Brutus Monroe Mermaid Lagoon Card - Splashing to Say Hello

 Hello and Welcome to my first post as a Brand Ambassador for Brutus Monroe.  I have loved and used Brutus Monroe products for quite some time so I'm super happy to be able to be a Brand Ambassador for them! They have fabulous products for stamping, scrapbooking and general crafting!!

 The most amazing part is that my very first post is using one of my favorite stamp sets... Mermaid Lagoon!  I am seriously all about anything nautical and especially Mermaids!

I had a blast making this card since it is so very much about Amazing Images, Stenciling,  Media Paste and of course... Distress Inks!  My intent was to make my Mermaid and three of the fish look as though they are riding in on waves "Splashing to say Hello"! I hope I got my point across!  My background was a 4" x 5-1/4" panel of  Bristol Smooth Cardstock.  You could certainly use watercolor paper or heavy weight cardstock as well.    Using Blending Brushes,  I did some Distress Ink blending on it first with Tumbled Glass and then added in some Broken China.  I used the Tangled Waves Stencil, and a medium mover to add some Media Paste for dimension to the right side of my card panel.  Once the Media Paste had dried, I did some additional Ink Blending over the paste and even added some subtle blending to the left side of my card by lining the stencil back over the card front and using a Blending Brush to add some additional ink.   I spritzed just a bit of water over the panel and then blotted it off with a paper towel to get some of the lighter blotches. 

  Once the panel was completely dry, I heat embossed the sentiment in the upper left side with Raven Embossing Powder.  My background panel was adhered with Multipurpose adhesive to a matt of  Black cardstock and then adhered with more Multipurpose Adhesive onto a 100 lb. Cover Weight Whitewash Cardstock.   On another piece of Bristol Smooth Cardstock, I stamped the Mermaid, starfish and fish from the Mermaid Lagoon Stamp Set with Raven Ink.  Once they were dry, the images were watercolored with more Distress Inks and an Aqua Pigment Brush filled with water.   Using the Aqua Pigment Brush allows me to add water when needed to lighten the color.  Once I was finished watercoloring and everything was completely dry,  I used my Paper Snips to fussy cut everything.    If you, like me, are not an expert fussy cutter, I find that adding a water-based maker in a color close to your background helps.  Thankfully I had a medium blue marker to help out just a bit. 

 I added my images to my card panel with foam tape, except for the Starfish that I added to the Mermaid's Hair with liquid Multipurpose adhesive.    I love that Brutus Monroe carries but 1/16" and 1/8" foam tape.  On this card I used the 1/16" foam tape so that I could double up on some images so that some are popped up more than others!    I finished off the front by adding three Mermaid Sequins.

For the inside of the card, I added some simple stenciling..

I really like the simplicity some the light Broken China Distress Ink Blending using the same Tangled Waves Stencil on the inside.  Sometimes simple just works!

Thanks so much for following along!  Have a wonderful day and make time to get crafty!

Blessings, Tina

PCC295 Sketch Challenge with Stampin' Up! Sea of Textures Bundle

Hi Friends and Happy Hump Day!  We have made it half way through the work week.... Woo Hoo to that!  Once again my love of all things nautical is back up for view!  Over at Paper Craft Crew today the sketch gave me an idea that I had to run with using the new Stampin' Up! Sea of Textures Bundle!  The funny thing is that my original idea was changed up while I was making my card.  Does that ever happen to you?  It sure happens to me a lot!  

So as usual when I see a circle, I think of a nautical shaker card.  Of course that would have been super cute but when I got my dies out and looked at that awesome fish net die I had another idea.

I saw the fabulous Linda Heller from Stamping School make the netting by distressing cardstock until it peels apart into two layers and then die cutting just one of the layers for the net.  I used that method so that I could get the netting to crumple up behind the octopus.  It is a super cool look so goodness knows I'll be making more of these nets!  :)

For the Octopus I first stamped in SU Smoky Slate (a light gray) and then sponged on some Blackberry Bliss.  I love the look!  I also love that the die cuts out so many of the inside sections of the legs!  I believe this bundle is one of the best picks from the brand new Stampin' Up! Catalog!  If you don't have it yet, you can purchase the clear mount Sea of Textures Bundle here!   I also used the coordinating Tranquil Texture DSP.  There were a lot of options with this DSP and I'm still not sure I picked the right one. lol  I just really wanted the octopus to stand out!  

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Blessings, Tina