A Blog Named Hero's 5th Anniversary Bash Celebration!

Aloha!  What an honor to be a part of this exciting 5th Anniversary celebration for
A Blog Named Hero!!  I'm Niki G. and I am a former A Blog Named Hero design team member from last year. A big shout out to Lisa and Jessica for continuing to bring crafty inspiration daily with A Blog Named Hero.

Even more exciting is there are prizes to be won just for hopping and commenting along the way! The hop is over two days and there are different giveaway prizes to be won each day. Check out the info at the end of the blog post!!

On to the celebration with my card...

Hero Arts came out with a beautiful Peacock Feather Stencil and I thought I'd used the emboss resist technique. Initially I used Distress Ink in Black Soot and Versarmark ink keeping the stencil in place. After removing the stencil I added Hero Arts Clear Embossing powder to set the black ink and allow me to use several Distress Ink colors (Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron, Lucky Clover and Wilted Violet) in the negative space!

I completed the look with the sentiment from Hero Arts Cheers Messages by Lia embossed in Judikins Egyptian Gold embossing powder on black cardstock die cut with Lawn Fawn Fancy Scalloped Rectangle Stackables.

**GIVEAWAY INFO:

A Blog Named Hero is so thankful for our wonderful sponsors and collaborating companies!  Several companies decided to help us celebrate our fifth anniversary with giveaways and they were so generous that we decided to spread the love over both hop days with different prizes to be won each day!  Giveaway prizes total more than $500!  To win, leave a comment on each hop stop.  We will select winners randomly from different blogs so the more blogs you visit each day, the greater your chances of winning!  And be sure to visit the Saturday post from A Blog Named Hero for the list of Saturday hoppers and prizes!  Comments must be left before 11:59 PM EDT on Tuesday, March 28th and winners will be announced on March 30th.

Today's prizes include the following: 

• $50 gift card to Simon Says Stamp
• $50 gift card to Gina K Designs
• $25 gift card to Winnie & Walter
• $25 gift card to Lawn Fawn
• $20 gift card to Avery Elle
• prize pack from Mama Elephant
• gift card from Studio Katia
• one Online Card Class of your choice
• one set of distress oxide inks from Jennifer McGuire Ink

Good luck and happy hopping!!**

Next on the hop is Lin Brandyberry! Hop on by to check out how she's celebrating the 5th anniversary of A Blog Named Hero!!

Mahalo for stopping by!

No ifs, ands or bolts...

I've been having waaaaaay too much fun with the Hero Arts Kelly's Monster Stamp and Cut!

The sentiments are just soooo fun and this time I decided to paper piece Frankenstein with some left over pattern paper laying around.

I used some Lawn Fawn paper to create a Halloween themed frame.  For some added fun I decided to distress the paper with Hickory Smoke Distress ink.  I thought it gave it a little more Halloween-ish look.

Anyone else looking forward to Halloween like I am?  I'm definitely wanting cooler weather!

Mahalo for stopping by!!

Good Witch with Hero Arts

Aloha friends! Halloween is my absolute favorite time of year as it kick starts the rest of the holidays in this household.  When it comes to Halloween, I love the cute costumes and festive decorations. The scary stuff can I can do without...haha!!

Today I'm playing with Hero Arts Witch Feet Stamp and Cut which has the cutest sentiments!

The background was created using my new favorite Hero Arts Candy Stripe Bold Prints inked with Hero Arts Intense Black ink on orange card stock for a festive look.  I lined the edge with some Doodlebug Design Candy Corn washi tape for even more fun.

To create the image I used a pot (inked in Hero Arts Lime to Forever Green) from last year's holiday stamps by Hero Arts Merry Cactus to You, then masked it to stamp the witch feet inked in Hero Arts Lilac to Grape Purple ombre ink.

I added some spider webs from the set and the sentiment at the bottom and mounted on my card front with foam tape.  Lawn Fawn licorice twine finished the card!

Are you ready for the fall season?  I certainly am!!  Have a fabulous day and mahalo for stopping by!!!

Ice Cream Bowl with Hero Arts

Have you seen the latest Hero Arts Winter Catalog?  It got me excited for cooler weather and reminded me of one of my favorite sets from last Christmas Merry Cactus to You.  Then I got the idea to use one of the pots and turn it into an ice cream bowl.  The pot turned bowl was perfect for 3 scoops!

To get that "creamy" effect I used Hero Arts Unicorn ink on colored cardstock, then stamped the detail with a matching ink color. My son recently discovered Neopolitan ice cream on his birthday which was the inspiration for the flavor choice on today's card!

Each scoop was cut with the matching die and then adhered to my card panel that used a circle stitched die for a fun background.  To complete the mound of ice cream I topped it with a cherry and some glossy accents for dimension.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  

Mondays call for DONUTS!

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Hello!  For my card I've been dying to use that sweet donut from Hero Arts Kelly's Portland clear set.  I wanted to make a huge box of donuts the simplest way possible.  Grabbed some fabulous Hero Arts Shadow inks in Soft Sand, Bubble Gum and Pool and inked away!

For a fun "donut box" look I framed the edge using a Doodlebug Design polka dot vellum.  Did you know the Tombo permanent adhesive runner works great and you can't see the adhesive?!  To finish the card I cut out a banner and white heat embossed the sentiment from Hero Arts Cheers Messages by Lia.

I wish you all a very happy Monday and MAHALO for stopping by!!

Greetings from Hawaii

Happy Monday all!

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I finally got my hands on some goodies from the latest Hero Arts release and today I wanted to showcase the awesome Paper Layering Palm Tree Pair die.

This fun die creates so much dimension and the best part is it also cuts an outline!  I used Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers to add color.  I wanted an oval frame to highlight the palm tree and love how the edges of the palm kinda peaks out!

 The sentiment was created using Kelly's Outline Letters and Hero Arts hybrid inks in Intense Black, Strawberry, Tangerine, Dandelion, Green Apple, Summer Sky and Orchid.  I added a couple of black gemstones for fun.

That's my card for today!  Do you all have any favorites from the Hero Arts release?

Mahalo for stopping by

Keep Swimming with Hero Arts

Mondays need a little encouragement so today's card is just about that!

I was going for an underwater bokeh effect.  I started the background with the Hero Arts Bubble Confetti Stencil inked up on Hero Arts Sea Layering Paper using Hero Arts Unicorn ink and Hero Arts Pool to Navy Ombre Ink.  

A stitched rectangle die was used to cut white cardstock and the stencil was used again with the same ombre ink.  I needed the rectangle piece to break up all the blue and really highlight my fish and seaweed.  The stamp set is Hero Arts Color Layering Fish with coordinating dies.  The fish was inked up in Hero Arts Bold ink in Dandelion and Tangerine.  For the cool looking seaweed I used Hero Arts Lime to Forever Green ombre ink on vellum and used clear embossing powder for shine.  The sentiment is using Hero Arts Intense Black ink.

I used some foam tape on the fish and Kool Tak Foam behind the vellum pieces for dimension.

Wishing you all a great week ahead and MAHALO for stopping by!

Meet Biscuit!

Hi friends and Happy Monday!  It's been whirlwind of events in my household celebrating 3 generations of birthdays within a week, having family in town and the addition of this new little fella...

Meet Biscuit!  He's a 2 month old Pomchi (Pomeranian/Chihuahua) from a coworker's litter.  All of his siblings (all girls) were sold and my coworker kept asking if anyone wanted him.  It just so happened my 10 year old has been asking for a puppy since her 5th birthday, but I just didn't feel it was the right time and totally unsure about taking care of a pet!  We fostered him for a weekend to see how he would do with the kiddos and everyone fell in love!!

So with a new puppy means I had to make a puppy card!

I combined Hero Arts Balloon Animal Birthday and die with Hero Arts Playful Animal.  I created the panel by diecutting a stitched rectangle.  I used distress inks to create a subtle blue background.  I then die cut the balloons using the coordinating dies.  I stamped up some solid balloons using Hero Arts ombre inks and die cut them as well to create more dimension to the shaker card.  I used the WRMK fuse tool to make the shaker (filled with Martha Stewart mini sterling stars) to keep the card from being too bulky.

I used Hero Arts Intense Black ink for the dog and sentiment and colored with copics.  I love that Hero Arts now has a copic friendly ink!!

That's my card for today!  I really liked adding the die cut balloons with the shaker balloons for dimension and fun.  Definitely a perk to have coordinating die cuts with your stamps!!
Mahalo for stopping by!!

Balloon Animal Fun!

Happy Monday friends!  Hope you all had a beautiful Easter (if you celebrate) and are refreshed to start off the week.

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I always need birthday cards so today I'm playing with the Hero Arts Balloon Animal Birthday.  I wanted to watercolor them I heat embossed them with Hero Arts Platinum embossing powder and used Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers and a water brush pen to spread the color.

Sometimes I get so excited for a stamp set that you just have to use all the stamps!  I had some scrap pattern papers around so I heat embossed the sentiment with the same embossing powder. 

 Isn't that confetti stamp so fun?!  It's been a while since I entered a challenge and linking up to Seize the Birthday!

Mahalo for stopping by and I'll be announcing my random winner from the Spring Coffee Blog Hop soon!  Stay tuned.

Pinata Fun!

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Aloha friends!  Today I'm playing with this fun wood mounted stamp from Hero Arts called Pinata.  Are you a fan of wood mounted stamps?  I think I will always have a special place in my heart for them.  This one especially because it is just too fun!

I thought of watercoloring it, or copic coloring the image, but then I thought using my embossing powders would be fun.  I first inked up the image with Versamark ink and then stamped on black cardstock.  I used a variety of Zing! embossing powders in rouge, apricot, butter, leaf and wave. Each color I spooned on with a palette knife to get just a small amount of powder in small sections of the image.

I really liked how striking it looked against the black.  I wanted to enhance the colors so I took some matching cardstock and die cut the edges using Lawn Fawn Stitched Scalloped Border.  I thought it was a little plain once I glued the layers, so I decided to stamp an older background stamp from Hero Arts called Life of Party Words inked in Wet Cement.  Added a bit of twine and some enamel dots and adhered slightly skewed to my card front.

That's it for me today!  Have a fabulous Monday and MAHALO for stopping by!!

Combining Old and New Hero Arts Stamp Sets

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Happy Monday friends!  Today I've got a couple of cards using the newest Hero Arts sentiment stamp set called Hello Gorgeous.  Love this set for it's fun and trendy sentiments.  I loved the sentiment "awesome sauce" and thought it would be fun to pair it with Brush Strokes (an older Hero Arts set from the Stamp Your Story line) and a wood mount stamp called Painted Circle.

I used the Hero Arts ombre ink in Light Ruby to Royal Red stamped on Hero Arts Mixed Layering Papers in Blush for the card.  I did a little snipping of the sentiment to get the spacing I wanted inked in Hero Arts India Ink Black.  I die cut the square piece using Simon Says Stamp Stitched Square and adhered with foam tape.

And here's another take...

I think these would be great for just about anyone needing a little encouragement...even those guys in our lives!

Mahalo for stopping by!

I go crazy for PINEAPPLES!

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Hope your Monday is off to a great start friends!  I'm a sucker for all things pineapple and when the stamps and dies came out I could not get enough.  When Hero Arts came out with the fun Paper Layering Pineapple Die I knew it had to be mine!

I initially wanted a faster way to color the area prior to die cutting to give it some color, so I traced around the die with a Versamark pen and sprinkled Hero Arts Platinum Embossing Powder

Then used Finetec Mica Watercolors in Gold Pearl and Inca Gold in a cross-like pattern. The leaves were brush strokes using Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers in 40 and 48.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts Stamp Your Own Fruit.  I then outline the pineapple using a Distress Marker in Mermaid Lagoon and a brush with water to lighten any harsh lines and fade out the color.  I then die cut that panel with Lawn Fawn Scalloped Rectangle Stackables die and adhered to Hero Arts Mixed Layering Paper in Sunshine for the card.

The next card skips the outline and blue watercoloring...

I kinda like the simplicity of this card.  What do you think? 

These dies are so fun to play with!  Check out this side view...

If you missed the other Hero Arts Paper Layering die check it out HERE.

Mahalo for stopping by!!

Create your own coloring page!

Happy Monday Friends!

If you're on Facebook I would love it if you "LIKED" the A Blog Named Hero page. You'll be updated with the latest A Blog Named Hero challenges, trends and happenings with Hero Arts!  We can even interact if you ever have any questions on your Hero Arts projects!

Today I'm creating a card for the Lasting Hearts Card Drive.  When I first heard about the cause, it really tugged at my heart strings as I've experienced 2 miscarriages.  I'm definitely blessed though by my 2 little miracles and would love to share hope with the thousands of moms out there that are, or have been struggling.  Prayer was huge for me and I think the Hero Arts collab with Simon Says Stamp set Prayers is the perfect sentiment to use.  It is definitely one of my favorites!

I wanted to create my own coloring page and first started with watercolor paper and stamped the butterflies from the Hero Arts Stamp and Cut Butterflies multiple times with Versamark ink then covered with Hero Arts Silver Embossing powder and heated.  I think the embossing helps to keep my watercoloring (with Gansai Tambi 36 color set) in the lines and gives a pretty shine.  To create the blue wash I masked each butterfly with masking fluid, allowed to dry and went over it with a large brush keeping the blue heavier at the top then the bottom to allow my sentiment to stand out.  I die cut the word and adhered to vellum and stamped out the top sentiment with Hero Arts India Ink Black.  

The closeup shows the silver embossing a little better and the die cut sentiment on vellum.

For more information check out this post for the Lasting Hearts Card Drive .

Mahalo for stopping by!!