Hello there, hoppers! We’re happy (or would that be “hoppy”?) to see you here at the final destination of our 2010 Catalog Blog Hop!  How was your journey? We hope you enjoyed the hop as much as we did! Seeing new stamps “in action” is always such a thrill, and we hope you found lots of inspiration in the projects our artists and special guests created!

As a thank you for hopping along with us, we have a few more fun treats up our sleeves.

First, how about a closer look at the 18 NEW featured stamps/sets from the hop? It was both rewarding and inspiring to see these images in the hands of so many amazing stampers! Feast your eyes on this assortment of stamps…

These stamps have arrived at many retail stores already, and will be arriving soon at retailers worldwide. Just click HERE to find a Hero Arts store near you! And starting January 6, the 2010 Catalog stamps will be available in the Hero Arts Online Store as well!

Now…would anyone like to take a peek at the COVER of the new 2010 Hero Arts catalog? Yes? Very well then! Here we go!

Without further ado, we present “The Art of the Stamp”…

There’s something for everyone inside this catalog! We now offer you three kinds of stamps: Poly Clear, Cling and Wood. No matter which kind of stamp you use, you can count on Hero Arts for quality craftsmanship and exclusive, original designs. We’re also very excited about Hero Hues –  our new line of coordinating papers, inks, and accessories. Monday, December 21, we will be launching our 2010 digital catalog on heroarts.com so that you can browse all of  the wonderful new offerings inside this catalog at the click of a mouse!

Before we go, how about one more treat! We’re reaching into our prize bag and pulling out a fabulous assortment of new stamps and a 2010 catalog, which will be going to one lucky person who comments right here on THIS post!  We’d love to hear your feedback on the new stamps you’ve seen so far. Do you have a favorite? Leave a comment and let us know what you think, or simply let us know if you enjoyed the hop!  We’ll pick one random winner for the giveaway, to be announced on Tuesday, December 22. Good luck!!

Finally, we’d like to give special thanks to:

• the 36 stampers who created and shared projects — you all are amazing!
• Deborah Nolan for her valuable help with the organization of the hop!
• and to YOU for joining us!

The fun is really just beginning, as 2010 Catalog Preview Parties begin today and continue throughout the weekend at participating stores worldwide. Find a party near you HERE and take some time out to enjoy these fun in-store events!

Thanks so much for joining us and sharing in our excitement! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Hello, stampers! The day we’ve been waiting for has finally arrived! With great excitement, we welcome you today to the Hero Arts 2010 Catalog Blog Hop!

We’ll be taking you on a tour of 34 blogs, giving you inspiring previews of many new 2010 stamps, with lots of chances for prizes along the way. So…let’s hop to it! Hero Artists Sally Traidman, Nancy Taylor, and Tami Hartley are here to kick off the festivities with a wonderful trio of cards.

First, here’s Sally with a beautiful card featuring layer upon layer of stamped images — all of them NEW!  Sally says, “I love using the new silhouette stamps because stamping on top of the empty areas is fun. Or decorating them with paper flowers and stems…and inking the solid areas with another stamp pattern. Of course, I could not resist my signature pink and green.”

Supplies:

• Silhouette Meadow Flowers Woodblock Stamp(K5340) NEW!
• Heart Flourishes Cling Background Stamp (CG169) NEW!
• Silhouette Ivy Woodblock Stamp (K5313) NEW!
• Huge Hugs PolyClear Stamp Set (CL417) NEW!
• Spring Art Flowers
• Lime Notecards
• Memories Black Ink
• Primary Elements & Rose Petals Chalk Ink Queue
• Peeled Paint Distress Ink
• Other: white cardstock, yellow pom pom (cut from pom pom trim)

Next we have a card from Nancy, who combined two of our new PolyClear sets, mixing and matching flourishes with inspirational words. Here’s Nancy with more! “The new Hero Arts images are so exciting I decided to step way out of my comfort zone and try ink layering. Using the Speckled Ornaments and Essential Messages images I decided to create a card that was a lot of little tags. The more I stamped the more fun I had (this is a far cry from the stamping you usually see from me). I used ArtPrint Brown and White Memories ink. Simply stamp in the brown ink and scrub over the stamping with a white Memories ink pad, then repeat. Yes, it does leave the white ink pad a bit colored, but rubbing it over a plain white card adds a nice light brown background to a white card. Adding parts of a message and combining messages created the perfect card for my sister. Enjoy the new catalog and why not step out of your comfort zone and try lots of different stamping techniques this year!”

Supplies:

• Speckled Ornaments PolyClear Stamp Set (CL401) NEW!
• Essential Messages PolyClear Stamp Set (CL371) NEW!
• Memories Artprint Brown, Black & White Ink
• White & Cream Art Flowers
• Long Notecards Natural
• Black Gemstones
• Other: ribbon

And finally, Tami used the new Poppy Background Cling stamp as the centerpiece of a lovely anniversary card. She shares, “It was love at first stamp for me with this poppy image! I stamped the Old Letter Writing script onto cream patterned paper, then stamped and clear embossed the solid Poppy Background on top of it. This left the poppies and stems open for coloring, which I did by sponging on a variety of inks. When you see the Poppy Background used throughout the hop, you may notice it is a square stamp. To give it the illusion of being a longer, more rectangular stamp, I stamped the stem portion again below the sentiment area.”

Supplies:

• Poppy Background Cling Stamp (CG140) NEW!
• Old Letter Writing
• Everyday Sayings
• Small & Medium Accent Pearls
• Tattered Rose, Scattered Straw, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Fired Brick Distress Inks
• Rose Petals Chalk Ink Queue
• Memories Artprint Brown Ink
• Other: ribbon, Fiskars border punch, machine stitching

Like what you you’ve seen so far? We’re just getting warmed up! Our bloggers have dozens and dozens of projects lined up, featuring all new 2010 Hero Arts stamps!

A few of things you’ll want to know before you hop on your merry way:

• We’ll be randomly giving away a BIG prize to someone who leaves a comment somewhere on a blog along the way, staring with this one! The more blogs you comment on, the greater your chances are of winning! (Only one comment per blog post, please.)  And what will the winner receive? Why, a fabulous bundle of all new 2010 stamps, of course — and a 2010 catalog too!
• There will be additional prizes offered on many blogs, so be sure to follow the blogger’s instructions for a chance to win those as well!
• And! We’ll have even more 2010 goodies to give away to someone who makes it to the hop’s final destination and leaves a comment there. Hmmm…wonder where that could be?!

All winners will be announced on Tuesday, December 22, so you have plenty of time to take in all of the eye candy and leave your comments throughout the weekend and Monday.

Now, it’s time to go forth and hop! Enjoy the next stop, which is the the blog of the talented Leslie Lightfoot!

Click click click, hop hop hop…have fun everyone!

P.S. -  Just in case there are any broken links or technical mishaps on the journey, here is a list of our participating bloggers, including Hero Artists, Hero Hostesses, and special guests. You can always return to this post and click on the next blog if needed! Leslie Lightfoot • Kelly Booth •  Dawn McVey • Lisa Carroll • Robyn Werlich • Karen Piskor • Libby Hickson • Judy Jung • Tim Holtz • Jennifer McGuire • Deborah Nolan • Jacki Jones • Virginia Lu • Kandis Smith • Tracey Kuzniak • Shari Carroll • Barbara Hache • Kathy Racoosin • Kristina Werner • Cathy Andronicou • Laura Griffin • Tiffany Ervin • Nichol Magouirk • Donna Mikasa • Lisa Spangler • Kelly Rasmussen • Lin Brandyberry • Claudine Hellmuth • Jenn Biederman • Sheri Reguly • Sarah Moerman • Lucy Abrams • Julie Ebersole •

Wow, this week of sneak peeks has really flown by! Here’s a look back at the peeks:

• Monday - I shared the Clear Design Sweet Wonderful You set
• Tuesday - We peeked at the new Cling Heart Trio set
• Wednesday - Todd was here with a great video chock full o’ sneaks + peeks, plus we introduced Hero Hues
• Friday - we had a “home tour” with lots of great new house stamps

I hope you’ve been inspired by the sneak peeks to stamp a card or other project for the weekly challenge — click HERE for all the details.

I can’t wait until December 18th when the 2010 Catalog will debut and you can see all the NEW stamps, NEW Hero Hues line, and NEW accessories!  Have you made your plans to attend a 2010 Catalog Preview Party yet? If you’re near San Diego, California, check out The Stamp Addict! Here’s your party invitation:

The Stamp Addict invites you to join us for the Hero Arts 2010 debut with 4 Free Make-n-Takes on Saturday December 19th and 2 Free Make-n-Takes on Sunday December 20th! We will also have prize drawing giveaways both days for participants! All of the new product will be here, and rumor has it that Santa will be dropping by on Saturday to give some Hero Arts presents away!

Don’t miss this great event, and a chance to be one of the first people to get the Brand New Hero Arts Products including the new Clear sets, Wood stamps, Cling stamps, Gems, Papers, Inks and even the new catalog and idea book! Get one ticket for the prize drawing for each make-n-take you participate in and 1 for every Hero Arts product you purchase!

Wow, that sounds like so much fun!  Here are just a few scenes of their fabulous store:

Click HERE for The Stamp Addict’s address and phone number. Not near San Diego?  Find a party near you by clicking HERE. No parties in your area?  No worries!  Join us right here on the blog on December 18th.  We’re having a blog hop with special guests, prizes, and more peeks at all the new stamps!

Happy weekend hugs,

It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for all day — the BIG reveal of Sneak Peek #9 — and I’d like to welcome you to the neighborhood!  Let me show you ’round town, starting with our NEW wonderful wood “block” — hee hee!

I had so much fun playing with these stamps!  I kept it simple for these cards, but you could get as creative as you like by cutting up the houses, changing out the roofs — the sky’s the limit.  Here are the stamps that I used:

On the left is Home with Flourish (F5295), and on the right is A Simple House (G5297) — both are so fun!

This is Row of Houses (H5328), love this one!  (The image is a little smaller than it is in real life, but you can see the scale from the photo.)

And here we have Cityscape (K5325). These all work so great together.

Now, let’s head on over to the clear part of town…

I had tons of fun with these stamps too!  They are so fun to color with markers — I created the bricks on the top brown house with them.  If you don’t wish to color, you can stamp the houses on patterned paper or new Hero Hues papers instead.  Now, let’s have a peek at the set — Clear Design Mi Casa (CL389):

There are so many possibilities here! You could use them for housewarming presents, sending love across the miles, hostess cards, invitations, thank-you cards — the list goes on and on and on!  AND!  Did you see that envelope flap?  LOVE the new Hero Hues!  If you missed that sneak peek, it’s right HERE.

Now, let’s have some winners!

For Contest #1, I randomly selected a comment that was left so far this week to win a prize package of NEW stamps plus the 2010 Hero Arts Catalog!  And that lucky person is…Janet, who said on December 10th at 8:05 am:

You’ve done it again! What a wonderful idea. Can’t wait to get my hands on those.

Now for the winner of Contest #2 – the Blinkie Contest!  It was so great seeing all of those blinkies merrily blinking away!  And the random person to win a prize package of NEW stamps plus the 2010 Hero Arts Catalog is…Mariana! Click HERE to check out her super fun blog with the Sneak Peek Blinkie!

Janet and Mariana, we’ll contact you via email to get your addresses and send you the stamps just as soon as they are ready — they’ll be hot off the press!

Don’t forget, there’s still plenty of time to enter Contest #3 — click HERE for all the details.  I’ve been checking the Flickr group, and there’s lots of great entries already!

Hope you liked the tour of the Hero neighborhood — let me know what you think!  I’ll be back tomorrow with one last featured store plus the weekly wrap-up — see you then,

Hi everyone! It’s “FUN Friday”, and I have lots of super fun things planned, starting with another sneak peek:

Some of you sharp-eyed viewers may have spotted a house or two in Wednesday’s video — but that was just the beginning!  Come back tonight at 6 pm PST and I’ll show you ’round the whole neighborhood. I’ll also be announcing the lucky winners of the first two contests this week — there’s still a little time to enter — click HERE for details.

Now, it’s time to feature another store having a Hero Arts 2010 Catalog Preview Party!  Meet some of the crew from Stampeddler Plus — a super fun stamp store in Northville, Michigan!

I just love those necklaces, hee hee!

Their store is in a restored 124 year old church, and the original stained glass windows were saved and are still being displayed.  When you walk into this unique setting, there’s an instant feeling of warmth and creativity. Combined with another 15 years at another location in town, Stampeddler has 27 years of being creative!   Just feast your eyes on a little part of their store:

Doesn’t that make you want to start stamping?  Well then,  join them for a 2010 Catalog Preview Party on December 18th, from 7-9 pm! There will be:

• Make n’ Takes
• Snacks and drinks
• A FREE Catalog with a $30 Hero Arts purchase, and!
• Specials offered throughout the evening

Please call Stampeddler Plus to let them know that you’ll be attending — click on over HERE for their phone number and store address.  Not near Northville, Michigan?  Click HERE to find a store near you.  And!  If you checked the list earlier in the week you’ll want to check again, as more stores are joining in the fun!

I’ll be back again this evening for the big reveal plus the lucky winners of the first two contests — there’s still plenty of time to enter, so get those comments rolling + those blinkies blinking! (Click HERE for the contest details.)

See you then,

It’s time for the BIG reveal of Sneak Peek #8! Are you ready? Those of you who guessed that the sneak peek from this morning involved notecards were close, but this is even BIGGER…

I’m very excited to introduce you to Hero Hues™, our premium line of coordinated color paper, ink and accessories, designed specifically for stamping. Hero Hues™ is not just any paper and ink line:

• Colors. Colors are coordinated, complimentary, and consistent.
• Papers. Designed for stamping, our paper is uncoated, the perfect weight, and high quality.
• Accessories.  Our new accessories are designed to work beautifully together.
• Inks. Created for stamping, our inks deliver high-quality impressions, consistently.

See all the NEW colors, NEW inks, NEW papers, and NEW accessories at a Hero Arts 2010 Catalog Preview Party, December 18-20!  Click HERE to find a party near you.

And!  Did you peek at that envelope flap?  That’s one of my favorite new things!

Tami will be here tomorrow to announce the winners of the Holiday Tag Challenge — if you haven’t started your wrapping yet, you’ll want to check out the wonderful winners and be inspired.

I’ll be back on Friday with another sneak peek, plus I’ll be featuring a great store having a Preview Party!  In the meantime, don’t forget to enter the THREE weekly contests.  Check back HERE for all the details.  One of the contests is super easy to enter — just leave a comment on any post this week — the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win!

Happy sneak peeking,

Welcome back to Sneak Peek Week on the blog!  Today is “Watch it Wednesday”, where we have a video to share with you.  This week’s video by VP of Sales Todd Mullins is chock full o’ sneaks + peeks — keep your eyes peeled — you don’t want to miss a second!

Well now, what did you spy?  Leave us a comment and let us know!  And, send a BIG hello and a hug to Lay, May and Lois in Customer Service — they’ve been working overtime taking orders for all the stores having Preview Parties December 18-20th!  Woo hoo!  Click HERE to find a party near you.

But wait, there’s more!  I have one more Sneak Peek for you today — the sneakiest peek yet:

Any guesses what it is?  I’ll be back tonight with the full reveal, can’t wait until you see!

Until then,

I loved reading all of your comments for the Hearts Trio Cling set!

And the random lucky winner is…

…drumroll…

…still rolling…

Susan C, who wrote at 10:36 PM:

These are cute! Love all the sneaks! =)

Woo hoo!  Susan, we will email you to get your address, and send you the stamps just as soon as they’re ready — they’ll be hot off the press!

Hope you love them as much as we do,

Hi everyone, and welcome back to Sneak Peek Week!  Today is “Take TWO Tuesday”, so let’s start off with TWO takes on the peek — it really sets my heart a-flutter:

And, here’s another glimpse at one of the super tasty Cling stamps that’s in the peek — feast your eyes on this  yummy rubber, hot off the press!

Be sure to come back this evening at 6 PM PST for the BIG reveal and a giveaway!

Now, continuing with the “Take TWO Tuesday” theme, we’re going to feature TWO stores having 2010 Catalog Preview Parties!  I just love their names — it’s TWO takes on the same one!

The first is Sir-Stamps-A-Lot in Homewood, Alabama! Here’s the fun store mascot — he cracks me up!

And just look at this store full of stampy goodness:

Jean has TWO days of 2010 Catalog Preview Parties planned for you! The first is Friday, December 18th from noon-6, and the second is ALL DAY on Saturday, December 19th.  She’s having Make-and-Takes, snacks, chocolate, and a special gift for everyone!  Sounds like FUN — seeing all of the NEW stamps, the NEW catalog, a special gift AND chocolate?!?  WOW!  What more can a stamper ask for?  So, if you’re near Homewood, AL click HERE for Sir-Stamps-A-Lot’s store information.

The second store that we’re featuring today is all the way across “the pond” in the UK — say hello to Sir Stampalot in Peterborough, owned by Janice and Andy! Their logo cracks me up too, hee hee:

Just look at this marvelous display of stamps!

Janice and Andy have a fabulous Preview Party planned for you!  Here’s your invitation:

Fancy a fun filled evening to remember?

Then pop along to our very special Hero Arts 2010 Launch Party here at Sir Stampalot, Peterborough, UK on Saturday 19th December anytime from 6pm to midnight.

This will be a great opportunity to be among the first in the UK to get your hands on the fabulous new goodies from Hero Arts.

There will be fab displays featuring all the new 2010 debut products and we will be offering you a FREE copy of the 2010 Hero Arts collector’s catalogue with every qualifying pre-order purchase of Hero Arts goodies.

There will be make ‘n take projects, door prizes, hot chocolate, munchies and more!

Wowzers, what a treat for the end of the week!   They look forward to seeing you there.  Find Sir Stampalot’s address and phone info right HERE.

And, just to show you what a small world it is — Jean from Sir Stamps-A-Lot and Janice and Andy from Sir Stampalot met at an industry trade show a few years back — they were standing right next to each other!  How funny is that?

Not near either of the two featured stores?  Click on over HERE to find a store near you!  Can’t find any?  Never fear, you can still join in the fun:

Yes, you read that right!  We’re hosting a blog hop on December 18th! Come see me and over 30 bloggers use the NEW stamps!  YAY!

See you this evening, when I’ll be back with the BIG reveal and the giveaway.

Until then, don’t forget about the three week-long contests that are still going on — check out Monday’s post for all the details.

Hi everyone! I’m back with the BIG reveal of the Sneak Peek from this morning — check it out!

Aren’t these girls just too sweet? Here’s the stamp set — it’s Clear Design Sweet Wonderful You (CL381). I can tell you from personal experience that these girls are SO FUN to color!  I love being able to personalize them to match the recipient — like I did with the little blonde girl wearing PINK for Sally, ha ha! 

I used markers to do the coloring — would anyone be interested in a “how-to” video?  Leave me a comment and let me know.  It’s also fun to add gems and ribbons to the girl’s hair — the personalization possibilities are truly endless!

And, if you look carefully, you’ll see some more peeks of stamps to come on those cards, too.  (hint hint)

See you tomorrow morning when I’ll be back with another Sneak Peek — AND another giveaway!

See you then,