Showing posts with label Maria Wills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maria Wills. Show all posts

Monday, February 6, 2023

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Release February 2023: Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Hey everybody! The wait is over! It's time for the Hero Arts February 2023 My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is a fantastic, butterfly themed bundle! 

Before I get to my cards, if you aren't familiar with the My Monthly Hero kit, it's a kit that is released by Hero Arts on the first Monday of every month. It always has a fun, themed, collection of stamps, dies and other goodies. The cost of this Classic kit is just $34.99/month and the value is always much greater! This month's kit is valued at $74! Starting with this release there is now a PREMIUM KIT option!!! The Premium Kit will include everything that the Classic (original) kit includes plus some additional upgrades. Premium Kit subscribers will receive the kit for $49.99 and the value for this month's kit is $108 so you'll be receiving over double the value! All current MMH subscribers (signed up prior to January 31, 2023) will receive this upgraded kit at no additional cost! Lucky you guys!

Check out the kits to see what is included:

-CLASSIC KIT

-PREMIUM KIT

You have the option to subscribe (subscribing now means your first kit will be the March 2023 release), or, to buy your favorite kits as one-off purchases. Be aware that once these kits sell out they are gone for good. If you see a kit you like make sure to snatch it up quickly! There are also a ton of amazing add-on products! You can buy the add-ons as a bundle at a discounted rate or just pick up your favorite products. 

For my first card I am using the fancy butterfly dies from the Premium Kit, a sentiment from the Classic Kit and the new Background Texture Strips. I started out by die cutting my butterflies from Canary cardstock and inkblending the edges with Fruit Punch Reactive ink. Then I pressed some of the edges of the butteflies into Versamark Embossing Ink and heat embossed them in Gold. I added some extra detail to the butterflies with white gel pen and set them aside.

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Next, I took a piece of A2 sized Pitch Black cardstock and stamped the right side of the background using Unicorn White Pigment Ink (some full strength and some second generation) and a scripty stamp from the Background Texture Strips stamp set. I wanted to add gold to the background so I splattered it with Gold Glimmer Metallic ink. I had some cardboard packaging from my cat's food that I've been wanting to use on a project so I tore that and glued it to my background piece. In order to tie it in to the black background I added some black splatters (you can do this with ink or with black acrylic paint). Then I grabbed my Gold Hero Wax and rubbed it over the raised areas of the cardboard and up the left side of the black background. This helped to connect the cardboard to the background and give the butterflies somewhere to sit. Three different gold mediums (embossing powder, glimmer metallic ink, Hero wax) might seem like overkill to you but they each have a different finish and a different texture so they end up being eye-catching in different ways while still coordinating.
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After all of that the only thing left to do was add a sentiment. I stamped the "happy birthday" sentiment in Onyx Pigment ink onto Sand Cardstock and heat embossed it in clear. Then I die cut it with my Nesting Circle Infinity Dies, cut the bottom off and ink blended the edges with Sand Core Ink... and, that's all there was to it!
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My next card focuses on one of the new stamps from today's release called Abstract Butterfly Wing Background. Today, I used this stamp "as is" to make a large, colorful background but I'm really looking forward to using the more detailed parts of it for mixed media projects. For this card, I stamped the card onto white cardstock using Hero Pigment Inks in Rose Quartz, Citrine and Canary. These inks have a much longer drying time than core inks so I was able to stamp multiple times to get good coverage (and blend the colors) then cover them with Clear Embossing Powder to heat emboss the image.Cardbomb, Maria Wills, Hero Arts, My Monthly Hero  February 2023, Premium kit,butterflies, mixed media, cards, handmade, diy, art, color, die cutting,

Heat embossing a solid image allows for a cool technique called Emboss Resist. I used both Splash and Blue Hawaii Reactive Inks to ink blend over my entire image and background. The embossed image resisted the ink so that it only sank into the (once white) background. I used a paper towel to wipe down the embossed areas and remove any extra ink that might be sitting on top of the image. I cut this piece down just a smidge and added it to a black A2 cardbase.

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I wanted to add a sentiment but I didn't want to cover up too much of the background. I decided a simple, "HI," would do and I used my Luggage Tag Alphabet Frame Cuts to cut the letters out three times. I glued the letters together so that they would be very thick and then I glued those onto my card front. 
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Just in case you didn't see my blog post from yesterday here's a look at another card that I made using a butterfly from the Premium Kit. All of the details are on that blog post and you can check it out HERE.
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Now, I've got to tell you that I had an incredible time creating with this release and I've created many more cards than what I've shared today. Tomorrow (Tuesday, February 7th) at 11am Pacific, Aaron (Owner of Hero Arts) and Creative Team Member Lydia Fiedler will be doing a live (Hero Arts Facebook and YouTube Channel). I've sent a total of ten cards/projects in for them to share including a fun mixed media project using the rub-ons from the Premium Kit. I've also used the Papillon Digital Kit and it is freaking amazing! It was my first time using a digital kit and I'm totally sold on it after this experience. You can tune in live or watch the replay to see those samples on video. I will also be sharing those cards/projects here on my blog over the next few days.

Ok! That's all I've got but the rest of the Hero Arts Creative Team and the Guest Designers have so much incredible inspiration to share. I hope you'll join the blog hop and enter the giveaway.

Have an amazing day!
Maria

GIVEAWAY:
We will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, February 12th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

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PRODUCT SUPPLY LIST (Affiliate links may be used at no extra cost to you): 

Monday, December 5, 2022

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero December 2022 Release: Blog Hop and Giveaway

Hey everybody! The wait is over! It's time for the Hero Arts December 2022 My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is a fantastic, celestial themed bundle! It's got a large 6"x8" clear stamp set with coordinating die cuts. It's also got a cling background stamp, some Pitch Black Cardstock and a Rose Gold pigment mini ink pad. 

Before I get to my cards, if you aren't familiar with the My Monthly Hero kit, it's a kit that is released by Hero Arts on the first Monday of every month. It always has a fun, themed, collection of stamps, dies and other goodies. The cost is just $34.99/month and the value is always much greater! This month's kit is valued at $82!

You have the option to subscribe (subscribing now means your first kit will be the January 2023 release), or, to buy your favorite kits as one-off purchases. Be aware that once these kits sell out they are gone for good. If you see a kit you like make sure to snatch it up quickly! There are also a ton of amazing add-on products! You can buy the add-ons as a bundle at a discounted rate or just pick up your favorite products. 

For my first card I've used the new MMH kit. I started out by inking up the background stamp using Taffy, Creamsicle and Lemon Drop Reactive Inks. I did this by rubbing the ink pads directly onto the stamp and then making sure I had a smooth blend with a blending brush. I stamped onto white cardstock. I did this a couple of times until I had the coverage I wanted. 

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I colored the images I wanted with copic markers and then I cut them out by hand and pieced them together. I added foam tape to the back of the images, figured out where I wanted them positioned, and then I heat embossed my sentiment (Onyx Pigment ink and clear embossing powder). Then, I adhered the images to the card front.
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I added my card front to a Pitch Black card base. The final step was to add Gold Hero Pearls to give my card more of a galactic look. 
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For my next card I used the new Celestial Bold Prints stamp for the background. I inked it up Reactive Inks (Pool Party, Lemon Drop, Taffy and Grape Slush).  I stamped repeatedly onto Pitch Black Cardstock until the colors were laid down heavily. Then I stamped again in Versamark ink and heat embossed in clear to trap the colors in place.
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I trimmed the background down to 4'x5.25' and adhered it to a mat of gold glitter cardstock.
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To add a focal point I used the Celestial Fancy Dies. I gut the sun and star out of gold metallic cardtsock and the cloud from vellum. The sentiment is from the Orbit stamp set and is stamped in black on Mist cardstock. I added the die cuts with foam tape and that was it for this card.
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That's it for my cards today you guys but I hope you love this month's celestial release as much as I do. The rest of the team has amazing inspiration to share so please keep hopping along with us.

Have an awesome day!
Maria


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Hero Arts

Friday, September 30, 2022

Hero Arts Countdown to Creativity: October 2022 Release!

Hey everybody! It's almost time for the October 2022 Hero Arts My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is a fabulous kit for creating gorgeous holiday scenes and more.

If you aren't familiar with the My Monthly Hero kit, it's a kit that is released by Hero Arts on the first Monday of every month. It always has a fun, themed, collection of stamps, dies and other goodies. The cost is just $34.99/month and the value is always much greater! 

You have the option to subscribe (subscribing now means your first kit will be the November 2022 release), or, to buy your favorite kits as one-off purchases. Be aware that once these kits sell out they are gone for good. If you see a kit you like make sure to snatch it up quickly! 

Today is Day One of the Countdown to Creativity and I've got a colorful Christmas scene to share with you. I started by stamping some of the scenes in Onyx Pigment Ink and then heat embossing them in clear. I used the coordinating dies to cut them out. 

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I figured out where I wanted the scene images to fit on my card front and ink blended the sky using Reactive Inks in Taffy and Lemon Drop. I inkblended the bottom with Pool Party then sprayed the whole background with white iridescent shimmer spray. Then, I stamped and heat embossed the Santa and elf images onto my background pieces. 
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Finally, I added the die cut scene images using liquid glue and foam tape. I cut the excess off of both sides so that the images would be flush with the background. I added the background piece to a Pitch Black mat and that was it!
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If you'd like a chance to win this kit before you can buy it head on over to the Hero Arts blog and enter for your chance to win. There are two more days of the countdown so be sure to check back for the next couple of days and see all of the inspiration from the design team!

Have an awesome day and I'll see you on Monday for the full release!
Maria


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Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Let That Shitake Go!

Hey everybody! It's Maria here and I am really happy to be here to share a mixed media card that I had so much fun making. I started out wanting to focus on the beautiful new Leaf Circle Stencil (so great for Autumn cards, right?) and when I saw how magical it looked in gold I decided to go with more of a nature/woodland theme. I know this card looks like a lot but it's actually easy to make so let me walk you through it step-by-step.


BACKGROUND:

  1. Cut a piece of Luxe Watercolor Cardstock to 4.25" x 5.5"
  2. Spray the background with liquid watercolor sprays of your choice (I added liquid watercolor and water to a spray bottle to create my own sprays). I used Leaf, Jungle Mist, Indigo and Art Print Brown. Allow to dry.
  3. Spray the same watercolor colors onto your work surface and smoosh your dried background into the color. This will add unpredictable visual texture and some extra color to your background. Allow to dry.
  4. Place your Leaf Circle Stencil over your background piece. I secured mine from the back with washi tape so that it would stay in place. Use your palette knife to spread Gold Hero Wax through the stencil. Don't worry about perfection- partial stenciling will add character to your background.
  5. Remove the stencil (put it in water so it will be easy to wash later) and immediately sprinkle some Sand Embossing Powder over the wet wax (a couple of pinches should do the trick). Make sure not to completely cover the wax so that you can still see the gold.
  6. Heat the embossing powder and wax to set them. This will melt the Sand Embossing Powder and it will also bubble the wax for extra texture.
  7. Splatter the background with White Glimmer Metallic Ink for extra magic.

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FOCAL POINT:
  1. Stamp the text stamp from the Sending Love Mail stamp in Granite ink onto vellum.  Cut this piece to 2.5" x 3.5" and set it aside.
  2. Use the Mushrooms and Ferns Fancy Dies to die cut mushrooms and ferns from Luxe Watercolor Cardstock. I left the ferns white.
  3. Using Liquid Watercolor sprays, spray the tops of the mushrooms Orange and the stems Art Print Brown.
  4. I used Tomato ink (ink-blending) and Copic markers to add a little bit of extra color and shading to my my mushrooms.
  5. Stamp the sentiment from Zen Messages in Aquamarine Pigment ink, heat emboss it in clear and cut it into a strip.

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ASSEMBLE:

  1. Add your background to a cardbase. I used Precision Glue to do this.
  2. Adhere your sentiment strip to the vellum piece then layer the ferns and mushrooms on top using either foam adhesive or glue dots to create dimension.
  3. Add foam adhesive to the vellum making sure to hide it behind the sentiment, ferns and mushrooms. Attach the focal point to the background.
  4. The final step is to splatter the focal point with White Glimmer Metallic ink. I covered my sentiment with a piece of washi tape to protect it. 


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Now you've got a finished card with tons of color and eye-catching texture! I hope some of you might have fun recreating this card or using some of the techniques I've shared today.

I hope you all have an awesome day today, but if your day is feeling hard, try to just let that shitake go!

Crafty hugs,

Maria



Friday, April 29, 2022

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Countdown to Creativity: May 2022

Hey everybody! It's almost time for the May 2022 Hero Arts My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is a super fun kit packed with... well, I'm not telling you because my card doesn't give the theme away!

If you aren't familiar with the My Monthly Hero kit, it's a kit that is released by Hero Arts on the first Monday of every month. It always has a fun, themed, collection of stamps, dies and other goodies. The cost is just $34.99/month and the value is always much greater! 

You have the option to subscribe (subscribing now means your first kit will be the June 2022 release), or, to buy your favorite kits as one-off purchases. Be aware that once these kits sell out they are gone for good. If you see a kit you like make sure to snatch it up quickly!

Today is Day One of the Countdown to Creativity and I've got a sneak peek of this month's kit to share with you... and this month's kit is really to fun play with! I can't spill all of the beans yet because this is just a sneak peek so stay tuned because the full release is on Monday!

For today's card I stamped the large background stamp from the kit in versamark ink and heat embossed in Gold Sparkle Embossing Powder. Then, I inkblended the background using some of my favorite Reactive Ink colors: Taffy, Lemon Drop, Pool Party, Splash and Thistle. I overlapped the colors as I went creating easy color transitions. I trimmed this colorful piece down a little bit and added it to a black mat.

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Next, I heat embossed a sentiment from the kit in white onto black cardstock and cut it out using the Rounded Rectangle Infinity Dies. I added a few black enamel dots and called it good! There was hardly ever an easier card made than this one!
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Ok, you guys, make sure you head on over to the Hero Arts blog to enter to win a kit before you can buy one! While you're there make sure to check out all of the other amazing day one sneak peeks.

Have an awesome weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday with the full release!
Maria


PRODUCT SUPPLY LIST (affiliate links may be used at no extra cost to you):


 

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Hero Arts Spring Catalog Release 2022: Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Hey, everybody! I can hardly believe it but the Hero Arts Spring Catalog 2022 is finally here! This catalog is going to rock your world as it has not only a bunch of new and super fantastic stamps and dies... but TOOLS as well! To celebrate the release of this amazing new catalog are blog hopping today and we also have some amazing GIVEAWAYS so make sure to get all of the details on how to enter at the bottom of my post.

I've got a bunch of cards to share with you today so I'm going to jump right in! For my first card I used the new Koi Bunch stamp set and coordinating dies. I started out by using Reactive Inks in Taffy and Splash to do a watercolor wash on my background. Then I sprayed the background with White Iridescent Shimmer Spray and splattered it with White Glimmer Metallic Ink. I cut the background down to 4"x5.25" and heat embossed the sentiment in Onyx Pigment ink and clear embossing powder.
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Next I heat embossed the Koi in gold embossing powder. I watercolored the fish with Hero Arts Liquid Water Colors in Strawberry and Orange as well as with Glimmer Metallic Inks in White and Rose Gold. I die cut the fish out but decided I wanted a really tight cut so I ended up fussy cutting right up the stamped line of the image.
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I adhered the background piece to a Pebble card base using foam tape then adhered the Koi using foam tape for even more dimension. The final touch was to add some clear enamel dots which I think look like bubbles but also add some fantastic dimension.
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For my next card I used the new Tulip Bouquet stamp set. This set is amazing because it has both coordinating dies and stencils! After stamping the tulips in black I added color using the layering stencils and the following ink colors: Soft Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Soft Canteloupe, Cotton Candy, Green Apple and Aegean. I cut the flowers out using the coordinating dies. Then, I added dimension to the flowers by covering them with Clear Lacquer. I set those aside to dry.
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I used the Floral Border Fancy Die to cut a gorgeous white background piece. I used my fingers to pop up some of the flower and leaf pieces to give the background more texture. I wanted to add another color to my card so glued the die cut floral background to a Mist card base. Then, I used my Nesting Oval Infinity Dies to create a frame for my tulips to sit in front of.
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I cut three of the oval frames out of Mist cardstock and glued them together. After that I was able to glue the thickened frame to my background. I used foam tape to adhere my tulips in front of the oval. The final step was to stamp my sentiment onto some Mist cardstock, cut it out and add it to my card.
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This next card features the new Looking Glass Bird on a Branch and Looking Glass Fine Art Frame. I cut all of the pieces from white cardstock sized at 4.25" x 5.5". It was really easy to center the pieces because I used the Looking Glass Alignment Tool. Once the pieces were cut out I colored them using my copic markers and stuck them together using foam tape.
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I cut the Fine Art Frame from Gold metallic cardstock and centered it over a square hole I'd cut in my Mist card front using my Nesting Square Infinity dies. After I had adhered the frame I heat embossed my sentiment (from the Wishing You the Best stamp set) in Onyx Pigment ink and clear embossing powder.
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Next, all I had to do was glue my chunk of looking glass pieces to a card base and add the cardface on top to finish the card off.
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For my last card I'm using the Congrats & Yay Stamp & Cut XL as my focal point. I started out by grabbing a watercolor background out of my stash. I made it with my DIY Hero Arts Liquid Watercolor Sprays but I'm not sure which colors are on this piece (probably Pink and Leaf). I sprayed the background with White Iridescent Shimmer Spray before splattering it with black marker and Pewter Glimmer Metallic Ink. Once the background was dry I used my Nesting Rectangle Infinity Dies to cut the center piece out. I glued it to three more rectangles of the same size and rotated it so the colors were not aligned with the background piece. I glued this in place and topped it off with a Black Glitter Paper frame (cut with Nesting Rectangle Dies).
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Next, I cut the Congrats sentiment out of Black Glitter paper and glued that to my cardfront.
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The final step was to add a bunch of stars that I cut from Silver Sparkle paper using my 5-Point Stars Infinity Dies. 
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Ok, you guys! That is it for today! I hope you'll continue hopping along with us join the giveaway for your chance to win! 

Have a great one and enjoy the new catalog!
Maria

TOOLS: I almost forgot! Before I go I wanted to let you know that the amazing new tools that are launching with this catalog are not currently in stock. If you're interested in purchasing any of the new tools please head to shop and click the option to be notified when the product is in stock. Hero Arts will generously be selecting one winner from the people who sign up for notification to win the entire release of new tools!


GIVEAWAY: 
We will give away THREE $50 gift cards, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, February 20 at 11:59pm pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.


BLOG HOP LIST:



PRODUCT SUPPLY LIST (Affiliate links may be used at no extra cost to you):


 

Saturday, February 5, 2022

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Countdown to Creativity: February 2022 Kit!

Hey everybody! It's almost time for the January 2022 Hero Arts My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is an eclectic kit filled with love!

If you aren't familiar with the My Monthly Hero kit, it's a kit that is released by Hero Arts on the first Monday of every month (later this month because of the holidays). It always has a fun, themed, collection of stamps, dies and other goodies. The cost is just $34.99/month and the value is always much greater! 

You have the option to subscribe (subscribing now means your first kit will be the February 2022 release), or, to buy your favorite kits as one-off purchases. Be aware that once these kits sell out they are gone for good. If you see a kit you like make sure to snatch it up quickly!

Today is Day Two of the Countdown to Creativity and I've got a sneak peek of this month's kit to share with you... and this month's kit is fun for so many reasons! I can't spill all of the beans yet because this is just a sneak peek so stay tuned because the full release is on Monday!

For today's card I stamped the window image in blue pigment ink and heat embossed it in clear embossing powder. Then I colored the image with copic markers in pinks, blues, and yellows. I die cut the image and set it aside.

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Next, I heat embossed my sentiment and some stars onto a piece of Pitch Black cardstock using white embossing powder. Then I used the watercolors that come with the kit to watercolor the stars and to splatter the background. The watercolors I used are iridescent and gorgeous!
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To finish my card, I popped the background up on a white card base. I also popped the window image up using foam tape so that it looks like it's floating in front of the galaxy background.
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This kit is coming on Monday but if you want to see more sneak peeks and enter for a chance to win the kit before you can buy then head on over to the Hero Arts blog!

See you back here on Monday for the full kit reveal!
Have an awesome day!
Maria

 

Monday, October 4, 2021

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Release and a little bit of Steampunk Grunge!

Hey everybody! The wait is over! It's time for the Hero Arts October My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is a festive holiday kit (affiliate links may be used at no extra cost to you)!

Before I get to my cards, if you aren't familiar with the My Monthly Hero kit, it's a kit that is released by Hero Arts on the first Monday of every month. It always has a fun, themed, collection of stamps, dies and other goodies. The cost is just $34.99/month and the value is always much greater! This month's kit is valued at $72!

You have the option to subscribe (subscribing now means your first kit will be the November release), or, to buy your favorite kits as one-off purchases. Be aware that once these kits sell out they are gone for good. If you see a kit you like make sure to snatch it up quickly!

This kit has an absolutely gorgeus, A2 sized window die. It has beautiful, etched details and a perfect spot at the top for adding a sentiment. I die cut it from white cardstock and lightly ink-blended it with Splash Reactive Ink. Then, I heat embossed the sentiment using Onyx Pigment ink and Clear embossing powder. I also ink-blended a second panel in Lemon Drop ink, splattered it with Midas Touch and set it aside to dry.

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Next, I heat embossed the tree, candelabra and champagne glasses in silver. I colored them all with my copic markers and then die cut them using the coordinating dies the come in the MMH kit. 
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I used foam tape to put my card together. I turned the candles upside down to create a chandelier and tucked the champagne glasses inside one of the windows. The final step was to add the Christmas tree to the front of the card.
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For my next card I went the complete opposite of my first card. This time I went for a metallic, grungy look by combining the new Gear Clock Boldprints with the new Steampunk Holiday set. I started by ink-blending a piece of Aegean cardstock with Blue Hawaii ink (around the edges only). Then I heat embossed the Gear Clock background stamp with Sand embossing powder. After that I used the Novel Prose background stamp to do some taco stamping (fold the stamp like a taco and stamp with it) and heat embossed that with white puff embossing powder.

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To finish off the background, I heat embossed the sentiment and some gears in Onyx ink and clear embossing powder. I used two different sentiments to do this and I used washi tape to cover up the part of each sentiment that I didn't want to use. I also took a black posca pen and marked up the background a little bit.
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Last, I heat embossed the little steampunk owl and key in brass on Pitch Black cardstock and then cut them out using the matching dies. I attached them to my card using foam tape and positioned them so that the owl was perching on the key.
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Every once in a while I like to make a single layer card that's easy to mail so I decided to do that with the gorgeous Christmas Tree stamp. I heat embossed the image and sentiment onto Cherry Cardstock using Gold Glitter Embossing Powder. I decided to color the image with my colored pencils but I wasn't able to get the contrast I was hoping for so my coloring just looked, "blah." I basically never throw anything away (I try to fix everything) and this card was no exception.

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I grabbed my fine tipped, colored Posca Pens (acrylic paint pens) and decided to try coloring the tree with those. Because the paint is opaque I was able to get bold colors and make the tree standout on the red background. It was a little hard to color perfectly because the pen tips were larger than some of the tiny details of the stamp but I ended up being happy with how it turned out.
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After that all I had to do was to glue my panel to a cardbase and my card was done!
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Ok! That is it for today but please make sure to enter our fabulous GIVEAWAY and continue on with our BLOG HOP for tons of amazing inspiration! 

Have an awesome day!
Maria

GIVEAWAY:
We will give away ALL OF THE OCTOBER ADD-ON PRODUCTS, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, October 10th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

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