Hero Arts Summer Catalog and Mixed Media Release: Blog Hop & Giveaways!

Hey everybody! I'm so glad you are stopping by today because is release day for the brand new Hero Arts Summer Catalog 2021! For this release we have a really cool combination of things to share. We've got brand new products, brand new mixed media products (waxes, pearls, paste and a fabulous palette knife!) and we are even putting a mixed media style twist on some products that you may already know and love. Fun! The new catalog is absolutely gorgeous so if you'd like to get a copy for yourself click here.

Today I'll be sharing some of the projects that I made for the catalog as well as a look at the new mixed media products so make sure to stick around until the end of my post (especially if you want to enter the GIVEAWAY). For my first two projects I used exactly the same products to create two very different looks. I used liquid watercolors (as DIY sprays), the Togetherness Flower Bouquet Stamp, the Newspaper Bold Prints, the Diamond Stencil and the Luggage Tag Alphabet Frame Cuts. For my first piece I tore a piece of Strathmore watercolor paper out of a notebook and left the holes on the left side. I cut the piece down and sprayed it DIY sprays made from both liquid water colors and Reactive Ink Inkers. Then, I stamped the floral stamp repeatedly in Onyx Pigment ink and heat embossed it in clear. 

On the left side of the piece I added dark shadows behind the flowers using a black watercolor pencil and a sharpie. This made the flowers pop forward more. On the right side of the background I stamped the Newspaper Bold Prints into the background in Splash Reactive Ink. Then I used the Diamond stencil and Unicorn White ink to create more subtle background interest. I heat embossed some of the sentiments from the new Art Journal Messages onto the background in white. 

After splattering the background with both gold and white Glimmer Metallic ink I added a black sentiment die cut using the Luggage Tag Alphabet dies. I love the bold font of these dies and the fact that I can make any sentiment I want with them. To finish this piece up I add highlights with a white posca pen and a few black enamel dots for accents.

This card uses the same products for a totally different look. This time I used the Hero Arts watercolor paper (A2 sized) and sprayed it with Liquid Watercolor sprays (Indigo and Pink). Then I stamped Newspaper Bold Prints onto some deli paper with permanent ink. I glued a strip of this stamped paper to my card base before applying Hero Paste over the background using the Diamond Stencil and the NEW PALETTE KNIFE which I absolutely love! While the paste was still wet I sprinkled it with White Puff Embossing Powder and heat set it. While the embossing powder was still hot I sprinkled it with Sand Embossing Powder and heat set that to add more texture. I splattered the background with with both white and gold Glimmer Metallic Ink as well as black acrylic paint and set it aside to dry.

I stamped the flowers in Onyx Pigment Ink and heat embossed them in clear embossing powder before cutting them out with the coordinating die. Then I watercolored them with liquid watercolors (Pink, Orange, Dandelion, Leaf and Jungle Mist). I added extra detail and shadows with black sharpie and gray copic markers before adhering them to my card with foam adhesive.  

To finish the card off I added a "HEY" sentiment cut using the Luggage Tag Alphabet dies. I adhered the letters using foam tape and then added some black enamel dots.

My next three projects again use the same products but combine them in different ways for different outcomes. For these projects I am using the Bug Collections Bold Prints Stamp, the Novel Prose Bold Prints Stamp, and, the Love Stamp & Cut. For this card I started out with an A2 sized piece of Paradise cardstock. I used a MISTI to stamp the Bug Collections BP in Canary Pigment ink and heat embossed it in clear. Then, I ink-blended around the edges of the card using Blue Hawaii Reactive Ink and a blending brush. This darkened up the edges and gave the center of the card a glow. Next, I stamped around the edges again using Versamark ink and the Novel Prose BP stamp. I heat embossed that in gold. To finish the background off I added splatters of black acrylic paint.

Next, I stamped the Bug Collection Bold Prints stamp onto watercolor cardstock in Onyx Pigment ink and heat set it with clear embossing powder. Then, I cut out a little piece for the top, left of my card and a butterfly for the bottom right. I also cut out a couple specimen labels to add to the background. I watercolored the butterfly with liquid watercolors and outlined the other pieces in black sharpie. I layered the butterfly onto a black banner from the Love Stamp & Cut set. I also created my sentiment from this set. I placed all of my pieces onto the background and when I was happy with the layout I glued them all done and that was all she wrote!

For my next two projects I used playing cards. There were two extra cards in the deck so I just grabbed those and I added a layer of both white and black acrylic paint as a backdrop to get started. On this first card I stamped Novel Prose randomly into the background using black ink.

I added circles using bubble wrap and Aquamarine Pigment Ink that I heat embossed in clear. Then, I stamped Novel Prose again, this time using Versamark ink and I heat embossed that in Sand Embossing Powder. I splattered the background with white acrylic paint and Gold Glimmer Metallic Ink before smearing more gold and black acrylic paint around the edges. At some point in this process I also stamped some "XOXO" sentiments into the background.

To finish this playing card up I added cuttings from the Bug Collections stamp and Love Stamp & Cut that I watercolored and outlined in black. I also added some gold string behind them and some enamel dots to add a little extra texture. 

For this Love Bug playing card I basically applied the same techniques as on the butterfly playing card. I heat embossed Novel Prose in white and then again with Sand Embossing Powder. 

I wanted to add more color to the background so I smeared some Leaf and Jungle Mist Liquid Watercolor on with my finger. It worked better than I thought it would and I think it looks really cool.

When I added the "Love" die cut I covered it in Clear Lacquer so that it would be shiny. I also added Clear Lacquer to the beetle so he looked three dimensional and to the "Bug" sentiment. I did the the "Bug" sentiment by hand since there wasn't one in the set. The final step was to add some white enamel dots.

Ok! Now let's move on and check out some of the new and super awesome mixed media products that are launching today! We've got two brand new mediums and an addition to one existing product line. Here's what we've got:

   

HERO WAXES:

        -Gold

        -Black

        -White (Pearlescent finish)

        -Buy them in a Bundle!

HERO PEARLS:

        -Gold

        -Silver

        -Pewter

        -White (Pearlescent finish)

        -Buy them in a Bundle!

HERO PASTE:

        -Pearl

        -Buy them in a Bundle!

Now, here's a look at what we've got. These are swatches of all three colors of the new HERO WAXES. The waxes are a wax based product that dries permanent on most surfaces. They are great for doing a variety of techniques with. On these swatches I show that they can be applied smoothly with a palette knife (top left), textured (bottom left), heated with a heat tool to bubble them (top right), and applied with a dry brush to add texture (bottom right). They are amazing to burnish over texture on your projects, for use with stencils and for many other techniques. You can buy these waxes individually or as a bundle.

Next up we have the new HERO PEARLS in four gorgeous colors! All four of these of a striking, metallic finish that is very eyecatching. As you can see from the swatches they can be applied in a variety of ways-here, I've used my finger, used the tip to draw a squiggle, and then made some pearls as embellishments. The colors all look stunning on both dark and light cardstock and are easy to make beautiful "pearls" with (no hershey's kiss look with these drops as they are self-leveling). You can buy these individually or as a bundle.

Finally, we have the newest addition to our Hero Paste line with this gorgeous, new HERO PEARL PASTE. This paste is similar to others in our line (currently we have our original paste, glitter paste and now Pearl paste). It is white with a pearlescent finish and had great coverage on both light and dark cardstocks. You can add color this paste by adding a few drops of either liquid watercolor or Inkers. If you already have the two existing pastes you can pick up the Pearl paste by itself, or, if you want all three pastes you can grab the bundle. 

Here's a look at all of the swatches for the new mediums together... Aren't they fun?!

Before I go there are two new tools that I have to tell you about because you are going to need them!

First we've got the new stamp Scrubbing Block! This is a block that is easy to hold in your hand and allows you scrub your stamps clean while they are in your MISTI! This tool makes it easy to clean your Bold Print stamps too! Check it out HERE!

We've also got a brand new Palette Knife! I absolutely love because it's made out of metal and wood. I love tools made of natural materials so much more than plastic tools. This palette knife is also really great because of the shape of the knife. It is shaped like an elongated diamond and has a narrow tip that is easy to dip into your product containers to pick up your product. Check out this awesome, new Palette Knife HERE!

Ok, you guys! That is it for today so I hope you'll keep hopping along with us to check out the new goodies and tons of creative inspiration from the Hero Arts Creative Team. Remember to enter our giveaway too (details below)!

Have an awesome day!

Maria

GIVEAWAY:

BLOG HOP LIST:

Hero Arts
Channin Pelletier
Dana Joy
Daniel West
Debi Adams
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Lydia Fiedler
Maria Willis: You are here.
Michelle Short
Mindy Eggen
Pocono Pam
Seeka

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

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

After that all I had to do was to glue my panel to a cardbase and my card was done!

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.

BLOG HOP LIST:

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
Jennifer Kotas
Meg Brooks
Nichol Spohr
Rebecca Keppel

And visit on Instagram: 

Kailash Naidoo

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

Picket Fence Studios STAMPtember Release

Hi everybody! I'm popping in with a fun card from the lates Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember release! Now it's Picket Fence Studio's turn to join the fun with an adorable cat stamp set called, Sarcastic Kitties. You can get just the stamp set, or, go big and get the stamp and die bundle.

I decided to go with a mixed media look for my mini-slimline card. I grabbed a watercolored, galaxy background from my stash and then added some gold mousse through the SSS Circle Dots Stencil to add a little texture and shine.

Then I watercolored on of the cats from the set using my Karin markers. I only used two colors ( a gray and a pink) but I was able to mix them to achieve a range of shades.

I heat embossed my sentiment in black  and added some extra detail to the background with a black posca pen. Then I adhered the cat to my card with foam tape, attached the background to a black cardbase, and called it good!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you have an awesome day and I'll see you all back here soon!

Maria

Starry Clouds & Fairy Kisses

Hey everybody! I hope you're having an awesome day! I'm just dropping by to let you guys know that I'm up on the Hero Arts blog today sharing this sweet fairy card. You can head over there for all of the details!

I don't want to leave you totally hanging on the details though so... I made my galaxy background using Reactive inks (listed below), Shimmer Mist and White Glimmer Metallic ink.

I topped that off with a black frame cut using the new Starry Clouds Infinity Dies. After that all I had to do was add a copic colored fairy and a heat embosssed vellum sentiment from the Fairy Kisses stamp set.

Ok, that is it for today you guys! For more details please head on over to the Hero Arts blog!

Have an awesome day!

Maria

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

Hero Arts Bare Branched Tree Done Christmas Style!

Hi Everybody! I hope you are having a great day and that it doesn't seem too early for me to be sharing a Christmas card. I generally don't start making Christmas or Holiday cards until it is far too late to get them mailed out on time... so it's pretty weird that here I am in mid-September with a Christmas card. The truth is that this Bare Branched Tree Bold Prints Background stamp just screams wintery, holiday everything to me.

So, for today's card I've heat embossed the gorgeous Bare Branched Tree stamp in Gold Glitter Embossing Powder onto Cranberry cardstock. It's hard to see in the photo but I've also ink blended the edges with some Raspberry Jam dye ink to make the edges of the card face a little darker.

I decided to use the Stocking Bouquet stamp set to add my sentiment and the flower. Now I'm sure that's supposed to be a poinsettia... and poinsettias are typically red but I needed the flower to contrast so I colored it green with my copic markers. I added a few green enamel dots for some additional pops of color. I love these enamel dots bc the backs of them are already sticky and they come in multiple sizes (so easy and convenient to use). 

To finish my card off I added it to some gold foil paper from Tonic Studios and added all that to a top folding white card base from Hero Arts. 

Have you started making holiday cards yet? Do you start early on purpose or are you a last minute holiday card maker like I am? Let me know in the comments below.

Have an awesome day you guys!

Maria

PRODUCT SUPPLY LIST:

March 2018 Paper Pumpkin Kit: May Good Things Grow

Hi Everybody! Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Today I've got a card that I've made as an alternate to the March 2018 Paper Pumpkin Kit called "May Good Things Grow." I've been having fun making alternate projects with kit and you'll see more of what I made over the next week.

I used a Very Vanilla card base with a mat that I embossed with the Garden Trellis Embossing Folder.  I used the gorgeous wood embellishments that came as a free gift in the Paper Pumpkin kit this month embellish my card. These wooden embellishments have a beautiful, natural wood finish but I glammed them up a bit by heat embossing them in gold. To do this I pressed the wooden embellishments into my Versamark ink pad. Then I poured gold embossing powder over them. I used tweezers to hang on to them when I used my heat tool so that I wouldn't burn my fingers. Both the flowers and golden leaves hanging out in the background were from the free gift pack. I used a stamp from the kit, a fun die cut from the kit (I sponged the die cut), the twine and gorgeous pearl embellishments from the kit to make the centerpiece for this card.

The vintage rose background paper, Fresh Fig ribbon and cool, brass brad are also from the Paper Pumpkin kit! I added a circle of watercolor paper that I cut out with my stitched circle framelits and added some color to it with Fresh Fig ink and my aqua painter. I also splattered some ink onto the Very Vanilla background so that it wasn't quite so vanilla.

Have you tried embossing wood embellishments before? Have you tried any other interesting techniques with them? If so, I'd love to hear about it! Let me know what you've tried in the comments below.

If you have any question about this card, or, you would like help purchasing products to make your own cards please let me know. Remember that Sale-a-Bration is almost over. You've got until March 31st to take advantage of getting a free gift for every $50 USD (before tax and shipping) that you spend in my store. It's also a great time to join my team as there are some pretty amazing perks for signing up right now. Let me know if you've got questions!

Ok, I'm outta here but I will be back tomorrow with more Paper Pumpkin alternatives. I'm excited about what I've got to share tomorrow so I really hope you'll come back to check it out.

Have an amazing day!

Maria

E-mail: mariawillis@hotmail.com

SUPPLY LIST: Please click through to easily purchase products. Thank you!

Want to shop with me? No problem, just click the button below. 

Let me know if you have any questions!

Email: mariawillis@hotmail.com

Want a great discount on Stampin' Up! Products and to have a fun new stamping family? Join me on this fun adventure! I can't wait to be your super excited Stampin' Up! side kick and support lady! In case you didn't know, you can join Stampin' Up! just for the discount and never sell a single product. If you want to know the details just let me know. If you're looking for a discount on your favorite hobby (stamping and paper crafting with Stampin' Up! products) and want to earn money doing it... let me know! I'd love to talk with you whatever your interest might be! If you want to see a little more info go ahead and click the button below. Looking forward to hearing from you!

World Card Making Day Blog Hop 2017

Hey Everybody! Hello and welcome to my blog. I'm so excited to have you here today because today is World Card Making Day! Pretty great day if you're asking me. To celebrate the occasion I am blog hopping with a phenomenally talented group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators. Just wait until you see what everyone has made...

For my card I decided to do some gold heat embossing along with some watercoloring. I've been doing a lot of this lately but it's hard to stop when the results can be so stunning. My flower image is from the Remarkable You Stamp Set and it is perfect for watercoloring because of the big, full leaves.

I used Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight inks on the petals and Lemon Lime Twist and Emerald Envy on the stem and leaf. These are some of my favorite color combos for watercoloring because they blend into the most spectacular colors. I heat embossed my sentiment in gold on vellum. Then I layered it on top of a piece of Whisper White Cardstock, Gold Foil and a Whisper White background that was dry embossed with the Garden Trellis Embossing Folder. I added Black Metallic Thread and Iridescent Sequins to finish the card off.

The sentiment is from the Rose Wonder Stamp Set (so many great sentiments in that set). My card base is Thick Whisper White with a mat of Basic Black cardstock. 

I've made a video tutorial on how I watercolored this flower. If you haven't tried watercoloring before I hope that the tips I share in the video will help you get off to a good start. Enjoy!

As always, I'm thrilled to have you stop by my blog. I hope you've enjoyed my card and video today. If you're ready to see some incredible creations from the other artists on this blog hop then please click the next button and head on over to my incredibly talented friend over in Canada... The fabulous Carolynn Sander!

Thanks again for stopping by! See you soon!

Maria.

BLOG ROLL:

Anja Luft
Brian King 
Sue Plote  
Maria Willis: You are Here.
Carolynn Sander 
Charlet Mallett 
Natalie Lapakko 
Jay Soriano 
Rochelle Blok  
Cheryll Miller 
Jenny Hall 
Amy Koenders 
Kelly Kent 
Paula Dobson  
Lee Conrey  
Janneke de Jong 
Cathy Caines  
Holly Stene 
Jessie Holton

Need more stamps now? Never fear! I've got you covered!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Email: mariawillis@hotmail.com

Want a great discount on Stampin' Up! Products and to have a fun new stamping family? Join me on this fun adventure! I can't wait to be your super excited (possibly way too enthusiastic... No! That's not possible!) Stampin' Up! side kick and support lady! In case you didn't know, you can join Stampin' Up! just for the discount and never sell a single product. If you want to know the details just let me know. If you're looking for a discount on your favorite hobby (stamping and paper crafting with Stampin' Up! products) and want to earn money doing it... let me know! I'd love to talk with you whatever your interest might be! If you want to see a little more info go ahead and click the button below. Looking forward to hearing from you!