Hero Arts July Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi friends! Hero Arts is releasing their new collection for July 2024, and we are hopping along to celebrate! You can get the full hop list HERE on the Hero Arts Blog. You can view the full July Release HERE. I am so excited to be hopping along with Hero Arts today, as they are celebrating their 50th anniversary throughout 2024. Such an amazing company! I was lucky to be part of the Creative Team for Hero Arts for several years, and it’s such a joy to join in now as a guest. I have a pair of pretty ocean-themed cards today using the new release, so let’s get started with the details!

Hero Arts has made some changes to their monthly releases, giving you several options for subscriptions, depending on your favorite ways to create! You can check out the full post over on the Hero Arts blog to see all of the details on these new subscriptions. I did some mixing and matching with the new July Layering Stencil of the Month, the sweet sandcastle dies from the July Card Kit of the Month, and some older products that work so beautifully with these ocean-themed goodies.

For my first card, I created a sweet shaker card using the July Layering Stencil of the Month, which creates a fun ocean background using four different stencils. I blended Mist, Paradise, and Bermuda inks with the layering stencils, then added some light blending around the edges of the A2 panel using Paradise ink, creating a bit of a spotlight on the center of the patterned panel. I used some leftover stamp packaging to create the pocket for the flat shaker card, then filled it with some coordinating blue and white sequins. These flat shaker cards are such fun and such an interesting way to use an entire blended background!

For the front of the card, I stamped a greeting from Sea Quotes using Bermuda ink, then stamped over the top with embossing ink and added some Iridescent Blue embossing powder for added shimmer and shine. I also stamped and embossed the “you’re amazing” from Message Strips. To add a little more textural interest and sparkle to the front of the card, I added a few glittery white die cuts from the older standalone Sea Creatures die set. I popped the sentiment die cuts up with some foam adhesive, then added the glittery accent die cuts with some liquid adhesive to add multiple layers of height.

For my second card, I paired the adorable standalone sandcastle dies from the July Card Kit of the Month with some alcohol marker coloring and another sentiment from the Sea Quotes set. I die cut the sandcastle dies from plain white cardstock and used OLO Markers to color the images with grays and aquas. I used the fine tip of the brush point to add some “grains of sand” texture to the bottom of the sandcastle… I don’t know if there is actually gray sand anywhere in the world, but I’m going to take some artistic license here! I colored the bucket, shovel, and a few extra seashells and starfish cut using the Sea Creatures die set.

For the card base, I blended some Mist ink in the center of my white A2 card panel, then splattered the background with sparkling handmade watercolors for extra texture. I used another stamped and embossed sentiment from Sea Quotes and Message Strips, then arranged all of the die cuts in a cluster over the blended, splattered area. I adhered the different pieces with both foam adhesive and liquid adhesive, creating multiple layers of height. The final touch was to add a few sparkling gems to fill in a few of the blank spaces!

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

Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, July 7th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

You can see the full hop list HERE on the Hero Arts Blog. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!