Hero Arts + Marvy Uchida Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hello! Today several of us from the Hero Arts team are hopping along, sharing projects made by combining Hero goodness with products from Marvy Uchida! Marvy sent us some super fun goodies to play with, yay! You should have arrived here from the lovely and talented Janette Kausen. Otherwise head on over to the Hero Arts blog to start with all of the fabulous inspiration over there!

For my card today, I combined the beautiful Heavenly Angel woodblock stamp with Marvy ColorIn Watercolor Pencils.

I stamped the angel in permanent black ink on watercolor paper, and then lightly added color with the pencils. I used the Marvy LePlume II Blender Pen to smooth and blend the color. It worked fabulously!

I added some star embellishments and silver glitter paper that were leftover from my October My Monthly Hero kit. Did you know the the jewel picker, that everyone LOVES these days as it's a super tool for picking up sequins and other embellishments, is made by Marvy Uchida? I didn't realize that!!

I was the last stop on today's hop - but be sure to visit all of these blogs and leave comments! We're giving away a prize pack of Marvy Uchida + Hero Arts goodies, and trust me, you won't want to miss the opportunity! Leave a comment on all of the blogs on the hop by Sunday, October 21st at 11:59pm pst. The winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog.

Hero Arts
Ilina Crouse
Emily Midgett
Janette Kausen
Libby Hickson (you are here!)

Thanks for stopping by!

October My Monthly Hero - Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

It's Hero Arts My Monthly Hero release day, and oh my goodness is the October kit adorable!! I am so in love with all of the images in this stamp set. And the layered tree die. And the shimmery ink. And the iridescent stars. And the glitter paper. Yup! Kit perfection!!

Here's a look at one of the projects I created this month. Of course I had to make this adorable skater wearing purple and green, because hello I am me! I colored her with my Copics. I colored the ice with blue and gray Copics as well, then went over it with the shimmery iridescent ink included in the kit. I just squeezed a little out onto my craft mat (an acrylic block or palette would work great as well), and painted it on with a paintbrush. It's super hard to photograph but in real life it is spectacular!

I used some of the silver glitter paper in the kit for the background, and added a fun star embellishment with a dot of liquid glue.

If you'd like to see more of the cards I created this month, take a look at the October kit landing page. I'll share more details about these cards over the next few days.

And here's a look at the full October My Monthly Hero kit - so much goodness!

Now it's time to hop. I can't wait to see what all of these rockstars came up with! Like every month, there's a giveaway - be sure to comment on every blog in the hop, and a lucky winner drawn from the comments will receive a free kit! The winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog. Comment by Sunday night, October 7th!

The Hero Arts Blog
Caly Person
Debi Adams
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Janette Kausen
Jennifer McGuire
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Julee Tilman
Kelly Latevola
Laurie Willison
Libby Hickson (you are here!)
Lydia Fiedler
Michelle Short
Nichol Spohr
Yana Smakula

I have a hunch this month's main kit will be a quick seller, so be sure to grab yours before it's too late! And check out all of the add-ons too, they are all so much fun. I always love October kit month, yay!!

Thanks for stopping by,

September My Monthly Hero - Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

It's time for another My Monthly Hero release, and this month the theme takes a fun twist on all things autumn. The main kit features beautiful Chinese lantern plants, among other images. The bright orange lanterns are gorgeous for fall!

I began with my kit by stamping out all of the images on watercolor paper, and just painting them in with the Daniel Smith dot card, included in the kit. It's amazing just how far those little dots can go when watercoloring! Once dry, I die cut the images and arranged some of them on my card, popping up the pieces.

Here's a look at the entire amazing kit. It's so pretty - definitely on my list of all-time favorites!

I also made several cards used the optional add-on products. For this next card, I began by painting a very vibrant background using the brand new Orange Liquid Watercolor (which is so gorgeous!!) along with Dandelion and Cocoa.

I stamped out the images from the stamp and cut set and again just painted them all in, using the liquid watercolors mentioned above along with Moss, Pine and Strawberry. After die cutting, I arranged them on my watercolored background, accenting with sequins from the Champagne mix as well as a strip of glitter cardstock.

The next card features the absolutely gorgeous new Ornate Floral Stencil.

To create the background for this card, I mixed a bit of Nuvo Glimmer Paste on my craft mat along with a few drops of the Orange Liquid Watercolor. I smoothed this paste across the stencil using a palette knife, and set aside to dry. The Nuvo paste dries quite quickly, so I immediately washed my stencil. The accent on this card is an oak leaf from the Textured Leaves set, embossed in gold on vellum. The "autumn greetings" message is from the new Autumn Moon stamp set.

Here's another card featuring stamps from the Autumn Moon set. These were stamped, die cut and colored with Copics. That gorgeous background is the new Patterned Lanterns Bold Prints, embossed with the fun new Red Embossing Powder.

And finally, a card using the new Cloudy Moon Fancy Die. These fun clouds were die cut from watercolor paper, which I added color to using liquid watercolors in Indigo and Purple. I added a little Black to the clouds, watered down quite a lot to be more gray than black, and then covered them with Star Dust Stickles.

I stamped the sweet little bunny from Autumn Moon in Orchid ink, and created a shaker card filled with Ombre Purple sequins.

Now it's time to hop! There's so much inspiration from these bloggers, be sure to check it all out! And like every month, there's a giveaway - be sure to comment on every blog in the hop, and a lucky winner drawn from the comments will receive a free kit! The winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog. Comment by Sunday night, September 9th!

The Hero Arts Blog
Ilina Crouse
Lydia Fiedler
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Libby Hickson (you are here!)
Janette Kausen
Amy Kolling
Kelly Latevola
Jennifer McGuire
Emily Midgett
Caly Person
Michelle Short
Jenn Shurkus
Yana Smakula
Nichol Spohr
Julee Tilman

Thanks for stopping by!

Rubeena's Crafting Anniversary Blog Hop DAY ONE + Giveaways

Welcome to Rubeena’s Crafting Anniversary 2-Day Blog Hop! This hop is epic with more than 70 guests and over $1,000 in sponsored prizes! Not only are we celebrating four years since Rubeena first discovered cardmaking but also crafting in general. This industry is made up of wonderful individuals who are creative, inspirational, kind, and incredibly supportive! Hop along so you can learn about why we create and how much joy it brings us!

You should have arrived here by way of Tiffany Au's blog. If you didn't, be sure to head over to Rubeena's blog to start at the very beginning!

The hop is today is inspired by Rubeena's crafting journey. I thought it was appropriate to create with a set from Hero Arts called Enjoy the Journey! I think we're all enjoying this stamping journey.

For this first card, I stamped the bottle, cork and ship from Enjoy the Journey in waterproof ink, and colored with my Liquid Watercolors - Deep Ocean, Cocoa and Black. The ship was cut out with the matching dies, and I hand trimmed the bottle since I had stamped the cork in it. A little twine as an accent completed a quick and adorable card.

The next card is similar, but with a few more added details...

For this card, I stamped the adorable bottle and boat, then again watercolored with my Hero Arts Liquid Watercolors, using Deep Ocean, Indigo, Cocoa and Black. I stamped some of the cute little bits included in the stamp set in the water as well. I love that you have to option to say "we" forgot your birthday with this set - both "we" and "I" are available. And the "oh ship" is pretty darn funny.

For this final card, I wanted to play with all the little critters included in the set.

I started by watercoloring a panel, then stamped the images with various colors of bold inks. I added happy faces to the animals because, well, why not? I added white gel dots to fill in more of the space. For the message, I dug deep into my old embellishment bin and used these fasteners I've had for ages, which are attached with brads! It's my little nod to my own stamping journey, since I used to use things like that on my cards all the time when I started stamping!

Now let's get back to Rubeena's journey! In celebration of this anniversary, Rubeena has gathered several amazing sponsors. Let’s thank them for their generosity! Winners will be randomly selected from comments left on all the blogs. The winners will be announced HERE by Wednesday, September 5. Winners will have up to 2 weeks to contact Rubeena at ararerubycrafts@gmail.com to claim their prize before another winner is selected.

Studio Katia - $50 gift card

Hello Bluebird - $50 gift card

Altenew - $50 Gift card

Pinkfresh Studio - $30 gift card

Gina K. Designs - $50 gift card

Clearly Besotted - £25 gift card

Simon Says Stamp - $25 gift card

Spellbinders Card Kit ($55 value).

Jennifer McGuire - $50 Simon Says Stamp gift card

Winnie & Walter, LLC - $40 gift card

Mama Elephant - $25 gift card

Hero Arts - $25 gift card

Nichol Spohr LLC - Custom-sewn rainbow pencil case filled with new Spellbinders dies

Danielle Flynn - $25 Simon Says Stamp gift card

Picket Fence Studios - four $25 gift cards

Ellen Hutson - two $25 gift cards  

Pretty Pink Posh - two $30 gift cards

The Stamp Market - July 2018 Release (estimated $100 value)

Indigojade Art Shop - $50 gift card to Art Prints & Gifts Shop

Flora & Fauna - a 4x6 stamp set

Waffle Flower - $25 gift card

Power Poppy - $50 gift card

Now it's time to hop! Next up is Leigh Houston! I can't wait to see what she's made!

Congratulations Rubeena! Your work is beautiful, and inspires me all the time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Affiliate links are used on this blog, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me, and clicking on my links to shop!

Enjoy the Journey Shop at: Hero	Enjoy the Journey Frame Cuts Shop at: Hero	Liquid Watercolors Deep Ocean Shop at: Hero	Liquid Watercolors Indigo Shop at: Hero
Liquid Watercolors Cocoa Shop at: Hero	Liquid Watercolors Black Shop at: Hero	Nesting Oval Infinity Dies Shop at: Hero	Crimson Bold Ink Shop at: Hero
Summer Sky Bold Ink Shop at: Hero	Pine Bold Ink Shop at: Hero	Deep Ocean Bold Ink Shop at: Hero	Black Dye Ink Shop at: Hero
Orchid Bold Ink Shop at: Hero	Moss Bold Ink Shop at: Hero

Hero Arts Season of Wonder Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hello! Today I'm hopping with Hero Arts as the Season of Wonder winter catalog products are released in the Hero Arts store! You should have arrived here from my amazing friend Lydia's blog. If you didn't, head back to Hero Arts to start at the very beginning!

There are so many fabulous new products in this release! I started by playing with the Color Layering Owl.

I decided the owl would be a snowy owl today. I stamped layers in Soft Granite and Charcoal, and then stamped the solid layer in Unicorn White pigment ink right over the other stamping, to soften it all. A little pink on the cheeks with pencil, black glaze pen on the eyes and of course glitter to finish it off! The glitter is a fun, new chunky Snowfall Glitter. I created a shaker card, cutting a window with a die from the new Fancy Ornaments Infinity Die set and filling it with new Icicle Sequins.

Next I played with an adorable new set - Sending Warm Hogs!

For this card, again I began with the Snowfall Glitter. I laid down a rectangle of double-sided adhesive, and sprinkled it with the glitter. So pretty! The little pig was just stamped and colored with my Copics. A message from the stamp set was stamped underneath.

Now it's time to hop! Be sure to comment on every blog in the hop, two lucky winners will be drawn from the comments to win a $50 shopping spree! Leave your comments by Sunday, August 26 at 11:59pm. The winners will be announced on the Hero Arts blog. Next stop on the hop is the fabulously talented Laurie Willison! Or here's the entire list if you need it.

The Hero Arts Blog
Yana Smakula
Wanda Guess
Nichol Spohr
Michelle Short
Megan Hoeppner
May Sukyong Park
Lydia Fiedler
Libby Hickson (you are here!)
Laurie Willison
Kelly Latevola
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Jennifer McGuire
Jenn Shurkus
Janette Kausen
Ilina Crouse
Emily Midgett
Clare Prezzia
Amy Tsuruta
Amy Kolling

Thanks for stopping by!

Affiliate links are used on this blog, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me, and clicking on my links to shop!

Color Layering Owl Shop at: Hero	Color Layering Owl Frame Cuts Shop at: Hero	Sending Warm Hogs Shop at: Hero	Sending Warm Hogs Frame Cuts Shop at: Hero
Snowfall Glitter Shop at: Hero	Fancy Ornament Infnity Dies Shop at: Hero	Icicle Sequin Mix Shop at: Hero	Soft Granite Shadow Ink Shop at: Hero
Charcoal Mid-Tone Shadow Ink Shop at: Hero	Unicorn White Pigment Ink Shop at: Hero	Soft Brown Ink Shop at: Hero	Intense Black Ink Shop at: Hero