Paradise is a State of Mind

One of my favorite sentiment stamp sets is from HoneyBee Stamps with its tropical sentiments and fun fonts. I used it for today's card to go with the seashell theme that I CASEd from Joy Baldwin of @createitwithjoy on Instagram. My card is for the monthly CASE It Hop on IG and I asked her permission to make a card from one of her many cards that I love. She graciously allowed me to make a similar card and this is what I came up with. Check out her card gallery and all the amazing designs she has there. She is so inspiring and creative.

When I saw Joy's card recently I kept it in mind for a card design to try this summer, and here it is! I once saw the shells in my set used with gold and I have been wanting to try it. I am glad I did. The shells are a two-step process using the solid stamp with a base color, then the detail stamp for a darker, or as I did, a heat embossed gold layer. I used soft colors while Joy used brighter beachy washes of color. I think our sentiments are similar fonts, too.

I made the shells first, then I die cut them. Next I stamped the swipes of color for the background using the same colors I did for the shells. Then I made the gold embossed sentiment and I added the shells either adhered directly onto the panel or popped up with foam tape.  I added the enamel dots instead of spattering color like Joy did because I am horrible at that technique! The panel is 3 3/4' x 5" and is popped up on foam tape on a white A2 card base.

What I used:

• Ellen Hutson Shells stamp and die sets
• HoneBee Seabreeze stamp set
• Stampin' Up! Work of Art stamp set, Gold embossing powder
• Versamark Watermark ink pad
• Concord & 9th ink pads
• Ranger Distress ink pad
• Powder tool
• Mama Elephant Matte White Enamle Dots (that you can add color to for matching your ink colors)

Take a minute to hop along with us. You can start with my account @sawithadtomakeit and hop along from there.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Carol

Birthday Splash

Pool time anyone? I saved a photo of a beach towel I saw online a while ago, and the other day I finally made a card of my own from the design. It took me back to my high school swim team days and I reminisced the whole time I was making it. I am playing along with the Inspired By Challenge #IB396 Poolside. I made the swimmers' bathing suits in the bright colors of neighboring schools' colors at that time and the pool colors are from the IB graphic aqua from the given color suggestions. I also used their layout design of horizontal rectangles.

Here is the West Elm pool towel that inspired my card.

My card is a "snapshot" view of  a bigger pool for a swim meet. I started by stenciling the pattern in the background to look like tiles on the bottom of the pool. I cut thin strips of striped patterned paper for the lane lines. After putting their suits and caps on, I put the swimmers in their lanes, then created a three layer edge around the pool. Finding a sentiment was easy since this is a topic that is a big percentage of my stash. I added dew drops for water splashes. 

Products I used:

• Simply Graphic Swimmer dies
• Pink and Main stencil
• Waffle Flower Nesting Rectangle Frames die
• Concord & 9th Dew Drops
• Avery Elle Splash stamp set
• Spellbinders frame die
• Distress ink
• Red and white striped patterned paper

Are you able to jump in a pool this hot summer?  Sounds good every single day lately!

Thanks for stopping in,

Carol

Good Times and Tan Lines

Our Just Us Girls Challenge #831 Word Week is all about Play. I had a couple of options but I just love Colorado Craft Company drawings by Anita Jeram and went with her Beach Life stamp set. These little animals are definitely having a good time playing in the sand at the beach. I remember as a kid when burying someone in the sand was a fun thing to do. I was into sandcastles and collecting shells. Here's my card with its crude colored pencil skills.

The products I used:

• Colorado Craft Company Beach Life stamp set
• The Greetery Postage dies
• Papertrey Ink Build a Sailboat die set
• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad
• Prismacolor colored pencils
• Wink of Stella pen
• White Signo pen

I stamped the images, then colored for an evening and the next morning. It's not great, but you get the idea that there are bright colors amongst the animals and their beach tools, and more subdued colors in the sand, surf and sky.

Be sure to visit the team's blogs for all the details and why they chose something for "play" as the theme. Our guest for July is Bonnie and she'd love for you to stop by her blog as well! Please join us with your version of play: You can play an instrument/music, play a board game or sport, play a character in a play, play the lottery, etc. We can't wait to see the gallery!

Happy Summer!

Carol

A Breath of Fresh Air

Hello there! Thanks for stopping by. This card was a labor of love. These die sets have lots of die cutting and there is stenciling and stamping as well, but they are fun and offer lots of options for different versions of cards.

Our Time Out Challenge #318 is Inspired by Water, and there are so many possibilities for a card such as a lake, ocean, pool, a glass full of water, rain, a vase full of it, etc. We hope you will have fun making a "water" card and join us for this challenge. My card is about being by the water. Whether living there or staying there briefly, it is my kind of place to be.

Our guest this time around is Kathy Asper of myasperations, and you will want to read about her card on her blog, as we invite you to do with each Time Out team member. I learn new techniques from the team and guests and learn about them as people with the stories they tell. It is worth your time to visit their blogs.

Our wonderful sponsor is our own Design Team Member, Jaydee. She is generously offering Pinkfresh Studios Berries & Blossoms Stamp, Die & Stencil Bundle as the prize for our Challenge Winner.

What I used to make my card:

• Concord & 9th Seaside stamps, stencils and dies, ink pads
• Spellbinders Beyond the Door dies
• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad
• Stampin' Up! Classic Ink pads
• Ranger Distress and Distress Oxide ink pads
• Silver card stock
• Blending brushes

My card is two A2 card bases with the second one adhered to the back of the one on the left. I cut the doorway out of the front of the first A2 card base. The stenciled panel is adhered to the back of the second card base. Does that make sense? 

If you have any questions, comment below this post and I will be happy to reply.

We hope you will join us with an interpretation of water as you wish. It's he perfect time of year for this topic.

See you back here soon,

Carol

By The Sea

If you know me at all you know I love beaches, shells, palm trees, nautical, etc. The colors and beachy feel of the Inspired By #IB395 had my attention as soon as I saw the photo! So here is my shells and sea card for their challenge.

The photo reminds me of birthday cookies my very talented neighbor made me a couple of years ago...soft almond flavored beauties!

What I used for my card:

• Hero Arts Sophisticated Shells die set
• Sizzix Vacation Words Block dies
• MFT Sand and Surf dies
• Vellum
• Card stock scraps
• Glue dots

I had fun making the two-layered shells in colors from the challenge photo. Next, I die cut aqua card stock with a wave die arranged at different angles on my card stock so that no two waves were the same shape or width. I attached the waves to the darker aqua panel, then scattered the shells around. I got the idea to put the sentiment (cut out of gold card stock) on vellum to sit over the water and shells. And that's it!

Thanks for visiting and hope your summer is relaxing!

Carol

Santa Claws

It's time again for the Gorgeous Gift Tags Instagram Hop! This month the optional theme is Christmas in July, which I fully embraced. Since we live not terribly far from the beach, I make these kinds of Christmas tags (in addition to more traditional ones) every year, adding to our collection.

What I used:

• Sizzix Christmas Characters stamp and die set
• Reverse Confetti Tag set
• Pink and Main Large Sentiment Strip dies
• Distress ink pad
• Hero Arts Hero Hues ink pad
• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad
• Ribbons

The Santa Claws die pieces are easy to put together and there are endless color combinations you can go with, of course. I have gotten SO much use out of this tag die set with the scalloped edge, decorative circle reinforcer and two dies that say "for" and "you."

I ink blended sand, water and a sunny sky, then misted it with water to get a grainy look like sea mist, which is visible in person but not so much in the photo. Then I stamped the dots for sand by inking up an old dotted SU! stamp, stamping off once on a scrap of paper, then stamping on the sand area of the tag several times.

I grabbed some natural looking ribbon and a frayed aqua one to make the ties for the tag. The crab is popped up on foam tape so he can look like he's crawling around.

We hope you will hop along and see all of the tag ideas this month. You can start at my account: https://www.instagram.com/sawithadtomakeit/.

Thanks for visiting!

Carol

Floppy Hats & The USA

I set out to make a 4th of July, Happy 250th Birthday America card but my patriotic sentiment stamps are an older style and they didn't quite fit the scale of the card I made. I have gotten so much use out of this summer sentiment set from Simon Says Stamp and I still have a lot to go.

Wherever you go for this holiday, or if you make it a staycation, wear your floppy hat out in this crazy heat!! I am playing along at Simon Says Stamp Stars and/or Stripes Monday Challenge as well as The Card Concept 228a with my clean and layered 4th of July-influenced card. I played off of the feel of their graphic for the summery/nautical, vacation and holiday spirit it has.

STARS AND/OR STRIPES

What I used:

• Papertrey Ink Go-to Gift Card Holder: Beach Bag dies
• Simon Says Stamp Sentiment Strips Summer
• Stampin' Up! Stars embossing folder
• Red rhinestones

The embossed stars are obvious in the design, and the stripes are in the stitching on the hats' crowns and brim edges. The hat has two dies, plus the bow. I die cut the top of the hat out of white for the bands around the crown. I fussy cut just the stitched part of that crown for the bands. The bows and rhinestones add detail to the hats in patriotic colors. I added the sentiment that I could only use on a hat card like this.

Happy 4th of July! Happy Birthday America!

Thanks for visiting,

Carol