Stay Crafty with A Blog Named Hero: January 2024 Challenge

Jan 04, 2024 Michelle Lupton

Welcome to a new Stay Crafty with A Blog Named Hero Challenge! For January, we're saying that everything old is new again! We want you to use the old along with the new – maybe that's an old stamp with a new one, or an old technique with a new product, or make a new version of an old card of yours – anything that teams the old with the new!

Because of this theme, we're doing something a bit different. Some of the DT might have used Hero Arts products that are no longer available – some were discontinued many years ago! This is the perfect opportunity to go through your stash and find some older Hero Arts products that could use some love.

We are also welcoming eight new A Blog Named Hero Design Team members today!

Here's some fabulous inspiration from our design team. You can follow the links below each card to discover even more inspiration from these talented artists.

Amy Tsuruta

Hi, I'm Amy and I live in beautiful Washington State! I'm a coffee loving crafter and big fan of Hero Arts.

You can find Amy on Instagram and her blog.

Andrew Granick

Hey everyone! I'm Andrew. I'm super excited for this opportunity to join the Hero Arts family. I've had the pleasure of guest designing for them in the past. I would describe my card making style as very unorganized chaos. I'm always looking for my scissors. I have a clean and simple style and I'll almost always add splatter to a card.

You can find Andrew on Instagram.

BreAnn Loveland

Hello! My name is BreAnn. I live in central Indiana with my husband and two kiddos. I started making cards in 2014. This industry and the people in it mean the world to me.

You can find BreAnn on Instagram.

Ceal Pritchett

Hi, I'm Ceal. I live in the mountains of North Carolina with my husband and our little Shih Tzu puppy, Wally. I have been a crafter of some sort since childhood. I started with scrapbooking, however cardmaking became a quick favorite. I am a huge fan of Hero Arts and super excited to be a part of this team.

You can find Ceal on Instagram, Facebook, and her blog.

Colleen Balija

Hi, I'm Colleen! I live in the USA with my husband and 95 lb dog. I'm a mom of 2 adult children and 2 grandchildren with a 3rd on the way next spring! I work fulltime in the mental health field. I've been crafting over 10 years now, and recently started teaching classes and love it! I'm so excited to share my creativity with you!

You can find Colleen on Instagram, YouTube and her blog.

Essie Cards

Hi I'm Essie, a teenage summer camp arts and crafts specialist who grew up to be an Air Force officer. These days, I'm a civil servant and mom by day, but at night...I'm a cardmaker on a mission to surprise and delight my recipients. I love cards that are bright and high impact, and use supplies in new and unexpected ways.

You can find Essie on Instagram and her blog.

Hannelie Bester

Hi, my name is Hannelie Bester, I am a South-African living in the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) for the last 16 years. We moved to the UAE because of a job opportunity that was offered to my husband. I’ve been making cards for many years, but I started blogging soon after we moved here... hence the title of my blog - Desert Diva. Living so far away from my loved ones, made me realise just how much I love them. Card making helps me cope with being far away from home, and challenges my right brain, since I am a left brained, logical and analytical pharmacist at heart. Clean, simple and graphic would be a good description of my cardmaking style

You can find Hannelie on Instagram and her blog.

Kanan Pandya

Hello!! My name is Kanan and I live in Ottawa, Canada. I have always been interested in arts & craft activities and this is something I absolutely enjoy doing from the heart. I was introduced to card making a few years ago and I’m passionate about it. I love this beautiful community.

You can find Kanan on Instagram and her blog.

Kate Deignan

I’ve been a card maker for over 18 years. My passion is to make cards to donate to charity. I love that something I love to do makes others happy.

You can find Kate on Instagram.

Kimberly Wiener

Hello, I am Kimberly Wiener and I am a huge fan of card challenges and encouraging creativity. I live in the gorgeous PNW of Washington State with my family and awesome dog Oliver. I can't wait to get crafty with you!

You can find Kimberly on Instagram and her blog.

Lara Rizzotto

Hi, I’m Lara and I was born and raised in Italy but now I live in Ohio with my husband and kids. I'm a research scientist by day and a card maker by night! I started making cards a couple of years ago and I'm so grateful for all the amazing people I have met in this community, so kind and supportive. I like to make colorful cards and I'm a big fan of glitter!

You can find Lara on Instagram and her blog.

Meg Brooks

Hi everyone. My name is Meg and I am so excited to be part of the Stay Crafty Design Team again. I don't feel that I have a certain style for my cards...I just go where the inspiration and products take me! I hope you enjoy my designs and they inspire you to create.

You can find Meg on Instagram and her blog.

Michelle Lupton

Hi, I'm Michelle, and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I'm a member of the Hero Arts Global Design Team, I've been with A Blog Named Hero since 2013 and I've been a fan of Hero Arts since I began making cards! I am so excited to be coordinating our new design team for 2024!

You can find Michelle on Instagram, her blog, and YouTube.

Michelle Peckham

Hello I’m Michelle Peckham. I live in north Alabama. I’m a busy Mom to four kids. I’ve been making cards for almost 30 years and love every minute of it. I cherish my crafty time and the crafty friends I’ve met over the years.

You can find Michelle on Instagram.

Miriam Chessum

Hi, I'm Miriam, but feel free to call me Miri - everyone does!! I am from London but now live in Melbourne, Australia. I am a married Mum of 2 teenagers and 2 labradors. I have been card making for 6 years and love to colour, I love clean cards with white space and more than that I love the friendships I have made within this community. I am so excited to be joining this design team and look forward to seeing all the amazing projects that everyone makes.

You can find Miriam on Instagram and her blog.

Trina Pham

Hello. I am Trina Pham from Canada. It was a happy accident when I found card making. My style is clean, whether it be clean and simple or clean and layered, but in the end, I go wherever my creativity takes me. I am excited to be joining the Stay Crafty Challenge team.

You can find Trina on Instagram and her blog.

As you have probably seen, our wonderful DT members, Jennifer and Kailash, have both joined the Hero Arts Creative Team, so this will be their last month with A Blog Named Hero. This is sad for us, but such wonderful news for Hero Arts!

Jennifer Kotas

You can find Jennifer on Ins tagram and her blog.

Kailash Naidoo

You can find Kailash on Instagram.

Now it's your turn – how will you interpret the challenge theme? Use the InLinkz tool right at the bottom of this post to link up your newly created card (no backlinks, please), and you will be entered into our draw. We will be giving a $50 gift card randomly to one person who plays along, and another $50 gift card to one of our favourites!

To link up your new project that fits the challenge theme, you need to share it publicly somewhere you can copy the link – this can be your blog, Instagram, a Flickr account, your Splitcoast gallery – anywhere that allows you to have a URL or website location to link up, and where we can see your post.

All products are welcome, but if you want to be in with a chance to win, please use at least one Hero Arts designed product (stamp – physical or digital, stencil, die, rub-on or hot foil plate).

Entries must be submitted by February 4th at 5:00pm PT to be eligible for the giveaway. Scroll down to find the linkup. If you share your project on social media, we'd like you to use the #heroarts and #staycraftychallenge hashtags, please!

We love leaving comments on your entries, but sometimes that is not possible. Please be assured that we have visited each of your posts, whether it be a blog, Instagram, Flickr or somewhere else, but some platforms may limit comments or only allow comments from members. The best way to allow us to comment is to link up to your Instagram post.

Enter our contest by linking your new project below! Please enter your name in the caption area. By linking your project, you are giving us permission to feature your card on our blog, social media or newsletter, crediting you as the artist.

In December, our challenge theme was "Shiny", and the gallery was filled with gleaming cards!

Our random winner of a $50 Hero Arts voucher is Alice K with this beautiful blue Christmas card. Love her shiny goldfish!

Our Design Team favourite winner of a $50 Hero Arts voucher is Danielle Dunlop with this wintry scene. Danielle used the October MMH Kit with the Swirling Stars Stencil.

Please email us at info@heroarts.com with "Stay Crafty Challenge Winner" in the subject to claim your prize.

Michelle Lupton

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5 Responses

Gail Tasker

February 04, 2024

Congrats to the new and returning team members. Gorgeous inspiration. So nice to be encouraged to use the oldies but goodies. Hugz

Nancy Pearce

January 05, 2024

I admire the talent that all of the Design Team has. I am thankful that they are willing to share their talent and ideas with us. I am also thankful that Hero Arts has this on their website so that all I have to do is just tap on the blog and gain a world of wonderful creations.