#1137 – Layered and Lively Underwater Scene

Hello and welcome! After having just around 3 challenges for most of the last two years, my sister and I are challenging ourselves to keep it up with our Inspiration Station challenges this year. A challenge to keep a challenge… go figure!! 😀

Welcome to another installation of the Inspiration Station challenge between us sisters, where we pick any theme that pleases each of us alternatively, and we come up with projects on our own to meet it. Here are the past challenges we have had. This time it was my sister’s turn to give us the challenge and she gave us a Tic Tac Toe board –

I wanted to pick the Steampunk, since we rarely use that theme and I rarely get to play with something steampunk. However, I just wasn’t able to come up with an idea that I was happy with and could also actually make with my own hands. So, I decided to just drop it this time. After all, even though it is a challenge, the primary purpose is to enjoy and not put more pressure on myself to create something I can’t! So, then I switched to nature and decided to go with the topmost row – Nature-Teal-Diecut.

And here’s what I made –

I wanted to add layers. Lots of layers. But I didn’t want it too bulky and I didn’t want the look/feel of a shadow card. I also liked the look of this and this card on Pinterest. I decided to incorporate a look of layers and also a window, but keep it as flat as possible.

So, I first started with a long panel of watercolor paper, colored it on top with yellow for the penetrating sunshine followed by gradually darkening shades of teal. Setting this aside to dry, I stamped and watercolored the fishes from My Favorite Things Gill Friends stamp set. Once they dried, I added some additional shading using Faber Castell Pastel color pencils. I then fussy cut them all. I also stamped and fussy some underwater plants from Paper Trey Ink Salt Air Flora and Trinity Stamps Sea Life Silhouettes.

To assemble my card, I first die cut the long watercolored panel using My Favorite Things Ocean Waves to get different stripes of waves. I then trimmed them to have a width of about quarter of an inch shorter than the actual card base and while adhering them, I added a small piece of foam tape in the center while adering the sides to the card base directly. Since my watercolor panel was significantly longer than my card base, I also easily overlapped the pieces so that no white was showing from underneath the gaps.

To cover this, I die cut a panel of white cardstock using My Favore Things Watercolor Wash. This die does not have circles, which also I wanted to die cut. So I found a few other dies in my stash (I used a few from My Favorite Things Birds of a Feather and Winnie & Walter Ring in the Celebration). I then tucked in the plants and then the fishes, added a bit of foam tape underneath the fishes whever I thought I needed some dimension.

I then added quite a few sequins – they would act as bubbles and also provide shimmer to the card. I didn’t add a sentiment to this one. I thought I might add something once I decided who to send it to! 😉

Checkout the charming art journal page that my sister has created for this challenge. She has used what I wanted to use and I love what she has created!

Thank you so much for dropping by!

#1125 – Card Chain Challenge September

Hello and welcome! I got to join the Card Chain Challenge again for the September challenge and today’s the reveal day.

The September challenge had the following options:

Colour Palette Option

(Exact matching is not required.)

Sketch Option

(Orient as desired.)

Theme Options: Flamingos / Fish / Friendship

Product / Technique Options:  Foil / Silhouette

And here’s what I made –

If not obvious, I used the colors, the sketch, the Friendship theme and the Foil from the product option.

I started with the background, using Neat and Tangled Rice Paddies stencil. I didn’t have a teal colored ink in my stash, so I used green ink and blue on top of that, going over the same areas so that both the inks blend together to give a teal.

Once done, I set that aside and stamped the mermaid, the shell and the starfish from the Simon Says Stamp Be a Mermaid on white cardstock using VersaFine Onyx black ink and colored them using distress inks. On the mermaid tail, I also used Perfect Pearls of similar colors and also Gansai Tambi Starry Skies in gold to get the colors from the theme. I then fussy cut all the images and went over the edges using black Zig brush marker.

I die cut three panels of increasing size from white cardstock using Hero Arts Infinity Dies Arches. On the middle panel, I added a strip of foiled washi tape, which had a gorgeous wavy pattern on it. On the top panel, I stamped images from Trinity Stamps Sea Life Silhouettes. I then adhered the pieces over the stencilled card base. After that, I adhered the mermaid tail, the shell and star fish and also a few sequins. I also added a few drops of the same gold from Gansai Tambi Starry Skies. I then stamped the sentiment from Winnie and Walter The Big, The Bold and The Happy stamp set.

I got this beautiful card and some lovely die cuts from Linda this month!

Checkout the entire chain of cardmakers who participated this time in the the Card Chain Challenge challenge blog. Wow! I am so impressed every single time by the variety of cards!

Thank you so much for stopping by! 🙂

#1120 – Find the Mail!

PE: Shout out at Just us Girls challenge!

Honorable Mention at Addicted to Stamps and More!

Hello and welcome! We have a new challenge up at Seize the Birthday and this time, out leading lady Jules, has asked us to use ‘No Flowers‘. Of course, there’s always the option of ‘Anything Goes‘ which means that if you are a flower person, you can always make a birthday project of theme you choose and join the party!

And here’s what I created –

No flowers under the sea! Bright corals are a good substitution for flowers though, and I managed to add one. 🙂 The images are from a few ocean themed stamps that I own – Waffle Flower Mermaid Mail, Paper Trey Ink Salt Air Flora and Trinity Stamps Sea Life Silhouettes. The paper is Canson Montval, which I watercolored using Daniel Smith watercolors.

Once dry, I trimmed the piece into a little lesser than 6″x 3 3/4″. I then wrapped a piece of acetate around it and taped it in the back, leaving the top open, dropped a few different sequins into it and sealed it in the back as well. I then taped this onto a white cardbase measuring 6″x4″.

For the sentiment, I first die cut a panel from the same white cardstock using My Favorite Things Stitched Jumbo Fishtail Banner, stamped the sentiments from Simon Says Stamp Seas and Greetings + Tiny Words: Birthday stamp sets. I also stamped the shell and a few tiny fish. I then scored and folded the piece to wrap around the front flap of the cardbase and stapled it. Of course, I had also added some tape behind it to make sure it stayed in place.

And that’s my no-flower card! Did you spot the lost mail yet? Not so difficult to spot, is it? The mermaid’s fish friend seems to have spotted it as well! 🙂

I’m joining the following challenges with my card –

Just us Girls challenge #788: Word Week: Birthday

Addicted to Stamps and More challenge #499: Any Occasion

Neglected Stuff challenge #825 (I had never used the Trinity Stamps Sea Life Silhouettes since i bought it a couple of years ago!)

Checkout the Seize the Birthday challenge blog to see what other ideas you can use to make cards without flowers, showcased by our talented DT and guests.

Thank you so much for stopping by! 🙂