Welcome to the Hero Arts stop on the Operation Write Home bloghop! I’m Sandy Allnock, the Executive Director of the organization - and I’m thrilled to be able to sneak in over here with a guest post at the most inspiring blog on the interwebs to share a little with you!

Hero Arts is one of our best supporters! There are now nine - count em NINE! - fundraising stamp sets…the portion of the sales that are donated really help the organization fulfill our mission to help our deployed service members keep in touch with home! If you’re one who loves clear stamps - you’ll need to check out these six sets…I have to say, I keep the Year Round Sentiments set out on my desk at all times, and I bet you’ll find the same!

And now for those who are traditionalists and need red rubber on wood mounts…you are in luck! Just released are these three sets…You’re Always In My Heart LP279, You’re My World LP277, and Blessings To You LP278.

And one of the coooolest things that’s happened for OWH recently:  two of these sets were released at Hobby Lobby! Be sure to take the numbers with you to your local store so you can request them…our crafters were on a mad shopping spree and cleared the stores in a week, so you’ll probably want to ask them to order in some!

Alrighty. Enough of all that excitement, you came along on this hop to see a card! We’re all making thank-you cards using OWH sketches - and I used #41. I used my Copic airbrush system* to create the background papers, and stamped the stars from the You’re My World set, and the sentiment from the Blessings To You set. I wrote a note inside that’ll be sent to a hero far from home - which is a great way that you, too, can honor those who have made sacrifices for us all. This Memorial Day holiday remembers those who gave their all - and we honor them by serving those who are still in harm’s way today.

And I’ve been told that if you leave a comment on this blog post…you’re going to qualify to win one of the two sets used on my card! You’re My World and Blessings To You are up for grabs for two lucky chatty folks!

So tell me….what are YOU doing to honor the real reason for this holiday weekend? Leave your comment by Monday, May 27th at 11:59pm Pacific time and you’ll be entered to win!

*Feel free to pop over to my blog today, too, I Can’t Stop Embellishing - especially if you’ve never seen the Copic airbrush system - I have a little video for ya with it today!

Hi there! We’re happy to see you here on the fifth (and sadly, final) day of our 2013 Catalog Blog Hop with the Hero Hostesses. We hope you’ve enjoyed this fun week!

The Hostesses have another heaping helping of 2013 Catalog inspiration ready and waiting for you today, but first how about a round of inky applause for these 28 wonderful stampers! Thank you, ladies, for sharing your time and talents with all of us. You’ve absolutely filled this week to the brim with creative goodness and given our stamps star-treatment! We’d also like to extend a very special thank you to Deborah Nolan, whose behind-the-scenes organization has yet again been exceptional and ensured a smooth hop. Your help is much appreciated, Deborah!

Now for a glimpse of some of the fabulous projects the Hostesses have up their sleeves today. Feast your eyes!

Late to the party? Fear not. The extended format of this blog hop will allow you plenty of time to catch up and enjoy the projects bit by gorgeous bit. In case you’re just joining in:

• Every comment you leave along the hop (including this post) gives you a chance to win new 2013 Hero Arts stamps! Comments must be received by 11:59pm PST on Monday, January 21 to be entered. Three giveaway winners will be randomly selected and announced here on the blog next week.
• If you’ve missed any days, you can go back to view and comment at the following links:  DAY 1 • DAY 2 • DAY 3 • DAY 4
• All of the new 2013 Catalog stamps you’ve seen showcased this week are now available in the Hero Arts Online Store. The newest designs can be found HERE in the “Shop by Catalog” category.

Now it’s time to HOP to it! Start by clicking over to Lisa Carroll’s blog and then follow the trail of links to the Hostesses’ blogs.

Thanks so much for hopping along with us this week, friends! Wishing you a wonderful weekend…

P.S. - If you happen to come across any broken links, you can always come back to this post and find links to all of today’s participating bloggers: Lisa Carroll • Heather Doran • Tracey Kuzniak • Kelly Booth • Virginia Lu • Vera Rhuhay

Were you hoping to see more amazing Hero Hostess creations today? You’ve come to the right place. It’s day 4 of the 2013 Catalog Blog Hop with the Hero Hostesses and five mega-talented stampers have some wonderful inspiration in store for you! But don’t take our word for it. Have a peek…!

Oh yes, projects like these (and many more) will make your stampy heart go pitter-patter!

Start by hopping over to Emily Leiphart’s blog to get inspired and then follow the links to the other blogs. Remember to leave a little comment love for each blogger as you’re hopping around to increase your chance of winning our blog hop prizes — three lucky winners will receive a prize pack that includes new wood, clear, and cling stamps from the 2013 Catalog!

Enjoy the hop and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for the grand finale!

P.S. - If you happen to come across any broken links, you can always come back to this post and find links to all 5 of today’s participating bloggers: Emily Leiphart • Suzanne Czosek • Sharon Dunn • Sarah Moerman • Anita Recksiedler

Welcome back to the blog hop, stampers! We’re ready for another day of fantastic Hero Hostess inspiration, how about you? Today six Hostesses are all set to delight you with a fresh batch of projects using new stamps from the 2013 Catalog!

Here’s a juicy peek at just a few of the projects you’ll be seeing along today’s leg of the hop…

Delicious!

In case you’re joining us for the first time this week, you can click over to the Monday and Tuesday posts to catch up. And remember, you have ALL week to take in the eye candy and comment for a chance to win big prizes! In fact, every comment you leave along the hop (including this post) gives you a chance to win new 2013 Hero Arts stamps!

Now it’s time to turn you loose! Kicking things off today is Lin Brandyberry — click here to see what she’s created, then follow the links to each blog.

Have a great day and we’ll see you tomorrow for more inspiration from our wonderful Hosti with the Mosti!

P.S. - If you happen to come across any broken links, you can always come back to this post and find links to all of today’s participating bloggers: Lin Brandyberry • Sally Sherfield • Marcy Kaminski • Linda Wetterlin • Arlene McClung • Barb Engler

Hello and welcome to day two of the blog hop! Today we get to visit the blogs of five more Hero Hostesses, who will be showcasing new stamps from the 2013 Catalog. Just wait until you see the beauties they’ve created! Beauties like these…

…just for starters! You’re in for a BIG treat.

Remember, every comment you leave along the hop gives you a chance to win new stamps from the 2013 Catalog! And if you didn’t have time to browse and comment yesterday, no worries! You have all week to soak up the inspiration. (Miss day one? Start here.)

Here we go! Robin Kubasik is ready to kick things off – click over to her blog to begin and then follow the links to each of the Hostesses participating today. Enjoy the journey!

P.S. - If you happen to come across any broken links, you can always come back to this post and find links to all 5 of today’s participating bloggers: Robin Kubasik • Judy Jung • Nancy Krueger • Sue McRae • Cheiron Brandon

Hello and welcome to the opening day of the 2013 Catalog Blog Hop with the Hero Hostesses! We’ve gathered 28 of our wonderful Hero Hostesses for an inky reunion and we couldn’t be more excited! For the next five days the Hostesses will be sharing projects they’ve created with stamps from our new 2013 Catalog. It’s going to be one fun and inspiration-packed week for sure!

Here’s how it works:  Monday, January 14, through Friday, January 18, the blog hop will begin right here (on the Hero Arts blog). From here, you’ll be able to journey to the blogs of 5-6 different Hostesses per day. We hope this extended format will give more readers an opportunity to follow along and enjoy the inspiration at their own pace.

Now, how about a little peek at some of the creative goodness you’ll be seeing today…

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

Before you hop along, let’s talk PRIZES! Oh yes, there are prizes.

• We will be giving away three big prize packs containing an assortment of brand new wood, cling, and clear stamps from the 2013 Catalog.
• For a chance to win, simply comment on ANY of the stops along the hop on ANY day, including each day’s starting post here on our blog. (This post is your first chance!) The more comments you leave, the better your chance of winning.
• The three winners will be selected at random and announced right here on the blog next week.

Now that the details are covered, it’s time to get this party started! Begin by clicking over to Kathy Racoosin’s blog, then follow the links to the other blogs, being sure to leave lots of “love” for our Hostesses for a chance to win those prizes!

Thanks so much for joining us. Happy hopping, everyone!

P.S. - If you happen to come across any broken links, you can always come back to this post and find links to all of today’s participating bloggers: Kathy Racoosin • Deborah Nolan • Kryssi Ng • Jenn Biederman • Kathy Wade • Donna Mikasa

Thanks to all of you who joined us for the 2012 Catalog Blog Hop with the Hero Hostesses last week. We greatly appreciate your participation, feedback and sweet comments!

Now it’s time to announce our blog hop prize winners!! Three lucky winners were randomly chosen from ALL blog hop comments during the week and they are…

• Pammejo - from Kathy Racoosin’s blog (January 12, 2012 11:27am)
• Savannah O’Gwynn - from Donna Mikasa’s blog (January 11, 2012)
• cheiron - from Hero Arts blog, day 2 (January 10th, 2012 at 8:59 am)

Congratulations ladies — you’ve won a prize pack that includes new stamps from the 2012 Catalog! Please send us an email at winner@heroarts.com to claim your prize and we’ll get your goodies sent out to you!

Happy Friday and welcome to the final day of our 2012 Catalog Blog Hop with the Hero Hostesses! All good things must come to an end — but not before one last hurrah!

Five more Hero Hostesses are here to inspire, and as you can see by the sneak peeks below, it promises to be another fantastic day of creativity!

We know you must be eager to begin, but before you hop along we’d like to take a moment to extend our gratitude.

• First, to our 24 participating Hero Hostesses. Thank you for an incredible five days of inspiration! “Ooh” and “aah” became a permanent part of our vocabulary this week as we hopped along with everyone else and admired your amazing creations. Thank you for sharing so generously of your time and talents and for being a special part of the Hero Arts community. Hugs to each of you!
• A special shout out and heartfelt thanks to Hero Hostess Deborah Nolan for once again lending a helping hand to ensure the smooth operation of the hop. Those of you who know Deborah know what a gift she has for bringing people together towards a common goal.  Always a pleasure working with you, Deborah…thanks so much!
• And finally, thanks to all of YOU for joining us this week and for leaving such kind comments here and on the designers’ blogs. Your comments always make us smile!

Just a few final reminders in case you’re joining us for the first time this week:

• Every comment you leave along the hop (including this post) gives you a chance to win a fabulous assortment of new 2012 Hero Arts stamps!
• Three giveaway winners will be randomly selected and announced here on the blog on Monday, January 16th.
• If you’ve missed any days, you can go back to view and comment today and/or over the weekend. Daily links follow:  Day 1 • Day 2 • Day 3 • Day 4
• Oh, and we should mention that ALL of the new 2012 Catalog stamps you’ve seen showcased this week are now available in the Hero Arts Online Store! The newest designs can be found here in the “Shop by Catalog” category.

And with that…let’s hop to it! Start by clicking over to Anita Recksiedler’s blog and then follow the trail of links to the other Hostesses’ blogs.

Thanks again for joining us and sharing in the excitement of the 2012 Catalog release!

Happy weekend,

P.S. - If you happen to come across any broken links, you can always come back to this post and find links to all of today’s participating bloggers: Anita Recksiedler • Heather Doran • Tracey Kuzniak • Kryssi Ng • Jenny Suchin

Here we are at day 4 of our week-long 2012 Catalog Blog Hop with the Hero Hostesses already — can you believe it?! If Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday left you with a thirst for even more stamping inspiration, you’re in luck because today five Hostesses are all set to bring you a fresh batch of projects using new stamps from the 2012 Catalog!

So how about tasty appetizer before the feast? Here’s a peek at just a few of the fabulous creations you’ll be seeing…

Yep. It’s going to be another filled-to-the-brim-with-goodness kind of day!

Now it’s time to get hopping and see these stamps in action! Sharon Dunn is kicking things off — click here to see what she’s created, then follow the links to each blog.

And remember to leave a little comment love for each of today’s designers as you’re hopping around to increase your chance of winning our giveaways! Three lucky winners will receive a prize pack that includes new stamps from the 2012 Catalog. Leaving a comment on this post gives you one entry, and today we’re adding a twist for a bonus entry! If you go “like” Hero Arts on Facebook, please leave an additional comment letting us know you did so. If you’re already a Hero Arts “liker”, you can also leave a comment to let us know. Thanks!

Hope to see you tomorrow! Same time. Same place. Happy hopping!

P.S. - If you happen to come across any broken links, you can always come back to this post and find links to all of today’s participating bloggers: Sharon Dunn • Kathy Racoosin • Virginia Lu • Sue McRae • Sarah Moerman

Hi everyone! Welcome back to the 2012 Catalog Blog Hop with the Hero Hostesses!

Coming your way today — more inspiration and more chances to win new stamps! Just wait until you see the beauties the Hostesses have created for day 3! Here’s a bit of what Lisa, Arlene, Linda and Sally have cooked up…

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Or would that be the tip of the inkpad?

Either way, we’re ready to hop…how about you? The first stop on today’s journey is the blog of Lisa Carroll! Click here to visit Lisa’s blog and then follow the links to each of the Hostesses participating today.

Be sure to leave a comment at each blog (as well as this post) and you’ll be eligible to win one of three fabulous assortments of stamps from the 2012 Catalog! Winners will be announced on Monday, January 16th. Remember, you have an entire week to visit. If you didn’t have time to hop the first two days…no problem! You have all week to enjoy the projects and comment for a chance to win.

A hoppy Wednesday to all,

P.S. - If you happen to come across any broken links, you can always come back to this post and find links to all of today’s participating bloggers: Lisa Carroll • Arlene McClung • Linda Wetterlin • Sally Sherfield