Stamp Everything Backwards and Amuse Everyone + Hero Arts Giveaway

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I am not a person who reads instructions. You know this about me.

This is true in every part of my life - stamping is no exception.

I don't watch many videos or tutorials, because I don't want to be influenced by someone else's design style. I will seek out a video if I'm trying to learn something technical, but I really try to shield myself when I'm creating.

So what that means is I do a LOT of things wrong!

And you know what - sometimes that means I can create something other than what the artist intended.

So I have committed two offenses against the artist behind the first stamp set I'm using today, both of which amused us, one of which was an accident, and they both turned out to be cool in the end!

First - when I looked at this stunning layering lavender set, even though I knew it was supposed to be lavender, my prairie loving bird brain saw a field of wheat. So I ventured out on my own and tried what was in my head and I LOVE it as wheat!!! I used my Life Changing Blender Brushes to make a beautiful blue sky with Indigo and Ocean inks, and then I positioned what in my head was an empty barn from the same set on the right, letting the light shine through onto the field with the help of a white gel pen. The inks I used for the wheat are: Soft Vanilla, Cup o Joe, Pumpkin Pie and Soft Brown. I created the barn shadow with a warm grey Copic.

I thought the whole thing had an Andrew Wyeth look. Maybe that was the little arty angel sitting on my shoulder.

Now when I went to Creativation, I helped Libby with an event before the show and she asked me to use that same set with their new Hero Hues pigment inks, and I had an idea to layer the Amethyst ink with Unicorn ink to lighten it up and get multiple shades from one ink pad. Now keep in mind, when we are working on catalog products for the show we usually get a prototype set, often without the index sheet with the printed images and haven't seen any samples yet, so remember that when I tell you what I did and give me some grace.

Sorry for the terrible cell phone pic, but this is what I texted her:

We both loved the layering of the inks with white to change their color, BUT we later learned I had done the image backwards - put the purple where the green should be, and the green where the purple should be!! We got a good cackle out of that, and so did the designer!

But at the end of the day - it looks great both ways - one field just has more lavender than the other! The lesson is, of the new layering scenes, this is an incredibly versatile one! Inks used here: Emerald, Amethyst, Unicorn, Tiger's Eye.

The others are just as lovely, and I think the sentiments are incredibly well matched! I LOVE the name for this series of stamp sets - HeroScapes.

This is the tulip set, and it's so timeless - I think it could pass for poppies as well - but it contains a beautiful Dutch windmill image too. I used this beautiful little Congrats word stamp and die (it comes with a Happy stamp and die too), and the sentiment is from the same set. Inks used here: Red Royal, Lime, Forever Green, Moonstone.

Now I think I've told you this before, but my great grandmother lived for a time on a relative's farm in North Dakota, with a ginormous sunflower crop. She was a fantastic needle worker, and she would embroider pillowcases, etc. like a lot of women did then, but I remember one fantastic piece of embroidery she did in sort of a Van Gogh style, of the sunflower fields with the crows rising up off them. I'm not sure where this piece is now - I'd love to see it again.

Anyway, that is what this beautiful layering sunflower scene brought to mind, so I recreated what I remember. Inks used here: Tangerine, Lemon, Lime, Forever Green, Moonstone.

These are all so much fun to use and such a fun new style for Hero Arts. They were definitely creating a buzz at the show! Extremely easy to align, and though extremely colorful and detailed, they are also naturally suited to clean & simple cards - my favorite.

You know what else created a buzz at the show? The new black, Hero Arts branded MISTI! It's SO cool and sharp looking and people were freaking out about how great the black looks. It comes in all three sizes. It will show out of stock on the site, but you can sign up to be notified - it should be in around March 15th. Here's a sneak peek!

I have all the ink colors I used today listed again below, including the new Hero Hues - I listed the full line of colors, and if you want to grab their latest catalog - you might see some familiar cards in there - you can do so here.

And the rest of the new releases revealed at the show can be found here!

PS020 Spring 2020 - Hero Arts [ HA ] Lavender Field HeroScape [ HA ] Sunflower Field HeroScape [ HA ] Tulip Field HeroScape [ HA ] Congrats Happy Stamp & Cut [ HA ] Hero Hues Citrine [ HA ] Hero Hues Amethyst [ HA ] Hero Hues Sapphire [ HA ] Hero Hues Emerald [ HA ] Hero Hues Aquamarine [ HA ] Hero Hues Tiger's Eye [ HA ] Hero Hues Ruby [ HA ] Hero Hues Moonstone [ HA ] AF261 Lemon Yellow Mid-Tone Shadow... [ HA ] AF333 Tangerine Bold Ink - Hero Arts [ HA ] AF262 Lime Green Mid-Tone Shadow Ink... [ HA ] AF229 Forever Green Mid-Tone Shadow... [ HA ] AF249 Unicorn Pigment Ink Pad - Hero... [ HA ] AF345 Intense Black - Hero Arts [ HA ] AF214 Cup O' Joe Mid-Tone Shadow Ink... [ HA ] AF170 Soft Brown Shadow Ink - Hero Arts [ HA ] AF341 Indigo Bold Ink - Hero Arts [ HA ] AF216 Ocean Dye Ink - Hero Arts [ HA ] AF275 Soft Vanilla Shadow Ink - Hero... [ HA ] AF255 Pumpkin Pie Mid-Tone Shadow Ink... [ HA ] AF225 Red Royal Mid-Tone Shadow Ink -... [ HA ] MISTI - Hero Black [ HA ] Sakura CLASSIC WHITE Fine Line 05... [ SSS ] Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473 [ SSS ] Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White [ GNK ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for... [ BRG ] Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC [ ELH | SSS ] Crafter's Companion GEMINI... [ SSS ] Scor-Pal MINI SCOR-BUDDY Scoring... [ SSS ] Essentials by Ellen Storage... [ ELH ] Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets... [ CHC ] XL Stamp Storage Pockets [ ELH ] Mermaid tidy towel case and glue... [ ETS ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | CST ] Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies [ ART ] Hero Arts Blog [ HA ] Life Changing Blender Brush: 2-Pack –... [ PFS ]

And as usual, there's more inspiration for you from the Hero team & guests below - and leave me a comment for your chance to win one of three $50 shopping sprees! The winners will be announced on the Hero Arts blog - leave your comment by February 19th.

Hero Arts Blog

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Channin Pelletier

Debi Adams

Michelle Short

Caly Person

Emily Midgett

Janette Kausen

Ilina Crouse

Yana Smakula

Daniel West

Lydia Fiedler

Wanda Guess

Seeka

Laurie Willison

Amy Kolling

Erica A-B

Nichol Spohr

Jennifer McGuire

Libby Hickson

Loveyameanitbye.