Hero Arts Holiday Catalog: Behind the Scenes

Hi! Today’s the big day! It’s the reveal of the Hero Arts Holiday Catalog! So excited to share what we have been working on. (Pssst, I hear there’s a giveaway on the Hero Arts blog to celebrate!)

If you haven’t seen the catalog yet, there’s a new Chalkboard Boutique Line designed by me. I have to keep pinching myself to make sure that this is really happening. I’m a little nervous (okay make that really nervous!) about it! Usually we designers have worked in the background. But now? I’ll have my name on these stamps. So you can imagine the butterflies in my stomach…!

Lisa's Hero Arts Chalkboard Boutique Line

Lisa Spangler's Chalkboard Boutique Line for Hero Arts

I can’t wait to get my hands on these stamps — we don’t even have the prototypes yet. Oh and! Wanted to point out that the leafy parentheses fit around the word stamps! So you can stamp something like “(MERCI)”. Too fun. And now a little behind the scenes…

I drew the balsam fir and maple leaf stamps on a rainy day at a cabin in Mont-Tremblant park, Quebec. It was so peaceful and relaxing. We had originally planned on going hiking, but it was just pouring. Not gonna happen. Jason was napping, I had finished my book, and we had no internet or TV. What to do? I sat and enjoyed watching the rain for a while but then I started getting restless… And then I remembered that I brought my Peerless Watercolors, paper, pens, and pencils with me. Yes!

So I ran out into the downpour to grab some specimens to sketch. Dried off, made myself a cup of maple tea to warm up and sat down to draw.

Balsam fir sketch by Lisa Spangler

Our cabin was named erable or maple, so of course I had to do a maple leaf :)

Maple leaf sketch by Lisa Spangler

You can really tell from the photos how hard it was pouring.

While flying back home to Austin, Texas I told Jason that I was thinking of using the balsam fir for our Christmas cards this year and he loved the idea. And then it hit me: why not make it into a stamp?

So then I hand lettered some messages to go with. Just had to add some French in honor of all the French in Quebec (I felt so sorry for inflicting my bad French on everyone, lol!) — plus I added some Spanish since it’s spoken here in Texas.

Then I designed the chalkboard background and the map to go with it. (The map is not officially part of the Chalkboard Boutique line, but I designed those two to go together. And, there just may be a clear set of messages and icons in the future to go with it, too! Wink!)

And that’s the “BTS” look at how these stamps came to be.

Sure hope you have as much fun using them as I had designing them.

Peace. xx

30 Replies to “Hero Arts Holiday Catalog: Behind the Scenes”

  1. It’s always great to read about how you put your own stamp on life Lisa! Well done with these latest additions to the Hero Arts line!

  2. Really cool Lisa. Love them.

  3. Congratulations, Lisa. I love the story that went along with the creation of the new stamps. Who knew a rainy day would be such a source of inspiration for you. Neat!

  4. I loved hearing about your process, especially the part about going out into the rain for specimens. A cabin in Quebec? Sounds heavenly. :)

  5. I couldn’t be more excited, Lisa! These look so great. And thanks for sharing your creative process – love it! You rock, double-time! Thanks!

  6. Lisa, congratulations! Your stamps are fab and I’m sure lots and lots of us have them on our wishlists – I can’t wait to get my hands on them! I loveed reading about how you were inspired to create them!

  7. Absolutely FABULOUS!!! I am so happy for you sweetie! :) I can’t wait to get my hands on them. I love, love. love the balsam and the little leaves parenthesis and the arrows. That chalkboard background is one of my favorites of this release!!!

    You did good girl! I hope you keep designing!!!!

  8. […] And I just had to take a minute to mention how unreal it felt to use some stamps that I drew. It was so overwhelming — and exciting! (I blogged about when I drew the balsam fir stamp here.) […]

  9. […] ink and colored it with pencils. (If you want to read more about the story behind the fir check out this post. I drew it while staying at a cozy cabin in Quebec. It’s just so unreal using a stamp that I […]

  10. […] stamp is really special to me. You see, I drew the balsam fir while I was staying at a little cabin in near Mount Tremblant, Quebec. It was pouring rain so we couldn’t go hiking. Luckily I had […]

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