Seahorses and Seashells

Keeping to the sea life theme I have created a third card, this time focusing on the By the Tide stamp set. This one features the seashells and adorable little seahorses. I changed the colour up a little and used more warm greens and orange hues vs the cool aqua and turquoise shades in my two previous cards.

I again made the background paper using inks applied directly to a clear stamping block; spritzed with a bit of water and then stamped off onto white cardstock. Any bare spots were filled in with lighter shades of ink using a sponge. Note I made two background pieces 9 approx. 4" x 5" in size so the inside can be finished to match the card front.

Next I stamped the coral in Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder. To highlight the embossed area I added a little Brown Sugar to the centers of each coral with a sponge. I then stamped the two seahorses towards the right of the card directly onto the background and coloured them using Copic markers. I added shadow shading to create a little depth and white gel pen highlights for added definition.

I didn't plan the layout of the card ahead of time, so when I decided I needed a third seahorse to the left, on top of the coral, I opted to stamp this on a scrap piece of cardstock, along with the seashells. Once these were coloured they were cut out/fussy cut. The sea horse was glued directly onto the card front where as the seashells were formed using a stylus on the back and then attached with a bit of foam tape to keep the 3D effect in tact.

The card front was trimmed to 4.75" x 5" and attached with foam tape onto a coral coloured mat measuring 4" x 5.25". My card base is ivory this time, not bright white. Finishing touches consist of several randomly placed pearls and little bit of twine tide to the right side of the card.

The inside was finished to match with a personalized message using several different sentiment stamps, choosing only the words I needed.

I had a strip of leftover background paper which I attached to the envelope flap for a cohesive finish.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections ivory and white, Bazzill peach/coral
Stamps: By the Tide, Handbill Headlines, Edgy Eloquence, feeling Sentimental - all SU
Ink: Pistachio Pudding, Mint Macaron, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake,
        Baked Brown Sugar, Tangerine Tango - all SU, Versamark, Memento - Tuxedo Black
Alcohol markers: YR04, YR02, YR24 (sea horses), YR000, YR00, YR02, BG10, BG13 (seashells)
                             C1, C3, C5, C7 (shadows) - All Copic
Misc.: white embossing powder, twine, various sizes of pearls 1/16", 1/8", 3/48"),
           foam mounting tape, sponge, water spritzer

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Just for you

It's time for me to try out my new SU stamps set. They have sat around in their box for far too long already. My fingers have been itching to play with the new Timeless Textures set for  while. love the different distressed textures. They are just so very versatile.

I started with a simple card using the different textures in layers to create a lovely sort of frame for my greeting.

I don't often use coloured cardstock as I do no ave too many colours on hand these days. This card is also just white. I inked the edges of my mat to match the sentiment perfectly. The card front was hen mounted onto my base with foam tap for a little added dimension. I also couldn't resist and used a few little rhinestones for a touch of sparkle.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollection white
Stamps: Timeless Textures, Botanicals for You - both SU
Ink: Tip top Taupe, Mossy Meadow, Blushing bride, Crisp Cantaloupe - all SU
Misc.: foam tape/mounting squares, tiny 1/16' and 3/16" rhinestones

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More Crazy birds

I made four more (had to use all six images) bird crazy cards in the same style as those from my previous blog post. 

 

I just love the little "sentiments" that come with the Crazy Talk stamp set. A great font and wonderfully quirky expressions that fit the style of these birds so well.

Again I used Copic markers to colour the birds and left the card front vey simple by only adding an embossed border.

 

For the last card in this set I used one of the larger font sentiments and added the little hearts form the matching Crazy Things set.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections white, 110 lbs
Stamps: Bird Crazy, Crazy Words, Crazy Things - Tim Holtz, Many Happy Returns, Timeless textures - SU
Embossing Folder: Distressed Frame - Tim Holtz
Ink: Tuxedo black - Memento, Pistachio Pudding, Tiptop Taupe, Basic Gray- SU
Alcohol markers: RY10, RY 21, RY 34, V15, V09, YR02, YR24, Y21, Y35, R11, R22, YR04, 0, 100, W1, W2, R17, R29, R89,  BG32, BG34 - Copic

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Bird Crazy

This Christmas my husband proved himself very generous as he surprised my with not only the Crazy Bird stamp set by Tim Holtz, but also the coordinating Crazy Things and Bird talk stamps. As well as the dies for both the birds and things.

I had been eyeing these for quite sometime but just could not justify the cost. Suffice it to say I will be making se of these sets quite a bit in the near future.

It didn't take long for me to break in these stamps. I quickly started by stamping one of each bird onto watercolour paper. Yes, I said watercolour paper. I decided to try water colouring first before I opt for my Copics. Mind you I've not really water coloured much before. Sometime last year I gave it a somewhat unsuccessful try when I coloured a butterfly image. Of course I also didn't; have any good quality paper at the time. I enjoyed it much more this time around and d believe that I was also much more successful.

My first finished card is this fun birthday greeting.

I went all out and dressed up this little fellow with party hat and a bunch of balloons.
I also die cut his eyes and beak and popped those with a little foam tape. After the card was fully assembled I gave it a quick spray with some diluted walnut stain.

Overall I love how this first attempt turned out.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections white (base) Bazzill Honey - background, SU watercolour paper
Ink: Various SU colours - Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Curry, More Mustard, Tangelo Twist,
        Night of Navy, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Early Espresso
Stamps: Tim Holtz - Bird Crazy, Bird Talk, Crazy Things, Inkadinkado - Baroque Scrolls
Dies: Tim Holtz - Bird Crazy, Crazy Things, SU - Banner Thinlits
Misc.: spray bottle with walnut stain, foam tape/mounting square

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