August My Monthly Hero Countdown: Idea #1 + Giveaway!

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Hello and welcome as we begin the countdown to the release of the August My Monthly Hero Kit! Release day is Monday, August 6th at 1pm Eastern/10 am Pacific. We will be here for the next three days, sharing ideas for using both the main kit, as well as the new optional add-on products that will also be available on Monday. Stay tuned for more inspiration all weekend long! Now let's join Jess for a first look at this pretty coffee and tea inspired kit.

Good morning! I am SO excited about August's fabulous kit! I love it and I'm sure you will, too!! ;) 

There are tons of coffee, tea, and beverage-inspired drinks in this set but I decided to focus on my favorite, lattes! To start I used our new Cocoa Liquid Watercolor that is an add-on to this month's kit and watercolored an ombre wash for my background. I wet my watercolor paper with clean water and then added the liquid watercolor to the top of the panel with a flat brush. I used a clean damp brush to pull the color down the panel letting it fade to white at the bottom. I let it dry and then trimmed the panel down to 4 1/4" by 5 1/2".

Next I stamped the cup and saucer images from the kit onto my panel and heat-embossed them with white embossing powder. I used more of the new Cocoa Liquid Watercolor with our current Artprint Brown Liquid Watercolor to paint the coffee inside each cup. Once it was dry I stamped the latte art images onto the coffee and heat-embossed it with White Puff embossing powder that's included in the kit. It's hard to see in the photo but the embossing powder puffs up as it heats to create a realistic textured dimensional look for the latte art!

Finally I stamped the sentiment from the kit and heat-embossed it with brass embossing powder. Then I stamped the heart from the kit with Red Royal ink and colored it with a coordinating Copic marker. Then I added a layer of lacquer to the heart for a little extra shine!

Win a kit before you can buy it! Just leave a comment on this (and every) Countdown to Creativity post! We'll randomly draw one lucky winner from all the comments left across all the countdown posts, and announce the winner first thing Monday morning, August 6th, before the kit launches at 1pm Eastern. The more you comment, the more chances to win! 

Have a wonderful day and good luck!


  • Marlene Turbett

    I need this kit! Love it a latte!

  • Kelly Jo

    Beautiful card. I love how you created the background and the latte foam.

  • Jane Mcbee

    I am a big coffee fan as well, great effect of the designs in the cups.

  • IRENE PAGE

    I am looking forward to the August kit. I really enjoyed the hints provided so far— two beautiful cards and the puff up embossing powder.

  • Kathy

    Its a wonderfull idea

521 Responses

Dorothy Mutafopulos

Dorothy Mutafopulos

Aug 03, 2018

Love the card and that cocoa liquid is so awesome!!!

Denise Delores Mills

Denise Delores Mills

Aug 03, 2018

I am so excited to see this month’s kit.

Felicia C

Felicia C

Aug 03, 2018

Who doesn’t absolutely love any stamps and dies coffee related? I love this simple, yet elegant die and am very excited to add the cocoa watercolor ink to my collection!

Lauren Z.

Lauren Z.

Aug 03, 2018

Love your Latte creation, it is beautifully done! This kit looks like it is right up my alley. Cannot wait to see more!

Toni Fleser

Toni Fleser

Aug 03, 2018

Love the heart shaped creamer design and the White Puff embossing puts the cream right out there.

Samantha Sloop

Samantha Sloop

Aug 03, 2018

Oh my gosh, I’ve been holding out on the perfect coffeestamp set. I’m so excited, I can’t wait to play with this one. I’m a coffee lover!!!!

Theresa P

Theresa P

Aug 03, 2018

Love how you created the Ombre background. Great card!

Megan

Megan

Aug 03, 2018

Mmmm coffee! I really like the latte art stamps!

CherriB

CherriB

Aug 03, 2018

Love your card! The watercolor wash in the background is gorgeous – so smooth!!

Susan King

Susan King

Aug 03, 2018

Jess, How stunning! I am really interested in the new watercolors by Hero Arts. Do you use them like any watercolor? You application looked so perfect and loved how you added more for the true color of a cup of coffee!. It is almost that time of year for Coffee/tea get togethers to start again and this would be a perfect card for that!

Barbara Rademacher

Barbara Rademacher

Aug 03, 2018

Well, this should be interesting. I am interested in seeing the cocoa colored liquid watercolor.

Joanne Williams

Joanne Williams

Aug 03, 2018

I love the simplicity of your card and fact that it still has that WOW! effect. Would love to win this release as I have lots of coffee fans in the family.

Terri Fain

Terri Fain

Aug 03, 2018

Love this card. I really like the ombre effect you got with the liquid color. I am not sure I am brave enough to try this but the look is stunning. I can’t wait to see more.

Bunny

Bunny

Aug 03, 2018

Mmmmm…………this card looks delicious. Love this set and your colors.

joyce mcintosh

joyce mcintosh

Aug 03, 2018

Awesome card! Looks like another great monthly kit. Can’t wait to see the rest of the previews.

kt fit kitty

kt fit kitty

Aug 03, 2018

I can see already this kit will sell out quickly! LOVE the coffee theme! Gorgeous card, Jessica! Can’t wait to see more of this kit!

Sandy Dayhoff

Sandy Dayhoff

Aug 03, 2018

Looking good! Can’t wait to see the rest of the images!!

Betty Dean

Betty Dean

Aug 03, 2018

Pretty card! I love everything coffee! Can’t wait to try the puffy embossing powder!

Natalie Winterstein

Natalie Winterstein

Aug 03, 2018

I love this! Super cute!

Denise

Denise

Aug 03, 2018

Beautiful card. Love the ombré look.

Stephanie G

Stephanie G

Aug 03, 2018

Coffee! Can’t wait to see what’s next.