March My Monthly Hero Release Hop + Giveaway

Hi friends! The first Monday of the month is definitely my most favorite Monday! That means it's time to kick-off another FABULOUS My Monthly Hero release. The March kit is a gorgeous kit themed around Japanese Cherry blossoms and Asian elegance. A fabulous collection of add-ons complements this release beautifully,  so be sure to check them all out in the shop!

If you've been hopping along, you should have arrived from the one and only Lydia Fiedler's blog. Your next hop stop after this will be Mariana Grigsby's blog. The entire hop list can be found later in this post.

GIVEAWAY:
Hero Arts is generously giving away a fabulous prize for a lucky commenter along the hop.  Leave a little love in the comments section for all these amazing artists and if your name is drawn you'll receive a $50 gift card to Hero Arts! Enter by Sunday, March 8th at 11:59pm pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

I may have squealed just a little bit when I saw this month's release. One of the first things I fell in love with when I started stamping was anything Japanese. I was completely obsessed and anyone who knew me in the early days got a card with cherry blossoms or paper lanterns or Kanji somewhere on it!  I just love the elegance and simple beauty of these images and couldn't wait to get inky with this glorious kit.

In addtion to a bunch of cards, I also have a couple of videos for you today, filmed as I created my first two cards with the kit. Watch along as I blunder through this card on the video below, or view it on YouTube.

All images are from this month's kit, and I had a fun time playing with inks and using the coordinating dies to create my scene.

After stumbling through the first card, I decided to give it another go, as I discovered that the grass was actually grass and not a swamp or pond. 😂 This time I opted for a one layer card, using the dies to create masks with sticker paper. You can watch this one in the making below or on YouTube.

I used a host of reactive ink colors on this one. Love the white embossing against that aqua sky! Still unsure if those little stamps are lilypads or stepping stones or grassy sprigs, but I do like the little pop of color down below.

My next card started with me just testing out the colors for blossoms on a panel of white cardstock.  I liked how it looked stamped off the edge, so decided to frame the entire card panel with the treetops in cotton candy and ultra pink.  I already had an extra tree finished that I didn't use on my first card, so I used it here, adhering with foam tape.

The three little flowers are cut from peony cardstock with the gorgeous Cherry Blossom Fancy Dies, then layered together and accented with a bit of crystal clear lacquer and some glitter.  I stamped a sentiment from the kit among the treetops and then splattered on some black ink.  I finished off with a black mat and a seambinding bow.

Since I had the fabulous Cherry Blossom Fancy Dies out, I figured I might as well give it a test run.  I thought it would look fabulous over a shaker window, so started with the awesome Parasol Pattern Bold Prints. I stamped it in moonstone pigment on pitch black cardstock, then embossed. This was cut with the Square Infinity Dies for the back of the shaker.  The frame for the shaker is peony cardstock stamped with taffy reactive ink with the same parasol background stamp, then I taped two of the square infinity dies together to cut the frame. I added acetate behind the window, then two layers of foam tape and some spring mix confetti to finish off the shaker portion.

Next I die cut the cherry blossom branch and colored with Copic markers, accenting with a bit of clear lacquer and glitter.  I glued it to the shaker and cut off the excess.  I had a leftover flower from the previous card, so added it to the bottom, then chose the live life in full bloom sentiment from the kit and finished off with a few more sequins.

Since I loved that background so much, I decided to do it again, with moonstone on black, but this time not emboss it, for a slightly different look.  I pulled out the Tranquility set and stamped three of the images together on bristol, then colored with Copic markers. I added the sentiment to the top portion of the panel and then matted this with arctic cardstock and popped up on foam tape for some added dimension.

Okay, do you have one more card in you? You're a trooper if you've made it this far! 😆 I seriously just couldn't stop creating!

I wanted to give the cherry blossom scene from the kit one more try. This time I started with arctic cardstock, stamping my layers and using masks made with sticker paper and the coordinating dies.  I used unicorn ink for the solid treetop, then added berry smoothie for the detail, then overstamped it with a light coating of taffy. I once again tried those little stamps, this time as little rocks.  I messed up the stamping though, so covered most of them with the sentiment! LOL

For the sky, I masked off the images, then blended pool party ink around the edges. With the masks still on, I stamped over the panel with the gorgeous Waves and Clouds Bold Prints in unicorn ink. I love the soft swirly look this gives. Once I removed the mask, I used the falling blossom stamp to add some falling blossoms with first and second generation stamping in berry smoothie.


All right! Whew.... you made it to the end! I hope you've enjoyed my makes and a bit of my creative process. If you're not a subscriber already, the kit is only available while supplies last, so pre-order your kit today! PLEASE NOTE: For this month only (due to production delays) we will begin shipping the kit on March 16th, and will continue throughout the next week.

If you ARE already a subscriber, remember you can order any of this month's lovely add-ons to ship with your kit with no additional shipping fees if you place your order before Thursday. All of the add-ons are added to the Hero Arts catalog and restocked if they sell out.

Here's a closer look at the March My Monthly Hero kit. I've also linked the entire release along with the supplies I used for these cards below for your convenience.

Kit Contents:

• 6" x 8" Clear Stamp Set
• 5 Coordinating Frame Cuts
• 5 Ink Cubes (Green Hills, Field Greens, Dusty Blue, Rose Madder, Cotton Candy)
• 6 5.5"x 8.5" Sheets of Cardstock (2 each of Peony, Kiwi and Mist)
• Pink Puff Embossing Powder 0.5 oz.

For a chance to win the $50 Gift Certificate giveaway, leave some comments for the talented designers linked below.  Happy hopping!

Next up on the hop is Mariana Grigsby! 

Hero Arts
Michelle Short
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Caly Person
Channin Pelletier
Debi Adams
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Janette Kausen
Yana Smakula
Daniel West
Jennifer McGuire
Nichol Spohr
Laurie Willison
Lydia Fiedler
Julee Tilman ✋ That's me!
Mariana Grigsby
Amy Kolling
Maria Willis
Seeka

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙

March My Monthly Hero Release

My Supply List