Magical Mysteries Tour + Giveaway

It's always funny to me to hear "fantasy" as a genre in books or movies.

I grew up on fantasy.

We didn't have a TV for most of my childhood, so my entertainment came in the form of - OMG BRACE YOURSELVES - real life, outside, in the woods, in parks, on the not even close to mean streets of the town I grew up in, and in the fantasy life of books and radio. The books were the best - JRR Tolkien, Lewis Carroll and EB White, with a LOT of Nancy Drew (my true crime obsession is in my DNA) thrown in for good measure.

Being without visual content is still my favorite - I prefer podcasts to TV or movies - I've actually never liked movies, or the movie experience. Sitting in the dark listening to strangers eat is something that makes me feel like an alien dropped onto an earth full of people who enjoy that odd experience. So I just don't go.

I think that is also why I like art. Because I can take all those things my vivid imagination practiced on in a very book and outdoor experience focused childhood and I can create them myself on cards exactly however I want - the more fanciful the better.

So all that to say, this month's Hero Arts kit REALLY speaks to me! Fanciful and sweet and super positive.

I'll start with images from the main kit. This stunning scenic edge die comes in the kit, so I cut that into the top section of a white card panel. I glued that down to a piece of watercolor paper that I painted with Payne's Grey Daniel Smith. Then I set that up in my MISTI (you can buy these at Hero Arts by the way) and arranged the knight and dragon images and the sentiment from the kit on the bottom portion and stamped them in Intense Black. I decided to give my dragon a little flair with rainbow wings. Do you see that cool purple card base? It's a holographic paper that's included in the kit. It was hard for me to cut into it because the urge to hoard it was strong. It's white on the other side, so it's ready to go for cards - and you get two card bases of it in the kit.

 So here's what the main kit contains - the 6x8 stamp set, 17 coordinating dies, 2 8.5 x 5.5 sheets of the purple cardstock, 2 8.5 x 5.5 sheets of parchment paper, which you'll see on a card below, the fancy castle die, 3 pots of glimmer ink, and those cool dragon scale sequins.

And the themed add-ons are amazing. If someone wanted to lure me into a panel van, all they'd have to do is wave a paper layering die in front of me - I cannot resist these. I almost always do the same thing with them - watercolor. They just are such a perfect match with watercolor paper - it really makes the dimension pop.

This gorgeous castle die is no exception. So detailed, and sized for a card front. I painted it with Daniel Smith Watercolor, and then stamped and die cut the sentiment from the main kit and mounted it all on a black card base. Would this not make excellent birthday party invitations for a little girl or boy?

I was thrilled to see these sort of vintage, classic images in this add-on set. First, I started with a dark grey card base, and I inked up the Trefoil Bold Print background stamp in Champagne Delicata ink and stamped that on the card base. It's beautifully sparkly. 

Next, I die cut the scroll with these dies from the parchment paper included in the kit, and stamped the crown and the sentiment on the scroll. Then I covered the crown up with masking paper and stamped the lion on top of it in Intense black. I colored in the crown with my Chrome Pen. Then I sponged the edges of the scroll. 

How nice of them to make a little Toothless to match my kitty, Maddie Bat! The dragons and unicorns in this set are ADORABLE. 

This is a sneak peek of my card for an upcoming Dare To Get Dirty Challenge (Hero Arts is one of our sponsors!). I cut the STUNNING Rose Bush Cover Die from white cardstock and put it on a white card base. I used the Circle Infinity Dies to cut a circle slightly larger than the dragon. Then I stamped little Toothless in Intense Black, and cut him out with the matching dies. The sentiment is from this stamp set. (PS I love that it has the sentiment "As you wish" in it, as a huge Princess Bride fan.)

The rose die is so beautiful colored that I couldn't bring myself to cover it up with a sentiment after I watercolored it! This will just be an all occasion card.

And finally - my favorite! I seriously love this card so much I might not mail it, which is not my custom at ALL. But I can't stop looking at this beautiful dragon!

It's another paper-layering die, so I cut it from watercolor paper. I painted it with Daniel Smith Watercolor, and popped up the dragon, and glued the frame to a black card base. Then I took a strip of this awesome ribbon adhesive and stuck that across the card front. I rubbed gold gilding flakes onto the adhesive for a shiny divider. Than I stamped the sentiment from this set in embossing ink and used gold embossing powder to match.

Thanks for going on this little mythical journey with me today - it was a super fun stamping session to create these for you.

If you want to get all the fantastic add-ons with your kit this month, here they are together, and you can buy the bundle for a discount. There's an awesome alphabet set and the flag infinity dies as well that I didn't get a chance to use.

As usual, you can win a kit by commenting on my post today, or a refund if you're a subscriber. Maybe you should leave Aaron, the owner of Hero Arts a birthday wish, as he recently had a birthday! Remember, the main kit is while supplies last, so get yours today if you want it! Here are all the supplies I used today.

August 2019 My Monthly Hero Kit [ HA ] Get them all - All August add-ons [ HA ] Cobblestone Bold Prints [ HA ] Trefoil Bold Prints [ HA ] Maze Bold Prints [ HA ] Dragons & Unicorns [ HA ] Dragons & Unicorns Frame Cuts [ HA ] Majestic Beasts [ HA ] Majestic Beasts Frame Cuts [ HA ] Build a Castle [ HA ] Build a Castle Frame Cuts [ HA ] As You Wish [ HA ] As You Wish Frame Cuts [ HA ] Fairytale Book Alphabet [ HA ] Paper Layering Dragon [ HA ] Medieval Flags Infinity Dies [ HA ] Paper Layering Castle [ HA ] Rose Bush Cover Plate [ HA ] Scrolls Infinity Dies [ HA ] Stained Glass Window Stencil [ HA ] Circle Infinity Dies (H) [ HA ] Molotow LIQUID CHROME 1MM Alcohol... [ SSS ] Sticky Lines • 1/4 in | Therm O Web... [ THR ] Nuvo - Gilding Flakes - Radiant Gold... [ TNC ] VC250 Versamark Watermark Ink Pad -... [ HA ] Tsukineko Delicata CHAMPAGNE Ink Pad... [ SSS ] AF345 Intense Black - Hero Arts [ HA ] PW100 Gold Embossing Powder - Hero Arts [ HA ] Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors [ BLIC ] Escoda Versatil Brushes, Travel Round... [ UTR | BLIC | INK ] Fabriano Extra White Cold Press... [ BLIC ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSP | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | ELH | CST | ART ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] Tombow MONO MULTI Liquid Glue Two... [ SSS | MFT ] LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for... [ BRG ] Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies [ ART ] Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473 [ SSS ] Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White [ GNK ] Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC [ ELH | SSS ] Crafter's Companion GEMINI... [ SSS ] Essentials by Ellen Storage... [ ELH ] Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets... [ CHC ] XL Stamp Storage Pockets [ ELH ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS ]

Here's some more Kit Inspiration for you today!

The Hero Arts Blog
Amy Kolling
Caly Person
Daniel West
Debi Adams
Ilina Crouse
Janette Kausen
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Julee Tilman
Libby Hickson
Lydia Fiedler
Mariana Grigsby
Michelle Short
Yana Smakula

Thanks for stopping by! Loveyameanitbye.