It’s a New Day Neon!

May 20th, 2013 by shari

I know this is shocking… but it’s really me, Shari! You’re probably scratching your head wondering how on EARTH can Shari be using NEONS??? Well truth be told, I really like them! They have completely grown on me.

I’ve created a one layer card using the full range of Neon inks along with the new CL698 Not Perfect set… this card is so quick and easy to make!

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Check out the close-up of how well the inks go together.

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You can find instructions and supplies HERE.

I’ve put together a video showing you one of the most important color tips… one that I learned way back when as a very young budding artist!

Thanks for joining me today!!!

___shari

Not Perfect (CL698) Neon Ink Cube Pack (AF241) Neon Purple (AF232) Neon Yellow (AF220) India Ink Black Ink Pad (AF248) Black Layering Paper (PS691)
Snow Layering Paper (PS610) Glue Tape (GW222)

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Get more from your supplies!

May 17th, 2013 by lisa

Hi there and happy Friday! It’s Lisa here with some ideas for ways you can get more from your supplies!

First up, the card. I wanted to get started on my Father’s Day cards early this year, and as I was looking through the new Stamp Your Story collection it dawned on me that the cute birds in the Friendly Birds set could be my Dad and me. If only it didn’t have the word “friends” there…so, I grabbed some trusty washi tape and taped over it, then inked it, removed the tape, and hey presto!

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Find out how to make this card — click for complete supplies & instructions.

Next, I used the new daubers two ways on the card — but not as daubers! First I used them to color the little scene. I just tapped the daubers on a craft sheet, then picked them up with a water brush. Worked great — especially the little bits of neon on the tail. Finally, a way to get neon watercolors! Woo!

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Then I misted the leftover color with water, loaded my brush up with it and tapped it over a Snow notecard to make some little splotches for the background. Love doing this.

In case you are wondering, the tag was made with cardstock where I showed the stamping in gesso technique for Monday’s blog post.

Before I go, I have a fun event to share! Hero Arts is having our first ever warehouse sale tomorrow and Sunday. So if you’re in the Bay Area, come on out and join the fun! 10 am - 4 pm Pacific at Hero Arts HQ. Click HERE for more and a map.

Hope you have a stampy great weekend, no matter where you are! :)


Neon Orange Ink Dauber (AD002) Wet Cement Ink Dauber (AD012) Neon Yellow Ink Dauber (AD003) Tide Pool Ink Dauber (AD010) Field Greens Ink Dauber (AD009) Friendly Birds (LP285)
Father's Day (LP281) Black Ink Pad (AF101) Brown Bark Dye Ink (AF245) Water Mist Bottle (WM101) Large Tag (DI058) Classic and Ornate Frame (DI048)
Snow Folded Cards (PS566) Aqua-Flo Brush Set (MW012) Designer Woodgrain (S5208) Cup O' Joe Ink Dauber (AD011)

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Custom Journaling Cards

May 16th, 2013 by hero

I have been a long time Hero Arts lover! But I have to say that the Stamp Your Story release has taken my love to a whole new cosmic level! I love the artsy feel of the new stamps. I love the shapes, the themes and the ENDLESS possibilities!!

When I started playing with my box of stamps I immediately thought… Project Life… or any other album documenting system where you incorporate journaling cards!!

These cards came together in a snap. I just layered different colors of ink and voila! I had a whole set of journaling cards.

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Learn how to make these cards — click for complete supplies and instructions.

I think this is only the beginning! These stamps are going to see a lot of love!

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Snow Layering Paper (PS610) Black Ink Pad (AF101) Travel (AC031) Friend Definition (CG125) Remember (AC028) Letters (AC025)
Brush Strokes (AC026) La Lettre (K5344) Time (AC029)

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Grab some coffee…

May 15th, 2013 by sally

Today’s post is full of buzz — first up, the news you’ve been waiting for: Stamp Your Story is now HERE in the Hero Arts Online Store! WOO! We have been busy shipping the new stamps to stamp stores all around the world and they are ready to fill your orders.  In case you didn’t know, orders placed in the Hero Arts Online store are fulfilled by local stores — how cool is that?

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Note that some items have been so popular there may not be many left available. These items have been marked with “LIMITED STOCK” in the product name and you’ll see “item can be placed on backorder” under availability. This means that if no local stores have the items on hand to fill your order you’ll have to wait a bit to get your goodies. But never fear, we are busy brewing more!

Now on to today’s card by Sally — it has a little caffeinated buzz for ya! Take it away, girlfriend!

COFFEE!!! Mmm I love it! Just smelling the aroma gets me excited! I decided this sort of devotion deserved it’s own card. :-) The inspiration continued when I saw the Love and Heart die sitting on my desk - what better to proclaim my love? I used a Latte Folded Card for my base, for obvious reasons. The coffee ring from Texture and Shape and splotches from Brush Strokes were absolutely perfect to create a coffee-stained look on my card!  I used so many of my favorite things on this card - the background on the main panel is Keep Calm - I LOVE this background for everything, it’s so soft and subtle and great for alphabet cards. And the new alphabets from Stamp Your Story - Sketchbook Letters and Journal Letters - were instant favorites in my craft room!

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Find out how to make this card — click for complete supplies and instructions.

So, go grab a mug of your favorite coffee and get stamping for our NEW contest – or browse all the new Stamp Your Story stamps HERE!

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Love and Heart (DI081) Texture and Shape (LP283) Brush Strokes (AC026) Keep Calm (CG512) Journal Letters (CL697) Sketchbook Letters (CL699)
Latte Folded Cards (PS564) Soft Brown Shadow Ink (AF170) Cup O' Joe Shadow Ink Mid-Tone (AF214) Eggshell Layering Paper (PS609) Black Ink Pad (AF101) Soft Sand Shadow Ink (AF144)

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Life Is…

May 14th, 2013 by sally

Hi everyone! It’s Sally here, playing with some of my new goodies from the Stamp Your Story catalog! One of my very favorite new sets is My Words. The words included are fantastic for cards, or for journaling, or for scrapbooking - or all of the above! And the font itself is just so much fun! I created this artsy little card by combining My Words with some of the fabulous new papers in the Artist Paper pad - the card is actually sitting on the pad itself, it’s hefty and filled with great papers - 42 sheets of them to be exact, 2 each of 21 patterns.

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Find out how to make this card — click for complete supplies & instructions.

If you’re loving My Words as much as I am - and I know you are - good news! The set is our Stamp of the Week! This week only find My Words for 25% in the Hero Arts Online Store.

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Thanks for stopping by today,

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My Words (CL695) Notebook Essentials (CL696) Artist Papers (PS726) SC SUNDRIFTER PAPER PAD 6X6 (PS722) Soft Granite (AF226) Soft Pool Shadow Ink (AF146)
Soft Apricot Shadow Ink (AF145) Cup O' Joe Shadow Ink Mid-Tone (AF214) Kraft Notecards with Envelopes (8) (PS507) Black Ink Pad (AF101) Snow Layering Paper (PS610) Brush Strokes (AC026)

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Adding texture with gesso! (+ VIDEO + bonus card!)

May 12th, 2013 by lisa

Hey there! It’s Lisa today with a technique video for you today: adding texture with gesso and stamps. This technique works great whether you use it on a card, layout, or journaling page like I did here:

Always inspired by nature. It's true!

Journal page by Lisa Spangler. Click for complete materials and instructions.

Watch the video to see how it’s done!

Isn’t that cool? Here are some closeups so you can see the texture better:

Closeup of the woodgrain gesso!

Closeup of the feather!

And did you notice that feather? I can’t get enough of feathers lately. Neither can Joy, who is joining me today with a gorgeous clean and simple card! Just love this so much.

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Joy says:

I seem to be addicted to the Feather stamp, not that the other stamps from this new release are not addictive, but I feel the trend of Feathers right now is well right up there, so I knew I wanted the Feather to be the show case on this card, by adding water colour gradient effect in the back and stamping in black, really made the Feather image stand out.  This card would make a great card for mass producing or feminine , just changing up the sentiment and the background colour.

So, what is inpiring you lately? I’d love to hear!

Hope you have a great week,

My Favorite (AC030) Letters (AC025) My Notebook (AC027) Designer Woodgrain (S5208) Black Ink Pad (AF101) Pale Tomato Mid-Tone Shadow Ink (AF233)
SC SUNDRIFTER PAPER PAD 6X6 (PS722) Tide Pool (AF223)  ArtPrint Brown Dye Ink (AF120) Butter Bar Shadow Ink Mid-Tone (AF207)

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Stamp Your Story Blog Hop Winner!

May 10th, 2013 by hero

bunnywinner

Hi there! This afternoon we have some happy news! We’re here to announce the winner from our Stamp Your Story blog hop last week! We loved reading all of your wonderful comments here on the blog and along the entire hop! And we’re thrilled that you are as excited as we are about these new stamps!

So without further ado, our lucky winner is Barb, who said right here on this blog: “Those colorful circles are so fun, Sally! LOVE!! :)

Barb, please send your address to winner@heroarts.com and we’ll get your prize package out to you.

Have a nice weekend,

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Stamp Your Story with Shari

May 10th, 2013 by shari

Welcome back to the blog everyone, it’s Shari here with another Stamp Your Story inspiration! So far I’ve been showing how to make cards with the new stamps and accessories, this time I’ve created a very simple journal page with some basic stamping.

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I’ve used fun bright inks that blend well together when stamped and layered.

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Find out how to make this project — click for complete supplies and instructions.

And now I have an exciting event to let you know about! Are you local to the Bay Area? Check this out…!!

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I’ll be at the Warehouse sale too and can’t wait to welcome you to my (other) home!  :o)


My Favorite (AC030) Brush Strokes (AC026) Remember (AC028) Time (AC029) India Ink Black Ink Pad (AF248) Soft Granite (AF226)
Chalk Ink: Splash (AF215) Tide Pool (AF223) Green Hills Shadow Ink Mid-Tone (AF209) Charcoal Mid-Tone Shadow Ink (AF236)

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Bold Wishes

May 9th, 2013 by jennifer

Hello! It’s Jennifer here and I have a bold and colorful card for you!

I love the look of painted watercolor brush strokes. And this is easy to do with the new Hero Arts My Notebook set…

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I wanted a “messy” and colorful background. I inked the image with Distress Inks and gave it a mist of water from close up before stamping. Normally I mist from faraway so that it blends better. But by close up misting, I get more splotches in the final result…which can be fun!

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Find out how to make this card — click for complete supplies and instructions.

Hope your day is bold and colorful, too.

___jennifer1

My Notebook (AC027) Black Notecards (PS688) Bright White Watercolor Paper (PS626) Black Gemstones (CH139) Black Ink Pad (AF101) Mini Mister Bottles (WM102)
Barn Door Distress Dye Ink Pad (AF190) Wild Honey Distress Dye Ink Pad (AF201) Tim Holtz: Broken China Distress Dye Ink Pad (AF160) Tim Holtz: Faded Jeans Distress Dye Ink Pad (AF161)

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I Love You Mom!

May 8th, 2013 by kelly

Hi there! It’s Kelly here with more Stamp Your Story inspiration! Since Mother’s Day is this coming Sunday in the U.S., I thought I’d pull together a card just for her using some of my favorite new stamps.

One of those stamps is the Painted Circle — a fun brush stroke circle that can add a bit of texture to your projects! On my card below I used two different sized circle dies to cut both inside and outside the image, creating a hollow circle element to put behind the sentiment.

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The sentiment strip was created by combining images from two new woodblock sets — Happy Thoughts and Best Mom Ever. The “I Love You Mom” sentiment fit perfectly inside the striped frame, creating a fun detailed border along the top and bottom of the sentiment banner.

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Find out how to make this card — click for complete supplies and instructions.

And I wanted a very subtle background so the Tiny Ink Spots ended up being the perfect solution! I think the soft white on kraft helps pull the whole card together!

Hope you enjoyed the card and have a wonderful day!

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Tiny Ink Spots (S5637) Big Tag (K5661) Happy Thoughts (LP287) Newspaper Background (S5601) Large Tag (DI058) Painted Circle (E5784)
Notebook Essentials (CL696) Best Mom Ever (LP280) Chalk Ink: Snow (AF185) Soft Cantaloupe Shadow Ink (AF242) Soft Apricot Shadow Ink (AF145) Tide Pool (AF223)
VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad (VC250) Embossing Powder - White (PW110) Pool Mixed Layering Paper (PS640) Snow Layering Paper (PS610) Mixed Sunshine Buttons (CH259) Sunshine Mixed Accents (CH216)

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