Hero Arts December My Monthly Hero Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi there! Hero Arts is releasing their new collection for December 2022, and we are reaching for the stars with a space theme this month! You should have arrived from Daniel West, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. Here’s a peek at this month’s kit:

This month’s kit comes with • 6″ x 8″ Clear Stamp Set, • 15 Coordinating Frame Cuts, • 4.625″ x 5.875″ Cling Stamp, • 4 Sheets of Pitch Black Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″, and Rose Gold Pigment Mini Ink Pad. All of the kit contents are valued individually at $82, but the kit is yours for only $34.99! Such a great bargain, and bonus: all of the kit components work beautifully together or separately, giving you tons of options for creating! These kits frequently sell out quickly, so if you’re loving them as much as I do, you can always SUBSCRIBE to guarantee that you receive your kit each month. 

I kept things cool today with vivid colors to create nighttime skies using a couple of different techniques for our celestial cards. The new kit and coordinating add-ons really have endless possibilities and endless color combinations, and I have a pair of cards to share with you featuring some bright raspberry, purple, and blue, so let’s get started with the details!

My first card uses several of the components of this month’s kit to create this vivid encouragement card! I began by stamping the background using Raspberry Jam, Plum, Nautical, and Periwinkle inks with the celestial sky background stamp included in this month’s kit. To achieve the smooth blend between the colors on my background, I made good use of my MISTI. I inked up the bottom portion of the stamp with Periwinkle ink, dabbed the seam with my microfiber cloth to make it fade out smoothly, then closed the door of my MISTI to transfer the ink from the stamp to the cardstock. If I missed a spot, I re-inked my stamp, dabbed with my microfiber cloth (you could also use a blending brush!), and restamped that color. Next, I did the same technique with the Nautical ink, this time dabbing both top and bottom with my cloth to ensure that the colors would blend with the colors on either side on both top and bottom. I repeated the process with the Plum and Raspberry Jam inks to create this smooth ombre background! While my stamp and paper were still in place in the MISTI, I also inked up the entire stamp using Hero Arts Embossing ink and covered the entire stamped image with the sticky ink. I clear embossed over the top of my stamped background to create added texture and shine!

Next, I stamped several of the elements from the 6×8 stamp set included in the main kit using Intens-ified Black ink. I colored the images using my OLO markers, then die cut them with the coordinating dies. I also die cut a star frame using the 5 Point Star Infinity Dies and the white glitter cardstock from the Basics Glitter Cardstock pack.

I arranged my die cuts on my vivid, shiny background, adhering them all with foam tape in a couple of different heights to add extra dimension. Finally, I covered the background with some iridescent confetti for even more added texture and shine, creating “stars” for my celestial traveler!

My second project features a couple of the new add-on items and some intense ink blending. I have made watercolored galaxy backgrounds before, but I thought that I would try to create an ink blended background for a stenciled galaxy! I began by ink blending Raspberry Jam, Plum, Nautical, and Periwinkle inks in a somewhat random “pattern” on my A2 white card front, then blended Pitch Black around the edges to create a nighttime sky swirling with Aurora Borealis color but still surrounded by the pitch black-ness of space! I paired the new Star Cluster Stencil with White Hero Wax, and boy did that take the background to next-level cool!

For my focal point, I used the beautiful new You’re Magical stamp and die bundle to create some fun stars and beautiful sentiment. I heat embossed a shimmery silver solid star from the set on Pitch Black cardstock with White Satin Pearl embossing powder. I heat embossed a few of the fancier stars using Sparkle embossing powder on Hero Arts Vellum cardstock. I also die cut a few smaller stars from the 5 Point Star Infinity Dies set using black and white glitter papers from the Basics Glitter Cardstock.

I arranged the cluster of stars around my sentiment and adhered them with both foam adhesive and tiny dots of Precision Glue for the vellum stars. The final touch was to add a few opalescent gems for even more sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Now for some fun giveaway information:

We will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, December 11th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

Your next stop on the hop is Ilina Crouse. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy star-hopping! 😉