Hero Arts | April 2020 My Monthly Hero Kit - Ink Blended Thank You Cards. Video tutorial by Yana Smakula #heroartsmmh #heroarts #cardmaking #inkblending

Hero Arts | April 2020 My Monthly Hero Kit – Ink Blended Thank You Cards. Video

Hello, friends! Today I have ink blended greeting cards to share using April 2020 My Monthly Hero Kit from Hero Arts as well as an older sentiment stamp set from my stash.

This month kit from Hero Arts features a large 6×8 clear stamp set, coordinating dies to cut the images out, beautiful specialty papers, an intense black ink pad and, my favorite part of this kit is an absolutely amazing stencil. When I saw this stencil for the first time I really blew my mind – all the various color combinations that can be used with this design came rushing into my head and I started ink blending colorful backgrounds right away.

Hero Arts | April 2020 My Monthly Hero Kit - Ink Blended Thank You Cards. Video tutorial by Yana Smakula #heroartsmmh #heroarts #cardmaking #inkblending

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VIDEO TUTORIAL

As always, I filmed a video tutorial showing how to create this project from start to finish. I’m hoping you’ll enjoy it. Watch it below or on my Youtube channel.

Like this video? Please give it a big thumbs up (you can do this on Youtube video page right under the video) and share it with a crafty friend! Leave me a comment too, I love hearing from you!

CARDS DETAILS

I made 6 cards using just this one stencil, they were so easy to make and I was feeling so much joy when using my inks and ink blending these backgrounds. During the current times, current restrictions, the quarantine I think we all feel a little bit down, I know some feel very much alone and isolated, I myself do feel very sad and depressed at times, but crafting is what keeps me going, crafting is what I look forward to every morning, crafting is what is putting a smile on my face and my crafty friends are the best friends in the world.

I want to mention how grateful I am to all the companies out there who design and manufacture products for us to create with. These are not just products, these are medicine that helps to keep us going, that helps us stay sane and still have a bit of joy in our lives despite the Coronavirus.

Hero Arts | April 2020 My Monthly Hero Kit - Ink Blended Thank You Cards. Video tutorial by Yana Smakula #heroartsmmh #heroarts #cardmaking #inkblending

This stencil is what got me really excited and brought a huge smile to my face as I was making these cards. I pulled out a lot of inks from Hero Arts, I pulled out my ink blending tools and I just blended my heart out and created various colorful backgrounds.

I did use a lot of the ombre ink pads, especially Hero Arts Neon inks, I don’t typically use neon inks for my cards as I find the colors a bit too vibrant even for my taste, but here I think they worked perfectly for these sunset backgrounds.

Hero Arts | April 2020 My Monthly Hero Kit - Ink Blended Thank You Cards. Video tutorial by Yana Smakula #heroartsmmh #heroarts #cardmaking #inkblending

I used washi tape to secure the paper to the stencil, although you can also use spray adhesive to make the stencil sticky and that might actually make it easier to use it as there are some very fine details, little clouds that get caught up in the ink blending tool if your ink blending is too vigorous. I’ve later found that dabbing the ink instead of blending it, especially over those detail areas is the easiest way to apply the ink.

The color combinations which can be used with this stencil, I think, are truly limitless. You can have a dark blue, almost a night sky background, and sunset. You can have a purple sunset, you can have a pink and yellow sunrise, it doesn’t have to be a sunset, it can be a sunrise too.

Hero Arts | April 2020 My Monthly Hero Kit - Ink Blended Thank You Cards. Video tutorial by Yana Smakula #heroartsmmh #heroarts #cardmaking #inkblending

The waves at the bottom of the stencil don’t have to be waves, they can be sand dunes, and therefore can be blended in various shades of yellow, orange and brown. They can be hills and can be blended in various shades of green if those are green hills, or pink, yellow, purple or any other floral color if those are blooming hills or fields.

You can also make these into a fantasy background and just use any colors you like, even if they don’t really occur in nature. I like to think of this as my art and if I feel like using colors that aren’t seen in a real setting, I can use colors that aren’t seen in a real scene like this.

As I was ink blending my backgrounds I’ve found it easier to use Waffle Flower Mini Water Media Mat, it fits my stencil perfectly, allowing me to keep my work area nice and ink-free. I also used a smaller ink blending tool for some of the smaller areas, where I wanted to ink blend the ink over smaller areas to have as little ink overlap as possible.

Hero Arts | April 2020 My Monthly Hero Kit - Ink Blended Thank You Cards. Video tutorial by Yana Smakula #heroartsmmh #heroarts #cardmaking #inkblending

I also ink blended on in just red. I used Taffy as my lightest red, well pink really as this is a pink color, next added a lot of Crimson and finished it all off with Raspberry ink. This is also one background where I sprayed Hero Arts White Shimmer Iridescent ink to add sparkly shimmer to my background.

The April kit comes with a beautiful stamp set picturing Australian fauna. I wanted to keep my cards very much on the simpler side, so I skipped using that stamp set and instead pulled out an older set from hero Arts with a variety of thank you sentiments. I just felt like I wanted to make Thank You cards – the stamp set I used is called Thank You Messages and I just stamped a Thank You inside the blank space that represents the sun or the moon.

Hero Arts | April 2020 My Monthly Hero Kit - Ink Blended Thank You Cards. Video tutorial by Yana Smakula #heroartsmmh #heroarts #cardmaking #inkblending

I trimmed my backgrounds down, some were cut to 4 x 5 1/4”, some to 3 3/4 x 5” and foam mounted them to A2 light gray and kraft card bases.

Lastly, I wanted to add some embellishments, but at the same time I really wanted to keep these cards as simple as possible, so I went ahead and added an enamel heart to each and I tried to match the color of the heart to my stamping.

I had the best time designing and making these cards. Stay safe, stay healthy and have fun crafting!

HERO ARTS MY MONTHLY HERO KIT & ADD-ONS

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.

Hero Arts | April 2020 My Monthly Hero Kit - Ink Blended Thank You Cards. Video tutorial by Yana Smakula #heroartsmmh #heroarts #cardmaking #inkblending

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Kit April 2020
Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Kit April 2020
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Hero Arts CH330 We Are In This Together World Enamel Pin
Hero Arts CH330 We Are In This Together World Enamel Pin
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Hero Arts DI760 April Word Fancy Die (B)
Hero Arts DI760 April Word Fancy Die (B)
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Hero Arts H6431 Koala on Branch
Hero Arts H6431 Koala on Branch
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Hero Arts DI759 Nature Border Fancy Die with Frame (F)
Hero Arts DI759 Nature Border Fancy Die with Frame (F)
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Hero Arts DI753 Surfs Up Fancy Die Set (F)
Hero Arts DI753 Surfs Up Fancy Die Set (F)
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Hero Arts CG809 Eucalyptus Bold Prints
Hero Arts CG809 Eucalyptus Bold Prints
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Hero Arts DI754 Beach HeroScape Frame Cuts (C)
Hero Arts DI754 Beach HeroScape Frame Cuts (C)
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Hero Arts CM447 Beach HeroScape
Hero Arts CM447 Beach HeroScape
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Hero Arts DI755 Protea Flowers Frame Cuts (C)
Hero Arts DI755 Protea Flowers Frame Cuts (C)
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Hero Arts CM448 Protea Flowers
Hero Arts CM448 Protea Flowers
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Hero Arts DI756 Bandicoot & Friends Frame Cuts (C)
Hero Arts DI756 Bandicoot & Friends Frame Cuts (C)
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Hero Arts CM449 Bandicoot & Friends
Hero Arts CM449 Bandicoot & Friends
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Hero Arts DI757 Patterned Animals Frame Cuts (C)
Hero Arts DI757 Patterned Animals Frame Cuts (C)
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Hero Arts CM450 Patterned Animals
Hero Arts CM450 Patterned Animals
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Hero Arts DI758 Color Layering Joey Frame Cuts (B)
Hero Arts DI758 Color Layering Joey Frame Cuts (B)
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Hero Arts CM451 Color Layering Joey
Hero Arts CM451 Color Layering Joey
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BLOG HOP

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GIVEAWAY

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

SUPPLIES

I’m listing the products I used below. Click on the link to go directly to the product. Where available I use compensated affiliate links which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Kit April 2020
Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Kit April 2020
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HA
Hero Arts Stamps Thank You Messages
Hero Arts Stamps Thank You Messages
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SSS | SC | HA | AZ
Waffle Flower Mini Water Media Mat
Waffle Flower Mini Water Media Mat
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SSS | SC
Neenah Classic Crest 80 Lb Desert Storm
Neenah Classic Crest 80 Lb Desert Storm
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SSS | AZ
Hero Hues Premium Cardstock Pebble
Hero Hues Premium Cardstock Pebble
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SSS | SC | HA | AZ
Hero Arts Hero Hues Cardstock Dove White
Hero Arts Hero Hues Cardstock Dove White
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SSS | SC | HA
Hero Arts AF420 Taffy Reactive Ink
Hero Arts AF420 Taffy Reactive Ink
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SSS | SC | HA | AZ
Hero Arts AF421 Fruit Punch Reactive Ink
Hero Arts AF421 Fruit Punch Reactive Ink
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SSS | SC | HA
Hero Arts Crimson Ink Pad
Hero Arts Crimson Ink Pad
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Hero Arts AF423 Lemon Drop Reactive Ink
Hero Arts AF423 Lemon Drop Reactive Ink
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Hero Arts AF424 Key Lime Fizz Reactive Ink
Hero Arts AF424 Key Lime Fizz Reactive Ink
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SSS | SC | HA
Hero Arts AF426 Pool Party Reactive Ink
Hero Arts AF426 Pool Party Reactive Ink
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Hero Arts AF427 Blue Raspberry Reactive Ink
Hero Arts AF427 Blue Raspberry Reactive Ink
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Hero Arts AF428 Splash Reactive Ink
Hero Arts AF428 Splash Reactive Ink
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Hero Arts AF432 Grape Slush Reactive Ink
Hero Arts AF432 Grape Slush Reactive Ink
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Hero Arts Ombre Pool To Navy Ink
Hero Arts Ombre Pool To Navy Ink
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Hero Arts Green Apple Reactive Ink
Hero Arts Green Apple Reactive Ink
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Hero Arts Ombre Neon Red to Purple Ink Pad
Hero Arts Ombre Neon Red to Purple Ink Pad
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SSS | SC | HA | AZ
Hero Arts Ombré Neon Yellow to Orange
Hero Arts Ombré Neon Yellow to Orange
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Hero Arts Ombre Spring Brights Ink Pad
Hero Arts Ombre Spring Brights Ink Pad
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Hero Arts Ombre Mermaid Ink Pad
Hero Arts Ombre Mermaid Ink Pad
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Hero Arts Ombre Neon Chartreuse to Blue Ink Pad
Hero Arts Ombre Neon Chartreuse to Blue Ink Pad
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Hero Arts Raspberry Jam Ink Pad
Hero Arts Raspberry Jam Ink Pad
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Hero Arts Ombre Meadow Ink Pad
Hero Arts Ombre Meadow Ink Pad
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Hero Arts White Iridescent Shimmer Spray
Hero Arts White Iridescent Shimmer Spray
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Spellbinders Circle Replacement Foam
Spellbinders Circle Replacement Foam
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SSS | SC | SB | AZ
Ranger Mini Round Ink Blending Tools
Ranger Mini Round Ink Blending Tools
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SSS | SC | AZ
FSJ Dauber Dowel Small (2 cm)
FSJ Dauber Dowel Small (2 cm)
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SB
Spray Adhesive
Spray Adhesive
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SSS
White Fun Foam 12 Pack 9 x 12
White Fun Foam 12 Pack 9 x 12
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SSS | AZ
Simon Says Stamp Craft Tacky Glue
Simon Says Stamp Craft Tacky Glue
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SSS

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57 Comments

    1. Love your cards! Great video. I can’t wait to be able to play with this stencil. Your ink blending is inspiring. Thank you!

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