I ♥ Hero Arts! blog hop

Happy Friday! And welcome to another stop on the the "I ♥ Hero Arts!" blog hop, hosted by the ever-so sweet Ashley! If you read my blog at all, you'll know that I'm probably one of Hero Arts' biggest fans. They make the most awesome stamps, employ the most incredible people, and provide the BEST stamping inspiration anywhere. What's not to love?! :)

Here's my card... unfortunately, it wasn't created exclusively for the hop. I was planning on having some time to stamp this week, but something extremely pressing came up and I just wasn't able to get into my stamp room. BUT, I really wanted to play along, and since one of the requirements for the card was that it be a thank you card, I was lucky that I had this one from an April pub sitting in my drafts folder, waiting to be posted! :) Not only that, but one of the other requirements was that we use one of our favorite Hero Arts stamps on the card, and whaddya know... this card uses images from my absolute FAVORITE Hero set of all time - the 4x12 Flower Blossom Border set:



That set is an absolute flower-lover's DREAM. It has a 12 inch border image for backgrounds and/or scrapbook pages, several different types and sizes of flowers... I honestly find myself reaching for it ALL. THE TIME. (In fact, scroll down to my previous card posted, and you'll see I used a flower from the set on it, too!) This card also employs one of my very favorite techniques - partially cutting around a stamped image to create interest. The flower image was stamped with Memories black ink, colored with Copics, and then I used a T-square to help cut the white panel up to the flower's edge. I then used my micro-tipped scissors to cut out around the flower itself. It's a great technique that doesn't require any fancy tools to create a lot of impact. :)

And finally, the last two requirements of the hop were:

A. Tell us your Hero Arts story. How did you get started using Hero Arts products?
and
B. Hero Arts is full of great people. Tell us why you are thankful for Hero Arts!

As for my story, I'm sure it's much like many others out there: I started out as a scrapbooker first and eventually started stamping. At the time, I didn't have any independently-owned stamp/scrapbook stores close by, and had to shop at my local major craft chain. ;) There, I always found myself drawn to (and of course buying!) Hero Arts stamps. I don't know, something about their style just spoke to me. And once I started using them, I was thoroughly impressed by the quality of the stamps. So I became a loyal follower. It always amazes me how they have managed to stay on top of trends, create a wide variety of images, and appeal to so many different types of stampers on so many levels... not an easy feat!

As for why I'm thankful for them, there's probably too many reasons to count! I'm grateful that they're such a customer-driven company and are always looking for ways to improve (as if they really need to). I'm grateful that they care so much about the environment. I'm grateful that they employ the most generous staff who continuously amaze and inspire us with their creations. I could go on, but they're just such a fabulous company, it's difficult to reign it in. LOL Seriously, stamping has become my therapy... and if it hadn't been for their images catching my eye, and their quality and commitment to customer service keeping me loyal, I'm not sure where I'd be with this hobby. Their stamps and ideas thoroughly INSPIRE me... make me want to drop everything and STAMP! That's the thing I'm most grateful for. I ♥ HERO ARTS! :)

Thanks for stopping by and for reading... enjoy the rest of the hop and have a fabulous weekend! :)


SUPPLIES: Hero Arts stamps (Cl223 and CL175), Memories black ink, Colorbox Primary chalk ink queue, Copics, and Hero Arts pearls