Under the Sea with Britney

Britney here! I am so excited to share my first post on the Pawsome Stamps blog and featuring the fun Under the Sea stamp and coordinating die sets.

Starting with the background, I cut a panel out of light blue cardstock using a stitched rectangle die to have a nice stitched border around the edge. Cut another panel of Bristol Smooth Cardstock using that same die. This can be from a scrap piece of cardstock, as it will be used to cut the ocean floor. Bristol Cardstock is great for blending Distress Inks. It is very forgiving. 

 

Place a wave stencil over the light blue cardstock and begin blending Distress Oxides using blender brushes. Start at the top with Salty Ocean Distress Oxide, next use Blueprint Sketch Distress Oxide, and lastly the Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide. Continue blending between the colors to get a seamless blend. Remove the stencil and lightly blend the colors over the scene again so there aren’t any harsh lines. Flick on some clean water with a paint brush to simulate bubbles. Sit to the side and allow this to dry. Once the panel is dry, place a small amount of white paint on the work surface or an acrylic block, add water, and use a paint brush to add some flicks of white paint.

From the extra panel of Bristol cardstock, use hillside border die to cut the ocean floor. Blend Antique Linen Distress Oxide over the panel using a blender brush. Let it dry completely. Smoosh the Ground Espresso Distress Oxide on the work surface or an acrylic block, add water, and use a paint brush to add some flicks. Let it completely dry and repeat that last step except with white paint. 

Ink blend a small section of paper using one it the background colors used previously. Make sure this panel is completely dry before applying embossing powder as it will stick to the ink and splatter. If it does stick to places other than the sentiment, use a dry brush to remove excess powder. It helps to stamp the sentiment prior to adhering it to the card base with foam tape. Prep the paper using an anti-static powder tool. The Misti Stamping tool allows for stamping the sentiment multiple times to get a good impression. Arrange the sentiment and stamp using a clear embossing ink. Apply white embossing powder and heat with a heat tool to emboss the sentiment. 

Using the Misti Stamping Tool and Lawn Fawn Jet Black ink, stamp images onto a piece of Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Cardstock. Use your favorite color medium to color in the images. I used Copics to color in my images. Use the coordinating dies or fussy cut the images. Use a white gel pen to create some highlights and a black glaze pen on the eyes to give them some shine.

Stamping an image and sentiment on the inside finishes the card off nicely. It is easier to stamp an image and/or sentiment on the inside of the card before adhering the card panel to the base. The bulk of the foam tape can make it difficult to get a good impression using a Misti Stamping tool. Using Distress Oxides will allow you get a good stamped image and still be able to write a message to the recipient.  

To complete the front panel of the card, lay out images to determine perfect placement before popping up the sentiment strip, submarine, and ocean floor using foam tape and gluing everything else down using a liquid adhesive. Use a strong adhesive to attach the card panel to the card base. To complete the card, add Glossy Accents to the portholes and Nuvo Crystal Drops in White Blizzard to the bubbles.  

I hope you enjoyed this card as much as I enjoyed making it. Have a wonderful day and make sure to check out all the goodies in the Pawsome Stamps shop.