for now.  Have to go work on gathering photos for holiday pages for Hero Arts!  So hard to do when today was the most beautiful summer day...

Night!