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.

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!

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):

 

gina k and brutus monroe

Hello everyone! I hope you all had an amazing weekend and are excited to get going with a new week. One of my favorite things is when two companies get together and decide to do a collaboration release of super fun products. That's what's going on today and we have an awesome collaboration release from Gina K. Designs and Brutus Monroe to share with you.

For my card I've used the gorgeous new floral design called, Seeds of Joy Stamp Set. Now, I chose to use the main floral image but it's also got a really fun seed packet image that I can't wait to use as well. I heat embossed the flowers using the new Wisteria Land Embossing Powder (hello, gorgeous purple!). Then I masked the image off using Masking Magic Sheets. I inkblended over the top of the masking paper in tones of yellow using a darker tone closer to the flowers. Then, I peeled off the masking paper revealing a crisp, clean floral image.

Next, I pulled out my copic markers I added some drop shadows in yellows and oranges before adding a little shading to the flowers (Purples and pinks). After I was done with my markers I stamped the sentiment in Onyx Black ink. I added a black mat behind my image piece and I think the black really helps the colors pop.

Ok, that's it for today you guys! Have an amazing day. Normally I say I'll see you back here soon but I probably won't be back on the blog this week as I'll be at Creativation in Florida! Take care!

Maria

PRODUCT SUPPLY LIST:

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Release April 2022 Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Hey everybody! The wait is over! It's time for the Hero Arts April 2022 My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit is absolutely gorgeous! It's got a gorgeous stamp and coordinating stencils and dies  (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 April 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 tag and had so much fun doing it. I stamped the background stamp onto white cardstock in Soft Granite ink. Then I used the stencils to color in the flowers using Lemon Drop and Taffy Reactive inks. I used copic markers to color in the bumble bees. Since it's a 6"x6" background I was able to use it to create two projects (see the slimline card I made below). I cut a piece of the floral design out on a diagonal and added it to a gray tag. I used the coordinating dies and cut out both a bee and some flowers.

Before gluing the pieces together I splattered the tag with black ink. I glued the the flowers down and added a black ring to the hole. I heat embossed my sentiment in white onto black and splattered it with gold. I added the sentiment with foam tape and then added the sweet little bee to finish it off. I added some twine to the top and love the rustic look of it.

Next, I made a card using the Mother's Day Vase stamp set. I wanted to go for a simple, one-layer card and this gorgeous floral stamp made it easy to do. I stamped it in Onyx Pigment ink and heat embossed it in clear embossing powder. I repeated the same process with the sentiment.

I used my copics to color the image in rainbow colors. To finish it off I added some highlights with a white gel pen. 

Here's that mini-slim card I mentioned at the beginning of the post. It's so awesome that you can make two projects from just one stamped image. I matted the floral piece on gray cardstock and added a sentiment with some silver thread for a little extra texture. 

Ok, you guys, that is it for today. I hope you'll keep hopping along with us and make sure to comment below to get yourselves entered in the 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, April 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
Dana Joy
Daniel West
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Lydia Fiedler
Maria Willis
Michelle Short
Mindy Eggen
Pocono Pam
Seeka
Meg Brooks
Nichol Spohr
Rebecca Keppel

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

Notable Ink New Product Release, Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Hey everybody! I hope you're having an awesome day... I sure am. I am back with my second blog post of the day and it's only 6am in my time zone-lol. Now I'm sharing a card I made with the brand new release from Notable Ink (click here to check out full release). My sweet and super talented friend Amber Rain Davis is the mastermind and skilled artist behind this release and the owner of Notable Ink! She is one of the kindest, most hardworking people you'll meet and I hope you all will love her release as much as I do. Amber has worked her tail off to bring us this release in clear stamps as well as providing us with digital release! She also has a collection of gel printables so that you can get that mixed media look without any of the mess.

The whole release is absolutely stunning but unfortunately I had very limited time to play with it due to a packed schedule. I did have a ton of fun making this card though and I can't wait to sit down and play more with this release in the future.

I used one of the stamps from the Tangle Vibes stamp set and heat embossed it in gold. Then, I colored the image in with copic markers. I love this stamp set because it has multiple circular images. Some of them are great as a focal point like this one. There are also smaller circular images that I cannot wait to use in an art journal.

After I colored my image I heat embossed the sentiment in black over the top. I love that there are two sentiments in this set that follow the curve of the circular art! It looks so cool when used together with the stamps. I added a black mat to my art piece and just like that my card was done!

I wanted to make sure you had a chance to check out this whole stamp set because it's amazing!

Ok you guys that's it for today but make sure you comment below to get yourself entered in the giveaway!

Have an awesome day!

Maria

GIVEAWAY:

Amber at Notable Ink is giving away two $25 gift cards to shop NotableInk.com. To enter the giveaway and increase your chance of winning, leave some love in a comment for each of our talented artists. The giveaway is open until April 7th, 2022 at 11:59 PM PST. Winners will be will be randomly chosen from comments left on the artists' blog and social media posts and announced on the Notable Ink blog post on April 8th, 2022.

BLOG HOP LIST:

Notable Ink 

Colleen Balija

Jo Herbert

Maria Willis: You are here.

Natasha Vacca

Teri Wilson

Enna Adams (Instagram) 

Hero Arts April MMH Countdown

Hey everybody! It's almost time for the April 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 May 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 absolutely gorgeous! 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 Soft Granite ink onto white cardstock.

Then I used the layering stencils and Reactive Inks in Lemon Drop, Taffy, Key Lime Fizz and Green Apple to color in the image using blending brushes. I used copic markers to color in the sweet little bees.

To finish my card off I added a black sentiment on gray cardstock and added a matching cardbase. I also tied some silver thread around the sentiment piece for a little something extra.

Ok you guys, that is it for today but I am telling you that this release is phenomenal so please come back on Monday to check out the full reveal!

Have an awesome day!

Maria

PRODUCT SUPPLY LIST (Affiliate links may be used at now extra cost to you):

Hero Blog Post

Hey everybody! I'm just popping in to let you all know that I'm up on the Hero Arts blog today with this shimmery, fun card! I wanted to create an easy card that is still eye-catching and this is what I came up with. Head on over to Hero Arts to check out all of the details.

I love the look of the Glitter Paste on black cardstock and using a large word die to finish the card off made my job easy. 

Have an amazing day you guys!

Maria

Topflight Stamps Fifth Birthday Celebration: Blog Hop!

It's Topflight Stamps 5th birthday and to celebrate, I’ve teamed up with some great designers to show off some of the unique products that Topflight Stamps has to offer. Please hop along with us and check out all the amazing projects that these talented designers have to share! If you're already following the hop you should have arrived here from Autumn Clark's blog. If you're starting the hop with me then scroll down to the bottom of this post to find the full list of hoppers and join us for the fun! Make sure you check out the AMAZING SALE (20% OFF), details for that are below too.

For today's project I decided to celebrate Topflight Stamps' birthday with a magical stamp set that I found in their shop. I picked this set partly because it's absolutely stunning but also because this sentiment describes how I feel when I get to shop Topflight's cool selection... I feel like magic has touched my soul! They have a ton of stamps, stencils and dies that are great for creating mixed media projects and I always want to buy all of the things! Anyhow, for today's art journal I used the Faerie Magic stamp set from Visible Image and the AALL & Create Totally Dotty Stencil. After spraying my art journal spread with Distress Oxide sprays I aded circles randomly across the background using the stencil and white acrylic paint. I also splattered the background with white paint and Gold Midas Touch before adding some scribbles with a black Stabilo pencil. 

Next, I stamped my faerie onto white cardstock and colored her using Dina Wakley Scribble Sticks. I stamped the sentiment onto some turquoise washi tape and adhered it to the page. Unfortunately, I smeared the sentiment a little bit but that's ok. For me, art journaling is about the process and I never stress if there is a mistake as long as I had fun.

After adhering the faerie to my page I heat embossed some of the cool concentric circles with dots onto my page and I heat embossed them in gold. A bunch of embossing powder stuck in the binding and I thought it looked cool so I heat set that too. 

This page was so much fun to put together and I hope you enjoyed taking a look at it. The rest of the blog hop crew has made some amazing projects to share with you too so I hope you'll keep on hopping along with us. Next up on the hop is my amazing friend, Angela Myhere! Head on over to her blog to check out the gorgeous card she made!

Bye for now!

Maria Willis

BLOG HOP LIST:

Topflight Stamps

Kathi Rerek

Dina Kowal

Esther Asbury

Annette Allen

Jennie Atkinson

Rachel Kleinman

Connie Mercer

Charmaine Canham

Lisa Hoel

Jenny Marples

Cornelia Wenokor

Rachel Greig

Ericka Strange

Karen Bearse

Melina Dahl

Autumn Clark

Maria Willis: You are here.

Angela Myhre

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Of course, it wouldn’t be a birthday celebration without prizes! Topflight Stamps is giving one lucky winner a $50 Gift Certificate to the store. But wait, there is more, each stop on the hop has an additional $25 Gift Certificate up for grabs for some lucky commenter. For a chance to win, make sure to visit every stop on the hop and leave a comment by April 3rd. Winners will be announced on the Topflight Stamps blog on April 7th. Good Luck!

 

Gina K Designs April 2022 Release!

Hey everybody and super happy day to ya! It's time for another fabulous release from Gina K Designs and I've got a cheerful card to share with you using one of her new stamp sets. 

I used the Choose Grace stamp set and some brightly colored inks to create this card. I started out by stamping the bamboo stalks in green on white cardstock. Then, I inkblended the background lightly with blues. I added a black mat to that background piece and adhered it with foam tape to a white cardbase. 

Next, I stamped out two of the flower outlines multiple times in black ink. Then, I added color by stamping them using the solid floral images. I also stamped some leaves and sprigs in green. I used my MISTI to make this an easy process. Next, I used the coordinating dies to cut out all of my pieces and I arranged them around a sentiment from the Spring Florals Background stamp set. Once I had everything arranged in a way I liked I adhered everything together with a combination of liquid glue and foam adhesive. 

And that is all there was to that! You can find the gorgeous stamp set I've used today (Choose Grace) as well as the entire fabulous new release over at Gina K Designs! 

Enjoy and have an awesome rest of your day!

Maria

Hero Arts March 2022 My Monthly Hero Release: Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Hey everybody! The wait is over! It's time for the Hero Arts March 2022 My Monthly Hero release and this month's kit has so artistic and fun (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 April 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 grabbed a background from my stash (made using DIY liquid watercolor sprays, iridescent shimmer spray and white glimmer metallic ink). I masked off one of the sentiments from the kit and heat embossed it using Onyx Pigment ink and Clear embossing powder. I also heat embossed one of the splatter stamps multiple times on the background using White Satin Pearl Embossing Powder. This gave the background a pearlescent, milky way-like, galaxy look (that doesn't photograph well). Then I mounted the background onto Pitch Black cardstock.

Next, I cut the die that is included in the kit from Pitch Black cardstock and used scissors to cut out thhe two people and the bench. I used Precision Glue to adhere the lady and the bench to my background panel. Then I used foam tape to adhere the male so that it appeared he was standing behind her. The final step was to add some shooting stars whith my white posca paint pen.

My next card uses an awesome new background from this release called, Abstract Frames Bold Prints. Now I was short on time when making this so I want a quick and easy card that was still eye-catching. I grabbed a piece of water color cardstock, an acrylic stamping block and Reactive in Splash and Taffy. I wiped the inkpads directly onto the acrylic block to add ink to the block. Next, I spritzed both the block and the cardstock with water before pressing the inked up block onto the watercolor paper. I lifted the block up leaving a watercolored rectangle behind. To finish my background I stamped the Abstract Frames Bold Print in varsamark ink and heat embossed it using White Satin Pearl Embossing Powder.

To finish the card off I used the Friend Words Fancy Dies cut from white cardstock ( I actually cut each word three times and then glued them together for dimension) and glued them to my cardbase.

I added some Nuvo Dream Drops in Cloud Nine and called it good! It seriously doesn't get easier than that!

Alright that is it for today you guys but please continue hopping along with us and enter yourself in the amazing giveaway below!

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, March 13th 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
Lydia Fiedler
Maria Willis
Michelle Short
Mindy Eggen
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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

Next, I cut the Congrats sentiment out of Black Glitter paper and glued that to my cardfront.

The final step was to add a bunch of stars that I cut from Silver Sparkle paper using my 5-Point Stars Infinity Dies. 

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:

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

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