Good morning! We’re continuing the Hero Arts May My Monthly Hero Countdown today and I’m sharing a bright and cheery card using the fantastic new kit!
I’ve mentioned this before but I am a complete marine biology nerd. My parents were both marine biologists early in their adult lives and shared their love of the ocean with me growing up. For a few years we lived in Monterey, California and weekly trips to the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium were the most amazing thing ever! So when I saw this super realistic set in the kit I was excited to color it! Now I was a little fanciful in my color choices but I don’t think I am too far off!
I started by stamping the images with versafine and heat-embossed them with clear embossing powder. I stamped the large image twice so I’d have some room to manipulate the images a bit to create my scene. Then I colored them with copic markers and die-cut them with the coordinating dies. After I created my blended background I colored around the edges of the die cuts so that they’d blend in better with my scene! I also stamped a bunch of the fish I believe to be moorish idol fish and colored them appropriately before die-cutting them!
Next I blended indigo, navy, and intense-ified black ink onto a panel of strathmore bristol smooth cardstock to create my ocean. I also stamped the sentiment from the kit with intense-ified black ink and trimmed it down to create an angled banner. I figured out the layout for the main aquarium image and then cut up the second image to fit around it especially on the lower right side and bottom left corner. It just filled out the image a bit more. Then I adhered everything to my blended background. I just love this kit and can’t wait to share more using it very soon!!
And that’s it for me! Head over to the Hero Arts blog for more inspiration using the May My Monthly Hero kit all weekend long!! And then I’ll be back Monday with the full kit reveal!!
For a chance to win a kit before you can buy it, just leave a comment on this (and every) Countdown to Creativity post. We’ll randomly draw one lucky winner from all the comments left across all countdown posts. The winner will be announced first thing Monday morning, May 3rd, before the kit launches at 10am Pacific. The more you comment, the more chances to win!
Thanks so much for visiting and enjoy the rest of your weekend!!
Your card is so incredible, Jessica. I think this card kit was made for you since your parents were marine biologists! I love it to and excited to get my hands on it!
Stunning colors! I love how you colored the die cut edges, too, to make them blend in!
Love your vibrant colors and full scene. It’s like a peek into the ocean for real!
You have a wonderful way with color. I think of the ocean as dark and cold, yet this is so natural and warm. Great idea to color those die cut edges, it makes a world of difference! Beautiful card.
Gorgeous card as always. Love the layout and colors.
Love your card! Great colors! Thanks for sharing.
Awesome cards! I could use some vitamin sea!
I am a big fan of aquariums too. The ones I’ve been to most often have been in North Carolina. Your card reminds me of the aquarium. So pretty and relaxing. Coloring the die cut edges blues is such a clever idea. Thanks for sharing this tip.
I have been to the Monterey Aquarium also and your card does a good job of reminding me of there. I love the realistic ocean corals and fish I have seen so far. Your card is lovely, great job!
Just love your ability to make your nerdy marine cards so bright and inspiring. Would love to be able to have the sight you have for colour and simplicity..
Hi Jessica, the colors have that WOW factor. Gorgeous!! Thx for sharing.
Your scene is very striking and I like the way you colored the edges around the die cuts to match the background. I’m loving this kit just like you are.
The colors on your card are just stunning! Can’t wait to see the stamps in real life.
I started off as a marine biologist too. Love your background story. Beautiful card.
So beautiful!
Wonderful colors!
WOW! Such great inspiration, those colors work so well together, great design! Can’t wait to see the full reveal!
So Beautiful! Love your scene. Thanks for sharing
Beautiful card! Love the colors, your design brings depth to the images and the fish look like they are about to swim right off the card.
Wonderful underwater scene. Great water blending background and awesome idea to color the reef stamp edges so it just blends in seamlessly.
and today I learned how to deal with that white edge on die cuts! You handled it beautifully and I am going to do that myself now. Thanks for your beautiful card–I can’t wait to see the full kit now!
Love the vibrancy of your card. It’s beautiful.
The red coral stands out so nicely against the blue sea.
Love the vibrant red coral against the blue sea.
This is a really pretty card – or aquarium! 🙂