Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Sneak Peek

Hey Everybody! This month's My Monthly Hero kit from Hero Arts is almost here and that means the countdown is on! This month the kit is going live on Tuesday, September 8 so mark your calendars (Monday is Labor Day so it's going live a day later than normal)! The kit goes live at 10am Pacific and once it's sold out it's gone for good. If you want to make sure you never miss a kit you can subscribe here-subscribers are guaranteed a kit!

Today I've got a sneak peek of the kit for you. I've used the main image from the kit to create a fun pumpkin patch. I also had fun ink blending the happy sky with what I'm calling a harvest moon (or harvest sun?).

The sentiment is also from the main kit and was the perfect finishing touch for this pumpkin card.

Alright you guys-that's all you get for today! I promise to share more details on how this card was made on Tuesday when the hop goes live! Plus, I have a totally different take on this kit to share with you for the launch as well. I can't wait to share it all with you soon!

Oh! I almost forgot... Hero Arts is doing a giveaway and one lucky winner will be winning the September My Monthly Hero kit. All you have to do to enter is go HERE and leave a comment to win. Good Luck!

Bye guys! Have the best day!

Maria

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Hero Arts Sending Peace, Happiness and Love

Hey Everybody! I'm just popping in to let you know that I'm up on the Hero Arts blog today sharing this card using the beautiful Bare Branched Tree Background stamp. To get all the details head on over to the Hero Arts blog. For now, here are a couple of pics...

This wonderful sentiment is from the Stocking Bouquet stamp set.

This was such an easy winter card to make and I was inspired to make more cards using this Bare Branched Tree stamp so be on the lookout for those soon.

 

Ok, guys. That's it for today but before I go I'll link to the products I've used below in case you'd like to check any of them out.

Have an awesome day!

Maria

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Hero Arts New Unity Products Blog Hop and a Giveaway!

Hello Everybody! It's so nice to have you back here and I hope you are having a wonderful day. Today I am back as party of a blog hop featuring the new Unity Products from Hero Arts. This is a wonderful collection of products that focuses on inclusion and unity. It is important for people of color to be represented in our stamping/art community not just within the products that we use but in the positive messages that we put out into the world as well. These new Unity products are perfect for doing just that.

For my card I decided to use a new set called Kids United. It has adorable images of children being kind and loving and it has a die set (Kids United Frame Cuts) to go with it too. I chose the image of the two boys. They just look like they are such good buddies and I really wanted to color them. I used my copic markers to color them in and then I cut them out by hand so that there wouldn't be any white space around them. After that, I heat embossed the "Lead With Love," sentiment from the Power to the People stamp set  in white onto black cardstock. This sentiment is my favorite out of the whole set. I think it's such a good reminder of how we can all choose to live. 

I wanted the boys to be on a fun background so I grabbed a gel print from my stash and cut it down to 4"x 5 1/4". I adhered that with foam tape onto a black A2 sized card base. Then, I popped my boys and the sentiment up with foam tape on the gel print background.

That's it for today you guys. If you have any questions please feel free to ask in the comments below. Also, be sure to check out the giveaway info. All you need to do to enter the giveaway is drop me a comment. I hope you will keep hopping along with us to check out all the inspiration we have to share using the Unity Products. Next up in the hop is my super talented friend, Mindy Eggen. You can head over to her blog or navigate the hop by using the links below. Enjoy!

Have an awesome day!

Maria

GIVEAWAY:

Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by leaving a comment between now and Sunday, September 6th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

BLOG HOP LIST: 

Hero Arts
Pocono Pam
Dana Joy
Daniel West
Ilina Crouse
Libby Hickson
Lydia Fiedler
Maria Willis: You are Here.
Mindy Eggen
Seeka
Channin Pelletier

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Hero Arts Winter Catalog Release and a Giveaway!

Hey Everybody! Happy Wednesday and welcome to the release of the Hero Arts Winter Catalog! If you haven't had a chance to browse through the catalog yet then this is the hop for you because it is jam packed with inspiration from so many talented crafters. 

For today's card I decided to use a new set  called Gift Peek-a-Boo Infinity Parts. It coordinates with the Square Peek-a-Boo Doors dies and sets you up to make an easy, interactive card (it cuts a square that swings open like a door). I stamped one of the larger gift boxes onto a piece of white cardstock in my Hero Arts Intense-ified Black ink. This is one of my go-to inks because it works well with both copic markers and watercolors. I also stamped this fun sentiment from Snarky Christmas Messages.

I colored the image in with my copic markers and then die cut it to create a door around the gift box.

So, today my card is a little bit of lie... but a good lie, right?  How could I not put an adorable puppy inside of the gift box after a sentiment like that?!

To add the puppy I stamped the image from the new Fawn and Friends stamp set onto a separate piece of white cardstock. To line it up perfectly I placed the clean stamp on top of the gift box in my Original sized, Black Misti. When it was in the right place I picked the stamp up with my Misti door and then stamped it onto the white paper. 

I colored the cute puppy with my copic markers and then adhered that piece of cardstock behind the gift box. After that, when I opened the gift box door I had a cute puppy inside! I glued this whole piece onto a piece of black cardstock so that I would have that black strip at the side. Then, that whole deal got added to a top-folding A2 sized, white card base.

Ok, you all, that is it for today! I'm so glad you stopped by and I hope you'll keep cruising along on this blog hop with us. Next up on the hop is the incredibly talented Michelle Short. You can head on over to her blog or you can use the list below to navigate the hop. Before you go, I want to make sure you know we're having a giveaway (details below) and all you need to do to enter is leave me a comment below. 

Have an amazing day and enjoy the hop! I'll be back tomorrow with another Hero Arts hop featuring the new Unity stamp sets. See you then!

Maria.

GIVEAWAY:

Hero Arts will give away three $50 gift cards, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by leaving a comment between now and Sunday, September 6th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

BLOG HOP: 

Hero Arts
Channin Pelletier
Daniel West
Debi Adams
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Libby Hickson
Lydia Fiedler
Maria Willis
Michelle Short
Mindy Eggen
Seeka
Amy Kolling
Cathy Zielske
Janette Kausen
Jenn Shurkus
Jennifer McGuire
Julee Tilman
Lisa Stein
Lori Craig
Mariana Grigsby
Nichol Spohr
Nina-Marie Trapani
Teri Anderson
Wanda Guess

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Crafty Friends: Gina K. Designs and a Discount!

Hey everybody! It's the 20th and if you follow my blog you know that means it's time for another My Crafty Friends Hop! Today we are featuring products from the fabulous Gina K. Designs and she has offered to give our readers a 20% discount at the Gina K. Designs shop when they shop with a Crafty Friend! All you have to do is click this link to shop and use the code CRAFTYFRIENDS20 to receive your discount (more info below).

Now onto my card! Today I decided to use this gorgeous collaboration set from Gina K Designs and Hero Arts. I love that the crafty community comes together to support each other and work together. This stamp, Friendship Blooms, is the result of one of these beautiful efforts. I stamped my image in copic safe black ink on to Hammermill cardstock.

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I used my copic markers in a variety of colors to create a floral rainbow. I have been wanting to do this for some time now I really enjoyed the process.

After I added all of my color I went back in with my cool gray markers and added shading to the flowers. Then, I grabbed a fine tipped copic marker and had some fun adding shadow, lines and dots.

The sentiment on this card is one of my favorites after stamping that some clear sequins were the perfect touch to finish off my card.

That's is all for today folks! You know my Crafty Friends have a ton more Gina K. inspiration for you so I hope you'll continue on with our hop by heading over to Becky's blog. If you prefer to follow the blog list I'm adding that below for you too.

Before you go here's a reminder that if you shop today or tomorrow you will receive a 20% discount if you shop with me at Gina K. Designs and use the code CRAFTYFRIENDS20 at check out. Enjoy!

Bye for now and I hope you all have an amazing day! 

Maria

BLOG ROLL:

Jenny Hall

Tanya Boser

Ilina Crouse

Maria Willis: YOU ARE HERE.

Becky Roberts

Sandi MacIver

Sue Plote

Sara Sherlock

Lydia Fiedler

Jill Hilliard

Hero Arts August My Monthly Hero Kit and a Giveaway!

Happy Monday and welcome to the launch of this month's Hero Art's My Monthly Hero kit! If you this is your first time hearing about the kit here's the skinny... On the third Monday of every month Hero Arts releases an exclusive stamping/craft kit. The kits are usually valued well over $70 but only cost $34.99. The catch is that there are only a limited number of kits and once they sell out they are gone forever. You can make sure to always get a kit by subscribing. In addition to the MMH kits there are always fantastic add-ons that coordinate with the theme of the kit. 

For all of my cards today I have started with one of these add-ons, a background stamp called, Destination Home Bold Prints. Sometimes it's fun to take one stamp and see just how far you can take it. That's what I've done today and I've got a fun range of cards to share with ranging from clean and simple cards to grungy with a mixed media look. The first card I'm sharing is my favorite of the bunch and has one of the more mixed media looking backgrounds.

This background was first, heat embossed in Sand embossing powder, and then ink blended. I used a second background stamp called, State-cation Bold Prints to add some extra stamped detail in black.

After adding some splatters I finished the card off by adding a Copic colored octopus and sentiment adorned with other little critters.

My second card is clean and simple. I watercolored the background (heat embossed in white) with ink from my Hero Arts Reactive Inks. 

Then I added a die cut sentiment that I had cut out three times and stacked for dimension.

My third card has an embossed, trapped resist technique for the background. It's ink blended in contrasting colors to make it pop.

Again I kept this card simple and finished it off with a die cut sentiment and some enamel dots.

My next card was made with the same technique as the last card but this time I decided to go with a birthday theme.

I feel like backgrounds like these can be used for almost anything that you want and since I need some birthday cards that was that. 

My next card features a simple ink blended look and a stand-alone die from this release. The die is called the Bird House Fancy Die.

I used my copic markers to add some subtle color the birdhouse and birds. Then I adhered those along with a sentiment.

This card was pretty easy to make. I took a background that I had heat embossed in black and then colored in some of the tags in rainbow colors with my copic markers. I cut them out and adhered them with foam tape over the sentiment.

The sentiment is heat embossed in black embossing powder straight onto the card face.

This card was clean and simple until I decided to ink splatter the background and then cover it in a rainbow of Nuvo drops. I love the extra color and added dimension from the drops.

For my last card today I went for more of a grungy look. I ink blended in browns and then used some Tim Holtz embossing glaze on top of some of the tags in the background. I also sprinkled some sand embossing powder on top of that just to add some more texture.

After splattering some white and bronze metallic paint and some Nuvo Midas Touch I added a sentiment and called it done.

Now, I did film myself making these backgrounds but I wasn't able to get the video done in time for this post. So, watch for that video coming later (probably today)!

That's all I've got for now you guys so I hope you will enter yourself into the giveaway for a $50 Hero Arts gift card (just leave a comment below and you're automatically entered). To continue on this hop just head on over to visit the fabulous Lydia Fiedler over at her blog. You can also check out the whole list of blog hoppers below. As always, I'm linking up the products that I've used today down below so that if you want to check anything out it's all right there for you. 

Thanks for stopping by today and I will catch you all back here soon!

Have an awesome day!

Maria

GIVEAWAY:

Hero Arts will give away one $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, August 9th at 11:59pm pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

BLOG ROLL:

Hero Arts
Seeka
Nichol Spohr
Mindy Eggen
Michelle Short
Mariana Grigsby
Maria Willis: YOU ARE HERE.
Lydia Fiedler
Laurie Willison
Julee Tilman
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Janette Kausen
Ilina Crouse
Emily Midgett
Debi Adams
Daniel West
Channin Pelletier


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Crafty Friends: Ellen Hutson and a Discount!

Hey everybody! I hope your week is off to a great start! I am excited because we are getting kittens today... well, they were supposed to be kittens but they are twelve weeks old now so I'm hoping there's a little kitten left in them. Either way, we've been waiting for these kitties since May and we are so excited to finally get them.

I'm also excited because today is the 20th of the month and that means I'm getting together with my crafty friends for an awesome blog hop! If you haven't joined us for this hop before... we are a group of crafty friends who believe in crafting for fun. Every month we pick one company to focus on and we bring you tons of creative inspiration using products from that company. This month we are sharing our love for Ellen Hutson! Ellen is so generous and has offered an exclusive discount for our readers.

DISCOUNT: Click this link to Ellen Hutson and use the code: CRAFTYFRIENDS for 20% off an all Essentials by Ellen products from now through July 21st, 2020. 

For this card I went for sort of a clean, mixed media look (is that a thing?). I love doing mixed media and haven't had much time for it lately so this card hit the spot for me in terms of getting colorful and grungy. I used the Dina Wakley Gloss Sprays on deli paper to create the background for my card. When it was dry I adhered it to a piece of white cardstock using gel medium. 

Next, I added the sentiment, "Mondo Squishy Hugs," which I just love from the High Five stamp set from Ellen Hutson. I stamped it in black Hybrid ink and heat embossed it in clear embossing powder.

Then I used the Painted Stripes stamp set to add some decorative elements and texture to my card. These were all heat embossed either in gold, clear with a sprinkling of gold, or, black. 

To finish my card off I added detail with black and white glaze gel pens just to add a little more texture. 

Both of the stamp sets that I used today qualify for the awesome 20% discount to Ellen Hutson! There are a ton of products (that I didn't use today) that qualify as well. So, If you're inclined to do a little shopping remember to to use this link to Ellen Hutson and add the code CRAFTYFRIENDS when you check out. Here are the details...

That's it for me today you guys but my crafty friends have all dreamed up some amazing projects to share with you today as well. To continue hopping along with us please head on over to Becky's Blog. If you prefer to work off of a list-I've included a list of my Crafty Friends below. As always, I'm including a list of the products that I used today so that if you're interested in checking them out it's easy for you to find what you are looking for. If you have any questions please let me know (just leave me a comment and I'll get back to you asap).

Have an amazing day you guys!

Bye for now,

Maria.

BLOG ROLL:
Jill Hilliard
Jen Timko
Amy Kolling
Tanya Boser
Ilina Crouse
Maria Willis: You are HERE.
Becky Roberts
Sandi MacIver
Sue Plote
Sara Sherlock
Lydia Fiedler




PRODUCT SUPPLY LIST:

Hero Arts July My Monthly Hero Kit and a Giveaway!

Hi everybody and happy Monday! Today is the day we've all been waiting for! My Monthly Hero Kit release day! The theme for this month's kit is Atlantis and it is so cool! Today I have three cards using the add-ons from this month's kit to share with you.

My first card features my favorite stamp from the whole release... the Deep Sea Background cling stamp. This is a red rubber stamp and it stamps this full background image beautifully. It's a bit larger than an A2 sized card.

I used my Hero Arts liquid watercolors to paint the whole scene. I did film the process but didn't have time to turn it into a video for you. So, if you'd like to see a process video for how I colored this please leave me a comment and let me know. If you guys are interested I'll do my best to get that video edited soon for you.

After I watercolored the whole scene I added some metallic ink to the waves, clouds and treasure chest. I also added some shimmer from my Nuvo Glitter Gloss pen to the whole ocean so that it would sparkle.

Here's a look at some of the products that I used...

For my second card I used the Underwater Pattern Bold Prints background stamp. This is a 6"x6" stamp full of all kinds of underwater fun! 

I watercolored using Nuvo Aqua Flow pens and when that dried I stamped the image in black ink. I added some die cut seaweed in silver and black as well as some Dream Drops and subtle sequins.

The sentiment is from this month's main kit as is that gorgeous coral colored embossing powder.

This card came together with a soft, dreamy look that I think is really pretty.

For my last card I used another 6"x6" background stamp called School of Fish Bold Prints. I used my Misti stamping tool to make this card otherwise getting this effect would have been impossible. I started by inking up the center of my stamp in red and stamping it. Then, I did the next segment of fish in orange. I followed those with both yellow and green. 

After I had all of the fish inked up properly I stamped the whole image again in clear embossing ink. Then I poured on clear embossing powder and heat set it. That gave me one clear layer on top of my fish but I wanted them to have some dimension as if they were coming off of the card. I re-heated the embossed fish with my heat tool and immediately covered them again with clear embossing powder. I did this three our four times until all of my fish were thickly embossed. I used my anti-static tool before I embossed the whole background. I did not use it after that when I was trying to achieve thick embossing. This allowed for some specks of powder to stick on white areas of the card (for other cards this might be seem like a mistake but it was part of the distress effect on this card).

Now I have a white background with embossed fish. Because these fish are embossed I can now ink blend over the top of them without worrying about changing their color. I used my reactive inks to ink blend the background. I made the center of the card, where the tiny fish are, lighter in color as if they were swimming up towards the light.  I splattered my card with white metallic glimmer paint to give the look of bubbles and texture. Then, to finish my card off I stamped a sentiment from the main kit on a piece of card stock that I had colored with an ink pad (I just rubbed my Fruit Punch ink pad on white cardstock until it was saturated with ink). I cut it at a wonky angle and used foam tape to adhere it to my card. The final touch was to add some embellishments that looked like water droplets or gems and some dream drops.

Ok you guys, that's all I've got for today. If you're interested in checking out any of the products that I've shared I've got them all listed below for you. If you have any questions about how I made these cards please feel free to ask!

Now, as always Hero Arts is having a generous giveaway (details below), all you need to do is leave me a comment below to enter to win. If you're interested in purchasing this month's kit we have great news for you! The kit should start shipping this Friday, July 17th and continue shipping through next week.

To continue on with this inspiration filled hop please head on over to the lovely Mariana and check out what she's got to share today. If you prefer a list of hoppers, I've got one linked up for you below.

Have an awesome day and thanks for stopping by!
Maria




GIVEAWAY:

Hero Arts will give away one $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, July 19th at 11:59pm pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

BLOG ROLL:

Hero Arts
Amy Kolling
Channin Pelletier
Daniel West
Debi Adams
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Janette Kausen
Jenn Shurkus
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Julee Tilman
Laurie Willison
Lydia Fiedler
Maria Willis: You are HERE.
Mariana Grigsby
Michelle Short
Mindy Eggen
Nichol Spohr
Seeka
Yana Smakula



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