
It’s release day at Hero Arts! We’re celebrating the February release with a blog hop and giveaway and if you’ve arrived from Pocono Pam’s blog, you’re right on track. If you’d like to start from the beginning, head on over to the Hero Arts blog.
This month’s kit theme is tropical Hawaii; oh how I long to be on a warm beach! The entire kit is a great value at $34.99 when its contents are valued at $70!

Aloha
I started off my first card today by using the coordinating surfboard die from the kit to cut three surfboards from Dove White cardstock. Using small images from the kit’s stamp set, I stamped patterns in Copic-friendly Intens-ified Black ink onto the surfboards and then colored in the patterns with Copic markers. Next, I stamped, colored, and die cut two palm trees and the two birds of paradise images.
With my coloring done, I set to work on the background. I started with a 4.25″ x 5.5″ panel of Dove white cardstock and used Post-It Tape to mask off the top two-thirds of the panel. Using a blending brush, I blended on Antigua Mid-Tone Shadow ink and then darkened it along the mask (which is the horizon) with a bit of Ocean Dye ink. Because I knew I was going to cover the bottom area with Sand embossing powder, I went ahead and blended right to the bottom edge of the panel.
Next, I reversed the mask, masking off the bottom third of the panel. To create a soft blue sky, I blended Soft Sky over the panel, then added Cornflower, and then a bit of Blue Hawaii to deepen the sky towards the top of the panel.
When the panel was dry, I used Clear Embossing & Watermark ink and White Puff embossing powder to heat emboss the waterline image from the stamp set. White Puff powder gives a big of a raised texture which I thought would be nice to simulate a bit of ocean foam.
Next, I used a sponge dauber to cover the bottom area of the panel with embossing ink. I sprinkled Sand embossing powder (a 0.5 oz jar is included in the kit) over the sticky ink and then hit it with a heat gun. To thicken the layer of sand, I added more embossing over the area I’d just heated and then poured more embossing powder over the panel before hitting it again with a heat gun.
To assemble the card, I adhered the elements with a variety of adhesive dots and foam tape. To give the surfboards the appearance of being stuck in the sand, I used a craft knife to cut small slits in the panel and then tucked the ends of the board through the slits. Finally, I stamped the sentiment and then adhered the card front to a card base.


You’re Hula Amazing
For my second card, I used a sentiment from the kit and and a few add-ons from the release.
I created a yellow spotlight area by masking off the borders of a 4.25″ x 5.5″ inch panel and using a blending brush to blend Dandelion ink into the center of the panel. I deepened the color with a bit of Butter Bar towards the top before removing the mask.
Next, I stamped and colored the dancing woman from the Vintage Paradise stamp set. I used the coordinating die to cut her out and then set her aside.
For the large flower and leaves, I used the new Hibiscus Fancy Die set, cutting the flower once from Azalea cardstock and once from Papaya cardstock. I pieced the inner piece of the orange die cut into the outer piece of the pink die cut and then used a bit of clear tape on the back to hold the pieces together. I die cut the leaves from Kiwi cardstock and the pistil from a piece of scrap white cardstock that I inked up with Dandelion ink.
I stamped a sentiment from the monthly kit and then I used foam tape to adhere the large bloom over the leaves, as well as to adhere the dancer. To finish, I adhered the card front to a card base.
Thank you so much for coming by! Your next stop is Nichol Spohr! Be sure to scroll down for information about the giveaway and for the full blog hop list.

Giveaway
Hero Arts will give away one $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, February 7th at 11:59 PM Pacific time, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.
The hibiscus fancy die set is perfect! Not too crazy to paper piece this one! Cute surfboards as well!
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Beautiful!
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Oh I love the ideas for the surfboards. Totally going to do that.
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Awesome Tropical Theme Kit this month! I love your creations, especially the decorated surf boards card!
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Surf is up with the wonderful colored surf boards & the Hulu gurl is taking me back to wonderful memories of trip to Maui & Oahu.
Melissa
“Sunshine HoneyBee”
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Beautiful cards. Love the surfboards, you are so clever.
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Gorgeous scene!!! I want to be there! I love the hula girl too!
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Love the surfboards! Lovely scenes. Wish I was there!
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WOWEE! Love the way you’ve decorated the surfboards. Great scene. Thanks for including how you used the sand embossing powder. I wasn’t quite sure how that would work, but it does look sand.
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You got me with those surf boards! Love them and how you created this fantastic card!
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Very cute!
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I’m not going to take up surfing, but if I was I would want you to decorate my board!
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Oh my gosh, the surfboards look just adorable! GREAT idea to decorate them with the little images.
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So beautiful!
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Your cards are lovely. I love the sand embossing powder and the hibiscus die cut!
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Love the surf boards!
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Great idea about the different surfboards! Very cool! Love the colors too
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Great cards! Very pretty. Thanks for sharing.
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Fabulous cards! I love the decorated surfboards! Awesome colors!
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Fantastic cards! I love how you stamped little images on the surfboards and the sand looks awesome!
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I love the diy surfboards. They are very colorful and fun!
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Gorgeous cards! Love the awesome beach scene you created.
Thanks so much for sharing.
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Brilliant cards, Seeka! I love your wonderful surfboards!!! Super designs and beautiful colours! Thanks so much for the great inspiration! Stay safe! 🙂
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Great beach scene! I love the vintage hula girl card. 🏝🌞
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Such a wonderful card! I just love how you decorated all the surf boards differently- so creative!
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So lovely!
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I like the idea for the boards. Nice layout!
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Lovely, fun, and I wanna dance in the sand! Great kit!
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I LOVE the surf board card! So bright and cheery!
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Pretty tropical colors on both and love the sandy beach.
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These cards are so vibrant and colorful. I love them.
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Both your cards are so nice! Your surfboards with the patterns are so cute and creative!
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I love how you did the surfboards!
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