July Hero Studio Blog Hop - ROAD TRIP!

 It's time for a ROAD TRIP! The July 2025 Hero Studio release is perfect for your summer travel projects and I even think this will make a great scrapbook page layout. Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Saturday, July 5th at 11:59pm PT, 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! Make sure you log in or sign your name so your comment isn't anonymous!

I've already made five cards with the July Hero Studio kits but today I'll be sharing only two. The first card uses the Hero Scape stamp set from the July Card Kit of the Month.

The stamped image was paired on gorgeous Pesto cardstock (I thought it was a good cactus color!). My goal for the image was to look like Sedona to the best of my ability! How do you think I did? 

(my dad and I in Sedona a few months ago)

My second card today uses the July Cling of the Month called Cobblestone Courtyard.

I really love this kind of cling stamp that has a repetitive pattern that can be used for anything. For the background, I heat embossed the July Cling Stamp with Brass Embossing Powder on Nautical cardstock. I paired this card with the Whole Studio Bonus which is that fun car freshener pine tree.

I also stamped the July Cling in different green inks on Kiwi cardstock before die cutting the tree. I also heat embossed the sentiment in White.

Enjoy the rest of the hop! Leave your comment below for a chance to win a gift certificate to Hero Arts.

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

Rachel Kleinman *you are here*

Rosie Lopez

Seeka

Special Guests:

Nichol Spohr

Lea Lawson

Sheri Gilson

Petal Print Layered Stencil Card

 Layered stencils are great for creating a big impact card in as few minutes as possible. I recently snagged the Petal Prints stencils from C9 and I adore the card that came from it!

I'm also still playing with the Brickyard color challenge. For the leaves I inked up with Sea Glass and Rainforest.

The main flower petals were first inked with Grapefruit, and then a light blend of Sorbet on top. The center of the flowers were inked with Brickyard, and then some Glitter Paste on top.

The sentiment and card border uses Brickyard cardstock. The 'so grateful' die is from the More to Say die collection.

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Tweet Tweet - You Are Amazing

 Tweet Tweet! I saw this adorable little birdie set on the big Concord and 9th sale and I actually placed a separate order just for them. How could I have missed them the first time!?

The first step is using the Tweet Life stencils to ink up the bodies and wings of your little birdies. I ink blended in 5 main colors: Lemongrass, Brickyard, Sea Glass, Grapefruit, and Juniper. I used my mini C9 brushes for all of the blending. The small brushes helped to keep all the different colors separated.

The darling accents to the birds come from the Tweet Life stamp set, which I inked up in Black.

My color palette was inspired by the latest color challenge to use the new Brickyard color. I mostly followed a color combo that C9 calls "Storybook", however I swapped out the Grasshopper color for Juniper because I needed my greens to be a little more different from one another.

The sentiment is from the Mix and Match Everyday Sentiment stamp and die set, stamped in black ink. I used my Spellbinders Platinum Diecutting machine to cut out all the pieces. This set is really fun because you can mix and match all the words to create whatever sentiment you wish.

Have a happy Sunday!

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More Espresso, Less Depresso

 Whether you're a tea drinker or a coffee connoisseur, the latest What's Brewing collection will certainly have something for you! I created several cards with this collection many months ago, so I'm happy I can finally share them with you. The card I'm sharing today is my favorite from the collection...

The main element of the card is that fun espresso cup from the darling Stovetop Espresso Die Set. I die cut the cup from several beautiful cardstock colors, and then used any coordinating ink color to add a touch of blending to the edges of each cup.

The background was ink blended to appear coffee-stained, using the appropriately named Cup O Joe Ink. I also used that ink to stamp the fun coffee rings and splatters, from the new Bring Coffee stamp set. That stamp set also comes with a wide variety of fun sentiments that can easily be mixed-and-matched, like the one I used on this card.

More espresso, less depresso!

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Retro Kitchen Release

 There are two very very fun collections that just dropped from Hero Arts! Today I'm sharing a new card created using two stamp sets from the Retro Kitchen release. But I'm happy that you'll see a lot of my What's Brewing card samples throughout the promo artwork! 

If you're reading this before June 25, 2025, make sure to leave a comment on my mousey instagram post for chance to win a $50 Hero Arts gift card!

That little kitchen mouse stole my heart the instant I saw it. My card today uses the What's Cookin? stamp set and the On the Shelf stamp set.

I love that there is a little die that just cuts the mouse's arms "open" so you can pull the arms through the overalls to hold something. It's the little things that get us cardmakers excited! I colored all of the set's images with Copic markers and die cut using my Platinum 8 Machine.

The collection also comes with a fun layering stencil called Retro Rainbow. The set comes with 4 layers, but I only used two layers to put my background together. I inked layer 3 with Lemon Drop Reactive Ink and layer 4 with Splash Reactive Ink.

Thanks for stopping by! You can shop the entire June Release collections here! Some links are affiliates - thank you for supporting rwkrafts.

More Lemon Love

 There are a couple more lemon-inspired cards I want to share with you from The Weekender retreat by Spellbinders. The two cards today were from Jaycee Gaspar's class. I absolutely love the 3D embossing folder here and how he used the layering stencils.

The first card uses gorgeous rub ons that maaaay only have been available through the class. It is still a great source of inspiration! The statue and sentiment were also rub ons that were fussy cut. The stencil here was also likely a class exclusive, however, with the technique used (misting the inked stencil with water before placing on the paper) the stencil design itself isn't too important... but I did find something similar here. 

The second card just has the 'wow factor' with the beautiful 3D embossing folder. One side of the folder was inked with Blue Hawaii ink, add the Beeswax cardstock, then run it through the machine. I repeated this step 4 times to get the saturation of color how I liked it.

Thanks again for stopping by! Some links are affiliates at no charge to you. Thank you for your support.

Smile! You're on camera

 Smile! I have a fun polaroid camera card to share today from the June Hero Studio release.

I just know this little camera would take perfect beach snap shots! Most of this card uses the June Fancy Die of the month paired with a mix of beautiful Spellbinders Colorwheel Cardstock.

For the background I pulled out some Sand cardstock and stamped the Burlap Background Cling in matching Sand ink. The lovely 'smile' sentiment is from an older kit, February 2025.

Thanks for stopping by! Some links are affiliates at no charge to you. Thanks for your support!

Beach Bag Perfection

 What would you pack away in your ideal beach bag? I am fortunate enough to live less than a mile from the ocean. In the summer, our car trunk is the home to beach chairs, beach blankets, and a beach bag... because you never know when you need a beach trip! I've put together my ideal beach bag in this card...

Bread, wine (or champagne?!), flowers, and a visit from some friendly crabs... I don't need anything else!

This card was put together using the beautiful stand-alone die set that is part of the June 2025 Hero Studio Card Kit of the Month. I also used a large variety of new Spellbinders Colorwheel Cardstock to cut out the images. For many die cut pieces I shaded the edges with a similar, but just so slightly darker, ink color. The crabs were actually left over from my Father's Day card I shared over at the Hero Arts blog.

The bottom portion was stamped with the June 2025 Cling Stamp of the Month which is the stripes. There is a whale die cut included and, well.... I had to use it. So there it is :)

What would you put in your bag for a day at the beach?

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Lemons Lemons Everywhere!

 A couple weeks ago I participated in my first class from Spellbinders called The Weekender. It was such a fun day filled with cardmaking and beautiful card inspiration! The two cards I'm sharing today are from the amazing Cathy Zielske class which featured my faaavorite... LEMONS!

These card designs are from Cathy but I can't wait to use these dies to create my own designs. The lemon die is from Citrus Spritz Etched Dies and it's a smaller set so that means you know the price is right on this cutie.

And can I tell you how much you need this 3D embossing folder in your life?! It is just beyond gorgeous, and clearly the perfect match to the lemon die.

All of the beautiful cardstock is from the new Spellbinders Colorwheel Cardstock collection.

The second card has added yellow ink to one side of the embossing folder before running the paper/folder sandwich through my die cutting machine. This leaves a lovely impression for the background.

And lastly those sweet little banner sentiments were added. This is another smaller set with a perfectly friendly price point: La Dolce Vita Banners Etched Dies.

Thanks for stopping by! Some links are affiliates at no charge to you. I appreciate your support!

June Hero Studio Hop - Coastal Vibes

 Welcome back to another Hero Studio blog hop and giveaway! The studio kits this month are super beachy and perfectly summer. Be sure to leave comments along the hop for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Hero Arts! *Log in to comment or leave your name so your comment isn't anonymous*

Aren't you ready for a bike ride now?! The June Card Kit is packed with a large stamps set and coordinating dies, plus a stand alone die set perfect for a beachy outing. It is a gorgeous gorgeous summer kit!

I recreated my personal cruiser bike in teal, complete with a basket full of beautiful hydrangeas. There are so many different elements that you can build any type of beachy scene you can imagine!

My second card shows off the lovely June Layering Stencil of the Month - Hydrangeas. 

I absolutely love when hydrangeas have a mix of blue and purple in one plant... to me, they are the quintessential New England flower! My card is stenciled using the purple inks of Thistle and Grape Slush, then blending into the blues using Cornflower and Indigo for the center.

That bold sentiment actually comes from the Whole Studio Subscriber Bonus! I heat embossed the sentiment with Brass Embossing Powder (my fave) over Vellum, then die cut.

Everything in the June Hero Studio really mixes and matches together so well. If you were to ever subscribe to the Whole Studio - this is the one to do it!

Now it's time to hop! Remember to leave comments along the way for a chance to win a gift certificate to Hero Arts!

Hero Arts
Hero Arts Creative Team:
Michelle Short
Rachel Kleinman *You are here*
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

Some links are affiliates at no charge to you. Thank you for your support!

Case Closed - You're Awesome!

 There's a brand new collection being released today over at Hero Arts called Case Closed. The entire collection mixes and matches together so seamlessly! Be sure to join the Instagram hop to catch the Creative Team's amazing samples and leave comments for a chance to win a Hero Arts gift certificate!

How cute is this detective? I used the Miss Detective Stamp & Cut bundle for the main image. The stamp includes separate eye images so you can create your own face styles. I colored my detective girl with Copic markers. But I had some fun paper piecing her houndstooth jacket...

To create the jacket, I started with Arctic cardstock and used the new Houndstooth Layering Stencil blended with Mist Ink on the first layer and Cornflower Ink on the second layer. I then re-stamped the detective girl and fussy cut her jacket pieces. The background stamp is an older cling rubber stamp Rough Dot which I stamped with Naples Yellow Reactive Glitz Ink on Mustard cardstock.

Bonus card! I absolutely had to make a shaker card with the new Magnifying Glass Die Set. The set includes a couple different magnifying glasses so you can also leave the center closed. I die cut the magnifying glass from Charcoal cardstock and then the handle from Sand cardstock. I also heat embossed the Charcoal portion in Clear Embossing Powder to give it a metallic look.

The background was to create! I again used the new Houndstooth Layering Stencil and blended the first layer in Butter Bar Ink and the second layer in Soft Blossom Ink. I also found some old newspaper rub-ons to add to the background. These are from the Collage Backgrounds Transfers Set. Once the background was complete, it was cut with the Postage Stamps Infinity Dies - if you only ever purchase one infinity die, make it that one! The fun shaker beads from the Be Mine collection.

Thanks for stopping by and make sure to leave comments along the hop for a chance to win a gift certificate!

Some links are affiliates at no charge to you - thank you for your support!

Mother's Day Florals

 I'm pretty proud of myself that I actually got Mother's Day cards out in the mail this year! I was able to create a few extra cards really quickly with some beautiful matching floral plates.

The flower image is from an old Spellbinders Glimmer of the Month plate, called Card Front Floral. I love a single image that can take up the entire card! It makes my job so much easier. There is also a matching stencil set that was used to color the image, but unfortunately it may be sold out. The image is large enough that any coloring option will work here.

This card uses the Glimmer Hot Foil system for the outline of the flower with a dark gold foil. The flower is colored by ink blending Distress Ink colors Kitsch Flamingo with Squeezed Lemonade. The leaves use a blending combo of Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, and some Cracked Pistachio on the edges.

The sentiment is put together from a Spellbinders set called Colorful Expressions Sentiments, which I paired with Champagne foil cardstock from C9.

The blue flower was ink blended with Salvaged Patina and Dusty Concord. I also switched the foil to be silver on this card.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're able to get those Mother's Day cards sent in time.

Some links used are affiliates at no charge to you. Thank you for your support.