January My Monthly Hero Release

It's time for the January My Monthly Hero kit! This release is so much fun - it's great for Valentine's, but the Francophile and Tour de France junkie in me loves how French the main kit looks, and there are BIKES!! Yay! Here's the main kit:

For my post today, I played with a couple add-on products, and made a card that actually isn't very French-looking at all! But I also am head over heels for this adorable Bursting with Love Bold Prints background!

I just did a quick watercolor using various shades of red and pool blue from my Daniel Smith watercolors, after stamping the background in black. It's not a very precise job at all. I'm a big fan of this imperfect, almost comic-book look sometimes.

I stamped the message from You Are Loved Flourish Messages on vellum, and carefully heat embossed in black. The message was stapled to a strip of white cardstock, then adhered to the card with foam tape.

As every month, there's a fun blog hop to help with inspiration for this release. Be sure to comment on all stops along the way for a chance to win a free kit! Stop by the Hero Arts blog for full details!

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

Thanks for stopping by!

Here's a look at all of the products included in this release in addition to the extra products I used. 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!

January 2019 My Monthly Hero Shop at: Hero	Get Them All Add-Ons Shop at: Hero	Bursting with Love Bold Prints Shop at: Hero	You Are Loved Flourish Messages Shop at: Hero
Hearts & Flowers Bold Prints Shop at: Hero	Color Layering Waffles Shop at: Hero	Color Layering Waffles Frame Cuts Shop at: Hero	Gal Pal Brunch Shop at: Hero
Gal Pal Brunch Frame Cuts Shop at: Hero	All My Love Decorative Hearts Shop at: Hero	Bicycle With Basket Fancy Die Shop at: Hero	Classic Vellum Layering Paper Shop at: Hero
Black Detail Embossing Powder Shop at: Hero	VersaMark Ink Shop at: Hero	Heat Tool Shop at: Hero	Intense Black Ink Shop at: Hero

Get Cracking - one more time

Hello! We're days away from Christmas, but here we are sharing one more Get Cracking on Christmas post for the year! Yay! I'm sharing a few cards I've been teaching at classes this fall. They all feature the fun and fabulous Glimmer Metallic Inks from Hero Arts! I seriously love those inks - they are shimmery, glimmery and gorgeous. The inks come in two-packs: Red & Green, Blue & Purple, Pewter & Gold, and Bronze & Copper. Let's dive in!

This first card features the inks with some simple painting of die cuts. I die cut the Snowflake Edge Fancy Die twice, and began by painting the cut out pieces blue. Then I went in with a little purple at the edges, blending the colors. The shimmer is so pretty, but hard to capture in a photo! I mounted the pieces over a panel die cut with the Woodgrain Texture Fancy Die. The message is silver embossed, and die cut with the Fancy Ornaments Infinity Dies, turned to the side. I love this shape for a message panel! I layered it with some vellum, and finished with sequins.

The layout of this card was inspired by a card my sweet friend Clare Prezzia designed for the Hero Arts catalog.

The inspiration for this next card came from a catalog card by Emily Midgett. She designed a card for the catalog with the Deer & Ornament Fancy Die painted like this, using Liquid Watercolors. I took my painting queues from her, and also the addition of sweet little eyes to the die cut. I also love how she mounted the ornament over vellum.

I created my background with the green Glimmer Metallic Ink. I began by clear embossing the Holiday Foliage Bold Prints background. Then I painted on the green ink. To make the embossing pop, I very lightly wiped excess paint off with a baby wipe. The green ink is my favorite, the gold undertones are so pretty! Yes, that is just the green ink - I didn't use any gold ink on this card!

For the final card, I used the super sweet Color Layering Fawn stamp set and matching die. I only layered two of the three stamps for this piece, using Soft Brown and Black inks. He is nestled onto a leaf from the Textured Leaves stamp set, which is gold embossed on vellum.

This time I used the red Glimmer Metallic Ink for the background. I painted a panel of white cardstock, and then added a subtle pattern by stamping the Sugar and Spice Bold Prints background using VersaMark ink. Again, the card shimmers more in person than I was able to capture in the photos!

I want to thank my friend Jenn Shurkus for letting me join her little cardmaking party this year! I wasn't able to join as many months as I would have liked, but I did love the inspiration to actually make some Christmas cards! I hope she keeps doing it again next year (hint, hint, Jenn!). 😀

Be sure to check out what Jenn, Caryn and Chari created for today's posts!

Thanks for stopping by, and Merry Christmas!

December My Monthly Hero Release!

It's kit release day, and the December My Monthly Hero kit is so beautiful. I am in love!! The fairies are just gorgeous, but for today's card I had to play with the super cute mouse!

I watercolored the images, as well as created the background, with some Daniel Smith watercolor paints, after stamping with Intense Black Ink. For a little extra something, I used the glitter pen in the kit to add sparkle to the dandelion, and went over the mushroom with Crystal Clear Lacquer.

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

And here's a look at the full December My Monthly Hero kit - so beautiful!

Now it's time to hop. I can't wait to see what all of these fabulous stampers 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, December 9th!

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

This kit is so cute, it's going to be a quick sellout - be sure to grab yours before it's too late! And check out the add-ons too, they are wonderful!

Thanks for stopping by,

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!