Good morning! Today, the Hero Arts Creative Team and some incredibly talented guests are taking part in a blog hop to help officially welcome the new Season of Wonder Catalog to the Hero Arts store! You may have noticed these products at your favorite retailers over the last few weeks, but they’re now officially available in the Hero Arts store. You should have arrived here from Ilina Crouse’s blog, and your next stop is Clare Prezzia’s blog. Today, I have two projects to share with you using the new products from the catalog, one holiday card (who doesn’t need to get moving on their holiday cards these days, amirite?) and one more generic, happy card using some of the new woodblock stamps. Make sure you read all the way to the end to get all of the information for the generous giveaway from Hero Arts! Let’s get started with the details!
For my first project, I decided to use the new Home For the Holidays stamp set. I love the homespun feel of the cabins… totally remind me of something out of Little House on the Prairie. I was invoking the feelings of reading The Long Winter when I created this card, with this lonely cabin on a snowy wilderness. I began by stamping one of the cabins from Home For the Holidays on some watercolor paper using Hero Arts Intense Black ink, then used the Hero Arts liquid watercolors in Artprint Brown, Black, and Strawberry to watercolor the cabin. I also created a blended winter sunset (sunrise? Is the sunset pink?) background using my Clarity Stencil Brushes and Soft Pink and Soft Sky inks.
I hand cut a snowdrift from some white card stock, placed my cabin die cut approximately where I wanted it, then removed them and stamped some wintry trees and smoke from the chimney using Soft Granite ink. I used Soft Granite to keep them subtle and in the background, allowing the detail of the cabin to really shine through. I also stamped the greeting from Home for the Holidays onto the bottom corner of the snow drift. The final touch was to add some glitter accents from Nuvo to create some sparkly snow around the cabin’s base, while also helping to hide that the watercolor paper around the edge of the die cut is not the same shade of white as the crisp white snowdrift. (Yes, I’m that persnickety and care about things like that.) Well, does it make you think of homesteaders out on the prairie, snowed in for the long winter? 🙂
Supplies used:
For my second project, I wanted to do something a bit more bright and colorful with the beautiful new Sunflower Woodblock stamp and Sunflower Stem Woodblock stamp. I began by stamping both stamps onto some watercolor card stock using Intense Black ink. I then used Dandelion, Artprint Brown, Black, and Moss Liquid Watercolors to watercolor these lovely floral images. I love how deep and saturated the liquid watercolors are when fully concentrated, but they really can be quite light and subtle with the addition of just a few drops of water!
For the background, I did a loose wash of the beautiful Indigo Liquid Watercolor onto a panel of A2 watercolor paper. That bright blue created a perfect “sky” behind the bold sunflowers. I fussy cut the sunflowers, then stamped the greeting on a strip of white card stock, finally adhering the flowers and sentiment to the card front using foam adhesive.
Supplies:
Now, for some fun giveaway information! Hero Arts is generously giving away TWO $50 shopping sprees to the Hero Arts store! All you have to do to be eligible is comment on the stops on the blog hop. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win!
The Hero Arts Blog
Yana Smakula
Wanda Guess
Nichol Spohr
Michelle Short
Megan Hoeppner
May Sukyong Park
Lydia Fiedler
Libby Hickson
Laurie Willison
Kelly Latevola
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Jennifer McGuire
Jenn Shurkus
Janette Kausen
Ilina Crouse
Emily Midgett<— you are here
Clare Prezzia
Amy Tsuruta
Amy Kolling
Thanks so much for dropping by! I hope you’re enjoying the hop and getting some great inspiration for both holiday and all year round crafting! Happy hopping!
These are both gorgeous…I especially love the sunflower project!
Love both of these! Your sunflower is stunning. And I love the Little House on the Prairie inspiration on that first card.
I love the first scene with the gorgeous pink sky! And your sunflower card is so pretty!
I want to feature log cabins in my cards this holiday season. These are just perfect!
AWESOME creations! I especially love the Home for the Holidays card with the lovely pink glow in the sky!
Loved both of these cards. The colors of the sky in the log cabin card, beautiful, and your sunflowers are very pretty, love the simple blue for the backdrop. Thank you for sharing.
Love your cards! Great backgrounds on both! Love your designs!
The cabin card is stunning and such beautiful colouring. Thank you so much for sharing.
Happy Crafting.
Tracey.x
Love your color choices and sketches! Great projects!
Lovely cards – so serene!
Love the coloring in the background of
the winter scene. You can feel the cold.
Lovely sunflowers. Thanks for sharing
txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com
Beautiful cards; I must say that first card is a stunner; it makes me want to go buy a cabin!
Love these cards, especially the smoke coming out of the chimney. Lovely!
Can’t wait to get my hands on this winter holiday release. So many great ideas!
Thanks for showing creative ways to use the new Hero Arts products!
I love the sunflowers!!
Home for the Holidays card… the sunrise or sunset is a stunning background for the cabin.
Such a pretty sunset on the cabin card.
Love, love, love the BG on the first card – how beautiful! Both cards are so lovely.
I love your tiny cabin in the snow! Beautiful and elegant!
Love your log house card. Perfect colours to depict a cold winter day. I’d sure like to have this set as it is so well done & reminds me of the log cabin my husband built that we lived in.
Love the serene scene of the Home for the Holidays stamp, the little cabin in the snow. What better than sunflowers for a beautiful fall card. Thanks for sharing your inspiration.
Both cards are beauties.
Love the scene on the first card and the sunflowers on the second one is beautiful!
Thanks for sharing…
I just love those cabin stamps, nice work!
I love these gorgeous cards. Your winder scene is beautiful — the sky is perfect.
Great cards, awesome inspiration.
Love this release! Thanks for the inspiration!
lovely cards – love the unusual pink colored background on the first card
Beautiful sunflowers and love the winter scene. Beautiful cards 🙂
Fantastic cards, love them!
I want that little cabin- for real! The way you did the sky is gorgeous.
Your little house reminds me of my moms house. 🙂 Sunflowers are always a good idea.
Beautiful Sunflowers!
The good tidings card is my favorite. Looks exactly like a little cottage in the snow!!
Lovely cards indeed!
Great cards. I love the log cabin set. Thanks for sharing.
Love the background on the house card! Very pretty. Both cards are good. Great job.
I love the way you used the sunflower stamps! The one big one is so big and bright!
Very Pretty
Both cards are lovely…so well done!!
Your cards are beautiful !
Love the background inking on your winter scene–very serene!
beautiful! I really love the winter one.
Fabulous cards
These are both gorgeous, Emily. Such pretty colour choices and I love the clean and simple designs of both cards. That sky you created in the background of the first card is just amazing – it really captures the beautiful winter skies. Thanks for sharing!
I really like both projects. The bright blue with the yellow sunflowers is gorgeous
I really like both your cards! You chose color combinations that I’m drawn to and I’m especially fond of the watercolor background you made for the sunflowers.
That card makes me want to be sitting by that fireplace reading a good book!
I love the home for the holidays more and more…… so peaceful
What a tranquil scene with the log cabin – I love the colors you chose for your sky (which looks like a winter sunrise to me).
Your cabin looks so inviting! Lovely cards.
Beautiful cards! I love the sinflower
Both amazing! I really like your coloring on the Sunflower!
Emily, I love your cards. The cabin scene is so peaceful. TFS
Love your cards. The cabin card is my favorite.
Beautiful cards! Love the release!
Beautiful cards – thanks for sharing.
Loooove the coloring on your fabulous Christmas card & the sunflowers are fabulous!
Such beautiful cards! Love the big, bold sunflowers with the watercolored background and that winter scene you created on the holiday card is simply stunning!
Beautiful sky and gorgeous flowers. What more can one do to make fantastic cards. Thank you.
Different themes but beautiful results for each card. This is a really fantastic release from Hero Arts. 🙂
Emily, what a gorgeous card and the sunset is amazing!
Thanks for the inspiration and thanks for sharing your fabulous work!
Beautiful designs! I love the new products from Hero Arts.
Great cards!
Every time I see that cabin I want to live in it. Brings back memories.
I love the simplicity of your ‘cabin’ card Emily; really lovely work.
Beautiful cards! 🙂 I really like how the background looks on the first card you shared.
I love that winter scene. It looks so cozy.
two fantastic cards, Emily – your little house on the prairie is beautifully colors and love that bright cheery sunflower!
Gorgeous backgrounds!!!
Beautiful shading on the log cabin card. Looks so real!
These cards are so lovely, Emily. The scene in your first card is beautiful…the sunflowers in the second one are so cheerful looking. Thanks for sharing both.
Both cards are gorgeous but I’m a sucker for sunflowers!
Soft and sweet.
That ‘sunrise’ card makes me feel like I am right there!
A great new release. That cabin and the sunset are stunning. I can totally picture Little House. And love the coloring on the sunflower card. Thank you for the inspiration! Just lovely cards.
I love both cards. The soft pink background worked very well in your project.
Pretty pretty pretty. Those sunflowers are stunning
Your cards are amazing. Love the beautiful sunflowers and your cabin scene is terrific. Thanks for the inspiration.
Absolutely love the Sunflower Stem stamp, and your card is gorgeous!
Such pretty cards….thank you so much for always sharing your beautiful projects…hugs
I have a special fondness for a cabin in the snow. It reminds me of the 10 years I lived in Alaska. I love snow.
Very nice cards Emily. I love the sunflowers. You did an excellent job. The house in the snow is beautiful, it’s soft and warm. Thanks for the inspiration.
Love the depth you created and the color of that sky!!!
The sunflowers are spectacular! I really love the little house card, your colors choices are perfect. The card gives such a sense of serenity. TFS!
Both cards are beautiful, but I’m really drawn to that cozy little cabin. I’m a huge fan of Little House on the Prairie. Some Sunsets are pink, some orange–why is that? Love the way you added sparkly snow to the top and base of the cabin–I would have had to hide the difference in the 2 whites also. Lol! GORGEOUS card! Have a great day!
Love both cards! But the pink one is lovely, Pink isn’t one of my colors but it is so soothing! I would like to stay in that cabin. Great stamp set. Sunflowers are one of my favorites so they are a must have.
The house scene is so serene!
A nice job on both but the cabin scene is my favorite.
Your sunflowers are just so sweet! And setting them off with a touch of cornflower blue is perfect.
Such lovely and breathtaking cards!!
Beautiful cards and inspiration!
Beautiful cards! Your winter scene looks so peaceful and serene.
Cute cards! Thank you for sharing!
What a super cool card!! The sunflowers are so pretty! 🙂
Both of your cards are gorgeous!! I love sunflowers and that cabin look so serene.
Like the cabin in the woods scene & Sunflowers creation. Our family has stayed in a cabin on vacation a couple of places & have enjoyed. Did not plant any Sunflowers this yr but want to next yr.
Melissa
“Sunshine HoneyBee”
Oh my Emily these are two lovely cards. I love the house on the prairie. The sky is so rich and I love the Sunflower. Beautiful.
Love the soft background on the cabin card!
The cabin is so delicately colored and the color combo is fantastic.
The Sunflower is great, its the perfect size for the front of a card Great coloring. TYFS
Great job of blending! Mine never turns out that well!
Wonderful cards! That sky on the winter card is gorgeous!
Love your cards, the holiday card is especially fabulous!
Pretty scene–I like the soft background–and beautiful flowers.
The sunflower card is stunning, fabulous coloring! I really love the snow cabin, it looks so real lol, it’s where I would love to spend winter….as long and I didn’t run out of craft supplies, logs for fires, and a little food hehe.
Gorgeous blend of pink sunset, to answer question why can’t it be pink if you see it as pink. The waltons, little house on the praire & hedi came to mind when I saw the cabin for the first time. Great sunflower card, nice & bright colours.Thanks
The first card is so serene and peaceful and since Fall is my favorite season I loved the Sunflower.
Sweet cards and love that cabin!
Love the cards. The coloring is outstanding! Thank you for sharing on this fun hop!
Great cards….I am so nuts for these sunflowers
I’m so in love with those sunflowers!
These are beautiful cards! I really love the wintery scene with the cabin in the snow 🙂
Your cards are heartwarming! Sunflowers are my favorites, and you created them beautifully! Thank you for the tips on how to make them.
Lovely cards–the cabin is so cool!
Lovely cards, but the sunflower is for me. I am so not ready for the holidays and cold weather.. Lovely release Hero Arts!
Love the background on the winter scene and of course both cards are great!
Thanks for sharing…. Awesome cards…. the sunflower one though… wow
I love the background of that first card. So pretty. And sunflowers are so pretty with the blue background.
Beautiful cards!!
The winter card is so nice with non-traditional colors – love it!
Beautiful cards, love the pink background behind the cabin.
I just LOVE the simplistic beauty of the glad tidings card!
What lovely cards! Wonderful clean designs. Your backgrounds so perfectly compliment your focal images.
Two beautiful cards! That winter scene is so wonderful – I feel as if I could walk right into it!
The coloring on the winter scene is wonderful and I so love sunflowers! Thanks for two great cards!
Your ink blending is outstanding on the first crd. Great coloring on the sunflower card.
I just adore your card. I recently reread all my Little House on the Prairie books. I love them so much. I tutor three home schooled girls and I have started reading them the books. They are in love too. They keep asking me to read more and it is their favourite day of the week when we read them. Your card captures The Long Winter totally.
So beautiful!
Your sunflower card is so bright and beautiful! It would be a great get well card as it really lift the spirits.
It does look like a homestead on the prairie! I love the colours that you used! The trees and chimney smoke are a great touch! The sunflower cards is so bright and cheerful! A card that will brighten anyone’s day! Thanks for sharing and inspiring!
Awesome new HA release! Thanks for the inspiration and fun blog hop!
That little cabin reminds me of home here in Alaska!
I just love those pretty, happy sunflowers! And your fab soft sky in that calm winter scene, too!
I am liking the cabin. So calming.
Awesome cards! Love the winter scene and the sunflowers! Fabulous new designs!
You show fall and winter beautifully with these two cards. The cabin scene is beautiful and also the coloring on your gorgeous sunflowers. Thanks for sharing.
Definitely one of my favorite stops on the hop!!! I truly LOVE the cards you designed!! The cabin in the snow makes me feel warm & cozy while the sunflower card makes me feel bright and happy! 🙂 🙂
The scene on your first card is so serene. Thanks for sharing your creativity.
Great cards, love the winter scene. Thanks for sharing.