10 Cards 1 Kit • My Monthly Hero • March 2023 Classic/Premium Kit

Hello Folks! Scott here today with 10 cards created from the new My Monthly Hero Classic and Premium Kit for March 2023. This is our first regular month with the Classic/Premium kit having introduced the new options last month. This feels a little more balanced with most of the goodies contained in the Classic kit and just a few special items added for the Premium kit. We’re off to the farmer’s market this month with lots of fruits and vegetables paired with lots of puns!

CLASSIC KIT INCLUDES:
• Clear Stamp Set, 6″ x 8″
• 10 Coordinating Dies
• Fruit Cling Stamp, 6″ x 6″
• Intens-ified Black Ink Cube
• Clay Fruit Embellishments
• 2 Sheets each of Kiwi and Coral Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″
• 5 Sheets of Watercolor Paper, 5.5″ x 8.5″

PREMIUM KIT INCLUDES (Premium elements in bold):
• Clear Stamp Set, 6″ x 8″
• 10 Coordinating Dies
• Fruit & Veggie Window Die, 3.7″ x 4.5″
• Fruit Cling Stamp, 6″ x 6″
• Intens-ified Black Ink Cube
• 2 Liquid Watercolor Neon Brights in Orange & Green
• 5 Mini Brushes
• Clay Fruit Embellishments
• 2 Sheets each of Kiwi and Coral Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″
• 5 Sheets of Watercolor Paper, 5.5″ x 8.5″

That’s a nice batch of complimentary supplies to go with the Classic kit. The Fruit & Veggie Window die is adorable, and I always love when I can add more watercolors to my stash!

Once again, I figured I’d do five cards using only the Classic Kit and five more using anything and everything. There’s a lot of puns to get to here as well!

This is one of my favorite puns in this stamp set! And I really like that the image stamps are more realistic than cartoony! I figured I’d break out the ol’ Spectrum Noir Alcohol markers and practice coloring some fruit as realistically as I could manage! I stamped the Orange on Alcohol marker card stock with Intensified Black ink and colored it with my alcohol markers… I do love using markers to add texture and this orange was just begging for some stippling! I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of card stock and trimmed it to 2″ x 3/4″ and added a thin Kiwi mat behind. I die-cut the orange with the matching die and turned my attention to the background.

The Fruit Cling stamp in our kit features lots of sliced-in-half citrus (quite unique!) and is terrifically detailed as well. I grabbed the Butterfly Garden Pallet Reactive ink pad (from last month’s kit!) and used that to stamp the fruit cling stamp on some of the watercolor card stock, and added a little Clear embossing powder for a tiny bit of shine. I trimmed that to 5.5″ x 2 1/8″ and added another thin mat of the Kiwi card stock behind that as well. I glued the background to a White Card base, and added the Orange and sentiment with foam tape. I’m loving these stamps, and I have another 4.5″ x 3.25″ panel of this colorful cling stamp to use on another card! Squeeze the Day!!

All the puns in our stamp set are oriented to specific fruits… I thought I’d let the sentiments dictate where to go next.

I haven’t had the opportunity to do a lot of alcohol marker coloring lately, and I really enjoyed coloring all these stamps this month! I was so thrilled with this apple, that I didn’t want anything competing with it on this card. So I simply die-cut a piece of the watercolor card stock with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die (4″ x 2.75″), stamped the sentiment on that with Intensified Black ink and embossed it with Clear embossing powder. I mounted that to a White card base with foam tape and added the die-cut apple with more foam tape… there may be no fancy colorful background here, but there’s plenty of dimension! You know how much I like my white space… I am loving this card!

And we continue our parade of fruits…

I took great care to make sure that I left a little spot of highlight on each grape in this bunch. I have often complained that my Spectrum Noir markers don’t have as fine a brush nib as Copics do…but with a little extra care, you can get into some very small areas! This background is die-cut from some Hero Hues Lavender and Amethyst card stock using an old LDRS Fancy Rectangles and Layers die. I figured I couldn’t put round grapes on a square (or rectangular) background! The two die-cuts are glued together, and I stamped the sentiment using Hero Hues Purple Galaxy Reactive ink, embossed that with Clear embossing powder, and glued it down to a White card base. I die-cut the Grapes and foam taped them on the front and added a few grape cluster clay embellishments. These are cute (but fairly tame) puns!

I’m sure I’m spending an inordinate amount of time coloring these fruits, but I am completely enjoying myself!

This one’s for all the Moms out there!! Hmmm… bananas are certainly one of the easier fruits to color! I do like the “peel better” pun quite a lot and it made me think of a prescription… so I searched around on the internet for a usable image and found these AMAZING “Dr. Mom” prescription sheets. (phar-ma.com) I printed out a sheet of prescriptions, trimmed one to size, and distressed the edges with some scissors. I cut some Hero Hues Canary card stock to match the size of the prescription, glued them together and down to a White card base. I stamped the sentiment with the Intensified Black ink, and mounted the die-cut bananas with foam tape. Truly a fun ‘get well’ card!

I do have more fruit to color, but I’m feeling like I may have short-changed the big cling stamp. I picked out a 6″ x 6″ piece of watercolor card stock from my stash and stamped the cling stamp using Intensified Black ink. Now I can’t use Alcohol markers on watercolor card, and there’s some tiny details here, so I grabbed my TomBow dual brush markers.

Interesting perspective on that citrus… the pith is most always white, but you can still see a bit of the peel on the edges. The TomBow markers proved to be a great choice for getting that much detail colored in on this stamp. Lots of fruit!

When I color an image that’s 6″ and don’t want to lose any of it, I automatically gravitate to a slimline card!

This mini-slimline card is 3″ x 6″ and used exactly half of my colored cling stamp! I cut the colored panel right down the center, and then fussy-cut the edges with a little border. I cut a 6″ x 6″ White card base, scored it at 3″ and traced the edges of the cling stamp on the front of the card base and cut the front to match the edges.

I glued the watercolor piece to the front of the card base, and added a panel of light grey card stock on the inside where I stamped the “thank you” sentiment with the Intensified Black ink. I just couldn’t commit to adding a sentiment on top of the watercoloring, so I relegated it to the inside of the card! This would be a great card to accompany a Harry & David gift box full of fruit!!

That was a fast five cards using the Classic kit… now I can include the extras from the Premium Kit… window die time!

Here’s our vegetables!! On a 4.25″ x 5.5″ panel of the watercolor card stock, I used the Orange and Green Neon Brights Liquid Watercolor along with the HA Dandelion Liquid Watercolor to paint the background. The Neon Brights settle down a lot when diluted with water and blended with the Dandelion watercolor beautifully.

I die-cut the window die on a piece of 4.25″ x 5.5″ alcohol marker card stock and colored it with my Spectrum Noir Alcohol markers. Slow and steady really works for these small images! I glued the watercolor background to a White card base, stamped the sentiment using Intensified Black ink (embossed with Clear embossing powder) and added the window panel with foam tape. I realized there was no other black on this card so I added a couple of black peel-off stickers to the top and bottom of the card front. That pulls everything together and adds a little more shine as well!

I do enjoy paper-piecing an interesting die-cut, and, since I didn’t do one last month, I thought a shaker card was called for using this Fruit and Veggie Window die.

I die-cut the window die in a piece of plain Ivory card stock and die-cut all the fruits and veggies from scraps of colored card stock, trimmed them out and glued them in place on the Ivory die cut. I added touches of Alcohol marker for some shading, and used a White gel pen for the turnip and radish… I got a big kick out of die-cutting the watermelon seeds from shiny black card stock. I also ink blended some Lemon Drop Reactive ink around the edges of the window panel, and lastly, glued a piece of acetate behind the window opening.

I printed this sentiment on another 4.25″ x 5.5″ panel of Ivory card stock using my Silhouette Software and Arial and Dream State fonts. Nice match to the sentiment stamps! I stamped the orange slice and the tomato(?) tomatillo(?) around the sentiment with more Lemon Drop Ink. I added a double layer of foam tape to the back of the window panel, added a bunch of the clay embellishments behind the window, and glued that to the sentiment panel.

This card was inspired by this random sign someone posted on a light pole at Riverside park… I couldn’t find any on-line reference to “affluent” or “affluent turtle” but this notice tickled me dearly… I realize that an Eat Good / Poop Good greeting card may be a bit too on the nose, (pun intended!) so I tried to make the sentiment more encouraging and less of a demand.

I printed this encouragement on the inside of the White card base using the same fonts as on the front. A little more subtle in it’s digestive directive, but I believe it still gets the point across! Makes me giggle.

Finally, I glued the shaker window assembly to the front of the card base. All the little clay embellishment pieces make great shaker bits and are truly quite adorable. And I love the graphic nature that the paper piecing brings to the die cut. Love it!

I still haven’t used the kiwi stamp, cherry stamp or the two berry stamps… and there are a few more puns to get to…

Does anyone remember this keyhole window die from the MMH January ’22 kit? I originally grabbed this kit because I remembered there was a die for a key that I thought would work well with this kiwi pun, but then I saw the keyhole cover plate die and , lo and behold, not only did the kiwi stamp fit perfectly, but the sentiment did too!!

I cut a 4.25″ x 5.5″ panel of the Kiwi card stock and die-cut the window die from some Auburn pearlescent card stock. I stacked those layers together and positioned the sentiment in the keyhole and stamped it on the Kiwi card stock using Intensified Black ink and some clear embossing powder. I stamped, colored and die-cut the kiwi as usual and added that with touches of foam tape. For me, the challenge of a stamp set like this is in choosing a nice variety of backgrounds… I think the fruit cling stamp can become a little overwhelming when used as a background, and I wasn’t over-the-top in love with the Orange and Green liquid watercolors… All the more reason to scrounge through past kits for some help!

Speaking of past kits… I actually remembered this pattern paper from a card kit I got back in 2017…! I remembered right where it was stored too! A little obsessive filing of past kits certainly paid off for me this time!

This was the only piece of that terrific cherry pattern paper I had left. Just the perfect amount! I stamped, colored and die-cut the cherries and added some Clear Lacquer pen on top for a great touch of juicy shine. The pattern paper is 5.5″ x 2.5″ matted on a thin black mat and a thicker Red Pearlescent mat and glued to the center of a White card base. The sentiment is stamped on a scrap of white card stock, fussy cut around and attached to the card front – along with the cherries – using foam tape. Can you say “cherry much”! I think this one’s kind of perfect!

The berry stamps are the smallest images in this stamp set… they don’t seem large enough to feature all on their own…

Here we have a new background from this kit that actually features itself! I stamped the blueberries and raspberries in a pattern on some alcohol marker card stock and colored all with my Alcohol markers – adding light shadows and taking care to leave highlights on all the fruit. I die-cut the colored panel to 3.25″ x 4.5″ using a LFSRdie, added a thin black mat and a thicker “mauve-ish” pearlescent mat and glued those to a White card base.

The sentiment is stamped and embossed on heavy-weight vellum. I actually made two – one with Purple Galaxy Reactive ink (didn’t seem right) and one with Berry Smoothie Reactive ink (right name, but still didn’t seem right)… BUT, when laid on top of each other, the two colors came together in a much more complimentary way. I glued the two vellum sentiments together using a Zyron sticker maker (no visible glue lines) and glued those to the card front. Here’s a fairly simple pun made all the more effective with a background full of colored berries. I like this color palette a lot!

Before you know it, we’ve reached the end of my 10 Cards 1 Kit post featuring the My Monthly Hero March 2023 Kit! Quite a batch of colorful cards this month… and lots of fruity puns!

It feels like I made a really good dent in this kit! I did use every image stamp and most of the sentiments (“I’m bananas for you” and “hello” didn’t make the cut), I used the Fruit Cling stamp two different ways as well as the Premium window die. I used plenty of the Kiwi card stock but none of the Coral, and I only have one and a half sheets of the watercolor card stock left. I didn’t use much of the Neon Brights liquid watercolors but they will join my other Hero Arts Liquid Watercolors in my stash. All in all, a great kit with lots of new items I’m pleased to add to my arsenal!

This kit (both Classic and Premium) is still available at Hero Arts! If you like what you see here, or I’ve managed to plant some seeds in your crafty brain, please use my links to grab one of these kits for yourself. It is always immensely appreciated and helps support this page while costing you nothing extra! Thank You! Thank You!

My Monthly Hero March 2023 Classic Kit: http://shrsl.com/3zd6z

My Monthly Hero March 2023 Premium Kit: http://shrsl.com/3zd75

Hero Arts MMH March 2023 Collection: http://shrsl.com/3zd76

HAPPY SPRING! Thank you so very much for joining me here today! Your attention and encouragement keeps me inspired and humble… I hope you enjoyed these cards as much as I did creating them… It seems I was quite starved for some coloring this month! Please let me know what your favorite card(s) is and remember to Like me, List me, Pin me, Post me, Friend me, Follow me, and Share me with all your crafty friends! Don’t run with scissors (or vegetable peelers!) and, as always, I send you and yours Love and Light and Happy Crafting!

DISCLOSURE: This site contains some affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links (at no cost to you). Thank you!

10 Cards 1 Kit • My Monthly Hero • February 2023 Premium Kit

Hello Folks! Scott here with my 10 cards prompted by the first-ever Premium Kit from My Monthly Hero. Hero Arts is expanding their MMH kits this month with a Premium option! And to introduce this option, every subscriber gets a premium kit this month at no extra charge! From now on… you can choose to purchase (or subscribe!) to the Classic MMH Kit or the Premium MMH Kit (Premium costs more (naturally)).

MY MONTHLY HERO CLASSIC KIT INCLUDES:

• Clear Stamp Set, 3″ x 4″
• Butterfly Window Fancy Die
• 4 Color Layering Stencils, 5.25″ x 6.5″
• Butterfly Garden Palette Reactive Ink Pad (Thistle, Taffy, Creamsicle, Lemon Drop, and Key Lime Fizz)
• Small Ink Blending Brush
• 1 Sheet each of Stardream Coral, Azalea, Lagoon, and Amethyst, 5.5″ x 8.5″ (pearlescent!)
• 2 Sheets each of Iris and Mustard Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″

MY MONTHLY HERO PREMIUM KIT INCLUDES:

• Everything in the Classic Kit AND
• 9 Butterfly Fancy Dies with 9 Frame Cuts
• 4 Sheets of Butterfly Hero Transfers, 6″ x 8″
• Fuchsia & Gold Luster Duo Spray

This new offering of the Classic or Premium Kit will be interesting to watch as the next few months roll out…

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that butterflies aren’t really my thing… I’ve always thought they were a little over-used in the craft world… But I’ve been getting the MMH kits for a number of years now, and I do believe this is the first truly butterfly-centric kit I’ve received from HA! That in itself garners some attention!!

I figured I’d explore this new Classic/Premium thing, and start with cards made from the items in the Classic Kit first!

I die-cut the Fancy Die on some White card stock, and used the four layering stencils to color the die cut using inks from the Palette Ink Pad. Lemon drop for the bodies, Taffy for the butterfly details, Thistle for the flowers and Key Lime Fizz for the greenery. I added touches of Silver glitter card stock behind the moon, stars and dot cut-outs, but the whole card was feeling a little pale to me, so I took a Pigma Micron pen and outlined all the details… That gives lots of pop!

The background is a piece of pattern paper I had that matched almost perfectly, and I stamped the sentiment in the center using Intense Black ink and embossed that with Clear Embossing powder and then sprayed the whole background with some Sheer Shimmer spritz for a little sparkle. I curled up the edges of the die cuts, and glued everything to a White card base. I did add two layers of card stock frames behind the die cut to add a little depth and dimension. Nice! The stencils work brilliantly and the Butterfly Window Fancy die is rather spectacular!

We can treat that window die like an embossing folder, and complete the actual die-cuts to make lots of butterflies!

Using the embossing plates on my die-cutting machine, I embossed the die on the front of the Stardream Coral pearlescent card stock folded in half to make the card base. While I was at it, I die-cut the window die from the Azalea, Lagoon and Amethyst card stocks and fussy-cut out all the butterflies. I stamped the sentiment in the center with Thistle Reactive ink and embossed that with Clear embossing powder. Then I gave a light fold to the wings of the assorted butterflies (with help from the HA Reverse Grip tweezers) and glued their bodies down to their respective places. Very colorful! This really highlights the butterflies (sentiment!), and there’s a nice shine to all the pearlescent card stocks!

How about some foiling on those butterflies? Since we have a stencil, we can use some Deco Foil Transfer Gel!

Well… THAT makes me happy!! On Pitch Black card stock I used the Deco Foil Transfer Gel through stencil A (bodies), let that dry, added Rainbow Shattered Glass Deco Foil on top and ran it through my laminator. GORGEOUS! I fiddled around with the “you shine” sentiment and a bunch of different glittery embossing powders but couldn’t come up with a sentiment that held its own with the foiled butterflies.

And here is the main reason I invested in a Spellbinders Glimmer Foiling machine… Foiled Sentiments!! This “Love you” sentiment (which fits perfectly!) is the Foil Script: Wishes – Hot Foil Plate & Die Cuts from Honey Bee Stamps. I foiled the sentiment on more Pitch Black card stock with Rainbow Glimmer foil and die-cut the sentiment. I die-cut three more blanks and glued them all together to make a chunky dimensional sentiment. I glued the card front to a White card base and glued the sentiment into place. I’m thrilled at how well the Glimmer Foil and Deco Foil products work together! Loving this!

Lets try the layering stencils WITHOUT the die! Maybe I can get a little brighter colors using just the stencils this time!

A batch of rainbow butterflies certainly brings a bright splash of color to this card! On a White card panel, I ink blended the rainbow with Purple Galaxy, Blue Hawaii, Green Apple, Lemon Drop, Creamsicle, and Fruit Punch reactive inks. The flowers and leaves are Green Apple and Fruit Punch Reactive inks, and I used Soft Granite for the butterfly details and the moon and stars. Then I used some Tsukineko Golden Glitz metallic ink for the moon, stars and dots details as well as a little soft ink blending around the edges of the card front.

The sentiment is stamped with Fruit Punch and Creamsicle Reactive inks and embossed with Clear Embossing powder. Very colorful one-layer card- a little shine and lots of colors… I really like those layering stencils!

Now a shaker card seems a natural choice for a fancy window die, but I still have all those butterflies I fussy-cut…

A flight of butterflies sweeps this card upward and uses all but two of my previously fussy cut butterflies! I cut a piece of Black Tie Glitter card stock to 4″ x 5.5″ and glued that to a White card base. I folded up the wings of all the butterflies with the help of a HA Reverse Grip tweezer and glued their bodies down to the card front. The sentiment is die cut from 3 layers of White card stock and a top layer of Iridescent White card stock.

I think this die came from a (Spellbinders?) die-cut Advent calendar from a couple of years ago… nice and small and perfectly sized for this card. I glued all the layers together and then down to the card front. There’s a great sense of movement on this card, and even distance as well…! Almost feels like they’re coming right at ya! Love it!

That’s five cards using the supplies from the Classic Kit. Now let’s expand our reach by including the Premium elements as well…When I first saw the Fuchsia & Gold Luster Duo Spray, I thought it was empty and the contents had either dried up or leaked out… but NO…! Just add water to the bottle and you get this intense Fuchsia color with golden highlights!

It’s a little hard to see the gold sparkles in this intense Fuchsia background, but it is very apparent in person! I thought this would make a perfect background to highlight the intricacy of the Butterfly Window Fancy Die. I used the Duo Tone spray on some plain White card stock and let it dry – that’s only 3 or 4 sprays! Amazing color! Once dry, I cut the panel to 4.25″ x 5.5″ and embossed the sentiment using Embossing and Watermark ink and HA Gold embossing powder and glued it down to a White card base.

I die-cut the window from a piece of Tim Holtz Metallic Champange card stock cut to 4.25″ x 5.5″, outlined the piece with foam tape, and mounted that on the Fuchsia background. I added the die-cut Champagne stars around the sentiment and let the die and the color speak for themselves. That Fuchsia & Gold Luster Duo Spray is spectacular all on it’s own!

Time to play with the Butterfly transfer sheets – Rub-On Time!! I wanted to do a card that featured JUST the rub-ons…

My favorite thing about rub-on transfers is how easy you can combine multiple images into one. This card uses all three of the flower pieces from one sheet of transfers – and where all three join together is indecipherable! (I did lose the two buds on the right side of the largest flower transfer.) These are rubbed onto a panel of the Stardream Coral card stock die-cut to 3.75″ x 5″ with LF Stitched Rectangle die.

I stamped the sentiment using Intense Black ink and embossed it with Clear embossing powder. I set the beautiful blue butterfly transfer as if it had just landed on the sentiment, rubbed it down and added some of the transfer stars as well. The card front is double matted on some Pearlescent Blue card stock (closest to the color of the butterfly that I could find in my stash) and a thin black mat before gluing down to a white card front. LOTS of bang for your buck here – basically a very simple card to put together, but with completely lovely results! Even I like those butterfly transfers!

That’s the Luster Spray and the Transfer Sheets… the Premium Frame cuts actually die-cut the butterfly transfers too!

There is that ubiquitous Happy Birthday stamp in our stamp set this month… time to use it! On a White card panel die-cut to 3.75″ x 5″ I used Blue Hawaii Reactive ink to color this Stampendous Flourishes stencil – one of my favorite “party” stencils in my stash! I stamped the sentiment with Intense Black ink and embossed that with Clear Embossing powder. Some Sheer Shimmer Spritz adds a little sparkle to the background, and when that was dry, I glued the panel to a Pitch Black mat and then down to a White card base.

I transferred this butterfly to a piece of white card stock and die-cut it with the matching Frame cut. I folded up the wings a little and glued the body to the card front. You have to admit those rub-on transfers add a high level of polish and finesse to a card, and are so simple to use! Easy peasy yet beautiful!

Of course there are Fancy butterfly dies with lots of fine detail to go along with the Frame cuts… something to color!

I die-cut these butterflies from some Canson XL Watercolor card stock and colored them with my TomBow markers. It was nice to be able to do a little coloring this month! I also took a Pigma Micron pen and traced all the die-cut details on the yellow and pink butterflies – but didn’t need that definition on the black and blue butterfly (except for the antennae)!

On another 3.75″ x 5″ stitched rectangle panel I ink blended Lemon Drop Reactive ink through the butterfly stencil and brought the two sides of the stencil closer together to make a smaller, more circular group of lepidoptera for our background. I created the sentiment using the My Favorite Things Mini Well-Connected Alphabet stamps with Intense Black ink and embossed that with Clear embossing powder.

I glued the inked panel to a mat of HA Canary card stock (a great match to the Lemon Drop ink) and to a thin black mat and down to a White card base. A little fold on the wings of the butterflies gives them a little shape and I glued their bodies to the card front. With the NINE fancy dies in the Premium Kit, you could color butterflies till the cows come home… definitely useful for when you run out of your transfer sheets! And I do love this simple sentiment!

We got a sheet of rub-on transfers with our MMH September ’22 kit and I noted then that transfers are naturally translucent… light will pass through the transfers until they are rubbed down on card stock – but on acetate???

It’s been a long time since I made a light-up card! These butterfly transfers work beautifully for a light up card… and we couldn’t ask for a more perfect sentiment! The first thing I needed to do was make sure that the transfers would work on clear acetate. Turns out they stick beautifully to acetate! I rubbed-on the butterfly transfer to the center of a 3″ x 2″ piece of acetate.

I die-cut a panel of Pitch Black card stock with a LF Stitched Rectangle die (3.75″ x 5″) and stamped the sentiments with Embossing and Watermark ink and embossed them with White Embossing powder. The “push” sentiment is from the My Favorite Things Interactive labels stamp set. I die-cut the window for the butterfly, added a White mat behind the black and marked where the die-cut should be. I cut out the butterfly on the white mat, colored the edges of the opening with a black marker, and glued the two layers together.

When I put the butterfly behind the window, I realized you could see right through the edges – between the transfer and the die-cut edge… A piece of vellum would alleviate that, and also provide a little diffusion for the light. So I taped the acetate butterfly in place behind the window, and taped the vellum behind that.

I used a white Chibitronics bulb and copper tape to lay out my wiring on a Pitch Black card base. The folded white card stock in the lower corner is the “switch” for activating the light. I marked the center of the butterfly opening on the card base and located my LED there. Copper tape runs from one side of the light to the inside (bottom) of the “switch” and another piece of copper tape runs from the other side of the light to the back of the switch flap, over the edge and to the top of the flap on the inside. Just make sure all your wiring (copper tape) is burnished down firmly.

A double thickness of foam tape provides enough height to give the “switch” some room to operate. Note that the triangles of foam tape (double thick!) secure the button cell battery in place on the switch and keep the top flap from making a connection until it is pushed down. When attaching the card front to this base, I did use some liquid glue on top of the foam tape (liner paper removed!) to give me a little wiggle room to get the card front positioned correctly.

I think this is a terrific use for those butterfly transfer rub-ons…! Especially because we have Frame dies for them as well. I know of nobody who doesn’t delight at the receipt of a light-up card… if only batteries lasted forever…!

There we have five cards using the Classic Kit and five cards using the Premium Kit. I know some people will probably hesitate to level up to the Premium Kit – though, of course, still a great value, the Premium option is more expensive… I’m not quite sure how I feel about the whole Classic / Premium thing… I’ll have to see more months with that option.

I confess… I really do like all these cards this month! Even though there are five cards using that window die, I think they all read quite differently! The transfers are simply beautiful and make creating stunning cards quite simple! I did manage to use a little bit of everything in this Premium Kit… I used all the sentiment stamps (one, twice!) the inks, stencils, card stocks, dies and transfers… I didn’t use the small icons in the stamp set… (moon, star, and butterfly) but what’s the point when you have all these rub-ons and/or die-cuts that are basically the same shapes!

Yes… butterflies are certainly popular… Both versions of this kit have sold out already – the Premium Kit sold out very fast! And even all the monthly add-ons have sold out!! Remember, as a subscriber, you are guaranteed to receive a kit each month… whether the Classic or the Premium! Here’s the link if you’d like to take a look at the new subscription pricing for subscriptions to My Monthly Hero: https://heroarts.com/pages/subscribe I know I can’t wait to see what the coming months have in store for us!

Thank you so much for sharing some time with me here today. I hope you enjoyed my take on this kit! Let me know if you have any favorites! Remember to Like me, List me, Pin me, Post me, Share me with all your crafty friends… don’t run with scissors, and, as always, I wish you and yours Love and Light and Happy Crafting!!

10 Cards 1 Kit • My Monthly Hero • January 2023

Hello Folks!! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Scott here with my 10 cards inspired by the My Monthly Hero January 2023 Kit. Sorry this post is a little bit tardy, but we were actually able to spend some Holiday time with my family right after the new year. It’s been three years since we were all able to be together, and it was great to see everyone and reconnect! Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and this kit is a “perfect match” for anyone on your list! The centerpiece of this kit are dies to create a faux matchbox, which lies flat on your card or project and can be decorated and filled with the numerous stamps and dies included in the kit.

KIT INCLUDES:
• Clear Stamp Set, 6″ x 8″
• 18 Fancy Dies
• 2 Frame Cuts
• Heart-Shaped Daisies Stencil, 6″ x 6″
• 3 Sheets of Kraft Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″
• 1 Sheet each of Azalea and Peony Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″
• Love Mix Sequins

I completely embraced the Valentine theme this month, and, naturally, enjoyed the faux matchbox Frame Cuts for the pun-ny opportunity it provides! Most of the stamps seemed geared toward the “matchbox” but the wide variety of dies expands the possibilities of this kit way beyond a simple “matchbox”

But a simple matchbox is where I started. I stamped the sentiment on a piece of thin Kraft card stock (I found the Kraft card stock included in the kit was a little too thick to fold) first in Unicorn White pigment ink and then (shifted ever so slightly) Vermillion Archival ink. I used the permanent Archival ink so it would actually cover the Unicorn ink. This echoes the simple two-tone printing often found on matchboxes. I die-cut the piece and folded over the side flaps. I added a darker brown strike plate on the side and die-cut the inside box from the (darker) Kraft card stock in the kit.

I took the three heart dies, and before I detached them from each other, I die-cut a bunch of them from three red card stocks in the Altenew Red Cosmos Gradient card stock set (Frosty Pink, Coral Berry, Ruby Red). That gives me a lot of options for a bunch of “target” hearts using all three colors. The matches are die-cut from some light grey card stock, and the match heads are cut from dark grey card stock, trimmed down and glued onto the sticks. I die-cut the flame from some textured red and yellow card stock and glued that to the match heads.

I did some light ink smooshing on the A2 card front with Tattered Rose Distress Oxide ink, and glued all the elements in place. I thought about making the inner box pull out, but settled on this static arrangement. I think it’s interesting how quickly I gravitated to the dies in this kit… lots of options with the dies… and I do love the double-stamped sentiment!

There are some truly unique and interesting stamps in this kit, and I started fooling around with a few of them together.

The “Nutrition Facts” stamp inspired this “Box of Valentine” card! I stamped these four stamps on some scrap paper until I got the arrangement I liked, then I sketched a box shape around that before committing all to card stock. I stamped the “valentine” portion with Cotton Candy, Peony and Azalea HA inks to give me a nice gradient, and then stamped all the text stamps with Intense Black ink. Using my original sketch, I cut out a piece of White card stock in the shape of the box, and stamped the XOXO stamp at a bit of an angle on the side. I did some ink blending on the top and side with the Azalea and Peony inks and outlined all the edges with a black marker. I trimmed down the stamped “label” and glued that to the front of the “box”. I did use a White gel pen and a Black Pigma Micron pen to sketch a little detail on the “valentine” stamp, and attached the “box” to a Kraft card stock base (from the kit) with foam tape. I think that nutrition stamp is unique and quirky and deserves to be highlighted on this “box of valentine” card. I wonder what’s inside?

I did spend some time with the Heart-Shaped Daises stencil, using HA White Pearl AND Glitter Hero Paste on some Kraft card stock. Once that was dry, I took a yellow alcohol marker to the centers. This is a terrific stencil, but I do think the heart-shaped petals don’t necessarily register as “hearts” when you first look at them. I love the sparkle and shine on this and wanted to figure out a way to show off as much of this stencil as possible on the next card.

This banner stamp seemed to take up the least amount of room, so I stamped that on a scrap of off-white card stock using Hero Arts Butter Bar, Tangerine and Azalea inks. After the colors were down, I stamped a layer of Embossing and Watermark ink on top and embossed the whole piece with Clear embossing powder (can’t let the background have ALL the shine)! I fussy-cut the sentiment and glued that to a 1 1/2″ x 2 3/8″ piece of Vellum.

I die-cut the background with a Nesting Rectangles die to 3.75″ x 5″, glued that to a 4″ x 5.25″ yellow mat and then down to an A2 White card base. I glued the sentiment flat to the card front, and added three small hearts die-cut from textured Red, Orange and Yellow card stock. A clear glaze pen adds a bit of shine to the die-cut hearts, and a spot of foam tape gives them some dimension. I enjoyed figuring out how to bring some yellow into a valentine, and the sparkle is lovely!

It’s time to experiment with the interactive nature of the faux matchbox dies in this kit. But I think I may have interpreted these dies in the opposite direction of how I see everyone else using them…

It does looks like most everyone is using this matchbox die with the strike plate to the left, but I visualized the inner box actually sliding into the sleeve through the dimensional top. Does that make sense? I do think this gives a true matchbox feeling… the inside actually slides out from the outer ‘sleeve’. This matchbox is made just the same as my first card but stamped with the dove sentiment and colored with colored pencils. I also shaded the bottom of the inside box and colored the heads of my heart matches (die-cut from grey card stock) with colored pencils as well.

The background is a piece of Tim Holtz pattern paper that I printed this hand drawn xoxo pattern on. The pattern is a free background from Silhouette and will turn any paper into a Valentine background. I trimmed that to 4″ x 5.25″ and glued it to a Kraft (from the kit) card base. I die-cut the heart from pink and stamped the “pull” command on that (from the MFT Interactive Labels stamp set) as well as the sentiment on the side using Intense Black ink.

I glued the tabs of the matchbox to the card front and slipped the inner box through the slit (I did add a piece of card stock to the back of the inner box to provide a ‘stop’ so it doesn’t pull all the way out of the sleeve). Finally, I glued the heart to the edge of the inner box to provide a pull tab.

I did decorate the inside of the card using the bird die and the double-heart die and added the “sending love” sentiment with Intense Black ink. That appropriately matches the doves on the front, and completes the sentiment for this card.

Those matchbox dies work extremely well! In fact, there are so many dies in this kit that the possibilities seem endless!!

White A2 card base, Peony background cut to 4″ x 5.25″, textured red card stock with a scalloped-heart border punch, envelope die-cut from Ivory card stock, heart colored with alcohol markers, and the love die cut from Peony and Ruby Red card stock. The “sending” sentiment stamped with Unicorn White ink and embossed with Very Vanilla embossing powder. Finally, lots of sequin hearts from the sequin pack. Just the right amount of shimmer! Very traditional!

There are a few dies in this kit that match up with one of the sentiments, and it seems a waste not to put them together.

Kraft (from the kit) card base with Azalea ink blended on the edges. White pearlescent card stock for the box (with the tabs cut off) and the sentiments stamped with Intense Black ink (and clear embossed) and Vermillion Archival ink on the side. Ring die-cut from Gold card stock with a white glitter diamond glued on top, and the emerald and rubys die-cut from more glitter card stock (and more diamonds) and arranged coming out of the top. Some touches of alcohol marker adds a little more definition to the facets on the gems, and they are all mounted to the card front with foam tape. Here’s another card just bursting with sparkles!

I have to admit that the gummy bear stamp and die in this kit kinda threw me… there’s no “sweet’ or sweetie” in our sentiments… no references to gummys or bears… Unfortunately, I do not care for gummy bears… let’s try this.

I think that makes for a terrific teddy bear!! He may be a little stiff, but at least he’s not gummy! I stamped him on a scrap of Neena Solar White card stock, colored him with my Spectrum Noir alcohol markers and die-cut him out. I did add a touch of detail to his eyes and nose with a Pigma Micron pen.

I printed this sentiment on a piece of Ivory card stock using my Silhouette software and the Dream State font. I die-cut that with a 3.25″ x 4.5″ Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die and ink blended some Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink around the edges and in the center above the sentiment. That is matted on Kraft card stock then White card stock and then Auburn Pearl card stock before going down on an A2 White card base. The bear is mounted with foam tape and a single heart sequin adds a touch of shine. This is a great masculine Valentine card and you know I love the pun!

And there are even more dies in this kit! There is a nice Hershey’s Kiss die, and thankfully a “kiss” sentiment as well!

The banner from the dove stamp inspired this card. Looks like the pull tab on a Kiss! I die-cut the kisses from some Sizzix Silver Texture roll paper… love how much it looks like foil! I stamped and fussy cut the banner using Intense Black ink and some alcohol marker on the hearts. I glued the banner and the two kisses together in a little vignette.

I stamped the scallop stamp on the Azalea card stock using Azalea ink and die-cut it out using the matching die. Gotta look close to see that same-color stamping..! I matted that on a piece of Coral Berry card stock and trimmed the corners to match. I performed a little stamp surgery cutting away “reasons why” from the “reasons why I love you” stamp so I could stamp the simple “I love you” on the card front using Azalea ink and I set that with clear embossing powder.

I did add “a kiss for you” sentiment on the inside of the card using more Azalea ink, and I added the lips die-cut in red and glossed up with a clear glaze pen. This would be a perfect Valentine along with one of those giant chocolate Kisses… that Kiss die should come in very handy over the years!

I liked the vintage feel of the teddy bear card, and I’m looking for something fun to do with the heart flower stem die…

I’m loving the classic feel of this card… not to mention the classic song! The LOVE letters are cut from Ruby Red and Black card stock and glued together for a nice shadow effect. I die cut four large hearts from the Peony card stock, and four flowers from a scrap of Green card stock with the heart flowers added in Coral Berry card stock shaded with a little alcohol marker. I glued the stems to the hearts in two directions, and added the letters on top.

I spaced the heart letters out on a 4″ x 5.25″ piece of Ivory card stock and turned to my Silhouette software to lay out the lyrics. I printed this using the Monterey BT font and did more ink blending around the edges with Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink. I added a thin black mat and glued those to a top-folding Kraft card base

I glued the heart letters in place and decided to bring it all together on the inside of the card. Same Ivory card stock and Black mat with the “LOVE” die-cut assembled with Kraft and Ruby Red card stock and a thin fussy-cut Black mat to unify everything. The next lyric after “anyone that you adore can” is Love (is all that I can give to you). I really enjoy using song lyrics on my cards whenever appropriate, and I truly adore this vintage-feeling valentine!

I’ve actually neglected one of the matchbox stamps in this kit and decided that a Magic Slider card would be a great way to really push the interactive nature of this kit!

This sentiment is stamped on light grey card stock using the same inks as card One. Four of my bulls-eye hearts adorn the edges of the front panel, and the pull-tab on the bottom makes the inside box pop out from the top.

The inner box is two layers of grey card stock with the bottom of one box cut out, colored darker, and glued back in place. Some Kraft card stock for the matchsticks and lots of textured red and yellow card stock for the flames! It has actually been a long time since I created a Magic Slider card! I do have a how-to in pretty good detail about this card on my accompanying video at CardCutups channel on YouTube. This is one of my favorite interactive cards to make, and it works so well with this whole faux matchbox theme! C’mon baby, Light My Fire!!

That should cover all my valentine needs this year! We have a nice variety of cards with only four actual matchboxes…! And while I wasn’t able to use every single sentiment stamp in this kit I do believe I used every single die! Let me know if you have any favorites this month!

This kit is still available at Hero Arts! If I’ve managed to catch your eye, or you know someone who’s your perfect match, then you should grab a kit for yourself before they sell out! If you do go shopping at Hero Arts, please use my links…! It is always sincerely appreciated and actually helps support this page!

My Monthly Hero January 2023 Kit: http://shrsl.com/3w8r5

Hero Arts January Collection: http://shrsl.com/3w8r8

Thank you so much for sharing your time with me today! I wish us all a New Year filled with lots of friends, tons of joy, and plenty of time for crafting!! Please remember to Like me, List me, Pin me, Post me, Share me with all your crafty friends… Don’t run with scissors…!! I send you and yours lots of Love and Laughter and as always, Happy Crafting!

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10 Cards 1 Kit • My Monthly Hero • December 2022

Hello Folks! Scott here with my 10 cards created using the My Monthly Hero December 2022 kit! We are headed skyward this month with a kit featuring a big Celestial Cling Stamp, stars, moons, planets, galaxies, and some cute “space cadets” (Hero Arts terminology – not mine!)

KIT INCLUDES:
• 6″ x 8″ Clear Stamp Set
• 15 Coordinating Frame Cuts
• Cling Stamp, 4.625″ x 5.875″
• 4 Sheets of Pitch Black Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″
• Rose Gold Pigment Mini Ink Pad

When I first laid my eyes on this kit, I was immediately hesitant thinking I would have to create 10 different galaxy / night sky backgrounds, but, upon further examination, realized that there were some creative ways around that! I do always try to use every stamp in a kit, and since there are 10 sentiments in this stamp set, I set about trying to bring all of them to life!

I don’t always do this, but I thought stamping and coloring and die-cutting all of the images in the stamp set would be a good way to work my way into the theme this month. Everything is stamped on Bristol Smooth card stock with Intense Black ink and colored with my Zig Clean Color Real brush markers. As usual, the dies included with the kit cut out all the images precisely!

I also did some preliminary backgrounds before I started working on specific cards… I stamped the cling stamp on some Black card stock from my stash using the Rose Gold Mini ink pad… that worked better than I thought! I also did a double panel of a watercolor galaxy using my Daniel Smith watercolors and some Black Soot Distress Oxide ink. I tried a new medium for my spatter stars – Dr. Ph Martin’s Bombay India Ink in White. I’m loving that ink! No thinning down needed, just dip in a paintbrush, wipe off the excess, and spatter away! (the smaller the brush, the finer the spatter)!

One of the easiest ways to create a “galaxy” background is to just spatter some stars on Black card stock. The Pitch Black card stock in this kit is perfect for this… If she’s flying to the moon, then the night sky can be just black and white – there aren’t any colorful stellar nurseries or beautiful nebulae in our immediate vicinity, so simple stars it is! I spattered a 4.25″ x 5.5″ panel of the Pitch Black card stock with stars, let that dry, and split the panel in half vertically.

I stamped the star cluster on the front of an A2 card base using Intense Black ink, embossed them with clear embossing powder, and colored them with my Zig markers. I glued the star panel to the center of the card front, added some black glitter peel-offs to the edges, and added the two die-cut images with foam tape. The sentiment is stamped on a scrap of Black card stock with Unicorn White ink and embossed with White embossing powder, and glued to the card front. With her arm up in the air, it almost feels like she’s riding a bronco… but I trust her trip was smoother than that!

Lots of “star” sentiments this month… and most of them are fairly generic in tone… HEY… The sun is a star…!

I think this may be my favorite stamp in this stamp set! I die-cut a panel of White card stock with a Lawn Fawn Stitched rectangle die, stenciled the sunburst rays with Lemon Drop and Creamsicle Reactive inks, stamped the sentiment with Intense Black ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I added two thin mats of black and yellow behind that, and glued those down to an A2 card base. Lastly, I added the die-cut sun with foam tape. Love that stamp!

We have a stamp in this set that was more cloud-centric than star-centric… don’t need a galaxy for this one either!

I cut a panel of white card stock to 4″ x 5.25″ and embossed that with an old Darice Clouds embossing folder – I was thrilled at how well the folder clouds matched up with the stamp clouds! I glued that to an A2 panel of Hero Hues Periwinkle card stock and down to a White card base. The sentiment fit perfectly between the embossed clouds (Intense Black ink, clear embossing powder) and I stamped, colored and die-cut a few extra stars on strings that I attached to the top with foam tape and glue. Finally, I attached the ladder to the card front with small pieces of foam tape. Delightful!

Now to those characters outfitted with space suits… I guess I can’t avoid a galaxy background forever…!

This is one-half of my water-colored galaxy background that I added a little sparkle to with some Sheer Shimmer Spritz. I die-cut that background to 3.25″ x 4.5″ and added a thin black mat to the back. I stamped the sentiment using Unicorn White ink and embossed that with White embossing powder – shows up on that galaxy background perfectly! I glued the background to an A2 card base at a jaunty (weightless!) angle and added the two “space cadets” with foam tape. Either they’re collecting stars or distributing stars, but either way I’m sure they are having a stellar day!

Now we can take a look at that cling stamp and how well it stamped on Black card stock using the Rose Gold ink!

There is a nice shine to that ink that isn’t readily apparent in the picture… and I’m very impressed with all of the delicate line work in that stamp! I trimmed that background to 4″ x 5.25″ and glued it to a White A2 card base. I trimmed the other half of my Black spattered card stock to 1.75″ wide, glued that to the center of the card front, and added more black glitter peel-offs to the edges. I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of Black card stock with Unicorn White ink and embossed it with White embossing powder, trimmed it to size and added three more layers behind. I glued the sentiment flat to the card front and mounted the shooting star with foam tape. “Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight: I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight.”

Now that I’ve used that big background cling stamp once, let’s try adding some color to it this time!

Splash, Blue Hawaii, and Purple Galaxy Reactive ink direct to the stamp with some light feathering between using blending foam. Three or four stampings for each color gives us this brightly colored cosmos background. Even though it takes a lot of ink, I am liking this cling stamp more and more every time I use it! I did add some Sheer Shimmer Spritz to the background for some extra sparkle. (I can’t resist!)

I trimmed that panel down to 3.75″ x 5″ and added a thin Black mat behind, and glued those to an A2 White card base. I attached our balloon boy with foam tape, and couldn’t bring myself to cover up any more of that fun, colorful background, so I stamped the sentiment on the inside of the card using Intense Black ink. He seemed the most likely candidate for a congrats card!

There is that one stamp in our set that took me a while to wrap my head around… the “cloud mailbox”… ??

I’m supposing that a “cloud mailbox” wouldn’t be in outer space… so I ink blended some clouds on the background panel using Splash Reactive ink and a MFT Mini Cloud stencil. I trimmed that to 2.25″ x 4.25″ and stamped the sentiment using Splash Reactive ink embossed with Clear embossing powder. On a White card base, I stamped the “happy mail” sentiment with Splash Reactive ink repeatedly down the left side of the card front. I glued the cloud panel to the upper middle of the card and added some blue metallic card stock strips to the edges.

I stamped, colored and die-cut two more of the clouds, the big Star on a string (w/no string) and our balloon boy (w/no balloons) on Bristol Smooth card stock and colored all with my Zig markers. The clouds are glued flat to the card front, the star is glued to our cadet’s hand, and the “cloud mailbox” and cadet are mounted with foam tape. I tried really hard to justify these stamps and sentiments and create a usable card within the parameters of this kit. I think this works!!

That card used up two of our ten sentiments, so I only have two more sentiments to go…! I had an idea on how to use the crescent moon stamp suggested by the DreamWorks logo..!

I think she looks absolutely adorable sitting on that crescent moon!! I stamped her (along with the extra shooting star) on Bristol Smooth card stock, colored with Zig markers, die-cut them both and cut her away from the star she was originally sitting on, and nestled her onto the crescent moon. This is the second-half of my water-colored galaxy (with sparkles!) attached to a thicker Black mat and glued to a White card base.

I performed a little stamp surgery to remove the “you’re” from the “you’re a star” sentiment and stamped that along with the “out of this world” sentiment on a scrap of black card stock using Unicorn White ink and White embossing powder. After trimming that compound sentiment to size, I added two more layers of Black card stock behind and glued the stacked sentiment to the card front. All the die cuts are then mounted with foam tape. I really like just about everything about this card! Not sure why the “out of this world” sentiment didn’t have a subject, but this works!

One more sentiment to go! And I can use that cling stamp in the most basic way imaginable – black on white!

Of course there’s some Sheer Shimmer Spritz on this galactic background as well! I stamped the cling stamp with Intense Black ink on White card stock, trimmed to 3.75″ x 5″, matted on some yellow card stock, and glued to a White A2 card base. I stamped our extra cadet on Bristol Smooth card stock and colored her with my Zig markers and die-cut her out. I stamped and embossed the sentiment on a scrap of White card stock, trimmed it to size and glued that flat to the card front. I didn’t manage to get a picture of it, but I did stamp a Happy Birthday on the inside of this card. Our cadet is attached with foam tape and some yellow gems add a little matching color and sparkle for a final touch. Love how the star is shining on her and her helmet, and I really like the simple black, white and yellow color scheme.

Now I have used every single stamp and every single die in this kit. It occurred to me that the cadet holding the planet balloons would make for a terrific birthday card too…!

I thought I’d try a pop-up shadow box card! Perfect for someone floating through space! I stamped, colored and die cut our balloon cadet as I have all the images this month, and I stamped the big blue planet a second time, colored it, fussy-cut it out and added it on top with some foam tape for a little extra dimension in those balloons! I did die-cut one more blank to glue to the back of the colored image for a little added stability.

I took a piece of the Pitch Black card stock, cut it to 7.25″ x 5.5″, and scored the two ends at .5″, 1″, and 1.5″ (to accordion fold both ends to give us the pop-up action). Once scored, I took a 3″ x 4.25″ Nesting Rectangle die and die cut a window in the center. I attached our balloon cadet with some small acetate strips to the back of the frame, and proceeded to accordion fold the edges. I glued the back flap of the folds to the front of a White A2 card base.

The sentiment is an old Lawn Fawn Scripty border die which I die-cut three times from 110# white card stock and once from some iridescent white card stock and glued all those layers together for a very sturdy sentiment. I glued that across the opening on the front of the card.

The background is made with Altenew Wide Galaxy Washi tape burnished to a piece of white card stock and glued behind the folds to the card front. Naturally, I couldn’t resist adding another sentiment to this card – on the inside. I printed this using my Silhouette software with the Times New Roman and Dream State fonts. I know plenty of “space cadets” who would love this card!

And that covers all ten of my cards using the My Monthly Hero December 2022 Kit! Though I originally thought this kit was fairly limited in its variety, I came to realize that there’s actually a lot that can be done with everything in this kit!

I truly love that sun stamp, and the cadet with balloons is perfect for any high-flying birthday, and the cling stamp is a unique combination of clouds stars and galaxies perfect for a wide arrange of backgrounds! We have a little bit of everything here from very simple to fairly complicated, and not too many galaxies…!!

This kit is still available at Hero Arts! If you like what you see, and I was possibly able to inspire your galactic imagination, I suggest grabbing a kit for yourself before they are all sold out! If you do go shopping at Hero Arts, please use my links below. That helps support this page and keeps the crafty goodness coming your way!

My Monthly Hero December 2022 Kit: https://shrsl.com/3unhg

Hero Arts December 2022 Collection: http://shrsl.com/3unkx

Thank you so much for sharing your time (and another year!) with me here. It is so supremely appreciated, and I am truly grateful for all your support and encouragement. Please take a moment to Like me, List me, Pin me, Post me, Friend me, Follow me, share me with all your crafty friends… remember… don’t run with scissors… and I wish you and yours a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season and a New Year filled with Light and Laughter! Thanks for everything!

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10 Cards 1 Kit • My Monthly Hero • November 2022

Hello Folks! Scott here with our new My Monthly Hero November 2022 Kit! Another Christmas themed kit with a huge bunch of detailed dies… Ornaments, tags, and, yes, cards are the order of the day with this surprising Holiday Kit!

KIT INCLUDES:
• 3″ x 4″ Clear Stamp Set
• 31 Ornament-building Fancy Dies
• 6 Sheets of Acetate Panels
• 10 Sheets of Deluxe Smooth White Card stock, 5.5″ x 8.5″
• Scarlet Satin Ribbon, 1/4″ wide, 3 yds.
• Snowflake Sequins

Looks like we’ll be doing a lot of die-cutting this month! Everything seems to be oriented around this 3.25″ circle die, so it seems a wreath is the obvious choice to get us off and running!

For some reason, I thought glitter paper was the way to go for our first ornament card – it really does have some nice sparkle! And I wanted this ornament to be double-sided, so I thought I’d start with an acetate circle and build my wreath up from that. I did die-cut two of the stick wreaths for my base layer (front and back) from some HA Colors of Earth card stock, and glued those to both sides of the acetate window. I die-cut four of the large-leaf swags from some dark green glitter paper, added some shading with alcohol markers, and glued those (two to a side) on the sticks. I die-cut four of the small-leaf branches out of a lighter green to highlight the poinsettias and set them aside.

I die-cut two poinsettias and four of the small flowers, added shading with alcohol markers and gave the petals a little shape with a medium-sized ball stylus. I added small white pearls to the centers and glued the flowers (along with the light green foliage) to the front and back. A couple of bows for the two sides and a loop of ribbon finishes off the wreath and some small red gems add more sparkle along with the suggestion of berries.

I failed to take into account that the back of glitter paper is generally white, so I did have to color the back sides of all my glitter die cuts so you wouldn’t see white from the other side. That wouldn’t be an issue with colored card stock!

I actually considered just making 10 ornaments this month, but receiving a Christmas card that has a removable ornament on it is like getting twice what you paid for! I die-cut some purple-y watercolor pattern paper (and one white blank) with a HA Tag Frame Infinity die and glued them together for a little extra strength. I embossed the sentiment in the center of the Tag frame using HA Intense Black ink and Clear embossing powder, and glued those down to a White A2 card base. My favorite adhesive to use when attaching an ornament to a card is removable sticky dots – I like ZOTS Removable Clear Adhesive dots. One dot behind the hanging ribbon will hold the ornament securely to the card until removed! And since the sentiment is stamped on the card base, there’s no worry about a reverse sentiment on the acetate. Just the right size for a big Christmas tree!

Okay… I’ve shifted my mind set from ornaments to cards… I guess I truly am a creature of habit!! When I was die-cutting the stick wreath, I noticed the the negative die-cut made a perfect circle with some twiggy flourishes on the edges…

On a Kraft card base, I die-cut the stick wreath to give me an opening on the front of the card. I had some wild idea about building a scene on the front of a card going backwards…! I die-cut two of the snowbank dies from some White pearlescent card stock and glued those behind the bottom of the opening. I die-cut all three trees (just remove the star topper on the biggest tree) from plain white card stock, and the little house from scraps of brown. I did add some yellow in the windows for a “lived-in” look! I arranged the trees and the house on the hills, and die-cut the little fox and added some color to him with colored pencils.

I took a piece of watercolor card stock and cut it just under 4.25″ x 5.5″ to be the backing for my scene – I can just glue that to the back side of the card front! I ink blended HA Splash and Blue Hawaii Reactive ink onto that panel referencing the opening to be sure I got the sky in the right place. I added some snow to the sky using a SSS Falling Snow stencil, HA Embossing and Watermark ink, and HA Detail White embossing powder. I added small dots of White gel pen for a little more snow coverage.

I die-cut the three snowflake dies from Silver Holographic card stock and glued those to the top of the opening, and filled out that framing with some of the White Snowflake sequins glued to the back of the opening. I glued the sky panel to the back of the card front and embossed the sentiment and snowflake with HA Unicorn White ink and White Detail embossing powder. I added a little smoke coming from the chimney using a Micro-brush and HA Sea Salt reactive ink, and glued some of the small silver Snowflake Sequins in the sky for the final touch.

I started worrying that all of my cards would end up with 3.25″ circles as their focal point, so I decided to see what I could use in this kit to break me free from that template… maybe that circle die can be used for hills…

The background is a piece of watercolor pattern paper cut to 4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″ and embossed with the same Falling Snow stencil as the last card. That background is glued to a White card base. I die-cut three half-circles from White pearlescent card stock, and two of the small-leaf swags from dark green card stock. The buildings and the tree are die-cut from plain White card stock and I die-cut an extra star from Holographic card stock for the top of the tree. I did back the windows and door with yellow card stock as well.

The arch is an extension of the small-leaf swag die. I cut one of the swags in half to add to the sides of the other one (they are seamed together behind the snowflake dies on the sides) making the sides more vertical and less curved. I glued everything to the card front using a little foam tape behind the church for a little dimension. The snowflakes are die-cut from more White pearlescent card stock and glued to the arch. The sentiment is stamped with Forest Moss Distress Oxide ink and embossed with Clear embossing powder and highlighted with more Holographic snowflakes. This kind of feels like a snow-globe scene to me!

I guess I might as well embrace the circle and see where that takes me… another ornament that’s NOT a wreath..?

I die-cut our circle from Hero Hues Nautical card stock and ink blended some HA Sea Salt Reactive ink along the edge of the snow bank that I cut from Pearlescent White card stock. The trees and holly leaves are die-cut from dark Green card stock and the deer are cut from dark brown card. I used the Tim Holtz Nostalgic Collection color core card stock for a lot of my die-cuts this month. I like using textured card stock with these small detailed dies. The sentiment is stamped in Unicorn White ink and embossed, and I used a white gel pen for the dots of snow as well as the snow on the tree and holly. I added a touch of shadow in the snow with a light grey alcohol marker and glued everything together.

I die-cut another circle from 110# card stock and glued that on the back of the ornament for added strength. Some silver cord is tied through the hole for a hanger. I cut a piece of polka-dot pattern paper to 3.5″ x 5.5″ and glued that to the front of an A2 White card base and added some Clear Glitter peel offs along the edges. I did stamp our “handmade for you by Scott and Joel” on the back of the ornament, added a removable ZOTZ and attached that to my card. Two-for-One!

The larger mistletoe die in this kit will work perfectly all on it’s own, and provides us with a nice pun as well!

I die-cut the mistletoe and bow from the White card stock in our kit and colored them up with my Spectrum Noir alcohol markers. The sentiment is printed on the card base using my Silhouette Software with the Precious font, and a strip of green glitter tape runs down the left side. More white pearls are used for the mistletoe berries, the bow is glued to the mistletoe and all are attached to the card front with small tabs of foam tape. I really like these two dies together… and you know I love me some puns! This card is actually simple enough to mass produce!

I wanted to spend a little more time with the poinsettia die… I didn’t think the glitter card stock did much for that die…

I die-cut these flowers from some textured red card stock and did some shading with alcohol markers. Once again I added a little shape to the petals with a ball stylus, and simply used a White gel pen for the centers. I die cut two large-leaf swags and two small-leaf swags from some textured green card stock and added some alcohol marker shading to all of those as well. The small pinecones are die-cut from two colors of brown textured card stock and shaded too. This sentiment (from last month’s kit) is embossed on flat red card stock with Unicorn Ink and White embossing powder and die-cut with the matching die.

I glued the large-leaf swags to the two corners, cut the small-leaf swags in half and glued them on top, and then glued the flowers into position. I added the pinecones and another flower in the top right corner. I also added some highlights to the flower petals with a Micro-brush and Sea Salt reactive ink. I’m liking that ink more and more…! The sentiment is attached with foam tape, and a few red crystals add a little sparkle. This is a nice arrangement using the leafy swags that doesn’t feel like a wreath or a circle! Love the red and green on white… very Christmas-y!

I was fiddling around with the swag of stars die, trying to see if I could come up with a unique arrangement…

I like this one!! If you take two star swags and glue them together – the first star glues on top of the fifth star on the other die and visa-versa. That makes a very interesting eye-shaped galaxy swirl! I die-cut six of the star swags from Silver Holographic card stock, and glued them together in pairs, and then arranged those three pairs into this fun pinwheel of stars! I was especially pleased to see that I could get the whole arrangement on an A2 card! In this case I used an old White glitter card base and glued the pinwheel to the front.

I printed this sentiment on a scrap of white card stock using the Orbit-B BT font, trimmed that to size and added a Holographic mat. I die-cut the five-pointed star and two of the four-pointed stars from more Holographic card stock and glued those in position – really needed that extra star in the center! This would make a fun Birthday card as well!!

A wreath is certainly a perfectly fine focal point for a card… let’s ignore ornamentation and just make a card!

This wreath started with three twig wreath die cuts glued together – just for a little dimension. Then we have three sets made of the big-leaf branch, small-leaf branch and berry branch glued together, and two sets of the big and small branches glued together. One berry bunch is glued to the top of the wreath, then the plain branch bundles to the sides, and then the other two berry branch groups. I did die-cut the berries from some darker red card stock, fussy cut them out and added them to the top of the berry branches. I die-cut two of the Holly/berry dies (layering red berries on top) and two more holly leaves for the arrangements around the pinecones. The pine cones are die-cut from two colors of brown card stock and shaded with alcohol markers – this big pinecone die is terrific!! Some Sea Salt ink highlights on the berries and pinecones add just the right touch to this very autumnal wreath!

The wooden background is more pattern paper from my stash cut to 4″ x 5.25″, glued to a thin black mat and then down to a White card base. I stamped and embossed the sentiment on a scrap of that pattern paper, fussy-cut it out and attached it to the card front with thin foam tape. The wreath is finally glued to the card front, and I resisted the urge to add any sparkle or bling… a little more of an organic wreath for this card. Love it!

I was determined to make an ornament with this kit that wasn’t a wreath or a circle. The swag of stars might work!

I think this ornament will actually go on my own Christmas tree this year! I die-cut six star swags from 110# white card stock and glued them all together with a hanger of thin Silver Metallic thread glued in the middle behind the second star. I die-cut two more swags from Silver Holographic card stock – one cut from the back to use on the back of the ornament – and glued those to the two sides of the stacked swags. I really like the balance of the hanger on the second star – feels a little more active!

I printed the sentiment on a piece of photo paper (for a really black black) using my Silhouette software and the Comic Sans MS font. I think this MLK Jr quote is quite appropriate and even works nicely as a holiday card! I die cut the printed photo paper with a 3.25″ Nesting Circle die and cut another blank from Black card stock to glue behind the photo print for more strength.

I positioned the swag on the circle and marked where the hanger fell, and cut a tiny slot on the side of the circle to slip the hanger into. I added the circle to an A2 card front with foam tape and hung the ornament using the small slit. Though this was a tiny bit fiddly, I think this is my favorite ornament this month!

I still haven’t used the snowman die in our kit – he did feel a little out of scale to me… he’s almost as tall as the church!

That’s when my mind shifts to featuring this snowman all by himself – well – with five other friends! I’m also always in the mood for more color! Six snowmen die-cut from 110# White card stock, and six hats die-cut from some rainbow card stock and fussy-cut to glue on the snowman heads. I drew in the hat bands, faces and accessories using black Pigma Micron pens and a Brown pen for the arms. A light touch of grey alcohol marker gives us a little shading on our balls of snow, as well as some orange marker for the tiny noses!

I printed this pun-y Christmas sentiment on a White card base using the Freehand 575 BT font. I cut a half-inch strip of black glitter paper and glued that above the sentiment. I attached all the snowmen with foam tape giving everyone a slightly jaunty pose. I did add the “Warm Wishes” sentiment on the inside of this card – perfectly appropriate! This card really satisfies my love of white space, and the size of these tiny snowmen are totally charming! Warm wishes indeed!

And that completes my 10 Cards inspired by the My Monthly Hero November 2022 kit! I stuck with cards this month but managed to included three ornaments, and a nice variety of styles and even some non-holiday ideas as well. I LOVE the pinecone dies, the bow, and poinsettia dies and all the foliage dies will come in handy all year long!

I did manage to use every single die in this kit – all 31! And though I didn’t use every stamp, I did use the most of the sentiments and we even got a pun or two as well! I didn’t make any tags this month… I am not really a fancy tag person… My family has a tendency to go a bit overboard at Christmas, and presents literally end up getting forcibly stuffed under the Christmas tree – which is not particularly good for tags! After many years of always having a few presents that lost their tags, I have fully embraced the peel-and-stick tags that promise to stay put on every package! Obviously this kit is perfect for you tag lovers out there.

However, this kit has already sold out! One of the fastest sell-outs this year! If you managed to snag a kit for yourself, I hope I was able to give you a few ideas about expanding its usefulness beyond just the ornaments and tags, and possibly even the holidays! Let me know which card(s) are your favorite this month, and I’d always like to see what creations of yours I might have inspired!

Of course, add-ons this month are still available with lots more ornament and tag making products! If you do go shopping at Hero Arts , please use my links… it help support this page and is always truly appreciated!

Hero Arts MMH November ’22: http://shrsl.com/3slpy

Please remember to Like me, List me, Pin me, Post me, Friend me, Follow me, share me with all your crafty friends… Oh, my heavens, I can’t believe Thanksgiving is right around the corner! I am sending you and yours Love and Light, Peace and Joy, Warm Holiday Wishes, and, as always, Happy Crafting!!

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10 Cards 1 Kit • My Monthly Hero • October 2022

Hello Folks! Scott here with my 10 Cards 1 Kit post featuring the new My Monthly Hero October 2022 kit! Winter is right around the corner and this kit ushers in the holiday season and takes us right to the North Pole. The stamp set of solid silhouettes can be combined to create a myriad of scenes featuring Santa Clause (or not!), and the dies this month have (what may be a first in a MMH kit) dies for all four of the sentiment stamps! Love that!!

KIT INCLUDES:
• 6” x 8” Clear Stamp Set
• 19 Coordinating Frame Cuts
• A2 Cling Stamp
• 2 Ink Cubes in White Reactive & Unicorn
• 2 Sheets Diamond Glitter Paper, 5.5″ x 8.5″
• 2 Sheets Snow Glow Paper, 5.5″ x 8.5″
• 2 Sheets Lapis Half Sheet, 5.5″ x 8.5″

Since there are only four sentiments in this stamp set, I decided to poach some extra holiday sentiments from past MMH Christmas kits. (Oct. ’19, Nov. ’19, Nov. ’20, and Oct. ’21) There is also a Project Idea on the backer card for a tri-fold card with a unique card idea from Libby Hickson. That inspired my own tri-fold adventure.

I went with a more traditional side-to-side tri-fold card, starting on the side of a mountain with the train rounding the bend and the village in the background. All under the watchful eye of a reindeer…

Flip that right panel open and the village is fully revealed with railroad tracks and a someone waiting on the hillside…

One more flip to the left and we have our final scene… looks like someone finally made it home! Also, the moon has risen higher in the sky… I guess it took a little while for that train to come in..! I love it when a tri-fold card tells a story… and the stamps in this kit are perfectly suited for that task.

All of the stamping for this card is done on Neenah Solar White 80# card stock. For the first layer, I curved the train and track stamp to suggest a mountain curve, stamped those (and the reindeer) in Intense Black ink, and fussy-cut the mountain and the little bit on the front of the engine. (this layer was done on the back side of a folded A2 card base) I blended Blue Reactive ink on edges of the mountain and a couple other contours in the snow. Of course we can see the village and the sky and moon in the background… and I think the simple curve on the train gives a good suggestion of it going around the mountain.

The second layer started on a full A2 card base – I stamped the village and the train tracks in Intense Black ink and did a partial die-cut on the village leaving the bottom of the card base intact. A little ink blending on the village and tracks grounds them in the snow. I stamped our little fellow on another panel and used the die to partially cut him out and I finished the cut putting him on a snow covered hill. More Blue Reactive ink blending on the edges of the hill and I glued that panel flat down on that layer.

I wanted to use the Lapis card stock for the sky, so I quickly realized that I didn’t need the entire back half of the 2nd layer, so I trimmed that off leaving just a small flap to glue to the back of the first layer’s card base. THEN I’ll add the sky and another die cut hillside to the center layer (effectively covering the flap of layer 2). I ink blended Blue Reactive ink and Black Soot Distress ink in the sky and splattered some stars using some Holbein white gouache. I die-cut the moon from the Snow Glow paper, added that to the sky, and glued the sky to the back of the card (covering the layer two flap).

For the final scene, I stamped the house and the couple with Intense Black ink, did a partial die-cut on the house and finished it off with a bit of a hillside, and ink blended the edges and a little snowy contour for our couple with the Blue Reactive ink. The sentiment is from the MMH November 2019 kit, stamped with Blue Hawaii Reactive ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. I glued that panel on top of the Lapis sky and the story is complete! This sentiment (and the prompt from Hero Arts) inspired this story-telling tri-fold card. And, I hadn’t seen any of our designers use the train stamp. I am totally in love with this card and how the story unfolds (pun intended!).

Of course silhouette stamps lend themselves to shaker cards as well…! Snow globe or Christmas ornament this month?

Since I don’t have a specific snow globe die, I decided to go for an ornament this month! Hero Arts Infinity Nesting Circle dies make a perfect ornament! I used the 3.5″ and the 3.25″ dies for this card. I die-cut some Lapis card stock with the 3.5″ die, stamped Santa in Soft Granite ink, the moon with Unicorn White ink, and the spray of stars with Embossing and Watermark ink, and embossed them with WOW! Cloud 9 embossing powder – though you can’t tell from the photo, the stars are VERY sparkly! I used a white gel pen to draw in some stars in the sky.

I taped the two circle dies together as evenly as possible and die-cut the Lapis frame and four more frames from thick white card stock. I glued the four white frames together and then down to the background. I filled the interior with some micro beads (love how those roll around in a shaker card) glued a 3.5″ die-cut acetate circle on top of the frame, and finished it off with the Lapis frame glued on top. I fussy-cut an ornament cap from some holographic card stock and added a double bow to the top of that.

I die-cut a piece of (way old) pattern paper to 4″ x 5.25″ and stamped the sentiment (from the Oct. 2020 kit) with Soft Granite ink, and glued that to a White A2 card base. I contemplated making this a removable ornament, but, since I didn’t actually make a hanging ring, I decided to just glue it to the card base. The simple sentiment adds a lot I think!

I really like the North Pole Sign stamp and die, but thought the pole should be taller for how large the sign was…

That feels a little bit better as far as the perspective of that sign goes! This is all done with partial die-cutting (on Neenah 80# card stock) like the tri-fold card, but with all the layers glued flat. The background is ink blended with Splash Reactive ink and then some Sea Salt Reactive ink coming down from the top. The cling stamp is stamped (sideways) with Unicorn White ink and embossed with White embossing powder.

The house layer is stamped with Soft Sky ink, with a partial die-cut and fussy-cut hillside. The sleigh layer is stamped with Reactive Early Dawn ink with a little of that ink blended on the edges of the hillside. Santa’s layer is stamped and ink blended with Splash Reactive ink. I did cut one more corner of snow for the North Pole sign to live in.

Since I wanted to extend the pole, I stamped the sign using TomBow markers direct to the stamp. I used a couple of browns that gave me a nice mottled wood tone on the sign, and left the sign detail itself to be finished with a stamping of Caramel Core ink. I extended the pole using the same TomBow markers, and partially die-cut the sign (without cutting the bottom) and finished out the length by hand. I admit to taking my craft knife and fussy-cutting the scrollwork detail around the sign… I can be a little anal-retentive that way…!

Everything is glued flat to an A2 card base with some foam tape behind the top half of the sign. I have to admit that when I first saw that deer stamp I thought the ‘footsteps’ were poop… and I realized that the partial die-cutting on this card put the “footprints” on top of the snow… unlike the tri-fold card where all the footprints are below the edge of the hills… these die-cuts tend to look a little more like poop than footprints…! Just be aware of that if you’re doing partial die-cutting on the characters in this set… Makes me laugh!

The large solid pine branches stamp caught my eye and the curve of the branches suggested an oval to me.

This is my Currier and Ives Christmas card! On a piece of Canson Mixed Media card stock, I lightly ink blended Soft Sky ink over the entire panel and did a light spattering of the same ink. I picked an Oval Infinity Nesting die that was 3 3/8″ wide on the narrow side, and cut my card panel to 3 1/2″ wide. I stamped the pine branches using Pine Core ink on the two edges of the panel, and centered those branches in the oval die for die cutting – the branches follow that oval quite nicely! I did ink blend a little Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink around the edges of the oval for a finishing touch.

I thought I’d try a little no-line coloring, so I stamped the house using Contour ink and colored it all using my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. I felt the need to have a super fine point on whatever medium I used for coloring in this tiny image! It was easy to color right over the candy canes, (love that!) and I did use my White Gouache watercolor and a small white gel pen to keep some of the snow nice and bright. Far from perfect, but I think it does have a nice hand-painted feel. I stamped the sentiment (from the MMH Nov. ’20 kit) with Root Beer Reactive ink and embossed that with Clear Embossing powder.

I cut another piece of that old pattern paper (snowflakes are so useful!) to 4″ x 5.25″ and glued that to an A2 White card base. I picked the next size larger Infinity Oval die and die cut a piece of Auburn Pearl card stock and three more blanks from white scraps and glued those all together for a little dimension. I glued the colored panel on top and then down to the card front. Those pine branches look much more detailed if you can avoid over-stamping them, and they read really well in this oval format. I did pick this sentiment before I stamped the house to make sure everything fit, and I am very thrilled at the nostalgic feel of this card. Not bad for a silhouette stamp!

I thought the large and small Christmas trees in our stamp set would be perfect partners for a more graphic layout.

I stamped the large tree (masking off the star) using Pine Core ink for the first pass and Lime Green for the second stamping… that gives a subtle variation in the greenery that isn’t particularly noticeable, but actually adds a lot to the tree. Then I masked off the tree and stamped the star with Embossing ink and embossed that with Gold embossing powder. I die-cut the tree and two blanks and glued them all together.

I cut a panel of White card stock to 2.5″ x 5.5″ and stamped the smaller trees in a line across the center. I knew the big tree was going in the center, so I stamped the trees from the right and left to the center – not worrying about the spacing between the center trees necessarily matching up. That’s Forever Green on the edges and Forest, Pine and then Lime Green in the center. The sentiment (from the MMH Oct. ’19 kit) is embossed in the same Gold as the star.

I cut a piece of old pattern paper to 3″ x 5.5″ and glued that to the center of a White card base, and glued the tree panel on top. I glued the big Christmas Tree in the center and adorned all the ornament openings with PinkFresh Studio Gold Metallic pearls. I also have these crystal tree gems in my stash and they fit perfectly between the lined up trees. A couple Gold Holographic peel off stickers outlining the stamped panel adds one last touch of bling to this very sparkly card! Just to note… this sentiment had already been divided in half… that also influenced my choice here!

I guess I should spend some time with the sentiments that are actually in this stamp set! And the cling stamp too!

WOOOOOOOOOSH! And he’s gone! I think this is a very fun visual! I stamped the cling stamp on a panel of the Lapis card stock (with a little Blue Hawaii Reactive ink blended in at the top) using Unicorn White Pigment ink. I tilted the stamp just a little bit to try to get a touch of movement from an otherwise straight up and down snowfall. Perfect! I die-cut the background with a (3.75″ x 5″) Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die and centered a 2.5″ Nesting Circle die towards the top of my background and die-cut the “moon”. I cut a mat (4″ x 5.25″) of Hero Hues Nautical card stock, marked where the “moon” was, die-cut the circle through the mat and glued the two panels together. I spritzed these both with some Sheer Shimmer mist for some all-over sparkle. I marked the “moon” position on the front of a White card base, die-cut the circle and glued the matted panels in place.

I stamped Santa using Intense black ink and die cut him out along with two more blanks and glued them all together for a good, sturdy embellishment. I stamped the sentiment on Lapis card using Unicorn White ink, embossed that with White Embossing powder and die-cut it with the matching die. LOVE the sentiment dies in this kit!! I was afraid the sentiment might get a little lost on the Lapis background so I die-cut a blank sentiment from Nautical card stock and glued it to the back of the sentiment for a touch of a drop shadow. I glued Santa over the moon cut-out and glued the sentiment below.

It wasn’t until I put this together that I thought of adding the ‘star swoosh’ to the inside. It hides behind Sant and his sleigh perfectly. I stamped that on the inside with Embossing ink and used the WOW! Cloud 9 embossing powder for LOTS of sparkle.That’s another stamp you want to avoid over-stamping with! Take care not to lose the details and all those tiny stars read beautifully! WOOOSH! He’s gone!

When we were kids, after we put the Christmas tree up, (and before the presents came out) we would often decorate the bottom of the tree with a little Christmas village. I thought the train stamp and pine branches might replicate that!

I think I’m mostly thrilled with my tree stand here..!! The pine branches are stamped on Hero Hues Pesto card stock with Forever Green ink (darker) and Pine Core ink (lighter). I die-cut both boughs leaving extra room at the top of the darker layer. I used the Woodgrain Texture Fancy die to cut my trunk from some brown card stock and cut that to an inch wide. The tree stand is smallest Rounded Rectangle Infinity die cut from brushed silver and the black legs are cut from a double thick oval frame. I think that looks just like an old tree stand!

The train is masked and stamped in Red Reactive, Pine Core, Blue Reactive, Butter Bar and Tangerine inks. I stamped the village on a piece of Arctic card stock using the Blue Reactive ink, and did a partial die-cut across the top. I stamped the railroad tracks, the people and the sentiment with Blue Reactive ink and embossed the sentiment with clear embossing powder.

I took a thin piece of Grey card stock and embossed that with a striped embossing folder and glued that to the front of a White card base. I was a touch worried about thickness with this card so I pressed the embossed stripes flat – it still reads as a subtle wallpaper. I glued the dark pine branches to the top, then the trunk, then the lighter branches, and assembled the stand on the trunk. I glued the stamped panel flat to the bottom of the card and added the train with foam tape.

I thought a couple of ornaments dangling from the tree would really drive the point home, so I die-cut two circles from some metallic card stock, created a couple ornament caps and glued them into the branches of the tree. This is a really fun way to use that pine branches border stamp, and it could be infinitely variable depending on what you want to put under your tree! I really enjoyed putting this card together!

I was a little bit over the holidays at this point (it IS only October) and had an idea for a non-holiday card…

A colorful Birthday card using that star swoosh stamp! I used the Gina K. Wreath Builder Template to stamp this circular blaze of colorful stars. If you notice there are 16 strips so I did 8 strips to begin with, then repositioned the stamp for the second eight. These are stamped with the same inks as the train in the last card with the addition of Grape Juice ink for the purples. Once all was stamped, I trimmed the panel to 3.75″ x 5″ and misted a light Sheer Shimmer mist over the whole panel. I glued that to a holographic card stock mat and down to a White card base.

I thought of using the Merry Christmas stamp from this kit and looked at a couple of HBD stamps when I came across this small HBD stamp from an old freebie stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. I stamped that on a scrap of white card stock with Intense Black ink and embossed it with some clear embossing powder. I die-cut that with a 1.25″ circle die and die-cut more holographic card stock with a 1.5″ die. I glued those together and down to the card front. For a final touch of Birthday sparkle, I added little sequin stars between the colorful stripes. I LOVE this image… almost feels like fireworks going off…! I imagine you could get more of a curve out of that stamp as well if you so desired! Of course a MISTI (or any stamping platform) is most useful, and Gina K. designs Wreath Builder Templates are a must have in anyone’s stash!

That was a nice break from the impending holidays, but I did want to try and colorize the big village stamp…

Well, it took a little while, but I did manage to get a nice village colored with pencils. On a sheet of Stonehenge card stock, I stamped the village with Contour ink ( a few times) and colored all with my Prismacolor colored pencils. I had to keep the points really sharp, and went very lightly as I added layer after layer of color. Again, this is far from perfect but it is a very colorful rendition of that silhouette stamp. I did some light stump blending in the sky and added some White gel pen and Stardust Sparkle pen stars in the sky. I trimmed the colored panel down to 4″ x 5.25″, added a thin black mat and glued those to a White card base.

I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of White card stock with Blue Hawaii Reactive ink, embossed that with Clear Embossing powder and die-cut it out. I also stamped and embossed the star (Unicorn White ink and White embossing powder) on a scrap of Pitch Black card stock, and die-cut it out as well. I added a couple of die-cut blanks behind the sentiment and glued that and the star to the card front. I think the charm of this card comes from the simple fact of the miniature size of this village… there’s a lot going on in less than 1.5″ of stamping. Not recommended for multiples…!

The tri-fold suggestion from the backer card was still in the back of my mind when I created this dimensional scene.

First, I must mention that I broke down and joined the foiling revolution with the purchase of my own Spelbinders Glimmer machine. (I did manage to grab one on sale at Spellbinders for $90.00!!) Now that Hero Arts is getting into the hot foiling craze, I figured I should jump on the bandwagon too! The background snow is foiled on Pitch Black card stock using the Twinkle Lights hot foil plate and Opaque White foil. I have to play with that machine some more, but so far so good!! I may be hooked! I trimmed the background to 4.25″ x 5.5″ and added a moon die-cut from the Snow Glow paper and the stamped, embossed, and die-cut sentiment with some foam tape.

I stamped the village and people, and house and deer with Unicorn White ink on 5.5″ wide Pitch Black card stock and did more partial die-cutting finished off with fussy-cutting to add some hillsides. I used some micro brushes to add some Unicorn White ink to the edges of the hillsides and below the buildings. I also ink blended a light touch of Sea Salt Reactive ink on the background behind the village.

On the village piece, I scored a fold line at 1/4″ on the left side, and on the house piece I scored a fold line 1/4″ from the right side. I cut little 1/4″ wide tabs on the opposite sides of the folded tabs on both pieces being careful to hide the tab on the village panel behind the house panel. I glued the folded tab of the village piece to the left side of the background, curved it up a little and marked on the background where to cut the slot for the tab. The slot is 5/8″ from the right side of the background. Then I glued the folded tab on the house panel to the right side of the background, curved that up a little more, and marked on the village panel where to cut the slot for that tab. That slot is 3/4″ from the edge of the village panel. I did add an “A” and a “B” to the matching slots and tabs with a white gel pen… Un-slotted, this card will travel flat, and I think the matching “A”s and “B”s are enough of a prompt for assembly. And it stands up all on it’s own! I did add a White card panel on the back (careful not to glue the slot shut…!) which provides a perfect place for your personal message. I think the black/white scheme is very striking, and I totally love the curved dimension when assembled!

And just like that, we’ve covered all ten cards this month! I felt a strong pull towards blue this month (all that snow!), but tried to keep a good amount of color going for those of us unwilling to admit that the holidays are coming!

I really enjoyed using all these different holiday sentiments – not a single repeat here! And I think the Birthday card was a great surprise. I actually used all the stamps this month, and most of the dies, inks and papers… I couldn’t find a use for that Diamond Glitter paper (I tried die-cutting a moon from that but it looked like fish scales) I’m sure I’ll find some use for it someday! There really is no end to the scene-making possibilities with a kit like this. I hope you enjoyed my sometimes wacky take on this classic kit. I think I’m ready to start working on my own Christmas cards for this year!

This kit is still available at Hero Arts! If you see something you like, or if I’ve possibly inspired you to create some North Pole vibes of your own, you should grab a kit for yourself before they sell out. If you do go shopping at Hero Arts, please use my links below. It is greatly appreciated and helps support this page. Thank YOU!

My Monthly Hero October 2022: http://shrsl.com/3r0nv

Hero Arts October 2022 Release: http://shrsl.com/3r0o8

Thank you so much for sharing some time with me today. Let me know witch card(s) is your favorite! Remember to Like me, List me, Pin me, Post me, Friend me, Follow me, and share me with all your card-making friends! Don’t run with scissors… and as always, I send you and yours Love and Light and Happy Crafting!!

I’m on the CommUNITY blog post at Hero Arts today!!

Hello Folks!!! I’m featured on the Hero Arts Blog today for their monthly series CommUNITY – about embracing and honoring the creativity of individuals who are often underrepresented, and supporting and empowering individuals to be their authentic selves as they create and share. Look for a new CommUNITY guest artist on the Hero Arts Blog every month!

I’m using the Power to the People stamp set for my first card, and I noticed that the sign with all the hands didn’t have any hands on one side. AHA! I masked off the the top line of the sign and stamped with Intense Black Ink. I reversed the stamp, lined it up with the first stamping, masked off the top line of the sign again, and stamped with Intense Black Ink. That gave me a great big sign with twice as many participants! Since we are getting close to the midterm elections, I thought this was a timely sentiment, and stamped that in the middle.

I water-colored all the hands using the Skin-Tone Liquid Watercolor set – those three watercolors (TerracottaCocoaCoffee) gave me a huge variety of skin tones – and since all the arms are different colors, you can hardly tell that the stamp has been doubled! I finished watercoloring this card with Dandelion Liquid Watercolor, and a watered down gray on the sign.

One of the most interesting things about the Power to the People stamp set is the plethora of sentiments – 17 in all – that cover a wide range from personal to political. I chose five of the sentiments to stamp on the left and right side of my card using Contour Ink. That provides a great background for this card and even though the sentiments are only partially complete, you can still make them out by reading right to left! 

The Color Layering Flower Power stamp set is perfect for sharing some love with the important people in your life. I stamped the hair outline with Butter Bar Ink, the filler layer with Lemon Drop, the detail layer with Creamsicle, and the accent flowers with Azalea Core Ink. I stamped the face with Sand Ink, the details with Cup O’ Joe, the shading with Sand again (with a light touch of Azalea on her lips) and her eyes with Paradise. I thought this stamp set was going to be a bear to line up, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the layers lined up quite easily (just keep an eye on the centers of the flowers)! 

I used the Flower Circle Stencil for the background using Butter BarLemon Drop and Key Lime Fizz inks, and the sentiment is stamped with Cup O’ Joe (FUNNY GIRL is currently running on Broadway, and I couldn’t resist the Hello Gorgeous!). I die-cut the background with a Nesting Rectangle die and added a thin mat of Canary cardstock to the back. I die-cut my Flower Girl with a Circle Infinity die and and cut four more blanks to give that circle some dimension without having to use foam tape. 

BUT, before I glued all those pieces together, I got a wild idea to add a little touch of dimension to our Girl, so I stamped just her face one more time. Then I fussy-cut her face from the top of one ear to the top of the other and finished the cut about a half-inch above her hairline. Then I fussy-cut her hairline (from ear to ear) on the original stamping, and tucked her forehead under her bangs and glued both pieces together. Her bangs are now on top of her face, but from the ears down, her face is on top of her hair. Subtle but actually quite effective! I glued all the circle die cuts together and down to the background. Let your imagination go wild coming up with different color combinations for the “hair” – and it wasn’t until I stamped and fussy-cut her face alone when I realized you could give her ANY hairstyle you like! That’s an excellent face to have in your stash!

I’m thrilled to have been asked to share some of these great CommUNITY products with everyone here today! I hope I’ve inspired you to take another look at these unique stamp sets – and ALL the products in the Hero Arts CommUNITY line-up! Happy Crafting!

10 Cards 1 Kit • My Monthly Hero • September 2022

Hello Folks! Scott here with the new My Monthly Hero September 2022 kit! Just in time for fall and a bounteous harvest season, this kit features a large autumnal bouquet and something totally new to the MMH kits… Rub-Ons!

Kit Includes • Clear Stamp Set, 4” x 6”
• 6 Coordinating Frame Cuts
• Rub-On Transfer Sheet
• Cling Background Stamp, 6“ x 6”
• 2 Sheets Each of Cardstock in Sand & Antique Ivory, 5.5” x 8.5”
• Rose Gold Metallic Floss, 5 yds

I was a little intimidated by the bouquet stamp – it is intricately detailed which makes some of the flowers and foliage quite small… and just to intimidate me more… the rub-on bouquet (which is exactly the same as the stamp – even the die works for both) is amazing and brilliantly colored! My snub-nosed Spectrum Noir Alcohol markers would make a mess on such a finely detailed image… so there’s another huge advantage to fancy Copic markers…!

Usually, Gold embossing on White card stock works quite well for an elegant card that requires no coloring…

On a piece of the Watercolor paper from last month’s kit, I stamped and embossed the bouquet, sentiment and leaves using Embossing and Watermark ink and HA Gold Embossing powder. That worked okay, but there is SO MUCH detail in this stamp that you really couldn’t tell what was going on towards the center of the bouquet. The detail needed a little detailing…!

Thinking I’d stick with the gold theme, I reached for the Hero Arts Gold Glimmer Metallic ink and painted in all the details… the Glimmer ink mixes well with water, and I was able to get some subtle shading here and there. That worked quite nicely and gave us enough definition to make out the flowers, stems and leaves in the center of this bouquet. I die cut the panel with a HA Rectangle Infinity die (next to the largest) and glued it to a gold metallic mat cut to 4.25″ x 5.5″, and then glued those both to a White card base. This would probably look amazing on Black card stock as well!

I decided to try my hand at water-coloring our bouquet for this next card.

I stamped the bouquet on more of the Watercolor card stock from last month’s kit using HA Intense Black ink. I broke out my giant Daniel Smith Dot card (thanks Pat!) and went to town…!

I did use the rub-on for a slight color reference as I painted this bouquet, and while I did try to keep an autumnal feeling, I also tried to lighten everything up a little bit while keeping some darkness and depth towards the center of the arrangement.

Once painted, I partially die-cut the bouquet with the included die, leaving the base attached to the watercolor paper where I stamped the sentiment using Intense Black ink. For a little definition, I added a thin strip of Bone card stock and a line of the Rose Gold Metallic Floss to the edge of the watercolor base.

I stamped the Background Cling stamp on a 4.25″ x 5.5″ piece of the Antique Ivory card stock in the kit using HA Sand ink. I die-cut four more bouquets from plain White card stock and glued them all together behind the painted panel to add some dimension (without fussing with a million pieces of foam tape) and glued all to the stamped background. Okay, yes, this did take me quite a while to paint, but I really enjoyed the process and am quite pleased with the final result! The Cling stamp is gorgeous and stamps like a dream, and, while I doubt that I’ll be painting a lot of these bouquets, it is satisfying to know that I can if I chose to! Take THAT you rub-ons!!

(Blick art supplies was having a sale on DS Watercolors, and I did enjoy painting this, so I splurged and got me a real Daniel Smith Watercolor Palette – hand poured half-pans in 24 colors…! Can’t wait to swatch them out!)

While I was laboring over the watercolor bouquet, I was thinking that there had to be an easier way to color this image, when it occurred to me that we could color and stamp this bouquet using TomBow markers!

On a piece of Canson XL watercolor paper, I stamped the bouquet using my TomBow markers – coloring individual sections and lightly misting before stamping. It was a little challenging to differentiate all the plants on the clear stamp but I used the cover sheet to help. Of course my MISTI was indispensable..! Once the whole stamp was complete, it was a breeze taking a damp brush to the foliage and spreading the TomBow colors around! This gives us a much softer, almost pastel bouquet while still keeping us in the realm of autumn! Once I was pleased with the insta-watercoloring, I did stamp the bouquet again (HA Caramel ink) to bring back some of the detail lost with the water.

I die-cut the floral display and trimmed off the left side so the sentiment would fit on the right. I die-cut two more bouquets of white card stock, glued those behind, and then glued the base to a 1/2″ strip of the Sand card stock from the kit with a touch of Auburn Pearl card stock peeking out the top. I stamped the sentiment on a White card base, using HA Sand ink, and splattered some watered-down (matching) TomBow colors all over the background. Glue everything together and here’s another variation of that bouquet stamp – much quicker (and almost as impressive) than the DS watercolor version… I need to remember that TomBow Markers can work as “ink” for stamps… This was fun!

I must give some love to the Cling Background stamp in the kit… a truly lovely stamp that should prove very useful!

I cut a piece of the Sand card stock to 4″ x 5.25″, and embossed the background stamp using Embossing and Watermark ink and HA Gold Embossing powder. Absolutely beautiful! We all know that Hero Arts’ Cling stamps are exceptionally high quality and this stamp lives up to the hype! I glued the background to a White A2 card base and just admired it for a while!!

I stamped the sentiment on more of the Sand card stock using my MISTI… I stamped the Intense Black shadow first – I just scooted the card stock a fraction to the right and a fraction up for the shadow, then I put the card stock back in the corner of the MISTI and stamped and embossed the second layer in Gold. Shadow stamping works so well with an embossed sentiment! I trimmed the sentiment down to 1″ x 2.25″, added a thin White mat behind, and attached it to my card front at a slightly jaunty angle using foam tape. I’m lovin’ that Cling Background stamp!

And just to keep my love for the cling stamp going, I decided to do do a Joseph’s Coat technique.

I ink blended Fruit Punch, Lemon Drop and Blue Hawaii Reactive inks on a 4.25″ x 5.5″ White card stock panel… Love how you get a definite orange and green blend from just these three inks! After that panel dried, I stamped the cling stamp with Embossing and Watermark ink, and embossed it with Clear embossing powder. Then I ink blended Intense Black ink over the whole panel wiping off the excess ink from the top of the embossing. I used three different black inks – Intense Black from HA, VersaFine Onyx Black ink, and Gina K. Jet Black Amalgam ink to try to get the background as black as possible, but something about the reactive inks prevented me from getting a real black black. Interesting! I die-cut that panel (3.5″ x 4.75″) with a HA Rectangle Infinity die, and added a thin Pitch Black mat behind.

Since we have this nice rainbow background, I decided to echo that with the sentiment. This is the Lawn Fawn Scripty Thanks die. I die cut 2 pieces of Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red card stock and glued those all together to make a chunky sentiment. I waffled about what to put on top of the rainbow stackers… Black glitter card stock…? Red Glitter card stock…? I finally settled on this metallic Red card stock.

On a Pitch Black A2 card base, I added a 4″ x 5.25″ mat of the metallic Red card stock and glued the rainbow panel to the top. Nothing autumnal about this card, but you know this rainbow makes me happy, and the “thanks” is perfectly on theme for this kit. I do love that background stamp!

You might think that I’m avoiding the rub-ons… but I was simply exploring the other aspects of this kit to start with!

You have to admit, that large rub-on bouquet is pretty stunning! First I die-cut a mask for the bouquet from Gina K Masking Magic and laid that on an A2 Panel of the Antique Ivory card stock where I wanted the rub-on to go. I ink blended Sand ink around the edges for a touch of distress, and then stamped the background stamp on the masked panel with the same ink – I wasn’t trying for a perfect stamping… and the mask helps soften the line around the arrangement.

I cut the rub-on bouquet away from the sheet and went to add it to my inked panel… be careful… the sticky on the back of the rub-ons will grab onto your card stock and not let go… I was ultimately a little off on my placement for that exact reason..! I did find that a metal ball stylus worked better for applying the rub-ons than the popsicle stick included in the kit. I was also able to do a little more ink blending around the image to try to camouflage the misplacement…! Ink doesn’t stick to the top of the rub-ons so that helped a lot! It also helped that I die-cut the panel down to 4″ x 5.25″, and then added a thin Dark Brown mat and mounted all to a Sand card base.

The sentiment is from the MMH September 2020 (HeroScapes Pumpkin Patch) kit. I stamped that on a scrap of Bone card stock with Root Beer Reactive ink and embossed that with Clear embossing powder. I die-cut (and fussy cut) the sentiment and added it to the card front with foam tape. Really striking card! I like the antique, distress feeling, and yes… that rub-on is in a class all by itself!

Our rub-on sheet has TWO of the bouquets, two pomegranates, a pear and LOTS of assorted foliage… including leaves… and I couldn’t resist trying the offset shadow stamping with the cling background stamp!

On a panel of the Sand card stock I stamped the cling stamp in HA Unicorn White ink, shifted the card stock a little down and to the right, and then stamped again with Caramel ink. That gives us three colors of ink and a truly 3-D look to this background! Almost looks like an embossing folder! I trimmed the background to 4″ x 5.25″ and cut a diagonal across the middle. I added a mat behind the two pieces of Auburn Pearl card stock only showing the mat on the diagonal line. I glued both panels to an Antique Ivory card base.

I cut out a bunch of rub-on leaves and added them to the center opening leaving some room for the sentiment. I originally stamped the sentiment in the opening using Caramel ink, but didn’t like how that looked, so I stamped the sentiment again on a scrap of Bone card stock with Root Beer Reactive ink, clear embossed it, trimmed it down and mounted it to the card front with foam tape. A few tiny Bronze gems adds a little touch of sparkle amongst the leaves. This is not my favorite sentiment in the kit, but I think it works well with this faux 3-D background and the light tumble of autumn leaves. I am certainly looking forward to Fall this year!!

And what to do with all those flowers and individual rub-ons? There’s quite a batch of individual foliage rub-ons…

A wreath is a perfectly seasonal image! I did cut out all the (remaining) individual rub-on pieces and fiddled around with them for a pleasant arrangement. I rubbed them all onto a piece of Antique Ivory card stock to complete this wreath. There are a few things I learned here… 1) The rub-ons ARE translucent so you CAN see through them… notice the poppy (and the carnation) at the 8:30/9:00 position and you can see the stem behind the blooms. 2) You can cut apart the individual rub-ons… the leaves on the poppy seed head at 12:00 are from much further down the stem. 3) Once applied, you can remove portions of the rub-ons with an eraser – a Xyron Adhesive eraser works especially well.

I started on the bottom going counter-clockwise, and the placement and layering gets better as I moved around the wreath. Im especially pleased with the dried Lotus pod (1:00) with a stem that looks like it goes behind the yellow carnation and behind the poppy! The leaves at the base of the pomegranate started as a cluster of 3 leaves but the missing third leaf is on the wreath at 10:00. Creating this wreath gave me a great deal of pleasure!

I stamped the sentiment (my favorite this month) below the wreath with Intense Black ink and embossed it with some Clear embossing powder. I die-cut that panel to 3.75″ x 5″, added a thin red mat and a thin mustard mat and glued all down to an Antique Ivory card base. I really like this card and it was massive fun using up all the rub-ons!

Yes… there are a few more rub-ons… and I’ve covered all the sentiments in the stamp set, so now it’s time for some puns!

Trust me… there are not a lot of pomegranate puns floating around out there! But this one does make me smile! This is on a modified A1 card base (3.5″ x 5″) on which I printed this sentiment using my Silhouette Software and the Raustila font. I rubbed the pomegranate onto a scrap of White card stock and die-cut it out with the included die. I used two Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies to make the dark red frame (3.25″ x 4.5″) – since the LFSRDies are sized to A2 cards I ultimately trimmed down my card base to 4.75″ tall. I added the die cut pomegranate with foam tape and we have a juicy congratulations card for any pomegranate lover…! That takes care of the second pomegranate rub-on….!

I simply could not help myself with this last card… I tell you, I could send this card to a lot of people I know!!!

This card gives me the giggles!! I hope I don’t offend anyone, but this tickles me to no end! Again we’re on a 3.5″ x 5″ plain White card base. I printed the sentiment on a scrap of White card stock using the Rockwell font, ink blended a little Sand ink under where I thought the pear rub-on would go – added the pear along with the cute little leaf, and then die-cut the image with a HA Square Infinity die (1.75″). I added a dark brown mat and mounted both to the card front with foam tape. This might seem a little brash, but it really is an encouragement card… STRONGLY encouraging!

And before you know it, that’s my 10 cards created with the My Monthly Hero September 2022 Kit! I truly enjoyed myself with this kit – MUCH more than I thought I would – the wide variety of contents kept feeding my imagination…

However… I didn’t actually use all the stamps in the stamp set this month (oops!) – I missed the pomegranate, pear, and poppy stamps… but why bother with stamping and coloring when you have such beautiful rub-on renditions? I did use all of the sentiment stamps, most of the card stock and even a little piece of the metallic floss! I am also pleased to say that I only have the one bouquet and the pampas grass rub-ons left – THAT was my big accomplishment this month!!

This is a nicely varied set of cards – most do have have a bountiful autumnal feel to them – and a couple puns never hurt!! I love that cling stamp, the rub-ons were fun to play with, and even that detailed bouquet provided me with a few hours of pleasure! Let me know which card(s) are your favorite!

This kit is still available at Hero Arts (guess I wasn’t the only one intimidated by that stamp!) If I’ve managed to capture your imagination or sparked an idea or two of your own, or even if you just want to play with some new rub-ons, I suggest grabbing a kit for yourself before they are all gone. When you do go shopping at Hero Arts, please use my links… it is always supremely appreciated and it truly helps support this page! Thank YOU!!

My Monthly Hero September 2022 Kit: http://shrsl.com/3pbd6

Hero Arts Complete September ’22 release: http://shrsl.com/3pbd7

Thank you so very much for sharing some time with me today… I am always encouraged, humbled and thankful for your attention! I had great fun this month and I hope you did too! Remember to Like me, List me, Pin me, Post me, Friend me, Follow me, Share me with all your crafting friends… remember… Don’t run with scissors! I wish you all a beautiful and bounteous autumn, and I’m sending you and yours Love and Light and Happy Crafting!

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10 Cards 1 Kit • My Monthly Hero • August 2022

Hello Folks! Scott here with my 10 cards created using the My Monthly Hero August 2022 Kit! “Adventure lies ahead” with this desert southwest themed kit that creates beautiful vistas and detailed landscapes with the kit’s layering stencils. A plethora of possibilities await.

Kit Includes • 3″ x 4″ Clear Stamp Set
• 4 Color Layering Stencils (5.25″ x 6.5″)
• 6 Coordinating Frame Cuts
• 4 Ink Cubes (Caramel, Sand, Tangerine, Pine)
• 5 Sheets Luxe White Watercolor Paper (5.5″ x 8.5″)
• Bronze PearlEx (0.11 oz.)

Once again… we have what feels like a pretty limited kit…! Thankfully there are frame cuts for the five cacti, so that does extend the usefulness of the layering stencil… but the stamp set is only sentiments… a great deal of sentiments…

I figured I’d start by putting these stencils and inks to the test. On a piece of the Watercolor Paper from the kit, I stenciled layer “a” with the Sand ink cube, layer “b” with the Caramel ink cube, layer “c” with the Pine (cacti) and Tangerine (sun) ink cubes, and layer “d” with the Caramel ink. Really nice Southwestern scene… the stencils line up easily and the vista is actually quite eye-catching.

Of course, the layering stencils leave the sky and the base of the two cactus swatches blank – in this case, white. I reached for my Pebbles Chalk palette to add some color to these un-inked areas – a little light green for the bottom cacti, light blue for the second row (water? oasis?) and light yellow for the sky. These chalks are nicely suited for providing a little background color behind stenciled (or stamped) images.

I stamped the sentiment using Hero Hues Root Beer Reactive ink and embossed that with some clear embossing powder. I die-cut the panel with the next-to-the-largest HA Rectangle Infinity die and glued that down to a White card base. Basically, a one-layer card! I think the wash of blue provides a good justification for this sentiment. Now, saguaro cactus (the ones with “arms”) only grow in the Sonoran desert, which is in southern Arizona, but this scene reminds me more of Monument Valley (Utah) than of Arizona.

Did I mention that I lived in Phoenix, Arizona for seven years after college (before I moved to NYC)?

In an effort to avoid patches of white sky and landscape, I thought we might get away with stenciling this scene on some very light blue card stock – in this instance I used Hero Hues Arctic card stock.

I used the same (included ) inks for this card, in the same order, and I like how the blue card stock darkens all the inks making for a little bit more of a dramatic presentation. Sentiment stamped and embossed the same as the first card, the panel is die-cut to size and glued to a White card base. That’s an easy way to avoid the white spaces..! I bet Kraft card stock would be an interesting background color..!

Of course this kit includes a die that cuts the sky away from the buttes, and you can stencil the sun and clouds on a different background, but I was interested in something a little more radical.. and ultimately very simple!

I used Embossing and Watermark ink through stencil layer “a” on some HA Pitch Black card stock, and covered all of that sticky ink with the Bronze PealEx powder. Remember, there is no binder in this powder so you do need to seal it with some hair spray or fixative to make it permanent. I die-cut the buttes before I sealed the powder, so I lost a little bronze-ing to my die-cutting plates (it washes off easily!) but I kind of like the texture that was left! (THEN I sealed it!)

I die-cut a background panel (4″ x 5.25″) and covered the top of that with some Altenew Galaxy Wide washi tape and glued that to a White card base. I trimmed the sides of the die-cut buttes (the die cuts it at 4 1/8″) to 4″ and attached it to the card front with thin foam tape around the edges of the buttes and liquid glue on the bottom. I embossed the sentiment on a scrap of Pitch Black card stock using Copper Rose (Love From Lizi) embossing powder and die-cut that with a Lawn Fawn Everyday Sentiment Banners die and attached that to the card front with more foam tape. Very striking and Very easy! I love the cactus silhouettes!

When we get a stencil (or die, or stamp) in a particular orientation (here, portrait) I always try to see if I can use it in the other (landscape) orientation. Some creative mask cutting was involved…!

I reached for my TH Distress Oxide inks for this card – Antique Linen (a); Frayed Burlap (b); Peeled Paint (c); and back to the Frayed Burlap for “d”. The stencil ends on the right under the “in” of the sentiment, so I laid a piece of masking on the right side of the card base, sketched in more buttes and washes (following the contours of the layering stencils) cut out the mask where I wanted to ink and continued our vista to the right. Then I placed another piece of masking over the newly inked portions, and sketched and cut the contours – again, imitating the contours of the stencil, and inked those details as well. When I removed the mask, we suddenly have a landscape view! But the seam where the plastic stencil meets the masking stencil is very apparent.

I can hide that seam with more cacti! I stenciled the two right cacti so the saguaro cactus covers the seam… had to lay on the ink pretty heavily, but I think it’s a terrific job of camouflage! I stenciled the sun with the Tangerine ink, added a larger circle mask over the top of that, and ink blended Splash Reactive ink on the top for some friendly blue skies. I removed the mask and lightly blended the Tangerine out for a bit of a corona! Pebbles Chalk palette returns to add some color to the leftover white washes (yellow and a brown), and I stamped and embossed the sentiment(s) with Root Beer Reactive ink and clear embossing powder. I added the birds (from the MMH April 2019 Venice kit) to camouflage a little heavy inking (Root Beer Reactive ink) – that actually adds a nice touch of LIFE to this landscape!

I really like that this orientation gets rid of most of the lowest (unadorned) portion of the stencil, and this landscape view certainly feels a lot more expansive…! Now THERE’s a vista!

Since we got LUXE watercolor paper in our kit I thought it was only appropriate that I try to make a watercolor card!

Since I’m not relying on the stencils, I can do just about anything! I die-cut a piece of the watercolor paper with the buttes die and realized that the top and bottom could work together for a multi-layer vista! And I didn’t have to include any cacti! I painted both of the die-cut layers with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers – shooting for a loose watercolor-y feel – that Luxe White Watercolor paper holds up well to a good deal of water! I cut a background panel to 4″ x 5.25″ and ink blended the sky with HA Creamsicle, Fruit Punch and Purple Galaxy Reactive inks and glued that down to a White card base.

I dug out the Adirondack chair stamp from the MMH June 2018 kit and stamped two of them with the Root Beer Reactive ink and added a touch of shadow under them with my markers. The sentiment is stamped and embossed exactly the same (Root Beer and Clear embossing powder). I attached both layers to the card front with thin foam tape along the edges and liquid glue along the bottoms. This is so completely different from the stenciling… and I like it a great deal… I think this actually feels like a watercolor painting and it certainly drives home the sentiment! This is a great way to expand on the design possibilities of this kit!

No cacti on that last card got me to thinking… what if I just outlined the stencils to make a “color by numbers” type image? Would I be able to excise the cacti by just not outlining that part of the stencils?

Sure…! Yet another way to use these stencils. I outlined the stencils using an .05 Pigma Micron pen and avoided all the (essentially) vertical lines of the cacti, connecting the contour lines where the cactus one stood. I like the look… it does look like a page from a coloring book! I grabbed my TomBow markers to color this image, but I have to admit that the bottom half of our vista got a little boring with no plant life…! So I decided to get rid of the lower half by limiting our view through a window!

I don’t have a specific window die, so I created this window opening using three HA Square Infinity dies. The window is 3.75″ square and the panes are 1.5″ square. I trimmed the colored background to fit behind the window and glued those to a White card base. I stamped the sentiment(s) using Intense Black ink and embossed them with clear embossing powder. At first glance you hardly notice the outlines, but I do think they give this card a fun coloring book or paint-by-numbers quality! And no cacti!

Having the fancy die for the buttes lends itself to a classic easel card! On Pitch Black card stock, I used Distress Oxide inks again in Antique Linen (layer a); HA Unicorn White (layer b); Bundled Sage (layer c) and Walnut Stain (layer d). I thought those colors worked great for a desaturated night time feel. I die-cut the buttes and trimmed a top folding card base to 4 1/8″ wide – matching the width of the die-cut. I stamped the sentiment using Unicorn White ink and embossed that with White detail embossing powder.

I added some Altenew Watercolor Nebula Wide Washi tape to the top two-thirds of the card base, and scored and folded the bottom of the front at 2 3/8″ to make the easel. I glued the buttes to the bottom of the card front. I stamped the inside sentiment using Intense Black ink and embossed that with clear embossing powder, trimmed it to size, added a second layer of card stock behind the sentiment, and glued that to the inside of the card in position to hold the easel up. I do my best to use all the stamps in a kit and this card brings my stamp total to 10 out of 13…! I think that’s pretty darn good!

All right… enough with the sentiments provided for us in this kit… I think it’s time for some PUNS!

This card makes me giggle! I stenciled a set of cacti using the Pine and Caramel inks included in the kit, and die cut them all with the included frame cuts. I also added a little sparkle with a gold gel pen tracing the contours. I started looking or an appropriate flower pot stamp in my stash when I realized that the planter shouldn’t have a black outline because the cacti don’t have a black outline. I ‘drew” this pot using my Zig markers and fussy-cut it out leaving a (matching the die cuts) white border. I arranged the three cacti in the pot and glued them all together.

I printed the sentiment on the card base using my Silhouette Software and the Brady Bunch Remastered font. I thought we needed a little more of a background to help reinforce the ‘valentine’ aspect, so I lightly stenciled a heart on the card front using Tattered Rose Distress Oxide ink. I don’t own a heart stencil, so I made my own using a HA Nesting Heart Infinity die and a scrap of white card stock. That adds some nice color to the background, and supports the theme as well! For a final touch, I die-cut a tiny bloom from Red card stock using the Dress My Craft Mini Daisy die set #2 and added that to the Hedgehog cactus (I think that’s right… though it could be a prickly pear…). A tiny drop of HA Pink lacquer pen for the center of the flower finishes this card with a nice touch of detail. These just might be the first set of cacti images (stamp or stencil) in my stash! Excellent!

There are lots of cactus puns out there… I was trying to come up with something you might not have heard before…

What a fun encouragement card! I stenciled the saguaro on the front of a White card base with the Pine and Caramel inks from the kit. Cacti 2 and 4 are reversed just by flipping the stencil over and bending through the back. I did have to make sure I cleaned the stencil every time I flipped it over, but I got a pretty clean image! I printed the sentiment with the Brady Bunch Remastered font, and created a little blue ribbon with two of the mini daisy die cuts, one circle punch and a couple of fussy cut tails. I’m not sure exactly what that center saguaro did to get that ribbon, but it must be something pretty special! Cactus makes perfect!

I do still have a die-cut saguaro cactus… and saguaros do have “arms”… I can’t resist this one!

This makes me laugh out loud! And it works on so many levels…! This is done exactly the same as the “prickle” card with the exception that the (terrific!) pun sentiment is printed using the Impress BT font. The protest sign is printed with the Abadi MT Condensed Ex Bold font (that”s a mouthful!). I colored the sign with my Zig markers and fussy-cut it out. I did extend the die-cuts on the cactus all the way down the arms just to even everything up. I die-cut the main panel with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die (2.75″ x 4″) and added a thin green mat behind that and glued them together down to a White card base.

I did throw in another little pun on the inside of the card… perfectly appropriate for this militant expression of solidarity! I glued the sign in the saguaro’s left “arm” and attached both to the card front with foam tape. I do love this pun (both of them) (all three of them!) and for some reason, this feels fairly topical to me these days…!

And before you know it, we’ve covered all my cards made with the My Monthly Hero August 2022 Kit. Lots of deserts this month, but I think we’ve got a nice variety of looks here! And I am happy to have some real cacti in my stash now!

I did manage to use almost all of the sentiments in the stamp set. I really like the Luxe Watercolor paper, and the new core ink cubes, and I even used that PearlEx powder almost all by itself! I’m thrilled I was able to use the stencils in a landscape mode, and I really like doubling up the buttes on the watercolor card. Much fun to be had this month!

This kit is still available at Hero Arts! If you’re hankering for a little western hospitality, looking for a drier climate, or just like a good cactus, grab a kit for yourself before they all sell out. If I’ve managed to inspire you, please use my links when you go shopping at Hero Arts. It is always gratefully appreciated and helps support this page! Thank You!!

My Monthly Hero August 2022 Kit: http://shrsl.com/3nweb

Hero Arts August Release: http://shrsl.com/3nwee

It is an honor and a pleasure to have you spend some time with me here today! Please remember to Like me, List me, Pin me, Post me, Friend me, Follow me, Share me with all your crafty friends (and enemies!) remember… Don’t run with scissors! I send Love and Light to you and yours, and, as always, Happy Crafting!

DISCLOSURE: This site contains some affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links (at no cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

10 Cards 1 Kit • My Monthly Hero • July 2022

Hello folks! Scott here with my next batch of cards featuring the My Monthly Hero July 2022 kit! We are treated to a Flamboyance of Flamingos this month with a beautiful HeroScape layering stamp set and coordinating inks in the new Core Ink line as well as dies and new embellishments. (a group of flamingos can be referred to as a “flamboyance”!)

KIT INCLUDES:

• 6″ x 8″ Clear Stamp Set 
• 7 Coordinating Frame Cuts
• 5 Ink Cubes (Cotton Candy, Peony, Azalea, Arctic, Paradise)
• Self-Adhesive Pink & Teal Gems
• Teal Hero Pearls (0.6 oz)

Whenever we get a kit that features only one main image, I get a little antsy about coming up with 10 different cards. Initially, I had some concerns, but figured I’d start by seeing how easily these stamps layer up!

I am so happy to report that these stamps line up very easily! I stamped the solid layer stamp on a Neena Solar White 80# card stock panel with Peony ink… these Core Inks smooth out beautifully as they dry… then the feather layer with the Cotton Candy ink and the leg layer with the Azalea ink, and finally the beaks and eyes with Intense Black ink. Absolutely Beautiful! I admit I was surprised at how great these flamingos come out! I stamped the solid water stripe with the Arctic Core ink, and the detail water strip with Paradise Core ink and added the two plant stamps in Paradise as well. I finished out by stamping the clouds in the sky using HA Contour ink.

Hmmmm… So… do I reach for the dies and cut these fellows out, or try to add a background behind them? Since I already stamped the water over their legs, it seemed logical to create a background for the whole panel. I ink blended HA Soft Sky ink around the top and sides of the card avoiding the flamingos, and ink blended Arctic Core ink around the bottom. I reached for my Pebbles Chalk set and lightly blended a couple of yellow chalks behind the flamingos. These chalks are light enough that they don’t really affect the stamping, so it’s quite a bit easier to fill-in some background colors.

I stamped the sentiment using Intense Black ink and embossed it with Clear embossing powder before trimming the panel down to 4 3/16″ x 5 7/16″. I glued the panel to a 4.25″ x 5.5″ White card base so we have a thin frame around the scene. I did look to see if flamingos had pink legs, and they do…! I really love this Flamboyance of Flamingos!

Okay… let’s work on the sentiments in this stamp set. I always try to use every stamp in a kit, and am often inspired by the sentiments… there’s really only 4 sentiments in this set so I thought that was a good place to start… and we do have one pun…so I thought I’d go for the pun first!

I do have one caveat! If you want to use the frame cut die to cut-out this flock, then you do have to be a little careful when you line up these stamps… the design of this layering stamp is very forgiving for stamping, but is completely unforgiving if you want to die-cut these fellows out…! I did readjust my initial layering to account for the die, and I think these guys are a little more accurate. I added little party hats to all the flamingos by just coloring little triangles with markers and cutting them out to glue them atop their heads. I wish I could have given them all martini glasses!

The background is blended Arctic and Paradise Core inks through a Stampendous Flourishes stencil cut to 3.74″ x 5″ and glued to a 4″ x 5.25″ black Glitter mat and then down to a White card base. I stamped the sentiment again with Intense black ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I die-cut three more blank flocks and glued them together with he stamped flock on top, and then down to the card base. I added small gems to the hats and some of the HA Pearls on the background.

The little hats add a nice touch of whimsy to this pun-y birthday card, and I like how the flock sticks out a little bit on both sides. If you know anyone with yard flamingos, then I think this “Bird day”card would be perfect for them.!

I noticed a couple of the HA designers and blog posters were adding reflections of the flamingos on their cards… easily done by stamping the legs on acetate and then flipping that over and pressing it to your paper… since it’s a reflection, you don’t have to worry about it being stamped perfectly… a great idea for any sort of reflection stamping!

Once I had figured out the perfect alignment of these stamps, I went ahead and stamped a few panels with the pink flamingos to have on hand… I did a couple with lighter pink legs, and I even started embossing the beaks and eyes with clear embossing powder. That adds a nice touch! I kept marveling at how wonderful this flock looked all by itself on a white panel, when I thought it might be interesting to add some reflections… no water, nothing in particular that is reflective… I stamped the legs on a sheet of acetate with the Cotton Candy ink (could have used the Peony ink) and flipped that over, lined it up and pressed the ink onto the panel. The illusion is complete!

Personally, I don’t call anyone “darling”, so I performed some stamp surgery to remove the “stand tall” from the “darling” and stamped and embossed the simpler sentiment on the card front. I trimmed that panel to 4″ x 5.25″, glued it to a thin black mat and down to a White card base. This is really fetching…! You know how much I like my white space! I do think that this fairly simple card is quite stunning… really focuses down on the intricacies of the stamp! Definitely one of my favorites!

One more sentiment to go… would it be possible to pull a single flamingo away from his flock…?

The flamingos on the far right and left of the flock appear to be in front of the other birds, so I fussy cut the far right bird away from the flock – I thought his bent leg added little more authenticity. The legs are pretty thin but not impossible to cut around. I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of white card stock using the Azalea ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder and then ink blended some Key Lime Fizz Reactive ink over the white card stock before fussy-cutting it out.

The background is a piece of plain Green card stock embossed with the new Spellbinders Leafy 3D embossing folder and some Lucky Clover Distress Oxide ink applied to the flat side of the embossing folder. Pink and Green are always perfect partners! I trimmed the background to 4″ x 5.25″, glued that to a thin pink mat and down to a green card base. I glued the flamingo leg to the sentiment and added them to the card from with foam tape. The green background makes this pink flamingo pop right off the card! This one tickles ME!

That covers the four sentiments in our stamp set… and most of the stamps… there are still two dragonfly stamps… a small school of fish and the small (and smaller group) of shrimp to use… hmmmmm…. are they too small to be featured?

This card is completely inspired by the “you’re one in a krillion” pun! After all… krill are basically just small shrimp…and they generally hang out in huge numbers…! Kind of putting a magnifying glass on a single critter here…! I stamped the little group of ‘krill’ all over a white card base using Peony and Contour inks, and die cut a shrimp hole in the center and stamped the big shrimp on the inside of the card to match the die-cut hole. I did add detail to the larger shrimp with a .05 Pigma Micron pen.

I printed the sentiment on the inside of the card base using my Silhouette Software and the Black Jack font. The big shrimp was still getting a little lost among all the little ones, so I added a glossy black circle die-cut over the shrimp die-cut on the front of the card. That really highlights the single shrimp when viewed from the front. A little Clear Stardust Glitter Gelly Roll pen adds a little sparkle to the hundreds of ‘krill’ on the front. It IS possible to make a card JUST using the shrimp stamps… I couldn’t resist using this perfectly appropriate pun for this fun encouragement card!

Then I started thinking about other colors besides pink, that we could stamp these flamingos in… hmmm…

Blue flamingos anyone..!? These guys are stamped with HA Reactive Early Dawn, Summer Sky, and Blue Reactive inks – and of course Intense Black ink for the beaks and eyes. Those three blues worked really well together! I added the two water stamps at their feet in Arctic and Paradise inks and then partially die-cut the flamingos so I could keep the water attached.

I printed this sentiment on the front of an Ivory card base using Silhouette Software and the Dream State font. I die-cut a yellow circle using a HA Circle Infinity die, glued that to the card front and glued the flamingos and water on top. A few of our Hero Arts Pearls highlight the sentiment, and, considering how much heat we’ve already had this year, “stay cool’ is a perfectly appropriate greeting for the dog days of summer! I really like these blue flamingos!

I have a number of Palette Ink pads from MMK kits from over the years… Could we use one of those for the flamingos?

I used the Rainbow Reactive Palette ink pad from the March 2021 kit for flamingo stamp layers two and three. I stamped the first solid layer with HA Contour ink. I did clear emboss the beaks and eyes as well. I doubled up the water stamps and added some fish and shrimp at the flamingos’ feet with Hickory Smoke Distress Oxide Ink. I grabbed my Pebbles chalks again for the background and added the clouds with Contour ink. I printed the sentiment on the panel using my Silhouette Software and the Black Jack font. I trimmed that panel to 4″ x 5.25″ and glued it to a 4.25″ x 5.5″ black mat and then to a white card base. A gem from the kit highlights the sentiment and the rainbow flamingos are delightful!

I have one more color combination that might be fun… inspired by the main sentiment in this kit..!

How about some fiery flamingos!? I stamped this flamboyance with Lemon Drop Reactive ink for the first solid layer, Creamscicle Reactive ink for the feather layer and Fruit Punch Reactive ink for the leg stamp. Cool! These colors work great! I stamped the water stamps at their feet, and stamped the sentiment below (the “BE” was surgically removed from the “BEAUT” sentiment stamp in the MMH April 2020 Australia kit) using the same inks and clear embossing. I masked off the water before ink blending Intense black ink over the sentiment. The embossing resists the ink perfectly and makes for a fiery sentiment! I fussy cut all of the flamingos using a craft knife, and trimmed the sides to 4″ wide. I cut a 4″ square of black glitter card stock and glued that to the back of the flamingos, and then down to a 4.25″ square top-folding card base. This flock is certainly FLAMAZING!

The small stamps in our set this month are tough to highlight because they’re simple silhouette stamps – no detail just a shape. I thought some fun embossing powder might be one way to get some mileage out of these dragonfly stamps.

On a piece of Hero Hues Arctic card stock, I stamped this flight of dragonflies using Embossing and Watermark ink and embossed them with WOW Cloud 9 embossing powder – quite sparkly! I filled in around them with some die-cut holographic stars and trimmed the panel to 2″ x 5.5″. This is one of my favorite (non-attributed) dragonfly quotes printed on the card front using the Dream State font. I glued the dragonfly panel to the card front and added some Silver Holographic peel-off stickers to the top and bottom edges. This is a nice mellow break from all the riotous colors of the flamingos so far, and a touching encouragement card!

This last card came about when I noticed how many extra flocks of colorful flamingos I had sitting on my desk!

A slimline card with LOTS of flamingos! I had a couple of pink flamingos stamped, die-cut and ready to go, and I had one flock of purple flamingos stamped with HA Reactive Thistle, Grape Slush, and Grape Juice inks. That’s another fun color combo! I glued the two pink flocks together, then fussy-cut the last flamingo from the purple flock and glued him over his matching pink flamingo in the center of the crowd. This one put a smile on my face!

This is a 3.5″ x 8.5″ slimline card, so I printed the sentiment using my Silhouette software and the Paprika font on a 7″ x 8.5″ white card base. I ran a strip of thin pink Washi tape from my stash along the bottom of the card front, and glued a 1/4″ strip of black glitter card stock over that. That gave me a place to anchor these flamingos which are simply glued to the card front. A pink gem highlights the sentiment for a final bit of sparkle. When you consider that flamingos do travel in flocks, and they generally ARE all pink (comes from eating mostly shrimp) it does seem courageous to flaunt your purple-ness in front of everyone else! Go ahead… dare to be different!

That’s my 10 cards using the My Monthly Hero July 2022 kit. Man… that’s a lot of flamingos! Call me a little obsessed but I got the biggest kick out of the simple ease and excellent results of these layering stamps. I think you can tell… eight of these cards are flamingos! Short of one “Bird day” card, most of these cards turned out to be encouragement oriented. I do think that was in line with the general theming they were going after… Of course, when you have a large group of identical critters, my mind does tend towards encouraging non-conformity!

I did manage to use every stamp in this set… except for the “darling” part.. and I really like the “krill” and dragonfly cards that highlight a couple of the minor stamps as well. I really like the new Core Inks… our cubes in this kit are nice and juicy! And it’s great to be able to play with some of the new Hero Pearls as well. Very pearlescent! I did have more fun with this kit that I initially thought I would… and I do have a few more ideas that I didn’t even get to…

This kit is still available at Hero Arts. If you like what you see and want your own flamboyance of flamingos in your stash, please use my links to grab a kit for yourself. My Monthly Hero kits are always a great value!

My Monthly Hero July 2022 Kit: http://shrsl.com/3m7r2

Hero Arts Monthly Release July 2022: http://shrsl.com/3m7r8

I did create a lot of my own sentiments with this kit. If you would like to get some of these sentiments for yourself, just send me a request at cardcutups@gmail.com and let me know what format you’d like the sentiments in – I can share them with you in a Silhouette file or a PDF file.

Thank you so very much for sharing your time with me here. I am always thrilled to hear from you! Let me know which card(s) is your favorite, and remember to Like me, List me, Pin me Post me, Follow me, Friend me, Share me will all your crafty friends… don’t run with scissors… and, as always, I wish you and yours Love and Light and Happy Crafting!

DISCLOSURE: This site contains some affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links (at no cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you!