Hero Arts My Monthly Hero May 2022: Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Hey everybody! The wait is over! It's time for the Hero Arts May 2022 My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is a kitchen-loving dream! It's got a gorgeous fancy die, coordinating  small dies, a sentiment stamp set and a fun background stamp (affiliate links may be used at no extra cost to you)! It's also got a bunch of other fun supplies like cardstock, ink, embossing powder, and baker's twine!

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 $70!

You have the option to subscribe (subscribing now means your first kit will be the June 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 project I made a bright and happy, "Bun in the Oven" card. This card would be such a fun way to announce that a baby is on the way. The oven door opens so it would be easy to add a due date or a gender to the inside. I started out with an A2 sized piece of white cardstock and I masked off the window panes from the Open Windows Fancy die using masking paper. Then, I stamped the background stamp from the kit in Soft Granite Shadow Ink. Then I lightly ink blended the whole background with Soft Granite Ink to give it a little color. After that, I peeled the masking paper away and that left me with clean white, windows. I added some blue color using my copic markers to make it look like their was an outdoor view.

To finish off the window scene I adhered the Open Window Fancy die cut out of white cardstock. It perfectly framed out the windows that I had colored in blue. Once I had the window frame glued down I decided to make the windows look glossy and I filled them with a layer of Crystal Clear Lacquer Pen. You may want to do this step last, or, be very careful not to smear the lacquer before it dries properly.

Next, I cut the fancy die from the kit out of Paradise cardstock. I cut off the sides and top of the die cut leaving only the fruit bowl sitting on top of the counter. I added detail to the oven and fruit using a gold gel pen and some posca paint pens. I also stamped the sentiment onto the oven door using Onyx Pigment ink and then heat embossed it in clear embossing powder. Once that was done I glued the whole thing down using tape runner (I didn't want liquid adhesive to ooze through the gorgeous details of the die) except for the oven door which I propped slightly open with glue dots.

For my next card I used the gorgeous new Olive Branch stamp and die set. I heat embossed the large olive branch in gold and watercolored it using my Hero Arts Liquid Watercolors (Leaf, Jungle Mist, Purple, Art Print, Black). Then, I used the coordinating dies to cut out the image.

I used Jungle Mist Liquid Watercolor to quickly watercolor a background onto some handmade watercolor paper. Then I roughed up the edges with my fingernail and added some Gold Glimmer Metallic ink by rubbing it on with my fingers as well as splattering it with a paintbrush.

I created a gold circle frame with my Circle Infinity Dies by stacking three layers of white cardstock behind one layer of gold metallic cardstock. I heat embossed the sentiment in Onyx Pigment ink and clear embossing powder and then cut the sentiment strip out and flagged it with scissors. I glued all of the pieces to my card front using liquid adhesive and foam tape. Then I finished the card off by adding gold drops.

Here's a quick look at a card that I shared on Friday as a sneak peek for this kit. You can see more pictures and check out all of the details HERE.

Ok, you guys, that is it for today! I hope you all love this kit and will continue hopping along with us for even more inspiration. The full blog hop list is below and make sure to leave a comment here to get yourself entered into our giveaway!

Have an awesome day!

Maria

GIVEAWAY:

We will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, May 8th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

BLOG HOP LIST:

Hero Arts
Channin Pelletier
Dana Joy
Daniel West
Debi Adams
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Lydia Fiedler
Maria Willis
Michelle Short
Mindy Eggen
Pocono Pam
Seeka
Jennifer Kotas
Meg Brooks
Nichol Spohr
Rebecca Keppel

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

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Countdown to Creativity: December Kit!

Hey everybody! It's almost time for the December Hero Arts My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is a festive holiday kit!

But first, 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 January 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 Three 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 tomorrow!

This month's kit comes with a great 6x6" background stamp (and so much more). I ink blended my background using Key Lime Fizz, Pool Party, Blue Raspberry and Splash Reactive inks. Then, I heat embossed the background stamp in white onto my ink-blended background.

I cut my background down to 3.75" x 5.25 and added a black mat. That resulted in an abnormal size for an A2 card so I cut 1/4" off the side of my white cardbase and added my colorful background on top. 

To finish my card off I added a banner, sentiment and some gold keys from the kit. Next time I have a friend who moves I've got a fun little card to send their way!

Ok, guys, that's it for today. For a chance to win this kit before you can buy it head on over to the Hero Arts blog to get all of the details! I'll see you back here tomorrow for the full release!

Have an awesome day!

Maria
 

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

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero November 2021 Release: Adorable Tags and a Treat Box!

Hey everybody! The wait is over! It's time for the Hero Arts November My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is a fun holiday tag building kit with many fun characters (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 $70!

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! 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.

Now, this kit comes with some really fun tag building elements that allow you to custom build reindeer, elves, Santa and snowmen. You can make them tags or cut the circular "hook" off the top of the die cuts to create dies that can easily be used on cards. The kit also comes with two patterned stamps (dots and stripes), some sentiments and twine. 

For my first card I got inspired by the "no peeking" sentiment. I decided to make presents using the patterned stamps and I used the twine to tie bows around them. For one present I used the the dot stamp, White Puff embossing powder and Paradise cardstock. For the second present I used the striped stamp, silver embossing powder and Lapis cardstock. I tied them up with the twine from the kit and the red added a nice little pop of color.

Then I built an elf and tucked him behind the gifts to make it look like he is indeed peeking- what a naughty guy! For my naughty elf I used paper from the Colors of Earth cardstock pack for his face and ears/hair. I colored his nose and hair with brown copic markers. I cut the eyes out of white cardstock, placed them in the eyeholes and held them in place with a piece of tape stuck to the back. I used a black gel pen to color the eyes then added highlights with a white gel pen. I cut the hat twice, once from red foil and again from white glitter cardstock. I cut the "crown" out from the white glitter and glued it to the red foil hat. This gave me dimension and sparkle. To embellish the pompom on the hat I used the lacquer pen and white puff embossing powder that come in the kit. When I heat set these two products they expanded and puffed to give me a  really fun 3D effect on the pompom.

To finish my card off I used the new Candy Canes Bold Prints background stamp, versamark ink and Kiwi cardstock. Then I inkblended around the edges using Blue Raspberry Reactive ink which made the center of the card glow. I adhered the sentiment, gifts and elf using foam adhesive and that was that!

My next project was super fun to make and I could see myself making a bunch of these to handout as fun little treats! This is actually a box and I've put a packet of apple cider inside but it would be great with hot chocolate or fancy coffee packs too. I used mist cardstock to create my box which I custom sized to my apple cider packet. I used the Knitting Pattern Bold Prints stamp and versamark ink to stamp a subtle pattern onto my box (I did mask it off so that I only stamped the front of the box). I heat embossed my sentiment in Onyx ink and clear embossing powder. Then I glued my box together and wrapped it with a 1.5" strip of Woodgrain Vellum. I attached the vellum band to itself in the back so that I could slide it on and off of the box if I wanted to. 

Next, I cut the mug from Kiwi cardstock and inkblended the edges with Blue Raspberry Reactive ink. I heat embossed a snowflake using White Puff embbossing powder. then I cut the top of the mug die again in Sand cardstock. I did this because the liquid part of the mug is not attached to the mug which made it really easy for me to make hot chocolate with Sand cardstock and some brown markers.  I also die cut the whipped cream and the candy from white cardstock. I added color to the candy cane with red markers. Then, I added 3D foam to the whipped cream using the lacquer pen and White Puff embossing powder. I glued all of these pieces together and stuck them to my box using foam adhesive.

The last step was to create a topper for my apple cider packet. I did this by folding a strip of Cherry cardstock in half and glueing it to the top of the apple cider packet. I used the Tag Infinity dies to create a gold glitter circle thing for my topper and then I added some twine to finish it off. 

The apple cider pouch fits perfectly inside the gift box. This could also be a really fun way to give some one a gift card to their favorite coffee shop or hot chocolate bar. I love having fun ways to give smaller gifts at the holidays because it's such an easy way to make people feel cared for and thought about.

Now, here's a look at another card that I made using the November MMH kit. This is the card that I shared during the countdown but I wanted to share it again today for anyone who missed my last post.

If you wnat to check out the details on how I made this please head to the original blog post by CLICKING HERE.

This reindeer really is so cute! I turned this tag into a card but it would be really fun to use this as a tag on a gift as well.

Now before I go I want to show you a look at the full kit... it's got so much great stuff in it!

Ok, that's all for today you guys! Make sure you check out the info below so that you can join our giveaway and keep on hopping along with us for more MMH kit inspiration!

Bye for now and have an awesome day!

Maria

GIVEWAY:

Hero Arts will give away ALL OF THE NOVEMBER ADD-ON PRODUCTS, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, November 7th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

BLOG HOP LIST:

Hero Arts
Channin Pelletier
Dana Joy
Daniel West
Debi Adams
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Libby Hickson
Jessica Frost Ballas
Lydia Fiedler
Maria Willis
Michelle Short
Mindy Eggen
Pocono Pam
Seeka
Jennifer Kotas
Jennifer McGuire
Meg Brooks
Nichol Spohr
Rebecca Keppel
 

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

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero: Countdown Countdown to Creativity!

Hey everybody! It's almost time for the October Hero Arts My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is a festive holiday kit!

But first, 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 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 Three 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 tomorrow!

For today's card I started out by building myself a cute little reindeer using the dies from the kit. I cut the piece out from Sand cardstock and then added shading with my copic markers. I glued the reindeer pieces together and then added eyes and a nose that I had cut out in black. Once those were adhered I added some black gloss with a glossy gel pen. The final touch was to add a scarf that I had cut out using red foil.

To create the tag I used the Tag Infinity Dies to cut the largest tag out of Mist Cardstock. Next, I heat embossed my sentiment in Onyx Black and heat embossed in clear. I covered the sentiment with a small piece of low-tack tape. Then I used the dotted stamp from the kit to stamp the background in Versamark ink, removed the tape from the sentiment, and I heat embossed it in Clear Embossing Powder. I love the subtle look that gave my tag bc it helped give it a little personality but still allowed the reindeer to be the star of the show. I also added a gold glitter circle to reinforce the tag hole before adding a twine bow (twine is from the kit).

I covered an A2 cardbase with Woodgrain Vellum. I adhered it using liquid adhesive and because of the texture, the adhesive is not visible through the vellum at all. This gave my background some subtle but beautiful texture. I added the reindeer to the tag with foam tape. Then added the tag on top of the vellum and that finished off my card!

Tomorrow we get to reveal the full release so make sure to come back tomorrow for an awesome blog hop with tons of inspiration and giveaways too! For now you can head on over to the Hero Arts blog for a chance to win this kit before you can buy it!

See you tomorrow for the full release!

Maria

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

VIDEO: Tonic Studios Stamp Club Release Blog Hop & Giveaway- Monsters

Hello everybody and welcome to this month's Tonic Studios Stamp Club Monsters release! Now this set is so fun and quirky and it has totally stolen my heart! It is available in limited quantities so if you love it, run to the store fast! You can shop at Tonic USA or Tonic UK.

This set has a bunch of fun little monsters and some fun little accessory stamps to go with them (think potion bottles, eye balls and birthday cakes)! The die set is also fantastic as it has not only coordinating dies but word dies, a stitched star background die and a great dotted coverplate as well! You can check it all out in my VIDEO HERE!

On my first card I colored in one of my favorite monsters (he's so happy with that huge smile) with copic markers. Then I cut him out with the coordinating die.

I ink blended the background panel using a stencil that I made by cutting the circle dot die plate two times, side by side. I gently inkblended soft primary colors through the stencil and I love how the background came out.

I combined a die cut "hi" with one of my favorite sentiments and popped all of my elements up using foam tape to finish off the card.

Now, I mentioned a made a video so before I get too far along here it is...

 

If you are having trouble watching this video please click here to view it on YouTube.

For my next card I used a monster that I've nicknamed "Grumpy." The poor little guy looks so bummed out that I just can't help but love him.  I stamped him straight onto a white cardbase, added a flower to his hand, and colored him with my copic markers. I used a sharpie to add some grass so he had something to stand on.

I combined two of the sentiments on the front of my card.

And then I used an adhesive foam sheet to pop up the front of my card before adding a few sequins.

This next card is all about getting that party started! I stamped two little party monsters clinking their drink potions together on watercolor paper. I watercolored them using my Nuvo Aqua flow pens.

I heat embossed my sentiment in black. I also stamped the inside of the card with "We'll have a monster of a good time!"

The final step was using foam adhesive to pop the watercolored panel up onto a black background.

Now, if you're not one for coloring then this card is for you. I heat embossed my images in white on white cardstock. Then I used a blending brush to ink blend over them in pink, yellow and blue inks. I wanted there to be a little more contrast so I grabbed my copic markers and darkened up the background (behind the monsters only) a little bit to make the monsters look like they were in the foreground. I also used a black gel pen to add dots to their eyes.

For the next step, I used the stitched stars detail die to add some really cool detail and texture to my backgournd above the monsters. I also heat embossed my sentiments in black on white, cut out the sentiment strips and added them with foam tape.

I added some striped washi tape to the top of a white note card. Then, I added strips of black cardstock at the top and bottom of my monster panel and mounted it to the card base.

 

My final card is a slim-line card. I used the circle dot die from the bundle to create a white, holey background panel. I put that on top of a watercolored background from my stash.

I added the layered panels to my black, mini-slimline cardbase then set to work coloring and die cutting my monsters and the two-layer cake.

After heat embossing my sentiments I added them and the monsters to my card front using foam tape.

Ok you guys that is it for today! I absolutely love this Monsters release and I hope you will too! Before I go I want to show you what the full Monsters release looks like and of course we've got a blog hop and a giveaway too (scroll down for details).

Bye everybody and have and awesome day!

Maria

GIVEAWAY:

-One lucky winner will win a £50/$50 Giftcard to Tonic Studios and the Monsters bundle!

-To enter, comment on every blog in the hop by 11:59pm PST on September 29, 2021/ 7:59am GST on September 30, 2021

-Winner will be announced on October 1, 2021 on IG and FB so make sure you're following all of the Tonic Studios social media accounts!

BLOG HOP LIST:

Maria Willis: You are here.

Jen Kray

Erica Andersson Burke

Ilda Dias

Channin Pelletier

Ilina Crouse

Alberto Gava

Daniel West

Lydia Fiedler

Koren Wiskman

PRODUCT SUPPLY LIST:

Hero Arts Countdown to Creativity: Gorgeous Sunflowers!

Hey everybody! It's almost time for the August Hero Arts My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is absolutely gorgeous!

But first, 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 October 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 mindblowingly amazing! This month's kit has a gorgeous, large sunflower stamp. Even more amazing than that it's got a five piece layering set of stencils that makes it so incredibly easy for you to quickly and perfectly color this image in!

For this card I stamped my image in Onyx Pigment ink and heat embossed it in clear. Then I used the stencil set to add my color using blending brushes. I cut the image out with the coordinating die and set it aside.

Next, I cut a piece of Paradise cardstock to 4.25" x 5.5 and partially inkblended it using Blue Hawaii ink. I wanted the die background to be darker behind the sunflowers. I added the flowers with foam tape and then splattered my whole cardfront with White Glimmer Metallic ink.

I layered up my "hello" sentiment in black and white and glued that to my card. The final touch was to add some clear sequins.

Ok, you guys! That's it for today but please come back on Tuesday so I can share the whole kit and a really fun foiling technique with you!

Have a great day!

Maria

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

Mermaid Kisses and Starfish Wishes

Hey everybody! I am so excited to have you here today because today is my first post for Tonic Studios as a member of their Social Media Design Team. Tonic Studios has a new blog, and with it, a new design team. Every week day the Tonic DT will be sharing fun projects and lots of inspiration on the blog. The team is made up of some very talented artists and I am absolutely thrilled that Tonic has chosen me to help represent them. When you have a few minutes please go check out Tonic's new blog. It's a fun place to go for inspiration and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do. Here's a link to go check them out: CLICK HERE.

Now, on to today's project...

Today I am sharing a project using the Mermaid With Love range of dies. When I saw these dies I knew I had to have them because I love shells, sea stars, mermaids and well designed layering dies. I had so much fun playing around with them and coming up with fun ideas for them that it was hard to decide what kind of project I wanted to share with you. I decided on a shimmery, watercolor project that I hope you will enjoy but mixed media was a close second. There is a video tutorial for this project towards the bottom of this post. I hope you'll take a few minutes to watch it as I share how versatile this die range is. Until I opened these dies and started playing with them I really had no idea how many things you could do with them. In the video I also share some tips for using the dies as well as some tips for assembling this card.

SUPPLIES:

I started with a white card base cut to 5" x 10" and scored at 5" and a piece of watercolor paper cut to 4 & 7/8"squared. I also had a piece of white cardstock for cutting my large die piece, a small piece of watercolor paper for cutting my layering circle (behind sentiment) and a piece of black glossy cardstock backed with double sided adhesive for cutting out the sentiment die. Aside from cardstock you will need Nuvo Markers (Aqua Splash, True Turquoise, Azure Blue, Indigo Dawn), Dream Drops (Indigo Eclipse and Fairy Wings), dimensional foam adhesive, tape runner adhesive, a smooth precision glue pen, and Silver Rain sequins. You will also need my favorite die set from this collection, the Marina Layering Dies and the Mermaid Kisses & Starfish Wishes sentiment die.

HOW TO:

I started by watercoloring my two watercolor pieces using a paint brush and ink from Nuvo Markers. I saturated my watercolor cardstock with water and painted both pieces at the same time making sure that my background piece was much more saturated with color than the smaller piece. I set these aside to dry and did my die cutting next. I used the round seashell and starfish die with a larger cutting ring to cut the detailed die cut from white cardstock. Then I used the smaller cutting ring to die cut a layering circle from the smaller piece of watercolor paper. Last, I cut the sentiment die from the piece of black glossy cardstock and removed the negative pieces from the die being careful to leave the die cut inside of the die. After splattering my watercolor pieces generously with Glitter Gloss I put my card layers together. Both of the larger die cut pieces are popped up on foam adhesive. The sentiment is adhered after removing the backing from the double sided adhesive. Then, I embellished the card with sequins and Dream Drops. Side note: Dream Drops are epic!! Not only are they absolutely gorgeous but they must also be magic because I'm able to get perfect drops with them every. single. time. They are amazing and added just the right touch to this card as they look like pearls.

Here's that video I keep talking about. I hope you'll find it has some helpful information, both about this entire die collection, as well as for putting this card together.

Here's one more look at the cards I'm sharing today...

That's all for today folks! If you're interested in checking out any of the products I've shared today I've added links to all of them below. These are affiliate links and if you make a purchase through them I will make a small commission (thank you!). Thanks so much for stopping today. I hope you all have an amazing day and I will see you back here soon.

Maria

SUPPLY LIST UK SHOP

SUPPLY LIST USA