April My Monthly Hero Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hi friends! The first Monday of the month is here again! And that means it's time to kick-off another FABULOUS My Monthly Hero release. The April kit is a gorgeous kit that takes us on a fun trek to the Outback. Plus it includes a fabulous stencil and an AMAZING 31 dies! Here's a little backstory from Hero Arts on how this month's kit came to be. "Over the past year, our hearts have been heavy while we watched from afar as Australia suffered from devastating bushfires. With Australia on our mind we designed this month's release, paying homage to the fascinating animals, the gorgeous flowers and the beautiful landscape of the land Down Under. As we release this, our hearts are now heavy for a new reason. But we are excited to take you on a much-needed crafty escape to Australia, as we celebrate this amazing country!"

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

GIVEAWAY:
Hero Arts is generously giving away one $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, April 12th at 11:59pm pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

I was so excited when I opened my DT box to see all the glorious Australian images. Aside from a phobia of incredibly large bugs, I've always wanted to visit. I must have watched The Man from Snowy River a hundred times growing up and remember being wowed by all the breathtaking scenery. I started my first card with the kit picking out a warm palette of liquid watercolors and using a mini ink blending tool and a little masking to create a sunset scene.

I have a video today showing how I created the first of my cards from today's post. You can watch it below or on my YouTube Channel. Or read on for the non-video version.

I started with a panel of watercolor paper, adding a circle mask  (you could easily make your own with a circle die) to place the sun, then taping down a horizon line with low tack tape. I started with the sun, so I could work with the lightest color first.  I first added the yellow, dabbing off on a palette before applying to the page. You want to keep the amount of liquid to a minimum so the ink doesn't seep through your stencil.  I then blended onto the page, adding a bit of orange to the yellow to add some extra depth.  Once this was done, I pulled off the mask, and then placed just the circle over the sun.  I used yellow, orange, and pink to work on the sky, using circular motions to blend and then streaking horizontally for some striations.  To add a little more depth I grabbed a flat brush and added a few more swipes with the darker colors.

Once this was done, I moved my tape to cover the sunset and started working on the sand.  I first went in with cocoa, and then with artprint brown to add the depth.  After this was dry, I pulled off my tape, added a bit of tape where I wanted the tree to fade into the horizon, then stamped the pandanus palm in black.  Next I positioned the kangaroos (with a little social distancing LOL) and finished off with the darling hoppy birthday to roo sentiment in the bottom corner.

For my next card, I pulled out the fabulous sunset stencil included in the kit and ink blended with reactive inks in berry smoothie, taffy, fruit punch and creamsicle for the sky.  I then painted in the sun with lemon drop ink and finished out the sand with soft brown and cup o' joe.

I used the same stamps as the previous card, adding in one more kangaroo for a fun kang party! I originally stamped the sentiment directly on the stenciled panel, but decided it needed to stand out a bit more so stamped it on a circle die cut and popped up on the card.  The have an auss-ome day sentiment makes me giggle.

For my next card, I opted for some of the same reactive inks with a blended background.  I first stamped the images from the gorgeous Protea Flowers add-on and colored with Copic markers before die cutting with the coordinating frame cuts.

Next I got to work on the background, blending with taffy and lemon drop for the background and then spritzing with water for a little texture.  I stamped the wishing you a beautiful day sentiment on pitch black cardstock and then embossed in white to pop up over the background.  I finished off with one of the little bees, then did a little accenting with a crystal clear lacquer pen and some glitter.

My fourth card uses the Color Layering Joey set. I thought these little joeys would be fun in non-traditional colors, so I tried out a few color layering combinations in pink, turquoise and purple, then cut with the coordinating frame cuts.  I've been loving the look of colorful images with a gray backsplash lately, so decided to do that for this card.

The backsplash is done with a bit of watered down black liquid watercolor and a paint brush.  I did a few different layers, drying in between to build depth, then splattered some full strength black on at the end.  The you make me very hoppy sentiment is stamped in the corner.

Since I liked my colorful joeys so much, I thought about taking another look at the main kit in color.  I laid out all of the animal images in the MISTI, then stamped a rainbow of sheets in pigment inks. I then taped down all the die cuts and die cut.  I left the dies taped to the sheet so I wouldn't have to re position all the dies. Then it was just a matter of lining up the taped die sheet with the next stamped sheet and die cutting.

I obviously have a thing for kangaroos, since I reached for them again, picking one from each color group and arranging together. I had social distancing on my mind and how wonderful it is that even though we're all isolated physically so many of us are banding together virtually.  So I picked the we're better together sentiment from the previously released add-on Togetherness Flower Bouquet set to complete this clean and simple card.

While I was sorting out the die cuts to find all the kangaroos, I noticed a few dolphins together in a semi circle, and thought it would be fun to make a circle of flying dolphins for the next card.

I simply glued the dolphin die cuts down in rainbow order, then grabbed that lovely sentiment from the Protea Flowers add-on to stamp in a circle.

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, this month shipping will be delayed. Currently we estimate that shipping will begin April 20. We know you are excited to get your kit and appreciate your patience as we work through delays during this time of COVID-19. We are sending love and support, as well as healing thoughts to those who know people who have fallen sick or are sick themselves.

Always giving back, Hero Arts has put together a limited edition pin as a fundraiser for disaster relief.

During these difficult times, a reminder that we are one world, in this together, and we are stronger when we support one another with friendship and kindness. Hero Arts will donate 100% of net profits from the sale of this pin to support COVID-19 disaster relief. 


 Here's a closer look at the April 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
• 31 Coordinating Frame Cuts
• 5.25" x 6.5" Sunset Stencil
• Intense Black Ink Pad
• 2 5.5" x 8.5" Cherry Wood Sheets
• 3 5.5" x 8.5" Adhesive-backed Birch Wood Sheets

Kit Value: $80
Kit Cost: $34.99
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 Maria Willis! 

Hero Arts
Michelle Short
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Channin Pelletier
Daniel West
Ilina Crouse
Debi Adams
Janette Kausen
Yana Smakula
Lydia Fiedler
Jennifer McGuire
Julee Tilman ✋ That's me!
Maria Willis
Seeka
Laurie Willison
Amy Kolling
Libby Hickson

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. 💙

April My Monthly Hero Release

My Supply List