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Monday, June 29, 2020

It's Officially Official - The Landscapes of Summer

*Compensated affiliate links used where possible at zero cost to you. No posts are ever sponsored or paid.*

It should be no secret to you that summer is pretty much my favorite. I would happily live like a little lizard on a hot rock in the desert - never seeing another drop of rain or a cloud passing between me and the sun. So the solstice marks a transition into the most glorious days of the year for me. 

My own personal garden almanac last year led me to predict a cool, wet year this year, and that's what we got. So I'm hoping June, July and August are hot and dry so I get at least PART of a normal 2020. That's all I ask. 

When we went to Hawaii a billion years ago, we stayed not far from the beach where they filmed LOST. We stayed where the actors had stayed and it was such a beautiful spot on the North Shore of Oahu.

The first day we were there, we walked down to that little beach and I was shocked at the color of the water. Mind you - Texas beaches are for the most part, complete garbage compared to places like Florida and California. For most of my youth, I assumed all oceans were brown, and that you had to clean tar off your feet everywhere before returning to your car. Florida & California set me straight later on. 

But Hawaii has this ethereal water that's a magical color - a stunning green-blue that looked like colorful glass. When I saw it - I shrieked out OMG IT LOOKS LIKE  A COUGH DROP!

I cannot help the way my brain works, but those of you who are old enough will remember these hideous blue mint things that were a beautiful color, but tasted like the ACTUAL DEVIL. I don't know if they were supposed to be candy - it's too traumatic to do a deep dive into - but they had all the joy of a cough drop.

And that is what the water looks like there. An other-worldly bluish green that should never been seen in food, but is lovely in nature!

So I created my beachy scene with colors that are in my memory today. The way these layering beach stamps and their matching dies go together is amazing - it makes it look like there's so much motion! On kraft cardstock, it really looks like a beach. So pretty. The inks I used are: Pool Party, Aegean, Pumpkin Pie, Caramel. The sequins are these matching Ombres.

I have a few more cards below - all made with the super duper fun Hero Arts Summer Catalog! You might even see some of these cards in there :). You can see the catalog here or by clicking the catalog image. It's full of really fun stuff! The clean, bright cover makes me happy.
Sticking with kraft for the moment, I did a fun technique with this gorgeous Lavender stamp. I stamped each layer in Unicorn, dried it and then stamped it again on top Distress Oxides in Wilted Violet, Shaded Lilac and Peeled Paint. The layering is so fun and brightens up the colors on colored cardstock - the Unicorn serving as white cardstock would underneath any ink. The sentiment is from the same set. The matching dies are here.
The next one is sort of bittersweet for me, because it reminds me of my trip to Hero Arts and Sonoma. It was the first time I had been to California in a long time, and now it feels like I'll never get back there. This gorgeous Heroscape definitely brings Sonoma and Napa to mind, and again I used kraft cardstock to make the colors pop. The inks I used were Pool Party and Deep Ocean, with Thistle for the grapes. I did the rock 'n roll technique on the little barrel with Pumpkin Pie and Caramel ink. I added some Copic shadowing on the clouds I cut with the matching dies
Lastly, a variation on my previous ATC (you can see it here), turned into a card. This set has such joyful images! I used a credit card swiping panel with acrylic paint for the backdrop, and cut it with my circle infinity dies - both to create a sun-like opening and to shape the top of the colorful portion -  to make it more interesting and to leave room for the sentiment. I highlighted the pier with a white gel pen.
These are the products used today and all my current coupon codes are listed below - enjoy!
Vineyard Heroscape
[ HA ]
Vineyard Heroscape Frame Cuts
[ HA ]
CM447 Beach HeroScape - Hero Arts
[ HA ]
DI754 Beach HeroScape Frame Cuts (C)...
[ HA ]
CM410 Lavender Field HeroScape - Hero...
[ HA ]
DI736 Lavender Field HeroScape Frame...
[ HA ]
CM424 Color Layering Pier at the Lake...
[ HA ]
DI199 Nesting Circle Infinity Dies...
[ HA ]
CH300 Ombré Ocean Sequins - Hero Arts
[ HA ]
AF426 Pool Party Reactive Ink - Hero...
[ HA ]
AF387 Aegean Bold Ink - Hero Arts
[ HA ]
AF255 Pumpkin Pie Mid-Tone Shadow Ink...
[ HA ]
AF332 Caramel Bold Ink - Hero Arts
[ HA ]
AF249 Unicorn Pigment Ink Pad - Hero...
[ HA ]
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad...
[ SSS | ELH ]
Shaded Lilac, Ranger Distress Oxide...
[ ELH | SSS ]
Peeled Paint, Ranger Distress Oxide...
[ ELH | SSS ]
AF340 Deep Ocean Bold Ink - Hero Arts
[ HA ]
AF431 Thistle Reactive Ink - Hero Arts
[ HA ]
2020 Summer Catalog - Hero Arts
[ HA ]
Pre-Cut & Scored Cardstock
[ CTC ]
Sakura CLASSIC WHITE Fine Line 05...
[ SSS ]
Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473
[ SSS ]
Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White
[ GNK ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSP | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ]
Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -...
[ BLIC ]
LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for...
[ BRG ]
Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC
[ ELH | SSS ]
Crafter's Companion GEMINI...
[ SSS ]
Scor-Pal MINI SCOR-BUDDY Scoring...
[ SSS ]
Essentials by Ellen Storage...
[ ELH ]
Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets...
[ CHC ]
XL Stamp Storage Pockets
[ ELH ]
Mermaid tidy towel case and glue...
[ ETS ]
Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045
[ SSS | CST ]
Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies
[ ART ]




Are YOU enjoying summer? I hope so - even though it's a weird one. The good news is, you can have a chance to win a $50 shopping spree just for leaving me a comment today! Enter by July 5th, and the winner will be announced HERE the following week.

Get ready for more inspiration!

 Loveyameanitbye.

CURRENT COUPON CODES
15% off anything at Marker Universe or any of their other sites - Understandblue15.
10% off the whole store at A Colorful Life Designs - LydiaFan10
5% off at LBC here with code LYDIA5
10% off sitewide at Arteza here with code Understandblue6 through 7.31.2020
Phone stand for filming link below in the banner - 20% off sitewide with code UNDERSTANDBLUE

60 comments:

  1. These are so gorgeous and now I have to place another Hero Arts order 😆

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  2. I love all these cards but your girl on the dock card is definitely the best in show. The red focus around the girl is a simple but very effective way to put the eye on her 👏 well done.

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  3. great set of cards Lydia, I especially love your lake sunset, that is stunning

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  4. Absolutely wonderful cards! Each one is unique & I can't pick a favorite.

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  5. I love the amazing colours of your ocean - just perfect!

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  6. Gorgeous cards! Love all the colorful scenes.
    Thanks so much for sharing...

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  7. Oh Lydia—I SO agree with you! Summer is by far the best—and your cards certainly highlight that. I love them all:)

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  8. Such a great bunch of cards. Love all the extra inspiration.

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  9. I do love the Summer too but a nice cool summer rain makes me happy too! Love the new vineyard set... Also need Better at the Lake as I have the first set. Great job!

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  10. Fantastic designs and palette on these cards. Thanks for sharing this inspiration with these fun products.

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  11. Lovely cards! They would brighten anyone's staycation.

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  12. Thanks for the inspiration--I had not thought of creating a Heroscape scene on kraft cardstock!

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  13. Love you CAS style. Was hoping for Hawaii myself this year, oh well, maybe next year. I’ll just think about cough drops! LOL!😂

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  14. Wow!!! That ocean card is amazing. I love the colors. I felt the same about the water in Alaska!!! Fantastic release!!!

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  15. Wow! Your first card drew me in from FB! Such a beautiful scene! I can almost hear the ocean. All of the cards are stunning! Beautiful color combos with kraft!

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  16. These cards are lovely. Each one pulls the viewer or recipient right into the scene and that isn't easy to do. Thank you for sharing.

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  17. The Sympathy field card is really pretty. I love the look of Provence.

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  18. Beautiful scenes and such pretty colors!

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  19. Beautiful cards! Thanks for sharing!

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  20. Uhm Wow! These are So nice! Tfs! ❤😘

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  21. I'm loving the new Heroscapes sets, they look amazing!

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  22. Darn it Lydia, I swore I was going to give my poor credit card a rest for awhile! You and Hero Arts are making that very very difficult!

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  23. The girl on the dock is such a fun card. Love the red colors in the card. Thanks for sharing.

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  24. Seriously STUNNING SKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG! All these scenes are beautiful!

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  25. Love all your fantastic card designs!

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  26. I love your cards and the way your brain works! You make me laugh!��

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  27. Love your cards and the lavender is on my wish list! TFS!

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  28. I just love all of your cards! The colors are fabulous, especially the fiery sunset with the child jumping off the pier.

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  29. simple and unique!! very nice!!

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  30. Great use of kraft card for the beach scenes. I love the life in your lake scene and the background too.

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  31. Wonderful cards, Lydia! I love the way you used kraft card on your scene cards - such a clever design element! The great colours really makes your last card pop! Thanks so much for sharing! Take care! :)

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  32. Amazing cards, each and every one! My fav is the sympathy card! Just gorgeous!

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  33. Beautiful work! Thank you for sharing!

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  34. Beautiful cards!! I love those Heroscapes!! I especially love your last dock card!

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  35. Tee hee, it didnt surprise me that after the cough drop memory your first card would be of a field of lavender to calm the fall out. Always love your cards and thoughts and this catalogue sneak peek. 🐱

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  36. Such peaceful summer scenes. I want to go to these places! lol

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  37. Wonderful release and great examples - thanks

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  38. I like how the layers can be used for the color combinations.

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  39. WOW beeeeeuuuuuuuuutiful cards! You are so very talented!

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  40. Beautiful cards. Love the variations of the landscape. Thanks.

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  41. Those layering stamps are so pretty! Great examples.

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  42. Really beautiful cards, so colourful. Thanks for sharing.

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  43. Wonderful cards.
    Love the silhouette in the
    last card. Life is better
    at the lake. thanks for
    sharing. txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  44. Gorgeous cards, really loving the heartfelt sympathy one with the pretty colors against kraft :)

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  45. Absolutely love the technique where you stamp in white first! I forget about this! And I absolutely love having a craft card base with color on it

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  46. Love all of your cards! They are beautiful!

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  47. Beautiful scenes with these pretty stamp designs! I especially love the beach scene!

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  48. I love the way you used the color of the card base to your cards. Very different and a great idea

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  49. Fabulous cards! The heartfelt sympathy card is beautiful!

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  50. Your cards are amazing. I love those HeroScapes stamps.

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  51. Your cards are all lovely, but the 3rd card, lake sunset, really caught my eye! Thanks for sharing your creativity with some of these great products.

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  52. love the credit card technique and how interestingly you cut the panels with the circle die. off to shop and craft. Thank you for the beautiful inspiration.

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  53. I love your cards!!! Especially the landscapes done on the Kraft Cardstock. The lavender fields took my breath away and the beach scene reminds me of the Oregon coast. Thank you very much.

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  54. Gorgeous! Love the colors and designs.

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  55. Wonderful variety of cards. I like the ones on kraft the most.

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