Encre, papier, ciseaux: Party at the Pool

One of the July VSN challenge was "pool party." I pulled out my Beach Day stamp set and my Distress Oxide inks to make a pool backdrop, then I decided the Color Throwdown combo #502 would work well (since both the elephant and the rhino can be colored grey, and the pool was going to be using shades of blue). I also decided I wanted a circle card to mimick a pool. I recently purchased a set of layering circle dies from Tonic because the largest size goes up to 5-1/2". Despite having a few circle sets already, I noticed that a lot of sets don't include larger sizes, which is surprising considering that the Big Shot can accomodate dies that are up to 6" wide. It made creating circle cards frustrating because I ended up with cards that were too small for my liking. This one measures 5-1/4", which is more in line with regular card sizes.

The French sentiment reads, "Wishing you a day filled with love and happy moments." There's a tiny detail added to the right side of the sentiment that might not be showing up in the picture: I used the little clear raindrop enamel shapes Stampin' Up! was selling in the Occasions catalogue this Spring. If you look closely , the elephant is splashing water with its trunk, so I added the clear shapes to play on that detail. I also used Sea Breeze Jewel Drops from Nuvo to create a border all around the card.

As for the watery background, I smooshed some Distress Oxide inks (Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean and Blueprint Sketch) on my non-stick mat, spritzed the ink with water and dipped a piece of watercolor paper on each color. drying the paper with my heat tool between layers. Using watercolor paper makes a huge difference - I absentmindedly started with thick white cardstock and when I saw the cardstock curl up do to water, I remembered that I usually use watercolor paper, so I went back to that option. It layers better and it makes for a less splotchy result.

Supplies
Stamps: Beach Day (Neat & Tangled); Ravissant bouquet (Beautiful Bouquet - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Blueberry Bushel, Balmy Breeze, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!);
Watercolor Paper (Fabriano)
Ink: Blueberry Bushel, Balmy Breeze (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink); Tuxedo Black (Memento);
Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch (Distress Oxide - Ranger)
Accessories: Circle Layering Die Set (Tonic); Sea Breeze Jewel Drops (Nuvo);
White Square Envelope, Glitter & Clear Epoxy Shapes, Marina Mist Cotton Ribbon,
Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (Stampin' Up!);
Travel Stamp Platform, Non-Stick Mat, Glossy Accents, Tim Holtz Embossing Folder (Ranger);
Alcohol Markers (Copic)