Hero Studio June 2025

6.2.2025

Hooray! Summer is here! When I opened my kit, I immediately had a picture of the Hamptons on 4th of July weekend. I live in California and there is something so iconic and Americana about a “Hamptons Summer.” So, even though the kit came with a gorgeous colored cardstock palette, I opted for a red, white and blue theme for my kit projects.

June 2025 Card Kit of the Month

Kit Includes:
• Summer State of Mind 6×8 Clear Stamp Set
• Summer State of Mind Coordinating Dies
• Beach Bag Die set
• Sand Embossing Powder, 0.5oz
• 10 Sheets of Cardstock- 2 of each color, 5.5″ x 8.5″ (Fawn, Coral, Seaside, Waterfall,
Blue Spruce)

I was not sure what I wanted to do with this kit so I stamped out all the images, colored and die cut everything. While I am coloring, I start to envision ideas or themes. I used the Cling stamp of the month for the background panels. These were Periwinkle and Cranberry core ink on Lapis and Cherry cardstock.

I used the Photo frame infinity dies to create photo vignettes. For the blue card, I used the large photo frame. I used the insert of the frame and did some very light ink blending for a subtle background. I adhered the bicycle as the focal point and trimmed off the excess. I made the elements in the basket pop out of the photo by layering it on top of the frame. I stamped the sentiment and popped up the photo on the back round.

The red card is very similar but I added the Sand embossing powder as an extra element. Once all the coloring and die cutting was complete, these cards came together super fast. And I still have a bunch of elements ready to go for the next project.

Hero Studio Monthly Minis

For my next project, I used the Seashells stamp & cut of the month. My inspiration actually came from one of my student’s shirts! I used gold heat embossing on watercolor paper and then die cut those shells out. I did not use the solid stamps, only the layering/detail stamps. Then I used my liquid watercolors (bright pink, bright yellow, aqua, bright purple) to watercolor each shell. I started by just putting clean water on the shell. Then I dropped the tiniest bit of color and let the water do the magic. I tried to do two colors on each shell but some only have one color.

After they dried I die cut a large vellum heart from the infinity dies. I arranged the shells to fill as much of the heart as I could. I adhered the shells with Precision glue straight to the vellum. Then I used foam tape from behind each shell to pop up the heart. The background panel is Peony cardstock with Gold Hero Pearls watered down to splatter. The vellum heart was adhered to the background panel and I added the sentiment too. For the final detail, I added gold Hero Pearls to fil in some of that blank space where the shells did match up well.

June 2025 The Whole Studio
The Whole Studio included ALL 5 of the monthly subscriptions in one discounted buy.
Includes: Cling of the Month, Stamp & Cut of the Month, Layering Stencil of the Month,
Die Set of the Month, and the Card Kit of the Month.
BONUS: Receive a FREE Hiya Friend Stamp & Cut with the purchase of The
Whole Studio. (Not sold separately.)

I will be sharing another project using the fancy dies from the kit and this Bonus stamp and cut later this week! Be sure to follow me on Instagram to see that project.

Thank you so popping in today. This was a fun way to kick off the summer crafting season and perfect projects for summer birthday cards!

Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Friday, June 6th at 11:59pm PDT, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week. Leave a comment on all stops for more chances to win!
Hero Arts
Hero Arts Creative Team:
Michelle Short
Rachel Kleinman
Jeannie Lieu
Anna Mahtani
Natasha Polite
Seeka
Channin Pelletier
Rosie Lopez
Charlene Madrid
Jennifer Kotas
Mindy Eggen
Lisa Tilson
Michelle Lupton
Karen Brown
Special Guests:
Nichol Spohr
Jenn Shurkus

May 2025 Hero Studio

5.1.2025

Welcome to the May Hero Studio Blog Hop! This month is all about flowers. Classic floral images that are a stash builder. Use these for Mother’s day, birthday, Get well, sympathy, Congrats or weddings. You could use these products for pretty much any holiday or event. So here comes spring with a classic Hero Arts floral kit!

May 2025 Card Kit of the Month

Kit Includes:
• Vintage Blooms 6×8 Clear Stamp Set
• Vintage Blooms Die Set
• Flower Delivery Truck Die Set
• BoHo Bouquet Layering Stencils
• BoHo Bouquet Stencil Frame Cut
• 18 Sheets of Cardstock (2 of each color), 5.5″ x 8.5″ (Rainforest, Blue Spruce, Waterfall,
Seaside, Cascade, Mulberry, Dahlia, Carrot, Beeswax)

I used the layering floral stencil to blend a rainbow across the entire floral image. I used the same Reactive inks in Fruit Punch, Taffy, Lemon Drop, Key Lime Fizz, Splash, Thistle and Berry smoothie in every layer. If a layer didn’t pop as much as I liked, I went over the ink blending with a color next to it. These inks blend so smoothly it doesn’t take much work to get the detail lines to show up. The last stencil I used White Pearl Hero Paste. This paste picks up the color under it but gives a nice sheer pearl. After that was dry, I die cut the entire floral image with the coordinating die.

The can was stamped with Intensified Black ink and copic colored. I kept the can very neutral because the florals are so full of color. The sentiment is stamped with the same Reactive inks and then clear heat embossed.

For the background panel, I used the Cling of the Month stamp on Granite Hero Hue cardstock with Contour ink. This layering floral stencil could also be use alone without the dies as a focal point or even as clusters at the corners.

Hero Studio Monthly Minis
CD0525 May Stamp & Cut of the Month: Flowers Bloom
FD0525 May Die Set of the Month: Village Florist
LS0525 May Layering Stencils of the Month: Roses are Red
RB0525 May Cling of the Month: Floral Tiles

Cling stamps are always one of my favorite products for any release and this one does not disappoint. You can use it in so many ways. Today I used two similar ways. I did a traditional stamping with Hero Arts Reactive Inks and then for the second card I stepped it up just a bit by ink blending before stamping.

This first card is simply stamped with Fruit punch, Taffy, Creamsicle and Lemon Drop using my stamp positioner and then trimmed down. I used the same inks to blend the edges of the background panel. The sentiment is from the Whole Studio extra and stamped in Taffy ink. I matted that on Ultra Pink cardstock before popping it up and adhering to the panel.

The second card is very similar but I ink blended before stamping. I used Bermuda, Amethyst and Ultra pink to ink blend a panel. Then I used Hero Art Reactive Glitz inks in Egyptian Blue, African Violet and French Pink. The glitz inks stamped nicely and gave the background a little shimmer.

For the focal point I used an image and sentiment from the Clear Stamp & die of the month. I colored with copics and added a little glitter lacquer pen in the center of the daisies. Thank you for stopping by, I hope you get some inspiration for this month’s Hero Studio release. Be sure to hop to Seeka’s blog, she is next on the hop!

Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Tuesday, May 6 at 11:59pm PDT, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week. Leave a comment on all stops for more chances to win!

Hero Arts
Hero Arts Creative Team:
Anna Mahtani
Channin Pelletier
Charlene Madrid
Jeannie Lieu
Jennifer Kotas
Karen Brown
Lisa Tilson
Michelle Lupton
Michelle Short
Mindy Eggen
Natasha Polite
Natasha Vacca
Rachel Kleinman
Rosie Lopez
Seeka <——–NEXT ON THE HOP
Special Guests:
Rebecca Keppel
Nichol Spohr
Kelly Taylor

April Hero Studio

4.1.2025

I can’t be-leaf it’s April already! March seemed to fly by and spring is here. This month’s Hero Studio release is a plant-lovers dream. The theme this month is Tranquil Terrarium. Every product in this month’s release is so good.

April 2025 Card Kit of the Month: Terrarium

Kit Includes:
• 20 Terrarium Fancy Dies
• Terrarium Clear Stamp Set, 6″ x 8″
• 16 Terrarium Coordinating Dies
• Clear Hero Enamel Dots
• 3 Clear Card Panels, 4.25″ x 5.5″
• 9 Sheets of Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″ (Poppy, Peridot, Rainforest, Fern,
Alabaster, Fawn, Truffle, Fog, Anchor)

I created an easel card using the terrarium fancy dies in the kit. I have a few more cards later this week to share so be sure to visit my Instagram page to see more inspiration!

I die cut from Kiwi, Meadow, Pesto, Charcoal and Sand cardstocks and did some ink blending to add dimension. It was easy to arrange the elements in the terrarium and adhere them to the terrarium base. I die cut a piece of acetate with the arched terrarium die and adhered it at the bottom to the base of the terrarium. The top is not attached but stays up with the thickness of the acetate.

I decided to leave the back of the easel card simple with just a panel die cut with the woodgrain cover plate. Although this card looks really intricate, the die cutting and paper piecing didn’t take much time and really shines as the focal point.

Hero Studio Monthly Minis

CD0425 April Stamp & Cut of the Month: Color Layering Rainforest Leaves
FD0425 April Die Set of the Month: Hello Rainforest Leaves
LS0425 April Layering Stencils of the Month: Jungle Background
RB0425 April Cling of the Month: Raindrop Ripples

For my bonus card I used the new leaf fancy dies. I die cut the leaves and sentiment from Kiwi and Pine cardstock. I ink blended the edges of a Kiwi card panel and then adhered the leaves to the panel to create a background. I trimmed all the leaves that hung over the edge. On the two Pine leaves I used Olive Hero Wax to add some shimmer. I stacked the sentiment too.

The rest was just putting the pieces together and adding some clear enamel dots for embellishment. Thank you for hopping along and I look forward to seeing your projects using the April Hero Studio products!

Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, April 6 at 11:59pm PST, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week. Leave a comment on all stops for more chances to win!

Hero Arts
Hero Arts Creative Team:
Mindy Eggen
Anna Mahtani
Seeka
Channin Pelletier
Rosie Lopez
Charlene Madrid <——-NEXT ON THE HOP
Michelle Short
Rachel Kleinman
Jeannie Lieu
Natasha Vacca
Jennifer Kotas
Natasha Polite
Karen Brown
Lisa Tilson
Michelle Lupton
Special Guests:
Nichol Spohr
Kelly Taylor

March Hero Studio

3.1.2025

Welcome to the blog hop for March Hero Studio release! I was inspired by this month’s bow theme and made lots of cards in several different styles. I’ll start with the Card Kit of the Month. This subscription has my heart and I always find favorite elements but this month I created with each of the larger elements.

March 2025 Card Kit of the Month: Bows & Beyond

Kit Includes:
• Bows & Messages Clear Stamp Set, 6” x 8”
• Bow Tag Clear Stamp Set, 4″ x 6″
• 10 Bows & Messages Coordinating Dies
• 4 Bow Tag Coordinating Dies
• Ribbons Cover Plate Die
• Thin Stripes Stencil, 6″ x 6″
• 2 Bows Rub-On Transfer Sheets
• 6 Sheets of Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″ (Bellini, Tutu, Beeswax, Mint, Cascade, Orchid)
• Pastel Pearl Embellishments

This first card focused on the the cover plate die. I die cut it from an Iridescent glitter paper. I did some ink blending with Reactive inks along the outside edge of a card panel. I made sure that the ink blending was peeking through the window part of the cover plate die.

I stamped the sentiment in the center with Intensified Black ink. I used a bit of thin foam along the inside ‘ribbon’ before adhering the cover plate die to the background panel. Then I adhered the bow in the top left corner.

This next card was inspired by the color pop color palette. I see these bright colored checkers and bold patterns everywhere so I used similar colors as inspiration.

This card is very simple. I stamped the bows and used my Copics to color in the bows. I arranged them on a card panel an found a sentiment that fit in that small spot where a 6th bow could go. I trimmed that panel down and popped it up on a background panel. The background panel is Passion Flower cardstock and ink with the February Cling Stamp of the month.

Hero Studio Monthly Minis

CD0325 March Clear Set + Dies of the Month: Hat Box
FD0325 March Fancy Dies of the Month: Suitcase & Florals
LS0325 March Layering Stencils of the Month: It’s Your Day
RB0325 March Cling of the Month: Bows

I created two more card with the Cling stamp of the Month. I told you I created a bunch of projects, I couldn’t stop myself! These next two cards were started exactly the same. Black heat embossed on Hero Arts watercolor paper.

The card above I ink smooshed Hero Arts Glitz inks directly to the heat embossed paper. I tried to smoosh on each bow. I used Glitz inks in French Pink, Spanish Orange and Naples Yellow. Then I spritzed the paper with water and let the water do the work. The embossing pools the ink in places and blends it in other places. I let it air dry, added a thin black strip and sentiment on vellum.

The card below was colored with Tombow dual brush markers. The background panel is Pitch Black cardstock with the stencil from the Card Kit of the Month and Black Hero Wax.

Thank you for sticking with me through this very long post. I saved some cards to post later this month so make sure you are following me on Instagram.

Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Saturday, March 8 at 11:59pm PST, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week. Leave a comment on all stops for more chances to win!

Hero Arts
Hero Arts Creative Team:
Anna Mahtani
Channin Pelletier
Charlene Madrid
Jeannie Lieu
Jennifer Kotas
Lisa Tilson
Michelle Lupton
Michelle Short
Mindy Eggen
Natasha Polite
Natasha Vacca
Rachel Kleinman
Rosie Lopez
Seeka <——–Next Stop is my friend Seeka!
Special Guests:
Nichol Spohr
Rebecca Keppel

Hero Arts Spring 2025

2/20/2025

Hello Crafty friends! Spring has sprung at Hero Arts! There are 3 new spring collections I have created several projects with the Friendship Blooms collection. This collections consists of a stencil, a cover plate die and two floral fancy die sets. I have created several projects using this collection but I am sharing these fun tags today.

I created four clean and simple tags. These tags came together so fast. I used Peony, Azalea, Ultra Pink, Papaya, Kiwi and Meadow cardstock. I die cut the flowers from the pinks and the flower centers from pinks and Papaya. I even found a scrap of glitter paper and cut a few flower centers from that. This is perfect time to use up those scraps.

I die cut the tags using the Tag infinity dies and did some ink blending with coordinating inks on the edges. Then I layered the flowers together with Precision Glue.

Assembly was easy peasy once all the pieces were prepped. I glued the flowers down sticking in the leaves behind. The sentiment is from the Message Strips Stamp & Cut XL. It is one of my favorite and most used sets. I had to buy a second one because I used the heck out of the first one!

I added some embellishments with enamel dots, Glitter lacquer pen and coordinating ribbon.

Thank you for stopping by my blog. I’ll be sharing these cards on IG over the weekend so be sure to follow me there.