Mail Art Perfect For The Time + Giveaway

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Happy Monday peeps!! I have lots of happy mail quarantined in my garage right now that I can't wait to open. I love how many people are sending cards right now - it's a lifeline to the outside world. I am sending about 10X the mail I normally do as well - let's keep that all-important post office alive.

I was thrilled to see a mail themed release from Hero this month with their kit and add-ons. Wait until you see how cute this all is!

First up, this insanely awesome mailbox die! I squealed. The little door is slotted so that the tiny envelopes that come in the set of dies can be sticking out, but I wanted you to see the mail slot in all its glory, so I set the envelope down at the bottom. The sentiment is from the main kit - and the background? Well that was made with one of the metallic Karin markers that come in this kit - SHAZAM! You know how much I love Karin markers and I do not have the metallic yet, so this was a great addition. I'll show you how I made the background in the video below - it's a trick that works with all of these amazing markers, and you can find a coupon code for the markers here at the end of this post. I cut the mailbox from watercolor paper and colored it with just one shade of Daniel Smith blue - Phthalo Blue Red Shade. The black paper is this black watercolor paper, which is awesome with metallics.

Here's what you get in this month's kit. So adorable.

And here's what I made with it! The images in the kit are PERFECT for stickers. Get some label paper and get those bored kids to work making stickers and seals for your envelopes. Both of my kit projects are actually envelopes as you'll see in the video. First, I stamped the plane image from the kit onto a white envelope. Then I stamped it and the banner onto label paper and colored them with copics. The background is made with the new sun stencil + mask set. I used the circle mask to block off the address area, then stuck the stickers on top of the stamped image. You'll see all this in the video.

Next up - I used the rainbow image from the kit as my address block - stamping and coloring it with Copics and then cutting out a mask, and masking that while I created the background by using these Cloudy Sky scene dies to cut two Duralar matte stencils, and then used those with Summer Sky Ink and Life Changing Blender Brushes to make a partly stormy sky. I die cut and colored a little sticker from the kit to seal the envelope with. (The kit comes with five white A7 envelopes)

This crisis has been very hard on Hero Arts and other stamp companies as only the owners are allowed to go in and do all the work of shipping and a million other things. They are working long, hard stressful weeks alone. If you wouldn't mind using the address below to send Aaron and his wife Laura a note of encouragement, I'd really appreciate it. And if you have two cards, I have another mail project for you below.

Ready for the video? After you watch, come back and I have more happy mail projects for you!

My Monthly Hero Kit May 2020 [ HA ] Get them All May Add ons [ HA ] Cloudy Sky Scene Dies [ HA ] Sun Background Stencil [ HA ] US Mailbox Fancy Die [ HA ] One Thing at a Time Stamp & Cut [ HA ] Paper Layering Window Shutters [ HA ] Airplane Fancy Die [ HA ] Heart Tree Stamp & Cut [ HA ] May Word Fancy Die [ HA ] Karin Brushmarker Pro Mega Box 60... [ MRK ] Legion Stonehenge Aqua Black... [ BLIC ] Phthalo Blue Red Shade [ BLIC ] AF338 Summer Sky Bold Ink - Hero Arts [ HA ] AF207 Butter Bar Mid-Tone Shadow Ink... [ HA ] AF345 Intense Black - Hero Arts [ HA ] Grafix Dura-Lar Matte | BLICK Art... [ BLIC ] Fabriano Extra White Cold Press... [ BLIC ] Avery 6465 Removable Multipurpose... [ AMZUS ] Life Changing Blender Brush: 2-Pack [ PFS ] Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473 [ SSS ] Escoda Versatil Brushes, Travel Round... [ UTR | BLIC | INK ] Nesting Porcelain Bowls - BLICK art... [ BLIC ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSP | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ] 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 ]

Want to lift the spirits of some healthcare workers? A nice person on my blog - thank you Kathy! -  shared this effort with me so I'm sharing it with you here. This outreach is part of the work being done here.

Here are the names of five of them - there's info on how to reach others below.

Anne
Gloria
Nicole
Adam
Danielle

Here is the address information for the envelope/postcard:

[First name as listed above]
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital
4th Floor - C4 Cardiac Intensive Care Unit
1975 4th Street
San Francisco, CA 94158

Directions for letter writing/sending:

• Wash hands before writing
• If using a card/letter + envelope (vs. a postcard), wrap the letter inside a plastic baggie if possible and place it in the envelope. Seal the envelope with water + towel instead of saliva.
• When adding a stamp (for a postcard or envelope), either use a sticky stamp or wet the stamp with a moist towel. Do not lick the stamp.
• Return address: This is up to you; some people have wanted to include, others have preferred not to. We respect whatever decision you choose!
• Take a photo of you writing the letter if you're comfortable doing so, email us a photo so we can share it on social and encourage more people to write letters.
• Please email us to confirm when your letters have been sent so we can check those names off the list. 

If you know of others that would like to write letters, please email them here and they will provide you with other names! If you know of other health workers that might like to receive thank you notes, please email those names or connect us with the appropriate person.

Imagine how much a little mail art would mean to them right now!

The rest of the release is also mail themed - here are the other products - and you can get the kit here and all the addons at a discount here. I love the month dies series.

As usual, Hero will be giving away a $50 gift card to one lucky commenter - so leave me a comment with who you sent your last card to! 

Then find more inspiration at these blogs!

Hero Arts

Amy Kolling

Channin Pelletier

Daniel West

Debi Adams

Heather Nichols

Ilina Crouse

Janette Kausen

Jennifer McGuire

Jen Shults

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Jill Hawkins

Julee Tilman

Laurie Willison

Libby Hickson

Lori Craig

Lydia Fiedler

Michelle Short

Nichol Spohr

My coupon code and the link for the rest of the Karin Markers is below.

Loveyameanitbye.

CURRENT COUPON CODES
15% off anything at Marker Universe or any of their other sites - Understandblue15.
10% off the whole store at A Colorful Life Designs - LydiaFan10 Arkon stand link below!