Inspired By... A Sea Shell

I can't wait to sit in the sunshine today! We are supposed to get sunny warm weather with temps in the 20's (Celsius) for the next week! This has been a long time coming and I hope it sticks around! Last night, I pulled out all my summer clothes that have been stored away for months and packed away my winter clothes - I love this time of year!

Onto today's challenge....

It was my pick this week. I find a lot of inspiration from many different sources including magazines, papercrafting blogs, and Pinterest, which is where I found this photo:

I love how vibrant the aqua blue is against the soft and subtle neutrals. The seashell and coral remind me of the ocean and the beach - one of my favourite places to be!

I decided to use Pool Party, Crumb Cake, and Soft Suede as the colour combo for my card. And right away I thought of the "By the Tide" stamp set. I'm so glad I have another excuse to use it -- it's becoming one of my favourites.

I love using card sketches to get me started, so this time I turned to one of my favourite card challenge blogs -- the Deconstructed Sketch. This week it is their 2nd anniversary, as well as their 100th sketch! I just had to play along!

And here's how my card turned out:

 

I absolutely love the end result! It took me a bit of time to make it as there are quite a few elements in this card. I used the emboss resist technique with the coral image. I love this technique! It really makes the image stand out. Burlap ribbon and designer paper create the layers for the card front and add some texture and patterns to the card. I stamped images of a seashell and seahorse and fussy-cut them. The seahorse is popped up to give the card some dimension. A button, bakers twine, and crochet trim ribbon embellish the card.

 



Card Ingredients:
Stamps: By The Tide, Petite Pairs, French Foliage
Paper: Soft Suede, Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Ink: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
Tools: Clear embossing powder, Heat Tool, Distress Tool
Accessories: Pool Party button, Bakers Twine, Crochet Trim ribbon, Burlap ribbon