Always Space In My Heart + HUGE news!!!!

I'm quite literally freaking out over this month's My Monthly Hero Kit.

There are two things about this kit that I love - the kit, which this month is a $77 kit for $34.99, but also the ADD-ONs. The kit is while supplies last, but the add-ons live forever, and they are always amazing.

BUT HERE'S THE HUGE NEWS! ALL of the add-ons are available in one fell swoop this month - you can get 11% off by ordering them all together!! (There are a limited number of bundles - so hurry!) You know I'm the queen of the "buy it all button" so I'm so excited to be able to share this - you will find that discounted bundle here. You will be excited too when you see my cards, I think.

I actually really had a problem this month because I was supposed to be working on Dare to Get Dirty stuff and all I wanted to do was make cards with this month's stuff! DILEMMA!

So I'm going to show you cards from my INSANE marathon.  Also, if you want the kit, you need to jump on it since it's limited availability. The other items are not. But this kit will fly.

Even though I narrowly avoided failing out of physics in college, I LOVE SPACE. I love painting it, thinking about it, wondering what's out there. I love space movies and books. I love the X-Files. Space is my ocean. I'd explore space forever, and water gives me the heebies. Well except watercolor. Watercolor is my favorite. So this kit and add-ons speak to my wide-open-spaces loving heart like none before it.

So here we go. Card #1 OMG. The images from Dream Big (an add-on) are amazing (and it comes with matching dies here.) So fanciful and sweet. To make this card, I stamped the girl image on masking paper and just masked her hand before I added the planet balloon image. The whole thing is Daniel Smith Watercolor. I just did a strip of galaxy behind the image because I wanted to have the images be brightly colored and stand out from the white of the watercolor paper. I LOVE THIS CARD. This gorgeous set has matching dies, below. The paper behind the watercolor paper comes in the kit (linked below), along with some other gorgeous papers and shimmer sprays. It's beautiful, with silver glittery dots along with the white and grey dots. It has a mulberry texture. I added stars with an extra fine Posca White pen that my sweet friend Michelle Brownstein gave me at my last retreat. I LOVE this paint pen. It's flawless.

 You know how to improve on a card you love?

ADD CATS

WHO ARE ASTRONAUTS.

SERIOUSLY.

LOOK AT THIS.

I stamped the "It's Just a Phase" moon phase background stamp in black on white cardstock. (everything on this card is an add-on so it won't sell out).

Then I stamped the cat, mouse, moon and space debris images from To the Mewn and Back on marker paper and colored them with Copics. They have matching dies. I  added them on top of the vellum panel, with an infinity cloud die for the sentiment. I mounted all that on a Soft Sky card base. I LOVE THIS CARD. (I know - repetitive)

What's cool about this month's release is they've added a new cloud infinity die. So the one I used on my card is the existing one - the new one is beautiful - it's listed below the card. The vellum with the little sparkles in it is from a past kit - but I've linked one that looks identical below. MEOW.

 Since you now know I'm an X-Files fan, this next card should make a lot of sense.

I used another add-on - Astronomical - for my astronaut and sentiments.  This set also comes with matching dies.

What's funny about this card is that it's from the reject pile. I had the top galaxy experiment that had a hard edge at the bottom and I was ready to toss it. Then I noticed that the hard line at the bottom, if it became the horizon line, it looked sort of desert-y. So I added some of my favorite watercolor - Hematite Burnt Scarlet + Quinacridone Sienna to make it look like Mars and all of the sudden it started to make sense. Added my astronaut and had a fun little scene! I LOVE THIS CARD. (See a pattern?) I colored the Astronaut with Copics for a little mixed media diversion.

And here's the one that started it all.

I have a BIG birthday this month, and I'm a Virgo. So when I saw the Zodiac Birthday set I had an idea for a Virgo birthday card. The set includes all the zodiac signs, so I thought I'd put all of them together EXCEPT Virgo and make a scene where the rest of them were saying happy birthday to her :). You know - from her best buds. 

I used a variety of stamp sets to make this happen, and I'm sort of tickled with how I built that greeting from Holiday Messages & Tags, Daisy & Bugs and Mer-mazing Messages. The sentiments are from the sets linked below, thanks to some fun combinations and a little stamp surgery. 

And finally - a beautiful CAS scene from the kit. Now the kit is while supplies last, so do NOT blame me if you don't get one - here's your chance!

For this card, I used the stencil that comes with the kit, with Clarity Stencil Brushes and Soft Granite Ink, as well as the dies to create this sweet scene.  The stencil in this kit is so beautiful - I could see it for baby cards, wedding cards and general cards - it's just timeless. For the little girl die cut, I just lightly brushed white ink on the left side of the cut to make her look like she was lit up by the moon and the stars and the light was falling on her. This is one of my fave techniques with non-stamped die cuts. I cut the stars with the dies in the kit from glimmer paper. 

I'm hopping with my TALENTED buddies today for this awesome release, so please visit them and comment for your chance to win this kit (or be reimbursed if you already bought it) - by commenting on each blog post. The giveaway closes on August 13th at 11.59 PM PT.

The Hero Arts Blog

Jennifer McGuire

Nichol Spohr

Wanda Guess

Ilina Crouse

May Park

Yana Smakula

Lydia Fiedler

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Amy Tsuruta

Michelle Short

Libby Hickson

Remember, you can enter my August giveaway of an Arkon Pro Live Streaming Stand - the one I film all my tutorials with PLUS a ring light for the perfect lighting awesome selfies and live streams one of two ways:

• Place an order in my store any time during the month of August for an automatic entry. BONUS - use host code 4BY7YKR7 on your order to be entered in a drawing for free Stampin' Up! products as well! 
• Comment on the post link right here (read the instructions there) and you'll be automatically entered. If you place an order in my store AND comment on that post, you'll receive two entries!

And remember - you can always use my code - UNDERSTANDBLUE - at Arkon for 20% off. They sell all sorts of mounts - hands-free phone mounts for the car, GoPro mounts, tripods, you name it. and they are GREAT people and provide great service.

LoveyatotheMEWNandbackmeanitbye.