I totally fell in love with the Splash! stamp set from Avery Elle when I saw sneak peeks from the Creativation show releases and it went straight to the top of my wish list. Because the matching dies include a pool shape, I knew I would have the opportunity to go to town with my Distress Oxide inks to create fun water effects. One of the techniques shown by Tim Holtz in his Creativation presentation was using the Oxide inks on glossy paper. I knew that technique would look fantastic with the splash stamp set, but Tim did mention that it was better to have the Distress Micro Glaze to seal the colours so they wouldn't come off the paper. (Otherwise, because of the pigment property of the Oxide inks, they sit on top of the glossy paper, dry with a chalky look and rub off on your fingers.) I finally scored a jar of Micro Glaze at my local store during my last visit and was able to give this technique a try. I love the look, and the glossy paper add to the water feel.
So the die cuts two pieces at once: the inside of the pool and the border. I was looking for a piece of cardstock in another color to die-cut the pool border out of and then I was struck with an idea: to pull out Ranger's Grit-paste and apply it to the border I already had to mimick the textured grout usually used around pools. In retrospect, I still should have die-cut the pool border out of a thicker cardstock because it would have made my life much easier - the glossy paper moved around when I tried to apply paste to it, but in the end I still managed to achieve the look I wanted. I stamped and colored a swimmer and two floaters, and covered the tube and the sunglasses with Glossy Accents.
The colors were inspired by Paper Craft Crew challenge #285. I stamped "Happy Retirement" on a piece of striped patterned paper, glued three gems underneath, sparkly washi tape on both sides, and once the card was assembled, the result still seemed a little bare. I tried to think of something I could add to the yellow cardstock (which was already textyred) to make it pop more and I remembered that the Seasonal Decorative Masks from Stampin' Up! (now retired) included a motif that looks likes water drops. I placed the mask over my card and sponged a bit of So Saffron ink with a sponge dauber in some of the spaces. This detail made a huge difference in making my card feel complete.
It seemed like a shame to waste the rest of the pretty glossy paper I had created, so I was able to take advantage of the shape left by the pool die-cut, and I cut out the two remaining borders - used one of the envelope and the second inside of the card. I then stamped and colored an additional swimmer to add to the envelope.
Supplies
Stamps: Splash! (Avery Elle), Retraite (Simple à souhait)
Cardstock: So Saffron, Basic Grey, Soft Sky, Whisper White, Glossy White
Designer Series Paper: 2011-2013 In Color
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), So Saffron, Basic Grey (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink), Mermaid Lagoon, Cracked Pistachio, Salty Ocean,
Shaded Lilac, Twisted Citron (Distress Oxide)
Accessories: Gems (Little Things from Lucy's Cards); Button (Autumn Leaves); Sponge Dauber,
Seasonal Decorative Masks, White Square Envelope, Myths & Magic Washi Tape, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
Grit-Paste, Distress Micro Glaze, Glossy Accent, Spritzing Bottle (Ranger); Markers (Copic)
I love this card! It is so fun! Thank you for joining the Paper Craft Crew this week!
Posted by: Kim Skinner | April 01, 2018 at 15:35