You are Magical

Hi friends! Happy Wednesday! I'm popping in today with a just for fun card with the Mermaid Dreams set I recently ordered from Whimsy Stamps, as part of a prize from the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. It's always so much fun to try out new to me stamp companies! I loved this little mermaid tail image and the sentiments in the set are all fabulous, so it just had to hop in my cart, along with a bunch of  adorable gnomes and coffee stamps! {grin} Now to find the time to color them all up!

I colored up the mermaid tail image with Copic markers then fussy cut, doing the same with the little starfish.  I then used a Square Window Tag die cut for the frame, cut from kraft cardstock, and then a gain for the center piece in white. I blended the white inner piece with speckled egg distress ink, then stippled on some white paint for ocean spray onto both pieces of the tag, layering them together to allow the mermaid tail to stick out on top.  I added some seam binding to the top of the tag, then stamped a sentiment from the Mermaid Dreams set on a circele die cut.  I finished off with a distress ink background I had in my stash.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope your day is magical!

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Everyone Can Sea You're Awesome

Hi friends! I'm popping in with a much needed non-Christmas card! 😂 While I really enjoy making Christmas cards throughout the year, a bunch right smack in the middle of summer is a little daunting. I was glad to take a break and create this summertime creation.

July is coming to a close and that means there are only a few days left to pick up the July Stamp of the Month, Sentimental Wordfetti, free with a $60 order. This set is filled with all sorts of sweet, uplifting sentiments. Here I paired it with the new Fin-tastic Friends set.

To start this card, I was staring at this sweet little mermaid and her accoutrements that I had previously colored and fussy cut. When I placed her on the rock, I decided it would be fun to play off the rock idea with the you rock sentiment from Sentimental Wordfetti. So I die cut a circle, then masked off the outer portion of it and used a stencil and antique linen distress rays to add some rays. I thought it looked a little like a clam shell. Then I curved the sentiment on an acrylic block and stamped all around the circle. I then layered my stamped images to create a little scene.

Next I moved on to the background. This one had started out as a galaxy background, but I realized a little too late that I had chosen a different paper than I normally blend with. Everything was turning out too light and I could feel it was going to take way too much effort to get the dark effect I was going for, so quickly changed my idea to a sea background. I used two different blues and greens from the Hero Arts reactive inks line and then splattered with water and blotted off a few times. I then splattered on some Anchor's Away Shimmerz. When this was dry, I took a round bubble stencil and wiped away a bit of ink with a baby wipe for a very soft texture. I had to bring in some more sparkle by coating my stamped images with Angel Wings Shimmers, then I finished with favorite sentiment from Fin-tastic Friends.

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙

Rest for the Weary

Hi friends! I'm popping in today with a fun card featuring the new By the Sea set from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. It *may* be because as a mom of twins, I'm so weary all the time, but this verse speaks to my soul. Oh, how I would love to sit seaside and just rest.

I started by coloring the Adirondack scene and shells with Copic markers, leaving the sky blank. I then masked off the umbrella and the sea and sponged on some squeezed lemonade, mustard seed, and spiced marmalade distress oxides for the sunset. This panel is cut down to size and then popped up on a foam sheet.

I stamped the verse directly onto the card front, then layered a few fussy cut seashells as an accent in the corner.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! If you're in the mood to shop, there's a little sale going on at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps this weekend. Use code CGOFSALE for 15% off your order through 7/22/19.

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for shopping from my links and supporting this blog. 💙

Wideness of the Sea

Hi friends! Today I'm sharing an art journal page with y'all. I don't typically photograph my pages, but I just started a new journal and liked how it turned out, so here you go!

This page, like most art journaling pages, did not turn out at all how it started! I randomly watched a YouTube video the other day and the artist created an entire landscape with just a couple drops of acrylic paint and a big round brush and palette knife. I really wanted to give it a go, so I pulled out some of the closest paints I had, which happened to be impasto paints to experiment.

Now, impasto paints are much thicker than traditional acrylic paints, and I forgot this little nugget of knowledge... until I plopped my brush into my drop of paint and the paint didn't move like it should have! LOL I then grabbed a stencil brush thinking maybe that would help it move a little better, but nope. Not the effect I was going for. So out came the baby wipes and I tried wiping it away. And wouldn't you know, a little serendipity.... the wiped down surface looked wave like. So I continued adding paint, wiping it away, etc, until I achieved a background I liked.

Then I added the quote from By the Sea in the lightest portion of the page. It says,  There is a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea. - Frederick William Faber. Playing off the sentiment, I added the word mercy using the Happy Alpha set in broken china. I added some accents with a white gel pen and then started wiping in a bit of chance of rain spray to add a little depth to the waves.

I masked a couple of the sea shells from the set and stamped them overlapping in the corner and painted with a little So Sappy Shimmerz paint.  Next I added a little ephemera piece on the side and outlined with a black stabilo marks all pencil, then blended with a wipe and added some black in the same way to the edges of the page as well.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for shopping from my links and supporting this blog. 💙

Hello from the Ocean Side

Hi friends! Today I'm sharing a super fun ocean creation I created with the June Missy Whidden Color Kit from Shimmerz Paints and the new Hey Gillfriend stamp set from The Cat's Pajamas. I am seriously crushing on the ocean vibes you can get with the two bluish sprays in this month's Missy kit. That Hint of Mint spray is my new favorite color, but it's exclusive to the kit, so if you want some seriously awesome aqua spray, head on over and pick up one of the kits before they're gone.

To begin this card, I paired that glorious Hint of Mint Spritz with the Chance of Rain Spritz, spraying, smooshing and splashing to create some deep ocean vibes. To give it even more depth, I splattered on some It's Mint to Be Shimmerz. Holy shine, Batman!

Once my background was how I wanted it, I pulled out Hey Gillfriend and colored up this sweet little mermaid with Copic markers. I added some Angel Wings Shimmerz accents for a bit of sparkle and then coated with some crystal lacquer for a glossy finish. Mmmmm..... good!

I imagined my little mermaid sitting on a coral reef deep in the ocean, so stamped the coral images several times across the page, embossing with white puff embossing powder for some extra texture.  I tucked in a few little stamped and colored seashells from the stamp set and some shell confetti from the By the Sea Confetti Mix.

Next I moved on to the sentiment. I wanted to use one of the sweet Dotz included in the kit, and decided on a simple hi. To frame it, I die cut some circles from paper I had colored with Chance of Rain and Hint of Mint sprays respectively, then layered them together, popping in a few little sea creatures to add to the whimsy.  I finished with a few pearl accents on the scalloped edges. There you have it. If you haven't picked up this kit yet, you better hurry. It's a definite keeper!

As always, if you place an order in the Shimmerz shop, enter my name in the order comments so they know who sent you!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope your day Shimmerz!


Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for shopping from my links and supporting this blog. 💙

Mojo Monday 518

Hi friends! Can you believe it's already time for another Mojo Monday challenge? It seems like the weeks are going by faster and faster. A big thanks to all of you who have been playing along, it's so fun to peek in on your creations and see what loveliness you craft with these sketches. Hope you have fun with this one.

As always, you're free to play along with any papercrafting products your heart desires. Use the sketch as inspiration for your creation, then come link it up below so I can come take a look! The linky for this challenge will close on June 30, 2019. I have included dimensions on the graphic later in this post, but feel free to change them up to suit your needs.

Masculine cards are sometimes tough, but I love to create what I call beachy masculine cards. Lots of sand, surf and ruggedness always seems to fit the bill. On this card I made for my Dad, I've got all of that going on, courtesy of some new and old stamping goodies from Hero Arts.

I started out with the new Jungle Mist liquid watercolor. This color is fantastic! A bit aqua, a bit teal, a bit jungle green depending on how intense you paint it. Love it here as a backdrop on watercolor paper.

Once I was happy with the wash, I started stamping with the Color Layering Palm Tree set. This image is fantastic, and it was super easy to line up by die cutting first with the coordinating frame cuts and then stamping the solid fronds in lime green and then the detail fronds in emerald green using the MISTI stamping tool. I repeated the process with the tree trunk using soft brown and cup o' joe inks. I then die cut two more trees from cardstock to layer behind my stamped tree for thickness.

Next I moved on to the sentiment.  I pulled out the oldie but goodie, Happy Stamp & Cut set. I cut the happy die cut three times from brown cardstock, then stamped the father's day sentiment onto my watercolored panel in cup o' joe ink.

To finish the card, I splattered some art print brown and cocoa liquid watercolors on pebble cardstock and distressed the edges of the white and pebble panels.  I then wrapped some natural linen thread around the bottom under the tree, then glued everything together to finish things off.

Alrighty, now it's your turn! I hope you enjoy creating with this sketch!

Join me for Mojo Monday!

Click here to enter

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a super creative start to your week!

I so appreciate when you click on my compensated affiliate links to shop. I get a very small percentage, but it's enough to cover the monthly fees for the linkup widget for Mojo Monday and the email subscriber service for my blog, which makes me (and hubby) happy! 💙

My Supply List

She Sells Seashells

Hi friends! In between my chauffeur gig to daily swimming and tennis lessons, I managed to squeeze in a little creative time this week. I've been itching to color up this sweet little mermaid from the new Mer-mazing set.

I stamped her in Copic safe ink, then colored with Copics, deciding to give her auburn hair and purple fins. After she was colored, I fussy cut her out, then stamped two of the little flower accents to layer in her hair.

Next I got to work on the background. I recently watched a video from Kelly Latevola where she made a beach scene, so I decided to give it a go.  I used antique linen, brushed corduroy and walnut stain for the sand and tumbled glass, salty ocean and chipped sapphire for the sea and sky.  The white is done with white acrylic paint and a dry stipple brush. I love the surf look it created.

I was surprised by how well it turned out, since it looked like a hot mess during the process! 😆 I had originally planned to stamp the sentiment directly onto the background, but I was so afraid I'd mess up that I wimped out and stamped it on a circle die cut and used the same technique to create sea and sky and then popped it up over the horizon.  I finished off with a few little seashells and some wink of stella shimmery accents.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fantastic start to your weekend.

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting this blog by using my links to shop. 💙

Hope to Sea You Soon

Hi friends! Today I'm popping in with a card I made with the ADORABLE new Mer-mazing stamp set from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. This set is filled with so much cuteness! I love all of the images, but I was drawn to the sand dollar first. When I was very young we lived in Washington state and often drove to the coast to visit friends. I remember walking along in my flip flops (we called them thongs back then), with sand between my toes, searching for sand dollars during every trip. I collected them all in a little glass jar and treasured them for years and years, especially once we moved to Idaho and trips to the coast were few and far between.

I started my card by stamping the sand dollar from Mer-mazing in brown ink all across a panel of white cardstock. I colored them lightly with Copic markers and then decided I wanted to add in some sea. So I used a piece of vellum to trace around the upper sides of the images and then cut with scissors to use as a mask. Remember how I said the two blues in the June Missy Whidden Color Kit from Shimmerz made some great effects? Well, that's what I used here, using a plastic bag to aid in smooshing Hint of Mint and Chance of Rain spritz onto the top section of my paper.  A few splatters of both colors added a bit of depth to the effect.

When the sea was how I liked it, I stamped the litte flipflop image, colored with Copics and then cut and popped up on foam tape for a little dimension.  The sentiment is stamped onto a white circle die cut that I shaded to give it the same look as the sand dollars.To finish off I added a little Angel Wings Shimmerz to the sand dollars and flip flops for a hint of sparkle.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fabulously creative day. If you haven't had a chance yet, be sure to swing by the shop and check out the June Sweet 'n Sassy release. If you find you need them all, there's a great deal on the June Early Bird Bundle through June 9.

COUPON:
Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps will be closed June 6 - 11. All orders placed during that time will start shipping when they return. Use code PABOUND for 15% off your order placed during this time.

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting this blog by using my links to shop. 💙

Sneaky Peek + TCP Tuesday Reminder

Hi friends! It's the beginning of Sneaky Peek Week at The Cat's Pajamas. I've got an unofficial sneaky peek for you combined with a little reminder about the current TCP Tuesday challenge. Each day over the next week, the Cat Pack will be peeking projects with the new goodies. Once a product is peeked, it will be available for purchase on the website! Which means there's no waiting if you see something you just have to have! Hooray! Head on over to The Cat's Pajamas Blog to see the official list of today's peekers and then leave some comments on their blogs/instagrams for a chance to win some Cat Cash!

My card today combines the fin-tastic new Hey Gillfriend stamp set and the Porthole Duo Die being peeked today with the Move It TCP Tuesday challenge to make an interactive card. Let me just say this Hey Gillfriend set is adorable! I just love all the fun images for building your own little ocean scene.

I started my card by stamping this sweet little mermaid in copic safe ink and then coloring with Copics and fussy cutting. If unlike me, you know how to use your cutting machine, Alma always makes free cutting files available for stamp sets that don't have matching dies. Someday maybe I'll plug my machine in and figure out how it works!

After my main image was done, I decided to work on a shaker element using the Porthole Duo Die. The outer die creates the frame and embosses the little porthole dots. I wanted mine to stand out, so I left the die cut in the die, then used it as a stencil to sponge distress ink over the little holes. I then took the inner cut with the coral and seahorse and taped off different areas so I could color in with distress inks and a blending sponge. When this was finished, I placed it at the bottom, then topped with a circle frame cut with regular nesting circle dies and a piece of acetate to form the shaker.  I filled it with some of the gorgeous new Blue Lagoon holeless sequins. For a little more accent, I rimmed the entire frame with white Nuvo drops.

The background is done using the smooshing technique with water reactive inks. I then decided to add a wobbler for the sentiment. I stamped the sentiment and drew a little frame around it with a black pen so it looked like a sign. Then I added the sweet little seahorse from the set.  The wobbler portion is done with the pull tab from the Slider die and I followed Alma's video instructions to make a wobbler.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! We hope you'll play along in our challenge. And don't forget to pop over to the TCP Blog today for links to today's peekers. Leave some love on their blogs and/or Instagram accounts for a chance to win.

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for shopping from my links and supporting this blog. 💙