12 Mixed-Media Products Reviewed -Should You Buy Them?

I review 12 mixed-media products from Hero Arts and provide photos, links, and recommended uses for them in this article.

I attended Hero Arts 2023 Summer Stamp Along (@HeroArtsStampAlong) a couple of weekends ago and it was all about mixed media. Now, I have to be honest, I have not gravitated toward mixed media up until now. But, I attended with an open mind and oh boy am I glad I did.

Stamp-Alongs

Let’s talk about the Stamp-Alongs for a minute. Hero Arts hold three or four a year. And. there is a theme for them, for example, holidays, spring, and summer. These events are very economical but do not include supplies. You can take the classes using your own stash or Hero Arts offers a Stamp-Along bundle for sale at a discount that includes the products that the teachers use.

They live-stream the classes on YouTube and make them available to view anytime after class as well. The schedule for the events gives you plenty of time to finish your projects and have breaks between classes to catch up. This weekend was the third Stamp-along for me and I strongly recommend them.

Want to learn more about Hero Arts Stamp-alongs? You can read about the most recent one, Hero Arts 2023 Summer Mixed Media Stamp-Along, and you can even sign up to access the replays. Please note that the first two stamp-alongs that I attended were card-making, however, we used mixed media on some of our projects.

OK, so that’s the Stamp-alongs, now let’s talk about the mixed media stash. But before I move on, I know mixed media can be intimidating so I want to share an important point that I learned over the weekend. All mixed media means is that you are using two or more different types of media. That’s it.

Product Review

In this article, I am reviewing the products we used for the Hero Arts Summer Stamp-Along. But I encourage you to go through your stash

Each product that I review will consist of a description of the product, what you can use it for, a picture of the product with links to where you can get them, and photos of projects using the products. And then, I provide a review of the quality and features of the product as compared to others (where applicable). This results in a very long article, but hopefully, it gives you enough information to decide if you want to try these products yourself.

I attend a lot of crafty, and cardmaking events. And, I usually buy all or most of the recommended supplies for an event. Yes, it is expensive. But, I do it because it helps me to discover new products that I wouldn’t ordinarily try on my own. And, by doing so I then can share them with you.

Please note. I have bought all of these products myself and am giving you my reviews after having used them on my own projects. I am not being compensated for this review, however, the following list may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something by following a link on this page, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Palette Knife

The palette knife is my choice for the first product to buy when you’re getting into mixed media. Why? Because it’s a tool that you can use over and over forever.

A palette knife is a thin blade on a handle that you can use to mix, scrape, lift, and spread different kinds of mediums. The blades can be metal or plastic. Hero Arts Hero Tools Palette Knife has a durable wooden handle and metal blade.

You wouldn’t think that there would be much difference between palette knives, but there is. I own a set of 3 with different-shaped metal blades, a plastic one, and the Hero Tools Palette Knife. The Hero Arts palette knife is my favorite because the blade is long and covers a lot of space, and it does a beautiful job of spreading any kind of paste.

Scroll way to the bottom of the post for a full list of supplies

Mixed-Media Products Review – Paste

You can create raised designs on paper or other surfaces with paste. You can do so many things with it! Add texture and dimension to your projects directly or by using a stencil. It applies easily with a palette knife and/or your fingers.

And, another thing that is really cool about paste is that you can combine it with your favorite coloring mediums, or mix glitter or sequins into it for different effects. And then, all you need is soap and water to clean it up. But, you need to do so quickly before it sets.

Hero Arts have a number of pastes but my favorites are the one with glitter already in it. It is a transparent paste, so it will enhance any color underneath it (like in the Sparkle Card in the Stencils section). But, it picks up color beautifully. You can find an example of this in the “Have a Beautiful Day” card down in the Dies section.

And then, there’s the Pearl paste which has a beautiful sheen. This one is more opaque, and it’s white in the tub. An example of what it looks like is in the HBD card in this section. But you can also add color to this paste too. I added Ocean Blue and Dandelion liquid watercolor to Pearl Paste to get the lovely teal paste in the “Thanks For Being You” card in this section.

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Cling Stamps

Cling Stamps have the same high-quality red rubber as wood-mount stamps have, but instead of an adhesive to stick the rubber to the wooden block, the rubber has a cling feature on the back that allows it to stick to an acrylic block or a stamp positioning tool.

But, you can also use them without a block. You can place the rubber face up, apply ink to the design, and then press your cardstock onto the inked rubber. The background on the “Have a Beautiful Day” project above is done this way.

Alternatively, you can use the “taco” method by adding some ink to the rubber and then lifting the opposite corners of the stamp. And then, you kind of roll them onto your project. The resulting image is a smaller section of the stamp with softened edges. The edges of your stamping soften to create a lovely image like those on the “Follow Your Dreams” project above and the “Sending Love” card down in the Glimmer Paint section.

There are many, many cling stamps to choose from. And, many companies provide their clings stamps in a size large enough to cover 6″ x 6″. The two used for this event are awesome! The script one is something you can use on any project in so many ways. And, the same is true for the one with the bold dots. However, the results you get from each are so very different!

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Clear Stamps

Clear stamps are made from photopolymer material and produce a very high-quality image. You can find clear stamps with almost any image you want. But what is fun is that right now, companies are producing a lot of clear stamps to be used to stamp textures that are perfect for mixed media.

This is done in a number of ways, you can use an acrylic block or a stamp positioning tool. However, you can also use the taco method or just stick the back of the stamp to your fingers and press it onto your project.

The two cards in this section use a mixture of these techniques to project wonderful images with the Hero Arts Mixed Textures stamp set. The stamp provides a variety of different textures such as bricks, paint splatters and brush strokes, script, text, grids, alphabets, clocks, and more.

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Stencils

Stencils in the crafting and card-making industry are made from a thin sheet of plastic. And they have a pattern, letters, or floral images and other shapes cut from them. You can use them with various media to produce beautiful images. Blending ink, spreading paste, and spraying over them are just a couple of ways that they can be used.

Glitter paste is used over the Stacked Circle stencil to produce a beautiful image on the “Sparkle” project above in this section as well as on many more projects in this article. A two-tone spray is used over the same stencil for the “Create” project, to produce a much different result. Please zoom in on the photo above to get the full effect.

There are a gazillion stencils available for us to use. I’m sure that you probably have some in your stash that you can play with. But, I think you can never have enough stencils. And the two below are awesome for use with mixed media.

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Mixed-Media Products Review – Hero Wax

Hero Wax is a game-changer! I’m just saying!

What is Hero Wax? It’s a metallic paste with a wax base. It comes in a tin and there are five fantastic colors to choose from. Or, you could get them all. You can use the wax for mixed media, vintage, or paper applications and more.  It dries permanently on most surfaces. You just spread it and let it dry.

The first time I ever used Hero Wax was during the Holiday Stamp-Along last year. @LibbyHickson was teaching a class in which she had us spread Berry (a beautiful pinky red) Hero Wax onto cardstock, let it dry, and then die-cut a sentiment from it. And, I’ve been hooked on it ever since.

They each have a beautiful sheen. And, you can apply them with a palette knife, a sponge dauber, or even your finger. I used my finger to swipe wax onto the two projects in this section as well as on the “Have a Beautiful Day” project in the Cling Stamps section and the letters on the “Hi” project in the Sprays section. An example of what it looks like when you use a sponge dauber is on the “Sending Love” project in the Glimmer Paint section.

If you could only buy one mixed-media product, this is the one that I recommend that you get.

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Die-Cuts

We use die-cuts all the time in paper crafting and card-making. Wikipedia’s definition of die cutting is “Die cutting is the general process of using a die to shear webs of low-strength materials, such as rubber, fiber, foil, cloth, paper, corrugated fibreboard, chipboard, paperboard, plastics, pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes, foam, and sheet metal.” 

The dies that we use with paper are steel. And, we can use them to cut through paper that has had paste and waxes spread on them as well as on felt, foam, and other crafting materials. Dies help to add definition and dimension in mixed media, especially for focal points.

There are three different types of dies in the supply list for the Summer Stamp-Along: an alphabet, a die that coordinates with a floral stamp set, and a very unique circle die set. To be honest with you, before the event, I didn’t think I needed these dies. However, I am so glad I have them. You can use the alphabet die on anything. It’s the perfect size and you can tell I love it because I use it on many of my mixed-media projects.

The Beautiful Day bundle is just a lovely floral set. And, all you have to do is look at the Circle set in the project photos to see why I love it.

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Mixed-Media Products Review – Liquid Watercolor

Liquid watercolor is bright and transparent. It mixes and blends easily and you can dilute it to vary the color intensity with water. It comes with an eye dropper lid which makes it easy to apply directly to projects.

One of my favorite things to do with liquid watercolors is to drop the paint onto a piece of cardstock and then spray it with water. As a result, the paint splashes and moves and is beautiful. Another thing that you can do is wet the cardstock or media that you are working on. And then, drop the liquid watercolor onto it. The color blooms beautifully.

What makes these watercolor paints different is the striking brightness of the colors. For example, look at that blue that runs down in between the paste on the “Play” project that covers my Mixed-Media Book in the photo above.

The Terracotta and Deep Ocean splatters on the “Create” project in the stencil section, and the “Alphabet” project in the Hero Wax section come from using the water spray technique I describe above.

Yet, another example that uses liquid watercolor in a slightly more dilute fashion is the other “Play” book cover found in the Glimmer section below.

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Mixed-Media Products Review – Sprays

Ok, now this is another step-changer! A lot of craft companies carry sprays. And many have metallic sprays. But, the Two-Tone Metallic Sprays from Hero Arts are really special.

It’s almost like the colored pigment dries flat and then there’s this kind of splotchy sheen over the top. These sprays come in five vibrant colors and you can use them to spritz through stencils and water coloring. Or, you can just spray to color your focal points and backgrounds.

What’s really wild is that you fill the bottle with water and shake it well to activate the powder formula once you receive it. And, you can create different intensities depending on how much water you add and the distance you spray from your surface.

The spray dries very quickly and will be permanent when you apply a fixative to it.

You can create a project similar to the one in this section by placing a piece of paper towel in a spray box. And then you spray floral die-cuts with different colors of two-tone sprays. The die-cuts become the focal point and the paper towel is the background.

An example of using the spray over a stencil can be found in the “Create” project in the stencil section.

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Pearl Drops

Ordinarily, you use drops to create dimensional accents for your craft projects.  You can create dots, lines, words, and more.

Until now, I have not been much of a fan of any kind of drops. This is because they take a long time to dry and I usually end up smearing them and ruining my projects.

But, I have a whole new appreciation for them now. That is because I discovered a new way to use them during the Stamp-Along. You can dilute them with water to become a beautiful watercolor paint, splatter, or even for stamping.

The bottom layer of the “Play” cover below in the Glimmer Paint section is “painted” with Cork Pearls that have been diluted with water. And then the “Inspire” project in the Clear Stamp section has splatter from pearls on it. What is really cool is that the splatter has both dimension and sheen.

And of course, you can use pearls as they are intended. Examples using this technique can be found in the “Have a Beautiful Day” project in the Cling Stamp section, the “Have a Beautiful Day” project in the Die-cuts section, and the “Hi Hello” project in this section.

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Mixed-Media Products Review – Glimmer Paint

Another awesome media that is glimmer paint. Glimmer Paint is a fast-drying specialty ink that is pigment-based and permanent. Also, these inks are acid-free and fade-resistant. And, Hero Arts sells them in sets of two coordinating colors. And, they each come with an eyedropper screw top.

You can dilute these paints with water also to use to splatter and paint with. The Glimmer Paints provide a little more shimmer than the Pearls do. And, the Rose gold is especially gorgeous.

I use Glimmer Paint to paint the letters and splatter on the purple “Play” cover found in the Liquid Watercolor section. And, a wash of the rose Glimmer Paint provides the shimmery rose background on the “Have a Beautiful Day” project in the Cling Stamps section.

And, you can mix the Glimmer Paint with Hero Wax, this is what I use to color the ribbons on my Mixed Media accordion book.

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Accordion Book

A perfect way to collect all your mixed-media projects is in an Accordion Book.

The one that Hero Arts sells measures 5″ x 7″ and it has 8 fold-out panels of 140lb 100% recycled watercolor paper.  And, there’s a silky ribbon tie to fasten it shut.

This is a perfect way to store your projects. I struggle with being able to find things that I have made in the past to reference. This is the perfect solution.

Summary

Thank you for hanging with me all the way to the end. As you can see, you can have a lot of fun with mixed-media products. They can take you out of your comfort zone, but the results can be spectacular. I strongly recommend that you give them a try.

I want to mention that although I am reviewing the products we used for the Hero Arts Summer Stamp-Along, I encourage you to go through your stash to see what you might already have. And, have fun!

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