Dreaming of the Beach card created with stamps from Chocolate Baroque

Good afternoon. Here is another sea themed project. I have stamped, cut out and layered up the shells on this one. I grew up by the sea but now live inland. I really miss being able to walk to the ocean, clamber over the rocks and look deep into the rock pools. Simply magical. Maybe I’ll get to visit this summer?

As the theme on the Simon Says Stamp Blog Challenge (Wed) this week is ‘Layer It Up’ – I have entered this one. I have entered lots this week. Unlike me as I rarely get time but the themes just coincided perfectly with projects I have been working on this week so I thought that I would share.
Materials:

• Seaside Dreams, Underwater and Mermaid Queen stamp sets from Chocolate Baroque
• A5 scalloped card blank (cream), blue card and cartridge paper
• Inkpads: Versafine (Vintage Sepia), Versamark
• Ultra thick embossing powder (UTEE clear)
• WOW Embossing Powder (Daytona Sands)
• Frantage Elements (Stampendous)
• Polyester glitter (clear)
• Ink spritzers (blue mica, opaque white, red, gold mica)
• Coloured pencil (brown)
• Alcohol marker (dark brown)
• Acrylic paint (opaque white)

How it was done:

1. The blue card was spritzed (blue mica and white) and clouds added by sponging white acrylic paint.
2. Shells were stamped onto the background and onto cartridge paper using Versafine. They were coloured with inks and some pencil shading. The shell embellishments were cut out, lightly shaped and glued to the card with 3D glue gel for dimension.
3. When stamping the card background I accidently dropped the Versafine inkpad onto the foreground – eek! No problem, I just streaked more ink across to create added texture and depth to the foreground. I then added a layer of Versamark ink and covered with a layer of UTEE. I also embedded sprinkles of glitter, sand embossing powder and Frantage elements for added texture. Tip: When using UTEE with added sprinkles etc. it is best to apply heat from underneath the card surface to start the melting process (otherwise everything just flies off all over the place – yep done that many times – tee hee).
4. The sentiment was stamped with Versafine onto a strip of blue card, cut out and edged with brown marker. Glued to the card with foam pads for dimension.

Take Me to the Ocean card created with stamps from Chocolate Baroque

Good morning. The sun is shining here today so dreaming of rock pools and the fresh sea breeze – summer is on its way.

This one was created by stamping and adding textural embellishments (created by spreading Soft Form Relief Paste over the stamp) onto a patterned background paper. I also added a little ‘step’ and layered up stamped images in the foreground for added depth.

As the theme on the Simon Says Stamp Blog Challenge (Wed) this week is ‘Layer It Up’ – I have entered this one. I have entered lots this week. Unlike me as I rarely get time but the themes just coincided perfectly with projects I have been working on this week so I thought that I would share.

Materials:

• Seaside Dreams, Mermaid Queen, Underwater and Ammonite stamp sets from Chocolate Baroque
• 8 X 8 inch white card blank, 6 X 6 inch patterned paper from Crafty Individuals (The Seaside), strip of white stamping card
• Soft Form Relief Paste (Silver)
• Inkpads: Versafine (Vintage Sepia), Distress Inks (Forest Moss, Peeled Paint, Wild Honey)
• Gouache paint (white)
• Ink Spray (gold with mica)
• Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen (Clear)
• WOW Embossing Powder (Clear Gloss)
• Texture elements (Frantage)
• Stickles Glitter Glue (Icicle)
• PVA pearls
• Pebeo Gilding Wax (gold)
• Fine tipped marker (black)
• Spectrum Noir Alcohol Marker (dark brown)

How it was done:

1. The front of the 8 X 8 inch card blank was scored at 4 and 2 cm up from the base (sorry that I tend to work in mixed units – depends on what I am doing – tee hee). A 4cm strip was removed from the base of the back. The side of the card was then trimmed away to make square. This created a stepper style card with an approx. 6 X 6 inch panel for the main image.
2. Soft Form Relief Paste was spread onto the Ammonite stamp and left to fully dry. This generally requires overnight or sometimes 2 days (my room has no heating). When dry the flexible paste embellishment was peeled away from the stamp and rough edges trimmed away with scissors. I used a fine tipped pen to add back a bit of detail into the crevices, then rubbed over the top with gold gilding wax.
3. The shell was stamped onto the patterned paper with Versafine ink and heat embossed quickly with clear powder. Thinned gouache was painted over the shell and parts of the background to tone down the printed pattern (gouache is basically an opaque watercolour). I then added some sparkle pen over the shell. Background weeds were stamped with Forest Moss Distress Ink.
4. Peeled Paint Distress Ink was blended around the edges. I also edged with brown alcohol pen to frame before gluing to the card front. The ammonite embellishment was glued with 3D glue gel for depth.
5. The shell border and sentiments were stamped with Versafine and trimmed to fit the front stepper of the card. I used Peeled Paint and Wild Honey Distress Inks and a damp brush to add colouring. I also added a bit of gold mica spritz spray. Brown alcohol pen was used to frame the edges.
6. The sentiment was glued with 3D gel for dimension. The decorative panel was glued to the card stepper. Frantage elements were also added to the base for texture (you could use washed and smashed up egg shells) using PVA glue.
7. Finished with PVA pearls and glitter glue.

Seahorse Tag Card created with stamps from Chocolate Baroque

Good afternoon. Another sea themed tag card created with Mermaid Queen, Underwater and Seaside Dreams stamps from Chocolate Baroque.

The Simon Says Stamp Challenge (Monday) this week is tags – so I have entered this one into the challenge too.

Materials:

• Mermaid Queen, Underwater and Seaside Dreams stamps
• 13cm square card blank, white stamping card, black card and scrap cream mount board
• Inkpads: StazOn (Jet Black, Green), Versamark
• Acrylic paints (metallic blue, peach and gold)
• Water based inks (blue, green)
• WOW Embossing Powders (Fuchsia and Daytona Sands yellow/gold mix)
• Pebeo Texture Paste (Concrete)
• Stickles Glitter Glue (Icicle)
• Swirly stencil (Claritystamp)
• Shaving foam and shallow tray
• Organza ribbon (pink)
• Die to cut tag (Sizzix BigZ), square decorative die (Tonic) and corner rounder punch
• Tonic crystal drops (orange)

How it was done:

1. Black card was cut with the decorative die and glue to the card front. The tag (approx. 5 X 11cm) was cut from mount board. The background panel was cut from white card with a paper trimmer and the corners rounded with a punch.
2. The tag and background panel were coloured using the shaving foam technique. Basically a layer of foam is spread onto a tray. Inks are dropped on the surface and swirled with a cocktail stick or similar. The ink is then picked up onto the card (by lowering onto the foam).
3. The background was stamped with black StazOn and glued to the card front. I have found that the shaving foam can leave quite a slick surface which can be a bit tricky to stamp and colour over. Note the ‘Dream’ sentiment was created by partially inking the longer sentiment.
4. The seaweed was stamped onto the tag with green StazOn. Concrete paste was applied onto the tag through the stencil with a palette knife. Coloured by rubbing over with acrylic paints when dry. The tag was applied to the card with foam pads for added dimension.
5. The seahorse was stamped onto white card with Versamark and heat embossed with a mix of powders, then cut out and glued to the card with 3D glue gel.
6. Finished with a bow, sparkly glitter glue and PVA pearls.

Sea World Tag Card created with stamps from Chocolate Baroque

Good afternoon. This mini tag card was created with Gothic Fragments (background), Mermaid Queen and Underwater stamps from Chocolate Baroque.

The Simon Says Stamp Challenge (Monday) this week is tags – so I have entered it into the challenge too.

Materials:

• Mermaid Queen, Underwater and Gothic Fragments (on background paper) stamps
• 7.5 X 10.5cm card blank, inked background paper from my stash (overstamped with Gothic Fragments texture stamp), scrap and white stamping card
• Inkpads: Versamark, Versafine (Onyx Black)
• WOW Embossing Powder (Gold Rich, Clear Gloss)
• Watercolour and Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens
• Alcohol marker (black)
• Pebeo Texture Paste (Cement)
• Glitter glue (aqua)
• The shell embellishments were made from paper clay and moulds from my stash (coloured with water based inks)
• Texture Stencil (Texturised - Crafters Workshop)
• Recycled fruit bag netting and satin ribbon (red)
• Die to cut tag (Tattered Lace)

How it was done:

1. The background panel was an inked paper from my stash overstamped with the Gothic Fragments stamp. A tag die was used to cut the paper plus a background panel from scrap card (to support the paper), glued together and edged with black marker to frame.
2. Texture paste was applied through the stencil with a palette knife to add a little texture – coloured over the top with sparkle pen when dry (the Pebeo Cement dries very quickly). The shell and weeds were stamped with Versamark and embossed with gold powder. Ribbon and the netting were attached before gluing to the card front.
3. The seahorse and weed was stamped with Versafine and embossed with clear powder. The image was then cut out and coloured with watercolour and sparkle pens.
4. The embellishments were glued down using 3D glue gel. A little glitter glue was added to finish.

Nautical Seahorse card created with stamps from Chocolate Baroque

Good morning. I created this nautical tag card using Underwater, Ammonite and Seaside Dreams (sentiment) stamps from Chocolate Baroque.

The Simon Says Stamp Challenge (Monday) this week is tags – so I have entered it into the challenge too.

Materials:

• Underwater, Ammonite and Seaside Dreams stamp sets
• A5 Kraft card blank, card scraps in blue, white and Kraft card
• Versamark
• WOW Embossing Powders (Clear Gloss and Detail White)
• Sparkle brush pens (clear and blue)
• Fine tipped pen (opaque white)
• Bakers twine (red & white)
• Starfish and seahorse embellishments - made from paper clay and moulds from my stash
• Die to cut tags (Tattered Lace)

How it was done:

1. The card background was stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with clear powder. Clear sparkle pen was brushed over the shells and ammonite.
2. A strip of white card was overlaid with small strips of blue and glued to the background to give the striped panel.
3. The starfish was stamped with Versamark, embossed with white powder and cut out.
4. The tags were cut from blue and Kraft card. The images and text were stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with white powder. The seahorse was coloured with blue sparkle pen. Faux stitching and edging were made with the fine tipped white pen.
5. The tags were tied with the bakers twine and embellishments glued to the card front. Foam pads were used to add dimension.

Seaside Mini Hangers created for Chocolate Baroque

Good morning. I made these mini hangers for the recent sea themed shows. I had so much fun making these, although one of them almost ended up in the bin – tee hee.

On my first project I used stamps from Mermaid Queen, Seaside Dreams, Underwater and the large Ammonite stamp.

1. I started with one of the white board panels (approx. 10.5 X 14.5cm) from a mixed media white board pack (Chocolate Baroque). I used a swirly stencil from my stash and spritzed through the stencil with blue ink containing mica. I then applied blue acrylic paint mixed with sand texture paste through the stencil with a palette knife for texture. When dry I added some sparkle with gold glitter glue and applied silver gilding wax to the edges.
2. I trimmed a piece of greyboard to make the top panel, stamped the sentiment with Versamark and heat embossed with WOW embossing powder (Detail White). Shells were stamped onto the background using blue pigment ink. The edges were finished with silver gilding wax and gold glitter glue. Holes were punched into the header and main panel and they were joined with string for hanging.
3. I applied Hollographic Crystal Gel over the Ammonite stamp surface and left it to dry for several hours before carefully peeling away. I rubbed over the surface lightly with gold and silver gilding wax to emphasise the detail. I then painted the surface with DecoArt Antiquing Cream (Titanium White). After drying I rubbed away the colour from the surface with a damp cloth (this medium remains water soluble when dry – so can be used to add detail to crevices).
4. I applied StazOn Ink onto the Ammonite and seahorse stamps, then I applied Soft Form Relief Paste (Silver) over the top and left to dry overnight. The embellishments were peeled away from the stamp and rubbed over lightly with gold and silver gilding waxes. The seahorse was glued to the background. I used a fine tipped pen to add in a little more detail (the ink didn’t transfer too well).
5. I stamped the shells onto cartridge paper using Versafine Ink (Onyx Black) and spritzed with orange/yellow and gold inks with mica to colour. The images were cut out and shaped lightly using a ball tool and sponge mat. I die cut a decorative star shape from black card and coated with gilding wax. The embellishments were glued in place with 3D glue gel.
6. White pen was used to add highlights to the pearls and seahorse eye, then Glossy Accents added for shine. I finished with some small embellishments created with air dry clay and silicone moulds from my stash.

On my second project I used stamps from Mermaid Queen, Seaside Dreams, and Underwater sets.

1. I started with one of the white board hearts from a mixed media white board shapes pack (Chocolate Baroque). The background was spritzed with blue ink containing mica. The background weeds were stamped with blue pigment ink and the foreground weeds with Distress Ink (Peeled Paint) and embossed with WOW Embossing Powder (Clear Gloss).
2. I stamped the seahorse and sentiment with Versamark and embossed with WOW Embossing Powder (Silver) and coloured with dark blue sparkle pen then added a layer of Glossy Accents over the seahorse. At this stage it all looked a complete mess and nearly went in the bin – tee hee. I stamped over the top using StazOn Ink (White) and decided to continue with ‘the mess’. Maybe it would be ok when other bits & bobs were added?
3. A fine tipped marker was used to add a drop shadow around the sentiment lettering which made it stand out better.
4. I spread some Viva Décor Crackle Paste (Teal) around the base of the heart and dropped in some blue seed beads for texture. When dry I rubbed over the surface and edges with a little silver gilding wax. I punched a couple of holes in the top to attach a hanging ribbon, and holes in the sides and base for attaching hangers.
5. The seahorses and weeds were stamped onto blue card with White StazOn Ink, cut out and glued with 3D glue gel.
6. The shells were stamped onto cartridge paper and spritzed with blue and gold inks with mica. The shells were cut out, shaped and acrylic modelling paste applied to the backs to make them a little more robust. I applied clear glaze onto the fronts for shine. When dry I created attachment holes and added them to the base of the heart using recycled jewellery chain loops.
7. Finally finished by adding some glitter glue sparkle – just had to be done – tee hee.

Quick and Easy Seahorse card created for Chocolate Baroque

This one is a quick and easy make using Underwater and Seaside Dreams stamp sets from Chocolate Baroque.

The seahorse and sentiment were stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with blue powder. The background was then spritzed with blue, green and gold ink sprays with mica. While wet the surface was then puffed with air to move the inks around. Lesley Wharton has demonstrated a similar technique on her shows using a computer keyboard cleaner ‘air spray’ can. I used an ‘air brush’ attachment for pens, but it could be done by blowing through a straw. I used an alcohol marker to edge the card and added PVA pearl bubbles to finish.

Materials:

• Underwater and Seaside Dreams stamps sets
• 15 X 10.5cm card blank and white stamping card
• Versamark
• WOW Embossing Powder (Blueberry)
• Lindy’s Stamp Gang ink spritzers with mica (Time Travel Teal, Azure Sea Asters, Glory of the Seas Gold)
• Alcohol ink pen (dark blue)
• PVA pearls

Lighthouse Scenes created for Chocolate Baroque

Good morning. Today I am sharing a couple of my recent samples using the Seashore Scenes stamp set (plus Mermaid Queen and Underwater for embellishments). The first is a sunset scene mounted onto a patterned background paper from Crafty Individuals, the second a mini wall hanging.

Sunset Scene Card:

1. The patterned paper was trimmed and edged with black pen to frame before sticking to the card blank.
2. The background was painted with water based inks (orange and yellow) and the image stamped with Versafine (Onyx Black). Some areas of colour were lifted out using water and blotting. The image was coloured with watercolour pens and pencil. White pencil was used to emphasise highlights.
3. The foreground was created using Expand IT tinted with watercolour pen, heated to puff and create the texture. Mounted onto black card to frame and glued to the card with foam pads for dimension.
4. The shells were stamped with Versafine (Vintage Sepia), spritzed with blue and gold ink sprays, cut out and lightly shaped before gluing down with 3D glue gel.

Materials:

• Seashore Scenes, Mermaid Queen and Underwater (for shell embellishments) stamp sets
• 6 X 6 card blank, 6 X 6 background paper (Crafty Individuals – The Seaside), black card and white stamping card, scrap cartridge paper (for shells)
• Inkpads: Versafine (Onyx Black and Vintage Sepia)
• Alcohol ink pen (black)
• Watercolour pens and pencils
• Water based inks (yellow, orange)
• Ink sprays (blue, gold with mica)
• Colourcraft Expand IT (puff paint)

 

The scene looks so different done in an alternative colourway.
Follow the river hanging:

1. The scene was stamped onto whiteboard with Versafine. A fine tipped pen and additional scene building stamps were used to extend the scene. Drawing Gum was used to mask the gull image while stamping the background images (i.e. grasses behind the gull and post).
2. The scene was coloured with watercolour paints. Extra details and texture were added with coloured pencils. Drawing gum was used to mask some areas while painting (e.g. clouds, water highlights).
3. Grey board was trimmed and cut with a rope edger die (top edge) and overlaid with red card cut to match. Holes were punched in the top to tie on the hanging string.
4. The starfish and shells were stamped onto cartridge paper, coloured with watercolour and mica paints. After shaping they were glued to waste acetate pieces with 3D glue gel to make them more robust (particularly as they overhang the ‘canvas’ edges).
5. The rope and ships wheel were cut 2-3 times each from Kraftcard, layered up and glued together to make them more robust. Colouring was added using Distress Ink, glaze and glitter pens.
6. The scene, embellishments and string were glued to the hanging. Finished with PVA pearls and touches of glitter glue.

Materials used:

• Seashore Scenes, Mermaid Queen and Underwater (for shell and starfish) stamp sets
• 15 X 10cm whiteboard shape (Chocolate Baroque kit), Grey board, red card, white stamping card, Kraft card, scrap cartridge paper and acetate
• Watercolour paints and water based paints with mica
• Coloured pencils
• Pebeo Drawing Gum
• Glaze pen (red) and glitter pen (gold)
• Fine tipped pen (black)
• Inkpads: Versafine (Onyx Black), Distress Ink (Scattered Straw)
• PVA pearls and glitter glue (clear)
• Bakers twine (red & white)
• Dies to cut ships wheel, rope edge (top of hanger) and rope embellishment

Fragile Seahorse card created for Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge 27

Good morning. I am loving the sea themed colours for this month’s Chocolate Baroque Challenge. I hope that you like my Fragile Seahorse x.

Materials:

• Underwater and Mail Art Minis stamp sets
• 12 X 21cm white card blank, 11 X 20cm watercolour card
• Ink spritzers (pale blue, mid blue with mica, opaque white)
• Versamark Inkpad
• WOW embossing powder (Blueberry)
• Sea themed or textured stencil (I used Fossil from Andy Skinner)
• Alcohol marker (dark blue) and fine tipped marker (opaque white)
• Glitter pen (mid blue)

How it was done:

1. The card was spritzed with water and the blue inks (I used Mr Huey’s and Lindy’s Stamp Gang spritzers). The stencil was immediately laid on top and the card left to dry naturally. The inks get ‘pulled’ under the stencil surface by capillary action (so you get a negative image).
2. The card was then spritzed with white ink, the seahorse and sentiment stamped and embossed with blue powder, coloured with glitter and white pens.
3. The panel and card were then edged with the blue marker to frame the image.

Sea Dragon Canvas TV show sample created for Chocolate Baroque

Sea Dragon Canvas - TV show sample created for Chocolate Baroque on The Craft Channel this week.

Materials:

• Seadragon, Mermaid Queen, Underwater Kingdom, Underwater and Seashell Collage stamp sets
• White stamping card, teal green glitter card
• 20cm square canvas board
• White Gesso
• Acrylic paints (blues, greens and teal metallic)
• Viva Décor Croco Crackling Colour (green shimmer -501)
• Viva Décor Precious Metal Colour (pink)
• Alcohol pens – for colouring die cuts (greens)
• Watercolour pencils (pinks, purples, blues, greens, yellow, orange)
• Versamark Inkpads (Vintage Sepia and Onyx Black)
• Archival inkpad (dark blue)
• Watercolour or acrylic transparent shimmer paints (blue, green – for dragon)
• Recycled jewellery pieces (chains, pearls etc.)
• PVA pearls
• Iridescent glitter glue (pink)
• 3D glue gel
• Dies to cut seaweed - mixed branches (Heartfelt Creations) and leaves (Couture)
• Stencils with swirls or water patterns (optional)

How to make it:

1. Add a coat of white gesso to the canvas. Note: The canvas was already primed but I find that the gesso adds a bit more of a key for adhering acrylic gels etc.
2. Paint the background with streaks of blue and green acrylics. Add some texture with stencils (if you like).
3. Stamp some of the weeds etc. with dark blue ink. Stamp the mermaid silhouettes in black ink.
4. Apply the crackle paste all around the edges using a palette knife and leave to dry overnight. Rub over the crackle texture with some pink metallic paint. Add some sparkly streaks into the water. Rub a little teal metallic in some areas.
5. Die cut a range of seaweed shapes using dies from plain card (colour with pens) and teal glitter card.
6. Stamp the dragon, seaweed, shells and starfish onto white stamping card using black ink, and brown ink for some of the shells. Colour with watercolour pencils and a damp brush. Add some shimmer paint to the dragon. Cut out and shape slightly to give them dimension.
7. Glue on the die cuts and stamped images using 3D glue gel. Add some ‘treasure’ – chain, pearls etc. Add PVA pearls to some of the shells, and extra sparkle with glitter glue.

Finishing your artwork: Optional: Spray the canvas with acrylic varnish. This will protect the canvas, particularly the watercoloured images. I used a Tim Holtz BigZ Easel die to cut a stand from mount board (attached to the back). Alternatively punch some holes and hang with cords.

Sea Dragon card TV show sample created for Chocolate Baroque

Sea Dragon card - TV show sample created for Chocolate Baroque on The Craft Channel this week.

Materials:

• Seadragon (sea dragon, mermaid, sentiment), Underwater Kingdom (mermaid), Underwater (starfish), Seashell Collage (Wheel and Anchor) stamp sets
• 6 X 6 inch scalloped card blank, white stamping card
• Versafine Inkpad (Onyx Black), archival dye ink (blue)
• Brusho’s (Turquoise, Ultramarine)
• Metallic paint (silver gold) *
• Pebeo Drawing Gum
• Watercolour pencils (yellow, golds, oranges) and brush
• Alcohol ink marker (black)
• Decorative Lattice Swirl Die (Heartfelt Creations). If you don’t have these dies, swirly or seaweed like foliage dies would produce a similar result.

* I used Starlight paint (Imagination Crafts) but the Aztec Paints featured in the shows this weekend would be perfect.
How to make it:

1. Stamp the Sea Dragon with Versafine and mask with the Drawing Gum. Trim to approx. 10 X 14cm and edge with black pen.
2. Drop Brusho crystals onto the card and spritz with water.
3. Colour extra card with Brusho’s for die cuts. Cut out the swirly trellis with dies.
4. Stamp the anchor, starfish and wheel with Versafine onto spare card and cut out. Stamp the sentiment with blue ink, cut out and edge with black marker.
5. Stamp the silhouette mermaids with blue ink. Remove the masking from the dragon, colour the dragon and starfish with watercolour pencils. Add some shimmer paint to the dragon.
6. Layer elements and glue to card front.

Fantastic shows from Lesley Wharton on the Craft Channel this week

Did you catch the great shows with Lesley Wharton (from Chocolate Baroque) yesterday on The Craft Channel – you can watch catch up videos online if you missed it.

The first show was demonstrating fab paints and gels from Viva Decor. Lesley then had a 2 hour show (7-9pm) demonstrating the wonderful sea themed stamps from Chocolate Baroque. She has another show this afternoon with Aztec Paints. Lesley will also be back later in the week with another sea themed show. I always love her demos – definitely worth watching.

Here are some of my projects using the sea themed stamps. Some have featured on the show along with more FAB samples from the rest of my Chocolate Baroque Teamies.

Projects with the Seashell Collage stamp set.

Projects with the Mermaid Queen and Seadragon stamp sets.

A 3D boat card and variation on a tag card using the Seashell Collage stamp set.

Quick and easy projects using the Seashell Collage set.

The Mermaid Queen set is fabulous – I have made several variations of this card for friends, and for the show.

A canvas and card using the marvellous Seadragon set.




Stamp sets used: Seashell Collage, Underwater, Seadragon, Underwater Kingdom and Mermaid Queen.

All these sets mix and match and work together beautifully – can you tell how much I love these sets?
I will add details and step by steps for all the projects later xxx.

Secrets of the Deep Card created for Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge 24

Here is another project created for the Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge 24. I am a little unsure about this one but it is certainly Fairy tale and vibrant. If I made it again I think that I would make the sea colour and the mermaids little paler. This would give a little more depth and less clash.

Materials:

·         Underwater, Underwater Kingdom, Sea Dragon and Mermaid Queen stamp sets.

·         Spectrum Noir Aqua markers, glitter pens.

·         White card, yellow card (for die cuts), glitter card (orange), white stamping card.

·         Zig 2 way glue pen.

·         Pebeo Drawing Gum.

·         Midas touch gold foil (for cold foiling with glue).

·         Inkpads: Versafine (Onyx Black) and dye based (violet).

·         Stickles glitter glue (Diamond).

·         Circular nesting dies, largest 15cm (TODO Basic Circles), branch dies (Heartfelt Creations Leafy Branch), eyelet die (Sizzix Originals Red die – Eyelet Washers #1).

·         3D glue gel and foam pads.

How to make it:

1.    First create a card blank using an A4 sheet of card folded in half. Cut through both layers with a 15cm circular die, overhanging the die at the top folded edge so that an attachment fold for the front and back stays intact. I also cut an extra circle of card to glue to the back and add strength. Trim the base of the card slightly to give a straight edge at the bottom so that the card stands up ok.

2.    Cut a ‘port hole’ frame from glitter card using a 15cm and 11.5cm circular die. I glued another plain card frame to the back to give extra strength.

3.    I used some scrap mount board and the Sizzix BigZ die to cut the thick eyelets. Alternatively you could glue together a few layers of ordinary card to make the ‘chipboard’ eyelets. Apply Zig glue (blue when wet) to the eyelets and leave to dry and go tacky (dries clear). Press foil, shiny side up, onto the tacky surface to add foiling. Glue to the port hole frame with 3D glue gel.

4.    Cut another circle from stamping card. Stamp the foreground scene with Versafine ink and paint with Drawing Gum to mask. Stamp the embellishments onto spare card and cut out.

5.    Colour the scene background with watercolour markers and a water brush. Stamp the background mermaids with dye ink. Dry.

6.    Remove the masking fluid. Colour the scene details and cut out embellishments with watercolour markers.

7.    Cut branches from yellow card. Add a little shading with pens.

8.    Glue the scene flat to the card. Apply the frame with foam pads.

9.    Shape the cut out embellishments slightly with fingers or a ball tool and foam mat. Glue with 3D glue gel. Finally finish with a little glitter glue for added sparkle.