45 years! Can you believe it? Hero Arts is 45 years old. Seems a song is in order! (I have no clue what a “brimful of asha” is [hope it’s not a drug reference that I naively don’t understand], but the 45 part seems appropriate!) ;)
Welcome to the party! I love celebrating with you.
I have many favorite Hero products but decided to focus in on the Floral Mandala Bold Prints stamp. It offers much creative potential, which I enjoy. If you recall from a previous go ‘round with a Hero hop, I used it to create a mood journal. This time, I have a card in my sights.
My creative “process” (if we want to be so formal) sometimes feels a bit like a caterpillar doing its best to become a butterfly. Of course, I don’t always feel I reach the beauty of a butterfly, but it’s typically a metamorphosis either way.
In this case, I looked at my beloved stamp and had two shapes jump out at me—a jumbo pinwheel/flower, and a butterfly.
Sometimes a little ink can help direct the process, so I stamped one impression using the Poppy Layering Ink Cubes colors.
From there, I decided to go butterfly and began by outlining the shape with a pen. (Looking at all of the intersecting lines can get a little maddening for my eyes without the pen.)
With my butterflies trimmed, I was again left with a decision to make. I went into things thinking I’d place the colored butterfly against a black and white background of the same pattern. I thought it would look cool popping off the pattern…
However, once I tried it out IRL, I wasn’t as convinced. On to option two—the black and white butterfly on the b/w background.
Again, I was feeling ho-hum. Time to try option three—the colored ‘fly on white.
Hmmm… Better. I suppose the simplicity helped me a bit, but I did feel it left the card lacking some sort of something, so I reached for my patterned paper and gave my card a mat. Oh, and I sewed along the center of my butterfly so the wings would easily pop up without the butterfly detaching.
I also fussy cut a few flowers from the same pattern to fill in a little of the white space.
I’m a fan of the monochrome look (black and white), so I thought I’d also try that route.
What do you think? Color or black and white? Neither? Both?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t always add sentiments to cards like this right away. Sometimes I hold off on that portion until I have a purpose for sending, as this kind of card could work for a thank you, a hello, a birthday… many things. What kind of sentiment would you add?
Thanks for flying through this jumbled up process of mine with me. I hope something about the journey leaves you inspired or gives you an idea. And thanks so much for being a loyal Hero Arts supporter. It really is such a wonderful brand.
THE GIVEAWAY IN A NUTSHELL
It wouldn’t be a party without some fab favors. Check out this impressive prize list!
Hero Arts: 3 $145 Gift Certificates, 3 $45 Gift Certificates
Altenew: $50 Gift Certificate
Art Impressions: $25 Gift Certificate
Ellen Hutson LLC: $50 Gift Certificate
Gina K: $100 Gift Certificate
Jennifer McGuire Ink: $100 Hero Arts Gift Certificate, 5 Share Handmade Kindness goodie bags
Laurie Willison: 2 Card Hanger Dies
Lawn Fawn: $50 Gift Certificate
My Sweet Petunia: 1 Prize Bundle (Original MISTI, a set of Creative Corners, a Cut-Align, and a bar magnet)
Online Card Classes: 5 spots in the Stamp Happy In Good Company: Hero Arts class
Pink Fresh Studio: $45 Gift Certificate
Scrapbook & Cards Today: 3 copies of Scrapbook & Cards Today Summer 2019 Issue
Scrapbook.com: $50 Gift Certificate
Simon Says Stamp: $50 Gift Certificate
Winners will be drawn from people who leave comments along the blog hop over the three days - comment all three days for more chances to win! Comment by Sunday, June 2 at 11:59pm PST, and we’ll announce the winners on the Hero Arts blog the following week.
A BIG thanks to these spiffy sponsors!
ROCK ON, HOP ON
Hero Arts
Amy Tsuruta
Art Impressions
Cathy Zielske
Debby Hughes
Gina K Designs
Jenn Shurkus
Jennifer McGuire
Kristina Werner
Lawn Fawn
Lisa Stein
Megan Hoeppner (oh, hey, that’s me!)
Sandy Allnock
Simon Says Stamp
Tasnim Ahmed
Wanda Guess
Thanks for hopping by! I’ll leave you with one more song, because, well, we all NEED A HERO (ARTS)! <3