Day 3 - Hero Arts 2013 Catalog Blog Hop with the Hero Hostesses

Hello everyone!  It's Day 3 of the Hero Hostess Blog Hop, featuring fabulous stamps from the new 2013 Hero Arts Catalog release!  I'm so excited to be hopping this week with 27 very talented ladies, all past Hero Hostesses.  If you're following today's hop, you should have arrived here from the amazing Marcy's blog.  If you didn't, and want to start from the beginning of Day 3, go here.   If you missed the previous days, start at the Hero Club Blog - Day 1 here and Day 2 here. 

To report any broken links along the hop, contact Tami at blog@heroarts.com.

Hero Arts will be awarding prizes - that's right - PRIZES!!! - from randomly drawn comments. For a chance to win, simply comment on ANY of the stops along the hop on ANY day, including each day’s starting post at the Hero Club Blog. The more comments you leave, the better your chance of winning!  For Hero Arts prizes, be sure to comment by 11:59pm PST on Monday, January 21, 2013.  They will announce the winner at the Hero Club Blog later that week.

For a stamping artist, there's nothing better than a new catalog of stamps!  And Hero Arts has produced another winner in their 2013 Catalog.  I was lucky enough to get a lot of products from this catalog, both locally and from Hero Arts.  I haven't even made a dent in my new stash with the 3 cards I'm sharing today!  Up first, a card for my niece's 12th birthday.  I had such fun with the clear set CL677 Fantastic Birthday!  If you count the scoops on the ice cream cone, you'll find one for each year of precious Annika's life.

Supplies:  Hero Arts - PS603 Celadon Layering Paper, CG516 Number Pattern, CL 677 Fantastic Birthday, AF221 Neon Green Ink, AF218 Neon Pink Ink, AF220 Neon Yellow Ink, AF 231 Neon Blue Ink, gems; Other - various papers, Martha Stewart punch

Because it's a long card (to fit a #10 envelope), I had to stamp the background twice.  Some people would use a stamp positioner but not me - I just put my finger where I thought I should go & it worked fine.  I always lay my clings face up on the counter, ink them up well, and put my paper to them.  Works the best for me - I can press my fingers over the paper for a crisp impression every time.  I did lots of paper piecing to make the cone. Some of the scoops were stamped onto white paper that I covered first (ink pad-to-paper) with Hero Arts Neon Ink - love this ink in every shade!!  I stamped other scoops on papers from Authentique's Lovely 6x6 paper pad.

This next card was inspired by the oh-so-creative Lisa Spangler.  She used the wonderful CG527 Map of America on her stop in the 2013 Hero Arts Catalog Blog Hop back in December.  When I saw her cards, that stamp went right on my wish list!  Can you tell I was thinking of those Indiana Jones movies where they showed that old airplane flying over the maps?  X marks the spot!  I stamped the sentiment on a torn chunk of paper stamped with another new cling CG526 Large Notebook Paper.  The sentiment came from CL574 Say it All which is one of my go-to sets; I love the font on those sentiments!!  The airplane and compass are from a fabulous Art of the Card set, AC007 Past Times.  I just love this set for making masculine cards!  I used PS608 Latte Layering Paper for the card base - what a yummy color; it's one of my faves.  I stamped the map onto a piece of Basic Grey patterned paper from the Serenade 6x6 paper pad.

I'm sure to make cards galore with all my new supplies, but I have just one more card to share today.  This one's a thank you card using the new CL673 Love Jar clear set.  I love everything about this set, especially the jar.  But I've already seen several amazing cards using the jar, including by Nichol Magouirk here and Sandy Allnock here.  So what to do??  I decided to use the flower and stems to make a bunch of flowers.  The sentiment from CL663 Thanks a Bunch worked perfectly with my bouquet.  I inked the flowers with Distress Markers for a soft look (no water used) and stamped them on Hero Arts PS610 Snow Layering paper.  I left a bit of a white border so they wouldn't be so flimsy and tied them with a bit of purple raffia.  The scalloped card base is by Bazzill - I have bunches of these in many colors - love them!!

Hope you enjoyed this stop on the Hero Hostess Blog Hop!   Next, head over to the fabulous Arlene's blog where you're sure to find even more inspiration!

But before you go, remember to leave me a comment for the chance to win a fabulous prize from Hero Arts (see their deadline above)!  In addition, if you tell me in your comment which is your favorite Clear Set from the Hero Arts 2013 Catalog, you'll be entered in a separate random drawing for a chance to win that set (plus some other goodies) from me.   Deadline to enter my drawing is midnight PST Friday 1/18/13 and I'll publish the winner in a post on Saturday.  Good luck and thanks for hopping with us!