
Hi there! Today is the Hero Arts May My Monthly Hero release and blog hop to celebrate it. You should have arrived here from Debi Adams, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse.

This month’s kit is a marvelous one-full of beautiful marine images: coral, jellyfish, seahorses, fish (even Nemo!)… and some darling punny sentiments with beautiful fonts. This month’s kit contents are valued at $70, but can be purchased for $34.99! These kits frequently sell out very quickly, so don’t hesitate to purchase, because once it’s gone, it’s gone! You can also subscribe to ensure that you get your own kit every month.

The images in this month’s kit are quite substantially sized; I wanted to use the main coral reef image as the base for my scene, and since it is such a large image, I decided to create a slimline card (3.5″x8.5″). I began by trimming down a panel of Arctic cardstock to slimline size, then used the new Water Flow Slimline Stencil to blend Tide Pool and Pool inks using blending brushes. I then spritzed some White Iridescent Shimmer Spray over the top of the stencil as well to create an extra shimmery background.

Next, I heat embossed several images from this month’s kit onto some white cardstock using White Satin Pearl embossing powder, then die cut them with the coordinating frame cuts and used a huge variety of inks and ink blending tools to add a rainbow of color to the embossed die cuts. (I’ll link the individual colors below.)

Finally, I used Moonstone pigment ink and more White Satin Pearl embossing powder to emboss the cute sentiment from this month’s kit. I adhered all of the pieces using foam adhesive, sometimes using a double layer to add lots of extra dimension. The final touch was to add some “bubbles” with iridescent gems. Lots of sparkle and shine on this one!

Now, for a completely different style. I have always fancied super high end stationery, and the new Seashells Fancy Dies are perfect for creating a quick, elegant card with just two shades of cardstock. I began by die cutting the scalloped shell from the Seashells Fancy Dies set from some pearlescent gold cardstock. The details in the die cut are so beautiful!

I trimmed a panel of Nautical cardstock down to slightly smaller than A2-sized, then used one of the Square Infinity dies to to die cut a window from the center of the panel. I heat embossed a greeting from the new Color Layering Abalone stamp set using Brass embossing powder.

I popped up the embossed frame panel on another full size A2 panel of Nautical cardstock using foam adhesive, then popped up the seashell using some more foam tape. The final touch to add a touch more gold to this overall simple card was to add some golden pearls.
Now for some fun giveaway information!
Hero Arts will give away one $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, May 9th at 11:59pm pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week. The more comments you leave, the greater your chances to win!
Your next stop on the hop is Ilina Crouse. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Gasp…. pastel colors are breathtaking! I can only image how beautiful that is in person.
This card shows up nice in the photo but the way you describe it – it must be beautiful in person.
Oh my, these cards are gorgeous! I love the white embossing.
Beautiful projects, love the soft and dreamy slimline card! And the second so elegant and bold!
Love how you show such drastically different ideas. Off the charts amazing 🙂
Lovely cards!
Fin-tastic cards! Thanks for the ideas and can’t wait for my kit!
2 very different cards & i love them both!
Love this wonderful kit. Your cards are beautiful.
Emily I just love the way you put these cards together. Both stand out uniquely and have such character. I am in awe of the cards and the kit is just rocking!
What a fun release. I love your cards, especially the last, blue and gold one. It’s stunning in its simplicity with such rich colors.
This blog hop is killing me. I *need* this kit and the add-ons….So beautiful and so elegant, Emily.
Hi, Emily – I think you are a genius. You are everywhere designing for all these different companies and then you come out with these STUNNING cards. The blue one w/ the shell is positively regal-looking and the first one is jaw-droppingly awesome. LOVE THAT!! Love the effect of that Water Flow stencil.
Lori S in PA
Love the soft pastels on your slimline and the simple elegance of your second card!!!
These stamps are beautiful colored brightly, boldly and in pastels. So pretty!
Ohh that pastel card is gorgeous!!!!
I love the white embossing and the CAS Navy and gold!!
Love your cards. they are beautiful
Such a beautiful choice of soft pastel colors!
So beautiful!
Your soft colors look so pretty. I love the effect
Wonderful creations with soft colors and stunning with sea shell die with the fine cardstock.
Melissa
“Sunshine HoneyBee”
Love the beautiful rainbow colored corals!
Great use of the longer card to create the scene.
Love the seashell card – simple and elegant! I recently made one similar using an anchor for a friend of my daughter’s who loves anchors.
I have been loving all the bright colors on this hop so the pastels you used were a surprise, a pleasant surprise. Your card is just beautiful. The second card is so high end and elegant, yet so simple to achieve. I just love it!
The gold seashell card is so beautiful. Simple yet very elegant!
I have not done a slim line card yet but this will get me to do one.
Stunning!!!
Beautiful cards! I especially love the elegant Navy card! Thanks for sharing
Lovely cards! I love the CAS look of the second one!
Beautiful cards! Love the scene you created with these pretty colors! Awesome dimension and details! Your second card looks so elegant!
Your ink blending is beautifully done.
Each card is SO different but both are fabulous. Love this underwater set!