Just Keep Swimming - PCC214

Yesterday Sara Douglass (CEO of Stampin' Up!) shared on FB that her husband Sean was having some chest pains the other night and ended up at the ER.  Come to find out, he had a minor heart attack.  Pretty scary stuff - especially since they're a young family - but it seems like all is well now.

However, I thought I would make him a card.  Not for any brownie points or attention, but because this is why I do what I do.  I love to brighten someone's day with a card.  Something about taking time to create a card and write a note of encouragement.  I think the world needs a little more love these days.. so why not!

I used the sketch from Paper Craft Crew again - I really like the sketch Pam made.  I also wanted to incorporate the marlin stamp from the From Land to Sea set because I know that her husband posts a lot of videos about water skiing and boating.  Plus, I thought the "just keep swimming" sentiment was fun.

To watercolor the marlin, I stamped the image in Basic Gray Archival Ink onto Shimmery White Cardstock.  This keeps the image from running when you color with an Aqua Painter.

For the background... let me explain. haha!  I actually was attempting to watercolor ink using my Aqua Painter and the Seasonal Decorative Masks but didn't like the circles afterall.  So I flipped the white circle over and just rubbed the cardstock over the excess ink left on the stencil.  I actually LOVE it!

The "water droplets" are made with the Fine Tip Glue Pen.  Just squeeze out a little dab.  You will need to let this dry (I did overnight) - same idea as the old crystal affects.

I think the Mint Macaron Cardstock embossed with the Seaside Textured Impressions Embossing Folder adds the perfect touch to this card.  I love adding lots of details and layers but in small amounts. :)

I hope that this inspires you to send a card to someone today - or even this week.  Spread some happiness in the mail!

Blessings,

Holly

Beautiful (Beachy) Blessing - TGIFC66

Happy Friday everyone!  We had a great week here in MN with nicer (cooler) temperatures and lots of rain for the garden - but now we have too many misquitos!  I also hosted my first stamp class at my house since we moved here and all 6 ladies that came had a blast!  I've never had two classes going on at once - so I'm very excited!

But, enough about me!  We have a new challenge over at TGIF Challenges - we are picking our favorites from JUNE and casing them.  It could be a design team member or a challengers card from TGIFC #62-65.  Pick one you like and share both the original and your take on it!  Simple enough!

The last two times we have done this challenge, I chose two challengers cards.  This week I was inspired by this card made by a fellow DT member - Jennifer Frost.

I love the watercolored background and the beachy feel.

I didn't want to use the same set for the focal point, so I decided on another sea themed stamp set.

The lighthouse is from the set From Land to Sea and it's paired with the sentiment from Rose Wonder.

I wanted to add some color to my card so I added some Calypso Coral Thick Twine, By the Shore DSP stack & I colored the lighthouse and oval with my Aqua Painter.

I also stamped the background a few times with the sentiment.  I love the graphic look of repeated words.

So there you have it!  I hope you liked the card (and the original)!  I can't wait to see what you come up with for this week's challenge!

Blessings!

-Holly

PPA297 and Giveaway!

Nine years ago yesterday my husband and I said "I do" under the tree in our back yard surrounded by our families and a few church friends.  I am so grateful for the blessed life The Lord has given us and I'm so thankful for the past 9 years.

But I won't bore you with sappy lovely dovey stuff - I'll just share the card I made Shawn instead! :)

The colors I chose were inspired by this week's Pals Paper Arts color combo.

I ordered the From Land to Sea set particularly for this lighthouse.  I love lighthouses and the symbolism of them.  I thought the sentiment from Going Global fit perfectly with the lighthouse and an anniversary card.

I wanted to make the look of the waves splashing against the lighthouse and sand and the Timeless Textures set was perfect.  I colored the lighthouse, Pool Party sky and added some sand that I drew "freehanded".

I also used the striped stamp from Timeless Textures to add some of the gray clouds.  A Wisteria Wonder button was added for a little more texture and color.

For the inside, I carried over the Timeless Textures and a strip of the black paper from Going Places DSP Stack.

Hope you all enjoyed my card.  Make sure to head on over to PPA's website.  And while you're stamping, make a birthday card to help us celebrated our FIRST BIRTHDAY at TGIF Challenges!

Our awesome "founder" Mercedes Weber is giving away a BRAND NEW, NOT-YET-TO-BE-RELEASED, stamp set from the upcoming SU! catalog!

Happy stamping!

-Holly 

You're a Great Catch! - GDP031 and Guest Designer Eli!

I have a special treat for you today!  I have my youngest (and first) guest designer!  If you follow me here on Instagram, you may have seen my little Eli watercoloring with me last week.  We were attempting to make bubble stationary with soap, water and food coloring.  It was an epic fail - certainly didn't work out like I remember as a child.  So we decided to get some reinkers out with watercolor paper and do something different!  Eli had fun and I was so amazed by the job he did!

So this weekend I sat down and made a card with the paper.  I received the From Land to Sea stamp set in the mail on Friday and wanted to try it out.  I was really pleased with the card and was planning to blog about it today when I saw the new challenge at Global Design Project was "nature"... PERFECT!  Btw, I'm so honored that I was chosen as GDP29's pick!  Thank you everyone! <3

(Click on the image below to go to the site and see all of the other nature inspired cards)

I love the marlin in the stamp set.  When we went on the KLove Cruise with my inlaws in January, we stopped at a Guy Harvey restaurant and store in the Cayman Islands.  I had never heard of the guy "Guy" but his artwork is amazing.  Marlins are one of the things he paints.  So I was inspired to use the blue and purple from the paper Eli made and used the Lost Lagoon and Blackberry Bliss for the marlin too.

I used corrugated paper to make it look like the fish was mounted on wood.  I thought the texture would look better than stamping the hardwood stamp in brown.   I colored the fins using the clear Wink of Stella and found the perfect sentiment from Settin' Sail.  (It's a current photopolymer set with SU!)

Because I stamped the image on Coaster Board, when I colored it using an Aqua Painter, the paper curled.  I wasn't at all upset about it - made it look like a real fish that was mounted!

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope that you are inspired to make your own background paper!  Be sure to head on over to Global Design Project's blog and see some more!

Blessings!

-Holly