Well August might seem a bit far out for an “Oh What Fun” Catalog Party by Hero Arts but those holidays always seem to arrive far sooner than anticipated. You agree? Well now is a great time to think ahead, start shopping and get creating. And nothing helps shopping better than a GIVEAWAY of a Hero Arts $50.00 gift card! Scroll to the bottom to see how to enter the Giveaway. Need lots of ideas? No problem there. How about a BLOG HOP? Got that covered at the bottom too! As for ideas from me, I had a blast playing with some of the new stamps and frame cuts. So many choices and decisions! (Check out the NEW catalog below). I hate to admit that I’m probably a bit of an over thinker. I could have done the traditional colors for Christmas but instead I decided to see what was new for 2019. (Or maybe I’m a rebel? Lol!) Anyway, I was surprised and happy with what I discovered! How about ultramarine blue, aquamarine and navy? Really nice choices, because not everyone celebrates the holiday, these provide a different option and they still work for Christmas and New Years! Take a look at this first card, for example. I love this Snowflake Fancy Cluster Die. Clean, curvy and so much fun. A watercolor background using Hero Arts Watercolor Dot Palette with a Water Flow Brush made this a bit modern and very versatile. (See supplies at the bottom of this post.)
A gold Snowflake cut from gold poster board was attached to the back of the white one and a bit of gold leafing added to the watercolor area. Definitely a bit of understated fancy.
The littlest embellishments, like these gold sequins, complete the card.
I love how Hero Arts stamps and dies can work together. Three different products but they make a great card front.
Here’s a fun little technique with this one. Die-cut the Holly Confetti background from Dove White cardstock. Attach it to piece of gold paper. Line up the Holly Confetti die back on top of the same white cardstock. Place a rubber mat on the bottom of your machine’s platform. Place the Holly Confetti piece on top of that (die cutting side down), then put the embossing plate on top of that. Run it through your machine. It’s pretty cool how the gold paper is pushed through the holes in the white paper and nothing is cut. Makes for a nice dry embossing tool.
Some of my favorite inks are Hero Arts Reactive Inks. They come in fun colors and are so creamy. Here I chose Blue Hawaii and Blue Raspberry and added just a tiny bit of Navy Shadow Ink to the edges using a sponge dauber.
This Nordic Holiday Bold Print ended up being one of my favorites. It just screamed Scandanavian. Love. Super easy to create when you use the MISTI. Layer up your stamp with different shades of ink. In the middle use Blue Raspberry Reactive ink or even Pool Party. Begin adding darker colors going out, like Blue Hawaii and Navy and wha la! Keep adding the colors, overlapping some if you like. (Tip: It may take a few rounds of inking to get a solid background. Don’t stop using the MISTI until you like what you have done.)
And as I mentioned before, it is so nice seeing additional images work together. The sentiment is a small piece from the card after this one.
I love Cover Plates. This one is no exception. (Merry Christmas Cover Plate). It makes creating cards super easy. It has a background, a main focal point and a sentiment all in one! With a little bit of effort, you can create the card below or you can keep it simple and classy as seen in the one below it. The center of this particular card is Pool Party, moving out to Blue Raspberry and eventually into Blue Hawaii. This was done on a 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ Dove White cardstock. I then cut the Merry Christmas Cover Plate image from Dove White cardstock, adhered it to the colored card base and ran it through the machine with the die like I did in the one before this. I love that it added just a tad of dimension.
Class, elegance and oh so little work!
So what’s it going to be? Ready to break out the card making session? If you didn’t see something here that was you, I’m certain that one of the other amazing designers has something right up your alley! Emily Midgett is next on the hop.
Thanks for stopping in!
XO, Debi
The HOP continues….
Hero Arts
Caly Person
Debby Hughes
Debi Adams
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Janette Kausen
Jenn Shurkus
Jennifer McGuire
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Julee Tilman
Laura Bassen
Libby Hickson
Lydia Fiedler
Mariana Grigsby
Nichol Spohr
Wanda Guess
Yana Smakula
We will giveaway $50 gift cards to the Hero Arts shop to TWO lucky winners drawn from all comments left across the hop. Comment by August 31 at 11:59 PST. Winners will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.
Hey friends! Interested in finding out more about the items I just used? You can click on the pictures below where you will be redirected to the products. Just so you know, I am part of an Affiliate Program which means that when you purchase products from these links, I earn a percentage of the sale. However, the cost is never passed on to you, the customer. Additionally, I never feature a product that I don’t believe in. If I like it and it works, I let you know, otherwise it simply isn’t here.
WOW! I just love your holiday cards. I am especially crazy for the new Nordic designs. Thanks for the inspiration and chance to win. 😀
My, oh my, these cards are GORGEOUS!!!! I love the colors, and the folk designs!
Debi! I LOVE these cards! So elegant! Love the alternative color scheme (though I think blue, silver & white are often used for the Jewish winter seasons) & using the dies for embossing – stupendous! Thanks for the inspiration!
Wow! You totally went for it on this hop! What an amazing collection of Christmas cards you crafted to share!
Love the blue, good and white palette! So elegant!
I love the snowflake card. So pretty and elegant. Also….what a brilliant idea on how to get the inlay look with the background dies. I don’t have any (yet), but this certainly adds another way to use them. They are a bit on the $$ side, so if I can get more use of them, that’s great.
Oops. Messed up my e-mail address on my earlier comment – saw it just as I hit send…
I love what you’ve done with the Snowflake Cluster die!!!!!
Lovely cards, the gold adds so much!
Love the gold and blur! Cool idea about using the die to push the gold paper into the holes of the white paper.
Absolutely lovely! The gold and blue are sooo perfect together and the details you add make these so specials.
way too hard to choose a favorite!!!! Wonderful work
WOW!! Thanks for the must try technique!
Love the embossed background that looks like inlayed leaves.
Lovely cards. Love the use of blue with gold or silver.
Love all of your cards, especially the background on the first one. Thank you for sharing!
Each of these is gorgeous and would be a stunning surprise for any recipient!
These are beautiful cards and very inspiring. I love them all and that snowflake cluster die has to go on my wish list! 🙂
Wow, your cards are so beautiful! I love the bold colors and layering, thanks for sharing.
loving the blue theme on these cards – the dies are amazing
Love all the gold! Thank you
in love with the watercolor background!
WOW WOW WOW
Gorgeous!
Beautiful cards.
Oh my what a beautiful array of cards. I really liked the flourish on the first card by I also liked the inset of the gold foil pieces o nthe second card. I think I have to agree with you about the Scandinavian design though. It’s perfect fo a cozy winter scene/card. Thanks for sharing your talents and all these beautiful cards. Makes me want to get out my stamps and start stamping!
I just love the dry embossing technique with the confetti dies! Thank you for sharing😍
I love your beautiful card <3 I hope I will win so I can get some of these goodies
Such fabulous cards, Debi.
Clicking your name on the blog list was like opening an early Christmas package. So many beautiful cards. Thanks for the idea to push the gold leaves through the white. You can bet I will use that tip over and over
Oh my, thank you for sharing five stunning cards! I have the Merry Christmas cover plate die and it is such a wonderful way to make stunning cards quickly. Love your examples!
What gorgeous Christmas cards! Love the colors and designs…
Thanks so much for sharing…
A beautiful collection of Christmas cards!! Thanks for the inspirations.
Gold and blue = fabulous!
I love the Christmas and New Year inspiration!
All these cards had beautiful colors and great ideas. Love them all.
So elegant, I love your choice of colors.
All of your cards are lovely! There is no way I could pick a favorite. Thanks for sharing.
Wow! You were so creative with each card! Thanks for the inspir!
These are all so gorgeous! Crossing my fingers to win!!!
Wow! They are all beautiful and so elegant.
All your cards are beautiful, but I especially like the snowflake cluster
on the first card!
I love your watercolor background in the first one and the blue and gold color combo is FABULOUS!
WOW! You were busy making cards. I love them all.
WOW! You were busy making beautiful cards, I love them all.
I love your dry-embossing technique! Very clever, and it looks fabulous!
Wow, love all the beautiful cards.
Beautiful! Thank u for sharing!
❤❤❤ I LOVE the colors you used! They work so well even though they aren’t “traditional” Christmas colors!!
I cannot express how much I LOVE that watercolor card!! The colors and the little bit of gold leafing behind your die cuts made my heart so happy!! I also liked the technique you used on the holly confetti card. So clever! So beautiful! Thank you for sharing!
Beautiful cards. Love the snowflake swirl.
These cards have just the perfect amount of “fancy’! Love how you used the gold on each! Beautiful release!
Love the cards. They are fabulous. : )
Wow! These are all Beautiful . The first one is my favorite it is just striking!
Love the blue and gold! So elegant and dainty! Thanks for the inspiration, I can’t wait to try it!
Holly Confetti Die is a must! You have made it pop – love the gold foil behind it.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful cards!
Loved your dry embossing technique with the gold paper. Gonna have to give it a try.
The blue and gold on this card are the perfect pairing – love it!
Your creations are incredible! These are sooo perfect for the holidays!
love how you used the Snowflake cluster die!
All of your cards are lovely! I am loving that snowflake swirl die, so pretty. I love all the blue and white makes me think of Delft china and snowy days. The gold and white card is just elegant. great job and thanks for sharing!
Love blue and gold for the holidays … and that water colored background is perfection.
Now that is a card that would make my Danish cousins smile.
I love the layering and all that gold!
Beautiful cards, Debi! I love the gold with the watercolors! Gorgeous! I’m loving the new Hero Arts stamps!
Oh my!! First – how cool to make a New Year’s card! Love it! But they are all quite lovely! Great inspiration for all of us.
All of your cards are fabulously stunning! A treat for anyone to receive. I’d love to see a video on the technique making the gold push up through the white card with cover plate. Thanks.
The blue and gold together in your cards is simply stunning.
Love the blue and gold together.
Gorgeous cards, each one. Love the Nordic stamp so much.
Love that classic water color background!
Love the beautiful movement on the first card with the ink! What a great backdrop for the snowflakes.
Gorgeous!! I love the way the texture and light created by the watercolor draws you into the card. Creates a 3-D affect
These are really pretty cards! 🙂
Stunning!
WOW, so much eye candy and all are fabulous! Love all those new dies!
Wow! Gorgeous! Love how you used watercolor in an very artsy way!
Gorgeous cards, I especially love the poinsettias set on the blue background!
I love the New Year card, beautiful!
I simply adore your color combo with the HA Reactive Inks. It works beautifully for Christmas and so much more! Love your cards, and thanks to Hero Arts for the opportunity to win such an awesome prize!
Gorgeous creations, Debi! I really love all the gold accents & the wonderful colors you used. My favorite is the very first one.
I will be adapting your use of gold metal when I make a few Chanukkah cards for my Jewish friends this holiday season! Thank you for sharing your ideas.
Oh my goodnesd–all of your cards are GORGEOUS! I love the blue, white and gold color palette, and the technique you used with the holly cover die, to dry emboss the holly, and push it up through the white cardstock is pure genious! Thanks for sharing all of your great tips and techniques. Great job Debi!
Your cards are so gorgeous and unique. Just beautiful!!
What a beautiful collection of cards- the blue and gold effects are stunning! I particularly like the “over-embossing” effect with the holly leaves- what a great tip! Thanks for inspiring!
Very pretty cards! Thanks for sharing.
You went all out creating Christmas and New Year’s cards. They are spectacular! Thanks for sharing your time and talent with us.
So many different styles in these cards. So much creativity! The colors are very cool.
Great cards. Seems no matter how soon I start, I end up making cards right up till the last minute. Love these new products.
Wow, Debi! What an amazing set of cards you have created! I love them all! It was a great tip run the holly confetti back through to make the pieces ‘pop’ up! Thanks so much for sharing all the wonderful inspiration!
WOW love all the cards you have created, fabulous. Those blues combined together are so pretty.
Your cards are all absolutely stunning. Thanks for sharing your inspiration on this blog hop..
I am not fond of traditional red & green for the holidays & really enjoyed your color choices. That first card with the water color background really makes me smile. Just beautifuI! I will have to practice a bit, because that background would be the perfect starting point for so many holiday cards.
Amazing and creative inspiration! Beautiful cards!
Love the cards and the embossing through the die cut idea. Can’t wait to try it!
Wonderful set of cards. Such a lot of ideas. I love the idea of pushing it back through the Die cutting machine. Can’t wait to try it. Thank you
WOW! I just love the new Nordic design. Such beautiful embossing and love that blue! Thanks for the inspiration!
These are all so lovely! And inspiring me to get busy! Love the non traditional colors!
Great cards – definitely inspiration here!
Lovely cards!
All of these are very lovely.
Just when I think I can’t add yet anoither snowflake to my stash, you show me a beautiful and unique die! Love it and your work. Thanks!
Beautiful release. Great job with the cards.
Pure ELEGANCE!
Thank you for sharing
Super color combo and dry embossing technique!
So lovely, Debi! Wonderful blue and bits of gold! I’m inspired!
All very pretty!! I love your blue and gold color combo!!
Beautiful crafting! Loving the versatile Merry Christmas cover plate.
Love the variety of samples!
Love all these cards.
Wow! I love how you’ve been able to capture each technique with so much precision and beauty.
Extraordinary Christmas cards! Love the first one the best! Thanks for the great creativity,
Super cool beautiful cards! Love the blue color 🙂
Love the New Year card!!! Beautifully done!
Beautiful cards – blue and gold is an elegant combination.
Wow! Love the beautiful cards!
Love all of your cards, this new release from HA is gorgeous!
Can’t pick a favorite – they are all too beautiful!
Great idea about embossing the die cut pattern with the background to get the embossing effect! What a great look! Love all your cards, but especially the gold “embossed” holly!
Truly Beautiful Cards! Neat technique using the die to push the gold through!
These cards are stunning in their simplistic elegance!
Wow Debi, all your cards are beautiful. I especially love the new technique.
All your cards are great. I can never get a watercolor background so beautiful. Mine end up being a hot mess!
So elegant! Love the blending!
Your first card is stunning. I love how the background fits the flourish.
All so gorgeous! Love the layouts and gold accents
Gorgeous cards…loving all of them.
What lovely, festive cards. Thanks for all the inspiration.
Oh, wow!! You were super busy!! These are all so gorgeous! Love the gold accents; they look fabulous with the blues.
Beautiful. I love the blues and go!ds. Festive and classy.
Oh my goodness gracious Debi, I can’t even put into words how much each of your cards appeal to me in the designs the colours!! I consider blues perfect for any season. Just think snow & ice that can both have a blue hue to them in the winter. If I was hard pressed to pick a favourite, it would be the first card with the water coloured background. I adore water colours. Thanks for your amazing input & inspiration.
These are all gorgeous cards, my favorite is the one with the water color background. It just makes it look so elegant.
Beautiful cards–I like the blue and gold.
I love the color combo of the blue and gold!
Absolutely beautiful!
Love them all, my favorite is the first one. Having the gold under snowflake die really sets it off. They are all great.
What beautiful cards! I just love the blues and golds!
Gorgeous cards – I especially love your first card with that gorgeous watercolour background and elegant snow swirl!
These cards are so beautiful! I love the new Christmas release! So many choices…. such a small budget!! Lol!
Such beautiful cards. I make cards for others to send and the gold die cut would be so easy and is lovely.
I LOve that first card!! That’s a simple but gorgeous card- easy to make to give as hostess gifts!!
Wonderful cards. I love the technique you shared for the second one — it’s genius.
Beautiful collection of cards.
Love the gold leaves the cover
plate reminds me of a
Baltimore Album quilt.
thanks for sharing
txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com
Gorgeous color combination and the way the gold holly pokes through the second card is amazing!
I like what you did with the holly die. Interested in trying this technique.
Lovely cards, but I really want to see a video of the technique used with the holly die and cover plate.
You are not a rebel my dear!! I have decorated our home with blue for 25 years, which made me especially drawn to these lovely cards! Blue is peaceful and to me religious. Love your inspiration, ♡♡
WOW, What beautiful color combos…your cards are absolutely gorgeous!
Wow what a great idea for pushing the gold paper up into the white instead of just leaving in layered in behind. Makes me want to start my Christmas cards early.
Wow! These are gorgeous! I just can’t decide which is my favorite. I love the fancy look of that first die. And I really like that last card done in gold. Your Scandinavian card is stunning in those colors also. Wonderful job! Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful card love the water color look on the first card but they are all wonderful Thanks for sharing.
I love the cards you created. That you made so many shows your creativity is totally overflowing!
Absolutely gorgeous cards! Such beautiful and rich designs and color palette.
Can’t wait to create with these amazing new sets! You have done such an amazing job creating with them.
Oh, I love the cards, you put a glow on creativeness with these Hero Arts! I’ll need to broaden my collection. Thank for sharing!
Stunning cards Debi – really in love with the one you did with the Holly Confetti! I also love background stamps and the new Nordic Holiday one is on my list!
Such elegant cards and colors!
I love the simple but elegant looks of your cards. Perfect
I absolutely love how you used the Snowflake Fancy Cluster Die on your cards! It is beautiful and definitely on wish list!!
Wow, what great cards
Unique and gorgeous!!
I love the colors and products you used to make these incredible cards. It is great inspiration to start making Christmas cards.
Stunning cards! The colors are gorgeous.
Beautiful blues and golds for Christmas!
Carol b
Wonderful cards x
Wow what delightful cards!!
I’m going to have to try your gold pushing through the paper technique!
Thanks for all the beautiful and elegant cards Debi. I truly like the little tip on the confetti die .
Love the color pallete you used for these cards.
Beautiful holiday cards – love the little touches on that first card! Gorgeous!
Wow Debi, Every card turned out so pretty. Thank you for giving us these great samples today.
Loved hearing how you attached the gold to the card, very pretty!
This looks like a fun set. Beautiful card
Gorgeous cards! I love the blue, white and gold combo.
Beautiful cards! I really like the snowflake die cut and the Nordic Holiday stamp. Love the colors you used.
Stunning cards. Thanks for sharing that technique with the holly cover plate. Just gorgeous!
What gorgeous cards! Your first card is my favourite. I wouldn’t have thought to use that die as the centre piece of a card. So pretty. Thank you for the inspiration.
The white, blue and gold is my fav. 😊
Beautiful cards with so many different ways to use
Wow! Your cards are stunning! I love the gold touches- makes for such festive cards!
Love your cards! The one with the dry embossing technique is amazing. Quick question, what type of gold paper do you use for this technique?
Beautiful cards! Love the color choices.
Your cards are ALL gorgeous in their own unique way, but I absolutely LOVE the cards featuring that snowflake cluster! So elegant—and the blue, white and gold just really pop!!!
Wow, Debi, I am in love with every one of your cards! I definitely want to try some new techniques! Do you have videos? I may need to see that embossing being done 😊. Thanks for sharing and giving so much detail!
Wow so many pretty cards! I really like that gold and blue combination!
Gorgeous cards! I especially love the cards you created with the Snowflake Fancy Cluster Die!
awesome cards! so beautiful!
WOW your cards are beautiful!!
Nice cards, interesting backgrounds. Great inspiration, thanks for sharing!
Beautiful cards. I like how they can be holiday or winter cards.
Ooooh wow these are all sooo pretty, love the color choices!!!!!!!
So many beautiful cards! I love every one of them. And love the cool technique with the die, thank you for teaching me something new!
All of these cards are stunning! Makes me want all of these dies and stamps.