Hero Arts & BasicGrey “Grand Bazaar” Blog Hop

Hi everyone, and welcome! Today some of the Hero Arts and BasicGrey designers are getting together to bring you a blog hop filled with project inspiration featuring BasicGrey’s beautiful new Grand Bazaar collection, and matching stamps and stencils from Hero Arts. We’ve got lots of wonderful ideas to share with you, as well as a couple of amazing prize packages to give away. So enjoy, and thank you for joining us!

I created two cards for the hop today. For my first card, I had fun playing with negative die cut heart shapes and one of the gorgeous new Grand Bazaar stencils.

The stenciled background is so pretty and elegant, isn’t it? Makes such a wonderful framework for the die cut transparency flowers. I used pop dots to add dimension between the stenciled card base and the heart framework. Just that little bit of depth adds so much definition between layers, without adding too much extra bulk.

I love the soft look of the stenciled design.  Stencils can be applied in any number of ways, like with paint or spray mist. But for the softer feel I was going for, I used an ink pad and a stamping sponge.

I went over the pattern with a wet paintbrush to blur the lines a bit and create a light water-colored finish. You can see in the center here how the lines are starting to wash and blur.  Then using a very wet paintbrush, I added some flecks of contrasting teal ink, too.

The sentiment is from the You Make Me Smile clear stamp set, stamped in gray ink onto a scrap of white cardstock, and trimmed into a simple banner strip.

I dragged the banner through an ink and water mixture, roughened up the edge with my fingernail, and after letting it dry completely, adhered the strip to my card along with a few candy dots to finish things off.

My second card features my favorite die cut from the Grand Bazaar collection, that sweet little fox, along with a fun embossed and watercolored frame made with one of the amazing background cling stamps.

The card background is pieced from a couple of patterned papers, with stitching down the side to help define the layers. I added several die cuts, including the fox, as well as that fun transparency banner for the sentiment.

The frame was die cut from a panel of cardstock that was first embossed with white embossing powder using the beautiful Diamond Background cling stamp.

Then watercolored with pink and yellow ink pads and a wet paintbrush.

The shabby flower up top is from the Small Things clear stamp set, stamped in pink ink and fussy cut from a scrap of white cardstock. I crumpled the flower in my hand a bit and topped it with a few more Grand Bazaar die cuts before adding it to the card with pop dots.

That’s it! I hope you enjoyed my cards, and now I’ll send you on your way. Your next stop along the hop is the amazing Tami Hartley. If you happen to find a link that doesn’t work, or get lost along the way, you can hop back to the Hero Arts Blog for a list of direct links to all the blogs in today’s hop.

And what’s a blog hop without a few prizes, right? Well, we’ve got two amazing Grand Bazaar prize packs — including paper, embellishments, clear and cling stamps, and stencils to give away to two lucky commenters.

The two winners will be randomly selected from all comments received on the participating designers’ blogs. Comments must be received by 11:59pm PST on Wednesday, June 11. The more comments you leave along the hop, the better your odds of winning! Good luck, everyone!

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Supplies:
So Very Lovely Card:
Empire 12×12 Paper
Constantinople 12×12 Paper
Die Cuts & Transparencies
Leaf & Flourish Stencil
You Make Me Smile Clear Stamp Set
Aqua & Pink Candy Buttons
Cardstock,  Trim: Stampin’Up
Ink: Hero Arts, Stampin’Up

Life Is Card:
Byzantine 12×12 Paper
Persia 12×12 Paper
Turkey 12×12 Paper
Die Cuts & Transparencies
Diamond Background Cling Stamp
Small Things Clear Stamp Set
Frame Die Cut: Papertrey Ink
Cardstock, Ink, Embossing Powder, Trim: Stampin’Up