Hero Arts Blog

Have you seen new Kindness products from Hero Arts? They are ideal for creating encouraging and uplifting cards for those who need them most. And the best part is – Hero Arts donates 25% of our profits from these products to the Kind Campaign to help their efforts to end bullying. I used You Are Loved […]

Good morning! Jess here with a quick video sharing a stenciled card using the new Something Magical stamp and Winged Pegasus stencil! You can watch the video below or at the Hero Arts YouTube channel! I have a secret to admit…I’m a little afraid of stencils. For a long time I struggled with using intricate […]

Hello there, Michelle here. Today I have a card to share using the fabulous new Killer Messages stamp set. It is such a fun set that can be used for so many occasions but today, I kept it simple and created a fun birthday card. You can see how I made the card in the […]

There’s nothing quite like two for one. Two candy bars for the price of one, two donuts for the price of one, two…sorry, I really like my sugar. ;) I also like getting two cards for the effort of one! The “star” (ha, couldn’t help myself) of today’s card set is the Star Confetti Fancy […]

Happy Monday! It’s May here with an easy watercolor card featuring the French Treats stamp set. I started by drawing an oval frame using a die from the Nesting Oval Infinity Die Set on a piece of A2 size watercolor paper.  Then I stamped the sentiment from the Make a Wish Birthday stamp set inside the oval […]

Hello! Jess here with a bright and cheerful birthday card using the fun Shopping Bag Fancy die as a gift holder! Watch the video tutorial below to see how I created my card! If you have problems viewing the video please try watching it on YouTube! We recently released the Shopping Bag Fancy die as […]

Hero Arts not only has Color Layering floral stamps, but also actual dimensional layering images where each flower layer can be popped up for a raised, one-a-of kind look. Today I’m sharing an in depth look at the new Artistic Dahlia and Large Hydrangea stamps and their corresponding layering dies and showing you how to use these […]

I am a big fan of Hero Arts ombré inks – I love using them for backgrounds, color layering stamps and more. Today I have simple monochromatic Thinking Of You cards to give you a closer look at the 4 new ombré pads – Ombré Hydrangea, Ombré Soft Sky To Indigo, Ombré Meadow and Ombré Spring […]

Hello there, today I have two cards to share using Bold Prints backgrounds and the Watercolor Dot Palette for some emboss resist. I thought it would be fun to create one more masculine and one more feminine. The Watercolor Dot Palette has little dots of Daniel Smith watercolour paint added to it. I believe the […]

Recently I’m really into coloring with colored pencils. For today’s coloring project, I used the Antique Rose stamp which is a great stamp as it has large petals to color. It also includes some shading so it makes my guess work for shading easier. When you use colored pencils, it’s good to start with light […]

Good morning! Jess here to share an interactive slider card using the new Paper Layering Koi, the watercolor dot palette, and the Nesting Circle Infinity dies! I made a video tutorial showing how I created this card.  If you’re having a problem viewing the video, please try watching it HERE on our YouTube channel! To […]

Today I have a very simple card combining stamped background with alphabet die-cuts. I started by stamping my images from the new CM142 Birthday Animal Silhouettes stamp set on Pool Mix Layering Paper with Mint Julep ink. Then I die cut letters using the new DI342 Luggage Tag Alphabet Frame Cuts and mounted them on the card front […]

Hello friends! New products from the 2017 Catalog are shipping to your favorite retailers as I am typing up this post (they will also be available in the Hero Arts Store on Feb 14th) and so I thought I’d share some inspiration using one of my favorite sets from the color layering section – the Color […]

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that I’m a mom of two fur babies. So I had to play with these cute cat images included in the Purr stamp set from 2017 Spring Catalog. My inspiration came from my own card that I made last August using circles window frame. This time I created […]

Hello there, I am really excited to be sharing my first project over here on the Hero Arts blog. Today I am focussing on one layer cards. One layer cards can often seem boring but there are plenty of ways to make them more exciting! I have decided to make shaped cards today. I think […]

Some of my favorite products from the new 2016 Hero Arts Catalog are the Paper Layering Dies. The die that I am featuring today is called Large Lotus. This is a pop-up die that gives the paper a 3-D effect. You die cut the paper, and then, you fold or curl the cuts to reveal the beautiful Lotus design. I made a video showing how I made...

I think I have a problem with heat embossing…I can’t seem to stop using it! Today’s card shows how you can heat emboss on top of an already heat embossed layer, as well as use some heat embossing to help create your own shaker elements for a shaker card. To start off, I die cut […]

When I first saw the new Origami Happy Holidays, I immediately knew I wanted to do a "stained glass" sort of card. As I was making the card, I realized how versatile images are!

In case you haven’t yet had the chance to take a look at Hero Arts Planner Catalog and products – I highly encourage you to do so. Even if you are not a planner person, but a “die hard cardmaker” – you’ll love them! Today I’m mixing planner products with previously released Kelly Purkey Holiday […]

Hello and Happy Thursday! Today we're sharing another Crafty Chat interview with our CEO, Aaron Leventhal, that he did with the wonderful team over at Online Card Classes. We think you'll enjoy hearing more about the "craftquakes" that have shaped the stamp industry. It's fascinating to learn more about the history of our favorite craft! Big thanks to Jennifer McGuire, Kristina Werner and Lydia Fiedler...

I’m usually not a fan of critters but I immediately fell in love these adorable images when I saw Winter Bunny, Winter Bear and Winter Fox. I created a circle window panel using the new Circle Infinity Dies to show them off. We'll be featuring Infinity Dies the rest of the week on the blog so stay tuned for more! I just love the critters peeking out the...

This summer marks 42 years since Hero Arts began in the bathroom of a Berkeley apartment. We thought you might enjoy learning a little Hero Arts history. It's the story of a truly inspiring woman - Jacqueline Leventhal - a single mom and determined entrepreneur. Read about it below, or even better, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the interview with our CEO Aaron...

Heat embossing is a fun basic technique that can make your projects literally shine. The [hero_product_link sku="PW118" text="White Satin Pearl Embossing Powder"] is quite unique, and it makes the stamped images look professional and outstanding. So today I am sharing how this product can be used easily to create beautiful backgrounds and to enhance die cut shapes to achieve fabulous results. Like any other embossing powder, the [hero_product_link sku="PW118" text="White Satin Pearl Embossing Powder"] can...

I'm getting more comfortable using watercolors on my projects. I just love watercolors because it is unpredictable - a very friendly medium for any beginner that doesn’t require much fuss. Paper Layering Lotus Card | Fairyland Themed Card  As part of my learning process, I shared a video tutorial on how to create a simple watercolor wash background last month (left). Then I created a detailed watercolor background with more layers for my August MMH blog hop project last...

It's been six months since I actually started enjoying watercoloring. I used to feel intimated by using watercolors on my projects for the last few years. So today I decided to share some quick and easy techniques for some of you who want to try watercoloring but don't know where to start. I used the watercolor wash technique to highlight the "clean and simple" lotus flower. Doesn't...

I am a big fan of Hero Arts dye ombré ink pads so when I spotted two new pigment metallic pads from Hero a bunch of stamping ideas rushed through my mind and I was lucky to jot down a few. I love both dye and pigment inks; dye - for how fast they dry and how they overlap and pigment, as silly as it...

Background stamps, especially Bold Prints 6x6 Clings are always fun to use! Be it a portrait or a landscape A2 card - they work perfectly. Today I'm using [hero_product_link sku="CG695" text="Irregular Grid"] stamp and making only a partial impression to create map-like backgrounds for my cards. There's a fantastic card example in [hero_product_link sku="PS916" text="Summer 2016 catalog"] where dark brown ink is used over light...

Today I wanna share a pair of cards and a video showing several different ways to spice up your die cuts. Watch the video below to see how I made them! [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRRzuxwlL5o] If you have a problem viewing this video, please try watching it HERE on YouTube. For this first card, I stamped a background using the anchor from the [hero_product_link sku="CL957" text="Hipster at Heart"] stamp set and some [hero_product_link sku="PW110"...

I'm a big fan of clean and simple one layer cards. It’s really fun focusing on the basics of cardstock, stamps, ink, and very little else to create cards. But CAS one layer card doesn't mean that it's easy to make sometimes but requires attention to detail, right? For today's card, I created a fun summer card with non-traditional summer colors. I tried to mimic a shape of beach ball...

I love creating with Hero Arts Color Layering stamp sets and ombre inks as the colors of ink in these have been carefully selected and always work so great together for Color Layering (among other things). However, sometimes I want to alter the colors of the ink slightly, for example make the final image a bit lighter, but I don't always have the right shade...

Are you a fan of butterfly? To be honest, I'm not. But I really wanted to play with Butterfly Pair Stamp & Cut as it includes very interesting dies in the set. I started by stamping the butterfly images from Butterfly Pair Stamp & Cut and Mason Jar Bugs  to create my own background. Here are the Bold Ink pads I used for my colored stamping: Tangerine, Mulled Wine, Strawberry, Dandelion and Summer Sky. Then I colored the images...

I love when I have stamps that can be colored using any of your favorite coloring techniques. Today's card features a pair of pretty stamps called [hero_product_link sku="G6130" text="Potted Succulent"] and [hero_product_link sku="E6140" text="Small Potted Succulent"], as well as their matching [hero_product_link sku="DI174" text="Frame Cuts"]. Please watch my video below where I shared how I made this card from start to finish. [fve]https://youtu.be/pMS4F1AueRw[/fve] If you are having problems viewing this video, please try...

Hello! Where do you draw your inspiration from? It's not usual for me, but this time I got inspired by the colors from the [hero_product_link sku="AF329" text="Neon Chartreuse to Blue ombre ink pad"] for today's card. I wanted to create a soft and lovely look with watercolors, featuring the [hero_product_link sku="CG687" text="alphabet background"] and [hero_product_link sku="CL940" text="Balloon Animal Birthday"] stamps. And here is what I came up with:...

Heat embossing can be tricky at times and making one wrong "move" can ruin your entire project. I'd like to share 2 simple ways I like to use to fix heat embossing mistakes (and the actual mistakes I made when making a card) in this blog post and video. I often struggle with getting a perfect heat embossed image. I like to do heat embossing over...

According to the calendar of "national days", tomorrow is National Strawberry Day! My eight year old daughter, Courtney, thought this was the perfect reason to put her new [hero_product_link sku="CS113" text="strawberry scented ink pad"] to good use and create a card! Did you know that Hero Arts carries a line of kid-friendly inks, appropriately called Just For Kids? There are several nice colors of regular kid-safe ink - but Courtney's favorites are the...

Who said color layering stamp sets only have to be used for color layering, for creating one multi-colored image? Yes, they work beautifully for that (and always produce stunning results), but can also be stretched in a way. Today I am inviting you to try to use each color layering stamp individually. To be able to better explain what I have in mind I've filmed a...