Hero Arts | My Monthly Hero December 2023 Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hello there and welcome as we celebrate the release of the Hero Arts December 2023 My Monthly Hero Kits and add-on products. The release this month is all about letters and numbers! Perfect for cards, tags, stationery and scrapbooking!

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

My first projects today use the Hero Arts December 2023 My Monthly Hero Classic Kit. I took the Alphabet Cover Plate Die from the kit and die cut it multiple times from white cardstock and also Peony, Ultra Pink, Cherry, Cranberry, Paradise and Bermuda Cardstock. 

I wanted one layer of white cardstock as a base for the colours of cardstock on top (for added dimension). I then cut two tags, using the Tag Infinity Dies, from white cardstock and the topper piece from Pitch Black Cardstock. 

I adhered the white cardstock letters first spelling 'Fa La La' on one tag and Ho Ho Ho' on the other. The letters were adhered with Precision Glue. I then adhered the colourful ones on top. To finish off, I added the topper piece with Precision Glue, threaded twine though and tied in a bow.

In case you missed it, for my countdown project, I also used the Hero Arts December 2023 My Monthly Hero Classic Kit. This time using both the Alphabet Cover Plate Die and the XL Alphabet Clear Stamp Set (for the whale). You can see how I made the card HERE. 

My second project for today is a hexagon shaped card using some of the add-on products for this month. I started off by embossing a panel of Passion Flower Cardstock using the Alphabet Embossing Plate. Using blending brushes, I blended Passion Flower, Orchid, Amethyst and Grape Juice Core Inks on top. It was then die-cut using a Hexagon Infinity Die.

I took the diamond shape stamp from the Geometric Frames set and stamped it onto vellum using Clear Embossing & Watermark Ink. I applied White Detail Embossing Powder and heat set. It was cut out using the coordinating die. I stamped the 'hello' from the Message Basics Stamp Set onto Pitch Black Cardstock and heat embossed that also. It was cut into a strip. 

I die-cut the 'U' from the Letter S-V Fancy Dies set three times from white cardstock. They were adhered one on top of another using Precision Glue. I then adhered it to the vellum piece, followed by the hello sentiment on top, adhered with foam tape. The piece was then adhered to the hexagon panel using more Precision Glue. The panel was then adhered to a hexagon shaped card base. 

MY MONTHLY HERO KITS:

The Hero Arts December 2023 My Monthly Hero Classic Kit contains:

• XL Alphabet Clear Stamp Set, 8" x 10" • Alphabet Cover Plate Die • 10 Pack of Watercolor Pencils • 6 Sheets of Luxe White Watercolor Paper, 8.5" x 11" • Water Flow Brush

The kit is valued at $81 but you can get it for $36.99 ($34.99 if you are a monthly subscriber, $32.99 if you subscribe for 6 months). 

The Hero Arts December 2023 My Monthly Hero Premium Kit contains:

• XL Alphabet Clear Stamp Set, 8" x 10" • Numbers Clear Stamp Set, 4" x 6" • Alphabet Cover Plate Die • 10 Pack of Watercolor Pencils • 6 Sheets of Luxe White Watercolor Paper, 8.5" x 11" • Water Flow Brush • Fineline Applicator • Sea Salt Reactive Ink Reinker • Gold Glimmer Metallic Ink

The kit is valued at $112 but you can get it for $49.99 ($47.99 if you are monthly subscriber, $45.99 if you subscribe for 6 months).

You can also now purchase the Premium Kit Elements separately. This includes just the extra elements in the Premium Kit. It does not include the Classic Kit elements. 

ACCESSORY BUNDLE:

There is also an Accessory Bundle this month too. These products compliment the kit nicely and help to increase creativity!

ADD-ONS:

There are lots of add-on products released each month. These work alongside the kit, or work on their own too. These can be purchased from Hero Arts when you order a kit, on their own or from your favourite Hero Arts retailer (these are not exclusive (unlike the kit) and are restocked if sold out). Here is a look at them:

BLOG HOP:

This post is part of a fun, inspirational blog hop with prizes. For the hop, you should have arrived here from the amazing Channin. Next on the hop is the fabulous Rosie. If you get lost along the hop, or want to start it from the beginning, please head over to the Hero Arts Blog. 

GIVEAWAY:

Hero Arts are giving away a $50 gift card to the Hero Store, drawn from the comments left across all the stops in the hop. Enter by 10th December 2023 at 11.59pm PT. The winner will be announced on the Hero Arts Blog the following week. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the projects. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Thank you so much for stopping by to see me today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful time on the rest of the hop and a great rest of the day too! Take care! 

VIDEO | Snow Happy Tag

Hello there, I am over on the My Favorite Things YouTube channel today, sharing a tag using some products from the November 2023 release. I love the shape of the Fanciful Frame STAX Die-namics and thought they would perfectly for a tag! 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off by die cutting one of the MFT Fanciful Frames STAX Die-namics twice from white cardstock. On one piece, I stamped the snow bank image from the MFT Warm Winter Hugs on top using black ink. I made a mask from masking paper and placed it onto the panel. 

Using blending brushes, I blended Picked Raspberry Distress Ink on top, focussing the darker colour towards the bottom of the sky. I then blended Seedless Preserves Distress Ink on top, to darken it slightly. I removed the mask then coloured the snow and trees using Copic Markers. I adhered the other panel to the back using tape runner adhesive. 

I cut a hole at the top of the panel using a Crop-A-Dile to make the shape into a tag. I cut the hole reinforcer piece from the MFT Do-It-All Gift Tag Die-namics, twice, from MFT Black Licorice Cardstock and then adhered them (on the front and the back) around the hole. I threaded twine through the tag and tied in a bow at the front. 

I stamped one of the snowmen from the MFT Snow Happy Stamp Set onto white cardstock and coloured him using Copic Markers (the colours that I used are listed below the supplies area). He was die cut out using the MFT Snow Happy Die-namics and adhered to the tag using foam tape. I added white gel pen stars and snow to the sky, clear glaze pen to his nose and buttons and then added White Blizzard Glitter Nuvo Drops to the hat. 

VIDEO:

Here is the video showing how I made the tag:

If you are viewing this post via email subscription, you can watch the video HERE on YouTube. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

COPIC MARKERS: Snowman - BG13, BG11, BG10, 0/RV69, RV66, RV55, RV52/C3, C1, C0/C8, C10/YR18, YR16, YR12. Trees - G28, YG17, YG23, YG01. Snow - BG13, BG11, BG10, 0. 

I didn't add a sentiment in case I want to add it to a card (and I might want the sentiment in a different place). If I don't and I send it as a standalone tag, I will stamp a sentiment or write a personal message on the back. 

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. Wishing you a wonderful day! 

Hero Arts | December 2023 My Monthly Hero Countdown to Creativity

Hello there and welcome as we countdown to the release of the Hero Arts December 2023 My Monthly Hero Kits and add-on products. They release tomorrow, Monday 4th December 2023, and we have been sharing inspiration all weekend long using the new kits. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

My project today uses the Hero Arts December 2023 My Monthly Hero Classic Kit. I started off by die cutting the Alphabet Cover Plate Die from the kit from Hero Arts Deluxe Smooth White Cardstock multiple times so that I had 3 layers for each letter spelling out 'whale done'. 

On one set of letters, I added ink blending using Hero Arts Summer Sky, Indigo and Grape Juice Core Inks. I then splattered Hero Arts Gold Glimmer Metallic Ink on top (this is included in the Premium Kit but can be purchased separately too). Once dry, I adhered the letters together using Hero Arts Precision Glue. 

I took a 4.25" x 5.5" panel of white cardstock and stamped the bubbles image from the XL Alphabet Clear Stamp Set in the kit on top using Hero Arts Intens-ified Black Ink. I also stamped the whale from the set twice. Once as intended and once in reverse (using a grip mat). They were coloured using Copic Markers and fussy cut out with scissors. 

I adhered the panel to a US A2 sized white card base with tape runner adhesive. I then adhered the letters on top using Hero Arts Precision Glue. The whales were adhered using foam tape. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Please head over to the Hero Arts Blog for more inspiration using the kit. Also, leave a comment over there for a chance to win a kit too! Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really appreciate it. I hope you have a great rest of the weekend! 

Altenew | Sweet Spray

Hello there, today I have a card to share with you using the beautiful Sweet Spray set from Altenew. This is a set that is exclusive to Scrapbook.com. The collection consists of a stamp set, die set, stencils and an embossing folder. I used the stamp, die and stencils today. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off by stamping the floral image and sentiment from the Altenew Sweet Spray Stamp Set onto white cardstock using Altenew Obsidian Pigment Ink. I then placed the stencils over the image and one by one blended ink on top to colour the image. 

I used Altenew Enchanted Garden Crisp Dye Inks for the petals and Altenew Green Valley Crisp Dye Inks for the leaves. I die cut the image and sentiment using the coordinating dies. I then took a panel of white cardstock and adhered stripes of Altenew New Purple Gradient Cardstock on top. 

It was adhered to a US A2 sized white card base with foam tape, followed by the image and sentiment. To finish off, I added a few Bubbles embellishments. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

This set really is super sweet. It is one of the mini sets so a great price point! Thank you so much for stopping by today, I very much appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day and a great weekend! 

VIDEO | Reverse Embossing

Hello there, today I have a tag to share using a technique that I learnt from my amazing Altenew teamie Erum Tasneem. It is reverse embossing - so using the back or the debossed side of an embossing folder, rather than the front or embossed side. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off by die cutting an Altenew Terrific Tags Die from Classic Crest 110lb Solar White Cardstock. I took the Altenew Whimsy Motif 3D Embossing Folder, turned it over so that the reverse side was facing upwards and placed my tag inside. I then ran it through my die cutting machine. 

With the debossed side facing upwards, I adhered the tag to an Altenew Sticky Mat to hold it in place while I added ink blending. I blended Altenew Sweet Dreams Fresh Dye Inks on top, focussing the darker colour towards the base of the flower and the base of the leaves. I then added the two lightest green shades from the Altenew Green Valley Crisp Dye Inks to the tips of the leaves. 

I took the Altenew Obsidian Pigment Ink and going direct to paper, I swiped the ink onto the tag. Where the areas are raised the black ink covers, where the areas are debossed, the ink blending shows. How much pressure you use on the ink pad does depend on the finished look. Erum shows how to do this with an ink blending tool which is a little less scary than going direct to paper! I like the coverage of direct to paper though. 

I cut another tag from black cardstock and adhered it to the back of the tag with Altenew Glue Tape. I threaded twine through the top of the tag and tied in a bow. I then stamped a sentiment onto black cardstock from the Altenew Sincere Sentiments Stamp Set using Altenew Embossing Ink. I applied Altenew Pure White Crisp Embossing Powder and heat set. It was cut into a strip and adhered to the tag with Altenew Instant Dimension Foam Tape. 

VIDEO:

Here is the video sharing how I made the tag:

If you are viewing this blog post via email subscription, you can watch the video HERE on YouTube. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

You really do need to see the technique in action to appreciate how cool it is! Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day! 

VIDEO | A Waddle and a Wave

Hello there, I am delighted to be over on the My Favorite Things YouTube Channel today, sharing a card using a couple of products from the November 2023 release. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

For my card, I actually started out by creating the background, so that it had time to dry while I was colouring my images. I took a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" panel of white cardstock and stamped the sentiment from the MFT North Pole Pals Stamp Set towards the bottom, using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink. 

I then placed the MFT Heavy Snowfall Stencil on top (holding it in place with a sticky mat) and using a palette knife, applied Tim Holtz Sparkle Texture Paste over the top. I removed the stencil, washed my stencil, palette knife and sticky mat and set the panel aside to dry. 

I stamped the polar bear and penguins from the MFT North Pole Pals Stamp Set onto white cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and coloured them using Copic Markers (the colours that I used are listed below the supplies list). They were then die cut out using the MFT North Pole Pals Die-namics. 

Once dry, the stencilled panel was adhered to a US A2 sized white card base with tape runner adhesive. The polar bear and penguins were adhered on top with thin foam tape. To finish off, I added white gel pen highlights to their scarves and glaze pen to the nose and beaks. 

VIDEO:

Here is the video showing how I made the card:

If you are viewing this post via email subscription, you can watch the video HERE on YouTube. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

COPIC MARKERS: Penguins - BV29, BV25, BV23/C3, C0, 0/Y11, Y000/YR15, Y15. Bear - BV25, BV23, BV20, 0. Scarves - V09, V17, V15, V12. 

Those tiny penguins are just too cute for words! I love them! Thank you so much for stopping by today, as always, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful rest of the weekend! 

Spellbinders | 2023 Holiday Blog Hop

Hello there, I am delighted to be joining Spellbinders today for a fun blog hop. This blog hop celebrates the 2023 holiday releases. I have loved all of the releases this season but two really stood out to me - Classic Christmas and Merry Mug & Circle Delights. I have used both of these collections already but wanted to create another two projects using them today.

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off my card (Classic Christmas Collection) by die cutting the elements from the Spellbinders Christmas Bird Poinsettia Etched Dies from cardstock. I used Spellbinders Crimson, Beeswax and Graphite for the bird, along with white and Hero Arts Peony for the hat. I cut the poinsettia from Hero Arts Peony Cardstock and the foliage from white cardstock. The holly leaves were cut from Spellbinders Peridot and Rainforest Cardstock. The candy canes were cut from white cardstock and Spellbinders Crimson Cardstock. 

I foiled the 'Christmas' sentiment from the Spellbinders Christmas Die & Glimmer Sentiments Hot Foil Plate & Die Set onto white cardstock using Spellbinders Silver Foil Hot Foil. It was cut out using the die and then the 'merry' word cut from Peony Cardstock and adhered on top. 

I adhered the candy canes and foliage onto a US A2 sized white card base with Bearly Art Glue. The poinsettia was adhered on top, followed by the bird (with a little thin foam tape). The sentiment was then adhered below for the bird to perch on. To finish off, I added a few Spellbinders Silver Mix Color Essentials Gems. 

My next project uses the Merry Mug & Circle Delights Collection. I made lots of tags using this collection already (which you can see here) but I saw that Rachel Alvarado made a pig from the sets and since pigs are my favourite, I had to make one too! 

The base is made using the Spellbinders Festive Ornaments Etched Dies cut from Hero Arts Peony Cardstock. The snout was cut using Spellbinders Everlasting Circles Etched Dies and one of the oval dies in the Spellbinders Santa's Festive Circle Crew set (from Hero Arts Ultra Pink Cardstock), which is also where the ears are from. 

The hat is also from this set, cut from Spellbinders Crimson Cardstock and Spellbinders White Pop-Up Die Cutting Glitter Sheets. The eyes and mouth, from the Spellbinders Whimsical Winter Critters Etched Dies, are cut from Spellbinders Onyx Cardstock. The scarf is also from this set and was cut from Spellbinders Purple Mist and Lilac Blossom Cardstock. 

All of the layers/parts were assembled and then adhered using Bearly Art Glue. The holly (from the Spellbinders Festive Ornaments Etched Dies) was cut from Spellbinders Rainforest and Crimson Cardstock and adhered to the hat. To finish off, I added Red Stickles to the berries and Crystal Glaze to the snout. 

BLOG HOP:

As mentioned, this post is part of a fun, inspirational blog hop with prizes. For the hop, you should have arrived here from the amazing Bonnie Crane. Next on the hop is the fabulous Lien Leysen. If you get lost along the hop, or want to start from the beginning, please head over to the Spellbinders Blog. 

GIVEAWAY:

To celebrate this release, Spellbinders are giving away a $25 gift certificate to 3 lucky blog readers – selected from the comments on the blog. Giveaway closes on Sunday, November 19th, 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be announced on the Spellbinders blog the following Wednesday. The winner is responsible for shipping costs, duties, and taxes. Please note, store credit (gift certificate) cannot be applied to Club Subscriptions. Store credit can be applied to shop past Club products, Club extras and regular releases.

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the projects. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day! 

Hero Arts | Sending Christmas Wishes

Hello there, I am over on the Hero Arts Blog today sharing a card using the new Peeking Owl Fancy Die, from the November 2023 My Monthly Hero release. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

Although it doesn't quite work size wise (the owl looks giant!), I paired the Peeking Owl Fancy Die with the US Mailbox Fancy Dies, as I thought it looks cute that he is about to post a letter! For some added greenery, I die cut the Winter Foliage Stamp & Cut dies and added ink blending to all the die cuts with Hero Core Inks. 

The sentiment is from the Winter Town Cheer set. Although the owl isn't just for holidays/Christmas, I did think it would work well for a Christmas card. Our post boxes are red here in the UK, I believe they are blue in the US, but went with red for that added Christmas look! 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

For more details on how I made the card, please head over to the Hero Arts Blog. Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day!  

Spellbinders | Towering Blooms

Hello there, today I have a card to share using the Spellbinders November 2023 Large Die of the Month Club Kit. The kit this month is called Towering Blooms. There are flowers, stems, leaves, a plant pot and sentiments in the kit which can be used in lots of different ways. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off my card by die cutting the leaves and stems from the Spellbinders November 2023 Large Die of the Month Club Kit from Spellbinders Rainforest Cardstock. I added ink blending to them with Altenew Green Valley Crisp Dye Inks. I then die cut the flowers from Spellbinders Purple Mist and Lilac Blossom Cardstock. I added ink blending to them using Altenew Enchanted Garden Crisp Dye Inks. 

The flowers centres were cut from Spellbinders Chamomile and Beeswax Cardstock and I added ink blending with  Altenew Golden Sunset Fresh Dye Inks. I assembled the flowers using Bearly Art Glue. I took a US A2 sized white card base and added score lines to the front panel using a score board and bone folder (sadly these can't be seen in the photos but in real-life, they do add something extra to the card).

I adhered the leaves on top with Bearly Art Glue and the flowers with thin foam tape. I die cut the 'happy birthday' from the Spellbinders Popular Sentiments Etched Dies. I cut the shadow piece twice from white cardstock and layered them up with Bearly Art Glue. The words were cut from Spellbinders Royal Amethyst Cardstock. I adhered them together and then onto the card. 

SPELLBINDERS CLUB KITS

I hope that you will check out the Spellbinders Club Kits. It is a wonderful monthly subscription where you receive the kit each month. Designers like myself share inspiration using the kit at the beginning of the month to show you lots of different ways that you can use it. 

There are also lots of other club kits too, like the Small Die of the Month, Clear Stamp & Die of the Month, Embossing Folder of the Month (plus lots more!), so there is something for everyone! If you do subscribe, you will get other benefits from Spellbinders too. Please see here for more information. You can also buy older kits here too. 

To buy the kit - if you are a current subscriber to the Large Die of the Month Club Kit (or any kit), you do not need to do anything. You will be charged as normal on the 5th of the month and your kit will be shipped to you. If you are a new subscriber, you can purchase the kit from the 6th - 27th of November 2023. Members can cancel their membership at any time.

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

This is such a fun set, I really like the shape of the flowers. Something a bit different! As mentioned, there are great sentiments in the kit, but I wanted a 'happy birthday' one, so that's why I used a different set today but I love that Spellbinders sets can easily be mixed and matched! Thank you so much for stopping by to see me today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day!