I {HEART} Hero Arts Blog Hop!

WARNING LONG POST BUT IT"S WORTH IT!!! SWEETNESS AT THE END ;)

Today is the day for the I {HEART} Hero Arts Blog Hop that Ashley over at Cherry Hill Designs has wonderfully organized for everyone who {HEARTS} Hero Arts to join in and give a BIG THANK YOU to ALL at Hero Arts for what they do & to show them how much we enjoy and appreciate everything that they have done & continue to do every week on their BLOG.

You can join in with the fun & check over HERE for all the Blog Hop sites to visit. The first thing was to make a Thank You Card for Hero Arts using our favorite stamps. I made this card using two of my favorite stamps in this weeks Hero Arts Challenge theme - Monochromatic! I'm really loving ALL color at the minute so I found it quite card choosing a color! I had not made a card using Brown hues this week for the challenge so that was my starting point!

Sparkly close up!

{Ingredients}

Card Stock: SU! Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel. PTI Kraft

Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip & Close to Cocoa. PTI Vintage Cream

Stamps: Hero Arts Heart Winged Butterfly F5158 & Black & White Flowers F5132

Accessories: Corner Rounder SU! Gems Papermania, Stickles Ranger, Foam Pads

I first found out about Hero Arts because of My Mothers passion for all things craft. I think it was in 1997 or there about my Mother started rubber stamping & card making and got me hooked on it too! While gathering rubber stamps from craft shops I came across a company called Hero Arts and on the stamp it had a website address. The internet was quite new to me then! But I went on & found their AMAZING website full of their stamps, ideas & tips! WOW! Was one of the first things that came to me & instantly I fell in LOVE with their stamps! Being in the UK it was often hard to come across them but NOW I can buy them in all sorts of places!! Thats how I came to KNOW and LOVE Hero Arts!! I have so many of their stamps that I can't pin point which was my first! LOL!

I am THANKFUL to Hero Arts for their generosity, fun & friendliness! When the Hero Arts Blog started last year it was a VERY hard time for me as I lost my Mother very suddenly. I started to join in on the weekly challenges as a way of coping & removing myself from all the stress. Through the HERO ARTS BLOG I found FRIENDSHIP and SUPPORT and most of all KINDNESS not only from the Hero Arts Team but also from many of the Flickr Members & I will NEVER forget how MUCH they helped me through such a HARD time. THAT is WHY I AM THANKFUL!

To show my THANKFULNESS to EVERYONE :) I AM CELEBRATING by HAVING A BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY! It is open to EVERYONE & ANYONE who leaves a comment on this post telling me what your favorite HERO ARTS stamp is! To be in for an extra chance of winning, LINK this post to your BLOG (don't for get to say you have linked me otherwise I won't know!) The Candy will be open until 9th August! I will announce the winner HERE and on FLICKR too! I will be adding a few more bits to the candy once I find where I have put them! LOL!

Thanks for HOPPING BY today! I really do appreciate it!