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Emily Midgett

my monthly hero

Hero Arts May 2023 My Monthly Hero Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi there! Hero Arts is releasing their newest collection today, and we are hopping along to celebrate! You should have arrived here from Channin Pelletier, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. You can also start at the beginning of the hop at the Hero Arts Blog for the full hop list. This month, we are celebrating the carefree joy of childhood. Remember those long summer days where you didn’t come inside until it was dark outside? The ice cream truck rumbled through your neighborhood, bicycles were the fastest mode of transportation to your next adventure, and the skies were a fluorescent blue. Here’s a peek at the Classic My Monthly Hero kit:

And the Premium Kit, which contains everything in the Classic kit, plus a few fabulous extras:

The value of the individual items in these kits is well over double the cost! You can purchase the Classic kit for $36.99 or the Premium Kit for $49.99. We also have a huge variety of Add-On items that coordinate beautifully with the My Monthly Hero kits and themes! (You can always subscribe to be guaranteed a kit each month, because they sell out frequently and are not restocked!) I’ve created a colorful card with colors utterly reminiscent of summertime using the Classic kit, so let’s get started with the details!

I began my project by stamping the darling little bicycle and accessories using the Floral Palette Reactive Ink Cubes. I did add the streamers directly to the bicycle, and so ended up fussy cutting the bicycle, but the dies were used for all of the other elements. The Classic kit includes Frame Cuts to coordinate for all of the different images in the stamp set, including the two different bicycles and all of the accessories!

To create the background for my bicycle, I wanted to invoke that vibrant blue sky that you see in the deep summer, so I first blended Splash ink from the Sea Palette Reactive Ink cube set towards the top of my white panel. I added some Grape Slush ink from the Floral Palette to add a touch of color coordination with the purple bicycle and to deepen the vivid blue of the sky! I stamped several clouds with the Grape Slush ink, stamping a few of them full strength to make them vivid purple, and a few more stamped off once to create just the lightest shadow of a cloud on the blended background.

I stamped some grass at the base of the card front, then again on a scrap of cardstock and die cut it with the coordinating die. I arranged all of the elements on an A2 panel of the lovely pink glitter cardstock, which is also included in the Classic kit. I stamped a greeting from the Classic kit (this kit has some adorable sentiments included!) using the same gray ink used for the bicycle tires and trimmed it down to a sentiment strip. I added all of the elements using foam tape to add lots of dimension to my little summer scene!

My second project features a couple of the new add-on products: Kite Fancy Die and Color Layering Cloud Stencils. I love mixing and matching new goodies with older product, as well, so I pulled out the older Meadow Heroscape stamp set and a bunch of purple and green inks. I stamped the layers of the Meadow Heroscape using Moss, Pine, Amethyst, and Passion Flower inks.

To create the sky background, I used blending brushes to lightly blend Dusty Blue and Passion Flower inks towards the top of my card front. Using my dedicated Unicorn White blending brush, I blended some white clouds using one layer of the new Color Layering Clouds stencils. While the stencil was still in place, I spritzed some Iridescent White Shimmer mist, which helps the clouds pop even more!

After I had stamped and blended the background for my idyllic garden scene, I die cut a kite using the new Kite Fancy Die from some Passion Flower cardstock, lightly blending some Passion Flower ink around the edges. I also heat embossed a clever greeting from Dream Messages (that tiny gnome is very ambitious with his giant kite!) on some more Passion Flower cardstock. I popped up all of the die cuts and sentiment pieces using foam adhesive to add extra dimension to the card.

Well, that’s all for my project 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, May 7th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

Your next stop is Ilina Crouse. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero April 2023 Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi there! The first Monday of the month means a new My Monthly Hero release from Hero Arts, and this month we are introducing a gorgeous new collection with super fun graphic flowers, patterns, and textures to create cards in a variety of styles, including mixed media! You should have arrived here from Dana Joy, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. Here’s a peek at this month’s Classic Kit:

The contents of the Classic Kit (shown above) retail individually for over $75, but is available for only $36.99! Such a great bargain. And, if you want even more value and incredible products with which to play, you can purchase the Premium Kit, shown below:

The contents of the Premium Kit retail individually for $107, but are available as a kit for a great value of $49.99. You receive all of the elements of the Classic Kit, plus a huge set of amazing standalone dies, stencil, and colorful enamel dots. I have two projects, featuring elements from both kits, to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details!

I kept things crisp with black and white for these cards, adding some fresh pops of blue and minty green to complement the crisp black and white.

This card uses only elements from the Classic Kit. I stamped the flowers and foliage with Intens-ified Black Ink using stamps from the large 6×8 stamp set, then used my OLO markers to color them in a beautiful shade of periwinkle blue with some minty green foliage. I die cut them with the coordinating Frame Cuts, which are included in the Classic Kit.

To create the accent strip, I used the little decorative flourish stamp (which I think is intended to decorate the pitcher stamp) to stamp a pretty black and white pattern. I trimmed the strip down and backed it with a slightly wider strip of Pitch Black cardstock (which is currently in stock-hooray! This is hands down the best black cardstock I’ve used.) I popped up the strip on my white A2 card front with some foam tape, then arranged my flowers in a graceful swag and adhered them with some more foam adhesive. I heat embossed a greeting from the Classic Kit onto some vellum using black embossing powder, then die cut it with the coordinating die (love that the sentiments are included with the frame cuts!) and added it to the card front with some more foam tape. A few iridescent gems finished it off.

My second card features the fabulous standalone dies found in the Premium Kit. We all know how expensive dies are, and there are a *ton* of standalone dies included with the set in the Premium Kit. I used them to create this sweet floral bouquet, cutting the foliage from some Shamrock cardstock and the blue flowers from Lapis and Periwinkle cardstocks. I die cut a vase from some more Pitch Black cardstock and arranged a bouquet inside this super tall vase. The Premium Kit die set includes vases in a wide variety of sizes and shapes, as well as several different sizes and styles of flowers and foliage to give you so many options for layouts and combinations!

To accent the vase, I stamped one of the textured background stamps included with both kits. I inked up the linen textured background with Cornflower ink and stamped it on an A2 card front. I popped up the floral bouquet with some foam tape, then added a simple black and white stamped and die cut greeting. A few iridescent white gems finished off the card!

Not to be outdone by this beautiful kit, the April Add-Ons are absolutely marvelous. I used the brand new Arches Infinity Dies to create this framed, shaped card. To start, I inked up the beautiful new Color Layering Bold Flowers Stencils with Dusty Blue, Stone Wash, Nautical, Kiwi, and Fresh Lawn inks using the super soft Blending Brushes from Hero Arts. I used the largest of the new Arches Infinity Dies to cut a large patterned arch die cut background panel.

I thought the pretty blue and white patterned background would be perfect for a Mother’s Day card, so I die cut the Mother’s Day Window Fancy Die from some white cardstock, trimming the die cut sentiment out from the oval window to create a standalone sentiment die cut. I also die cut a few flowers using the Shoes and Hat Fancy Die set to accent the flowers in the background.

To create my shaped card base, I created a regular A2 card with a side fold, then placed the largest Arches Infinity Dies on the card front, making sure to offset the die so that the card’s fold was within the die itself, keeping the fold intact. I ran the entire thing through my die cut machine, which created a shaped card! I adhered the patterned arch background to the shaped card base, then die cut a coordinating navy blue frame using the Arches Infinity Dies and some Nautical cardstock. I popped up all of the die cut elements on the patterned background using foam tape to create lots of dimension on this project. I added a few iridescent gems to the flower centers for some sparkle!

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, April 9th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

Your next stop is Ilina Crouse, or you can start at the beginning at the Hero Arts Blog. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero March 2023 Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi there! Hero Arts is releasing their newest collection today, and we are hopping along to celebrate! You should have arrived here from Dana Joy, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. You can also start at the beginning of the hop at the Hero Arts Blog for the full hop list. This month, we are focusing on all things fruity! Think fruit, veggies, farmer’s market, farms… there’s even a cute little farm puppy! The March My Monthly Hero kit features some beautiful fruit images, as well as some of the new neon liquid watercolors. Here’s a peek at the Classic Kit:

The Classic Kit includes: Clear Stamp Set, 6″ x 8″, 10 Coordinating Dies, Fruit Cling Stamp, 6″ x 6″, Intens-ified Black Ink Cube, Clay Fruit Embellishments, 2 Sheets each of Kiwi and Coral Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″, 5 Sheets of Watercolor Paper, 4.25″ x 5.5″. This the main kit that you’ve come to know and love over the years, filled with amazing products for an amazing value at $36.99! (You can always subscribe to be guaranteed a kit each month, because they sell out frequently and are not restocked!)

Last month, Hero Arts debuted the new My Monthly Hero Premium Kit, which features all of the wonderful products previously mentioned in the Classic Kit along with the Fruit & Veggie Window Die, 3.7″ x 4.5″, 2 Liquid Watercolor Neon Brights in Orange & Green, and 5 Mini Brushes. The My Monthly Hero Premium Kit contents retail for $106, but the kit is yours for $49.99. Such an incredible value!! I have two projects to share with you today featuring the new kits, so let’s get started with the details!

The release of the new Neon Watercolors with the Spring 2023 catalog (you will receive Neon Orange and Neon Green with your Premium Kit) meant that I pulled out the Neon Ombré ink pads! I kept things bright and cheerful with the ombré colors, adding some dramatic flair with intense pops of black.

For this card featuring the Classic Kit, I did some watercoloring with the new Neon Watercolors. I black embossed several of the images from the Classic Kit onto some watercolor paper, then used the Neon Watercolors to add lots of bright color to the fruity images. I die cut the finished images with the coordinating frame cuts, also included in the kit. While I had my watercolors out, I also black embossed a greeting from the main kit’s stamp set and did a light neon watercolor wash over the top, fussy cutting it with my sharp scissors.

To coordinate with my super bright fruits, I used the Ombré Red to Purple and Ombré Yellow to Orange ink pads to blend a super bright background. I splattered some Black Liquid Watercolor on the blended panel to add a little mixed-media artistic feel to the background and break up some of the super bright color.

I die cut a frame using the Looking Glass Square Frame from some Pitch Black cardstock (which is in stock right now, so if you’ve been wanting to purchase… now is the time! It’s the best black cardstock everrrrr). I popped up the frame on my neon blended background using some foam adhesive, then added my fruit in a cluster around the frame using a double layer of foam tape for extra height. I die cut a few leaves from the Tropical Florals Fancy Die set with black glitter paper and tucked them in amongst the fruity cluster-cutting them from black reminds me of tropical jungle silhouetted against a saturated tropical sunset. The final touch was to add a few iridescent black gems for some sparkle!

My second card features the gorgeous, detailed frame from the Premium Kit, still juxtaposing the super bright neon colors with crisp black. I began my card by black embossing the background cling stamp included in the Premium Kit onto some watercolor paper, then taping it down to my watercolor board. I did a neon rainbow wash over the embossed background using the Neon Watercolors, then left my background to dry while still taped down to my watercolor board to reduce warping.

To create the front for my shaker card, I die cut the beautiful fruity frame die included in the Premium Kit twice: once from a full sized A2 Pitch Black card front, and once from a smaller square of black glitter paper. I trimmed the detailed die cut image from the black glitter paper to create a frame, which I adhered directly over the top of the Pitch Black frame. It subtly helps to emphasize the details on the fruity frame! This one would be gorgeous watercolored or colored with alcohol ink markers, but I wanted the fruity background to be the star of the show today.

I trimmed down some stamp packaging and adhered it to the back of the die cut black panel, then filled my flat shaker with the darling clay embellishments that are included in the kit. I pulled out an older word die set, Friend Words Fancy Dies, and die cut it from some white cardstock. I left the die cuts inside of the negative space and blended some more Ombré Red to Purple and Ombré Yellow to Orange over the die cut, then die cut another set from some plain white cardstock to layer beneath the blended die cuts, creating extra height. I adhered the dimensional die cut words to the front of my card. Because the shaker bits are thin and flat, we can have a flat shaker with no extra foam tape required!

Now, to completely switch gears, I have created this soft, vintage-y card using only die cuts, some soft ink blending, and white cardstock! The new March Release has a ton of gorgeous detailed fancy dies that are marvelous cut from colored cardstock, or, as I’ve done here, with a little subtle ink blending that makes a massive impact! I die cut the pieces from the new Cabbage Corn Crate Fancy Die and Grocery Bag Fancy Die from white cardstock, as well as the previously released Bouquet Accessories Fancy Dies, also from white cardstock.

After die cutting all of the components from white cardstock (the exception was the wrap for the bouquet, which I cut from Hero Arts’s heavyweight vellum cardstock), I pulled out Sand, Orchid, Soft Blossom, Kiwi, and Moss inks, as well as small blending brushes and went to town adding color to the plain white die cuts. All of the color on my card was created by using small blending brushes with several shades of ink to add subtle ink blending to the die cuts. It’s amazing what you can achieve with a few ink pads, a brush, and some white cardstock!

To add extra dimension to the ink blended die cuts, I employed a Post-It note as a mask. To get the mask exactly where I wanted it, I lightly bent the partially die cut areas and tucked the Post-It note beneath the partial die cut, as shown in the photo above, so that I could get the darker green ink precisely where I wanted it. I also used this technique with the husks of white corn to keep the Sand ink where I wanted it, as well as on the crate, to add extra shadows behind the cross piece.

After I had completed all of the ink blending, I partially inked up the Burlap Bold Print background stamp using Sand ink. I wanted a softer, more vintage feel to the card and didn’t want the background to be completely perfect, so I didn’t worry about using my Misti for perfect inking this time. I left my stamp on my work surface facing up, casually inked it up, and pressed my paper into the inked up background. I arranged the blended die cuts on the burlap background, placing the flowers and corn into the shopping bag and the cabbage into the crate. I love how it looks like you just came from the farmer’s market! I popped the die cuts up with foam adhesive for extra dimension. For the greeting, I used the new Produce Labels Stamp & Cut XL, die cutting the rectangle from white cardstock and adding the sentiment in Wet Cement with the accents in Sand ink.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! As you can see, these new products work well with a range of styles and color schemes. Super versatile and oh so fun! I don’t normally like “punny” sentiments that much, but I think the fruity puns are just so cute.

Now for some fun giveaway information:

Hero Arts is giving away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, March 12th 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 hopping!

Hero Arts February 2023 My Monthly Hero Kit+NEW Premium Kit Launch+Giveaway!

Happy Monday, friends! Today is an extra fun Monday, because it’s Hero Arts Premium My Monthly Hero Kit launch day, and we’re celebrating with a blog hop! You should have arrived here from Dana Joy, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. The new Premium Kit features all of the goodies that you love each month from the My Monthly Hero kit with some fabulous extras to give you even more amazing creative options and extend the fun!

Here’s a peek at this month’s Classic My Monthly Hero Kit:

And here’s a peek at the new Premium Kit:

So many wonderful goodies in each kit, but the new Premium Kit has even more incredible value with those gorgeous (and super plentiful) new dies and coordinating rub-ons! As a fun bonus for current subscribers (people who subscribed before January 31), you will receive the Premium Kit upgrade for free to try it out! If you’re interested in subscribing, here are a few details as to why a subscription might be a good route to take for you:

You can check out the subscription packages HERE.

I have three projects to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details!

My first two projects use items from the Classic My Monthly Hero Kit and the Premium Kit in a lovely, feminine color combination of Peony, Pink Grapefruit, and Pale Tomato. I blended several panels using this combination in various levels of intensity using Ink Blending Brushes from Hero Arts.

My first project uses elements from the Classic My Monthly Hero Kit. I die cut the beautiful, super detailed window die from the center of one of the lightly blended panels, then used the coordinating layering stencils with the same Peony, Pink Grapefruit, and Pale Tomato shades of ink to create a very subtle, monochromatic blend on the die cut areas.

To add a little extra shimmer and interest to the card front, I used a blending brush to add Embossing Ink (that I’ve dedicated only to use with my Embossing Ink by labeling the back of it) for the top detailed layer of stencils, then pounced some shimmery pigment powder over the top of the sticky ink, combining Perfect Pearls Gold and Pink Gumball. I love using Embossing Ink with stencils-it adds such a fun and interesting element to your layered stencil cards!

For the window opening, I decided to use another super lightly blended panel of cardstock, heat embossing one of the greetings from the included 3×4 stamp set with gold embossing powder in the center of the blended A2 panel. I did some second generation stamping with the little butterfly stamp that is also included in the 3×4 stamp set. I inked up the butterfly with some Pale Tomato ink, stamped it off once on some scratch paper, then stamped it on the blended sentiment panel so that the butterflies looked like they were fluttering behind the sentiment in the sunset. I popped the stenciled die cut panel up with some foam tape over the top of the sentiment panel, popping the wings of the partially-die-cut butterflies up a bit for extra dimension!

My second project features some of the super detailed Fancy Dies from the Premium Kit. These dies are super versatile because they come with a removable detail layer as well as the simple outline frame, which coordinates with the rub-ons that are included in the Premium Kit . I die cut several of the detailed butterflies from some brushed gold foil cardstock and gold glitter cardstock.

For the card base, I wanted to create an ethereal, feminine, mixed-media feel, so I stamped the script background stamp from the new Background Texture Strips stamp set on the more vibrant of the blended background panels using Embossing Ink, again pouncing the Perfect Pearls Gold and Pink Gumball mixture to create subtle shimmer on my background. I also mixed some water in with the pigment powder and splattered it, along with some gold watercolor, on the card front for lots of artsy sparkle and shimmer. To add one final layer of interest and color to the background, I used the butterfly and diamond stamps from the small stamp set in the Kit, stamping full strength on the bottom and stamping off once as the background blending became lighter in color. So many layers on this background!

I popped up the golden butterflies with some foam tape, slightly curving the wings up to add extra dimension. I heat embossed a greeting from that same small stamp set (it packs a lot of punch for only a 3×4 stamp set!) using gold embossing powder, then trimmed it with my sharp scissors and added some coordinating blending to the bottom and edges. A few shiny gems added a bit more sparkle and texture!

My last card today uses a couple of the add-ons. I loved the combination of the shiny gold, Peony, and Pale Tomato inks, so I kept that color scheme going throughout this card, as well! I began by heat embossing the beautiful new Fluttering Butterflies Bold Prints stamp onto an A2 panel of white cardstock. I then blended Peony ink at the top and Pale Tomato ink at the bottom, slackening my pressure towards the center of the card so that the colors blended beautifully together in a smooth ombré.

Next, I heat embossed some of the super detailed butterflies from the aptly-named Beautiful Butterflies stamp set, embossing them in gold on some of Hero Arts’s Vellum cardstock and die cutting them with the coordinating dies (which you can purchase in a bundle with the stamp set HERE). I love using vellum for images like butterflies… I think it makes them so light and ethereal! I also heat embossed a greeting from the new Monarch and Milkweed bundle, die cutting it with the coordinating dies.

I die cut a glittery gold frame using the Museum Frame Fancy Die and popped it up on the blended butterfly background using foam adhesive. I arranged the butterflies so that they were fluttering on the card front, adding some tiny pieces of foam tape behind the solid embossed portions to keep the translucent vellum as clean as possible. I also added the blended greeting die cut, tucking it amongst the fluttering butterflies. The final touch was a few shimmering iridescent pink pearls for some more shine and texture!

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, February 12th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

The new February Collection from Hero Arts is a marvelous array of products that has something for everyone-and the new Premium Kit is going to add so many more options to your crafty time! Your next stop is Ilina Crouse. Thanks so much for reading today, and happy hopping!

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero January 2023 Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi there! It’s time for the first Hero Arts My Monthly Hero release for 2023, and we are sending you all lots of love with these gorgeous new Valentine’s- and love-themed products! You should have arrived here from Channin, and your next stop is Ilina. This month’s kit is full of a unique collection of images, dies, and other goodies to make your love cards even more fun to create and to give! Here’s a peek at the kit:

The January My Monthly Hero kit comes with Clear Stamp Set, 6″ x 8″, 18 Fancy Dies, 2 Frame Cuts, Heart-Shaped Daisies Stencil, 6″ x 6″, 3 Sheets of Kraft Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″, 1 Sheet each of Azalea and Peony Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″, Love Mix Sequins. The contents of the kit are valued individually at $77, but you can purchase this kit for only $34.99! These kits frequently sell out quickly, so you can also subscribe to make sure that you are guaranteed your own kit each month. Click HERE to see the subscription details! I have two cards for you today that I created using primarily the fancy dies with the kit, so let’s get started with the details!

The large stamp set included in this month’s My Monthly Hero kit contains some super unique images and beautiful sentiments, but I fell in love with the cute chocolate kiss and heart fancy dies included in the kit. My little boys have had to take medicine that tastes kinda grody recently, and I have been (shamelessly) bribing them with a chocolate kiss in exchange for being good boys and taking their medicine. I decided to pull out some pink and red foil cardstock and cut a bunch of hearts and kissy lips to go with my sparkly silver kisses!

I had one card idea in mind and so die cut a ton of different sizes of matte red foil hearts, shiny hot pink lips, and sparkly kisses (cut using Hero Arts’s Holiday Sparkle silver glitter paper). The original arrangement that I had in my head didn’t quite work, but I had die cut enough hearts, kisses, and lips to create two separate card fronts! Both cards feature Pitch Black card bases. The colorful foil and sparkle cardstocks absolutely glow on the black background!

This first card features an arrangement with a trio of kisses towards the bottom of the card, with some hearts and lips floating up like bubbles! I made liberal use of my foam tape roll with both of these projects, adhering nearly all of the die cuts with foam tape to add lots of interest and dimension to these projects. The card above combines the LOVE die cut with silver embossed sentiment strips, trimmed to fit and adhered with liquid and foam tape.

This second card features the “leftovers” from my first card using die cuts from the My Monthly Hero kit. I began by adhering my two glittery silver kisses towards the center of the card, then arranging the remaining foil die cuts around the silver kisses in a fairly random pattern. I adhered nearly everything with more foam tape, which I think adds so much fun texture and height to this card! I added some metallic black gems for some extra shine and to fill in some of the blank spots.

My next two cards are somewhat the polar opposite of my previous two cards. They feature bright, crisp white, with pops of bright magenta foil! (Side note-colored foil is ridiculously difficult to photograph without it looking black. I promise the foil I’ve used today is all deep pink!) When I began crafting for this release, I had one idea in my head, but it didn’t work as well in execution as it did in my mind’s eye, so I ended up with enough pieces to create two different cards yet again! I’m not upset about it!

My first card features the fabulous new Hearts Hot Foil Plate. I used some sparkly pink hot foil to create an almost-polka-dotted background featuring these bitty, shiny hearts. I used the Heart Infinity Dies ti die cut some foiled hearts in various sizes from the hot foiled panel, from large all the way down to tiny. I wanted to create a cluster of hearts on my white card front. I also die cut a few hearts from the hot pink foil that I used earlier, as well as a couple of Azalea hearts, all in a variety of sizes.

For the greeting, I heat embossed a greeting from the new You’re Mine stamp and die bundle using some super glittery hot pink embossing powder. I wanted to keep the minimal color scheme true without adding a bunch of extra components, so I searched my stash and found this shocking pink with aqua sparkles. I thought this embossing powder worked beautifully with the iridescent sparkles in the hot foil! I embossed the greeting on white cardstock using Hero Arts Embossing Ink, then die cut the embossed greeting as well as another of the same die from some more Azalea cardstock. I offset the pink die cut slightly to create a pink shadow and help the sentiment pop from the background.

I arranged the heart cluster on a plain white A2 card front, adhering them all with foam tape for lots of dimension. I added the greeting using a double layer of foam tape to give it extra height!

My second card uses the beautiful new Heart Flourish Cover Plate die as a subtly textured background for the Box of Chocolates Fancy Die. I began by die cutting the box from the Box of Chocolates die from some Azalea cardstock, then did some ink blending with Raspberry Jam and Plum inks around the edge, adding some tiny white dots with a white gel pen to coordinate with the other white accents on the card. I also die cut the beautiful bow from some more hot pink foil to make a pretty, gift-worthy box of chocolates!

I stamped some little tags to go on my chocolate box using the new Loving Sentiment Strips stamp set. It coordinates with the Sentiment Strips Fancy Die to make it super simple to create a bunch of sentiment strips all at once! I also stamped and die cut another greeting from You’re Mine stamp and die bundle. I stamped the greetings with Ultra Pink ink to pair nicely with the pink chocolate box.

I die cut the Heart Flourish Cover Plate from some white cardstock and adhered it using Precision Glue to a white A2 card base. The detail in this cover plate is simply gorgeous. Even though it’s a very detailed and busy pattern, the white-on-white creates a subtly textured botanical background that serves to create some interest behind the bright pink chocolate box, rather than overwhelming it. I adhered the chocolate box with some foam adhesive, then added the sentiment strips as tags on the chocolate box, then used a double layer of foam tape to add the “be mine” greeting. The little white dots on the chocolate box tie all of the different elements together!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. That was a long post! Now for some fun giveaway information:

Hero Arts is giving away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, January 15th 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. You can also start back at the beginning at the Hero Arts Blog. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!