SEASIDE NOTIONS

I AM EXPERIENCING SEASIDE NOTIONS

AND SO CAN YOU!

I love all things beach and ocean related. I have no clue why I feel so connected to the ocean. I am a Hoosier farm girl who spent summers along ponds, lakes, creeks, and the Ohio River. I was 15 years old when I saw an ocean for the first time. It was truly love at first sight. I felt so at home, and such a sense of calm. Over the years I have spent quite a bit of time on all types of beaches all over the country, and a few odd places outside the US, watching the ocean. I lived on the Island of Oahu for three years, and time at the beach was a daily routine. In places like Maine and Alaska beach going is a far different story than a trip to Ala Moana Beach in Honolulu, or Holden Beach in North Carolina. Still, a beach is a beach and an ocean is an ocean. I cherish the time spent on all beaches everywhere. 

What in the world does any of this have to do with stamping or card making, you ask? Well, first of all I own most, if not all beach / ocean related stamp sets Stampin’ Up!has released since 2006. (Might have missed one.)  I love them. I will never part with them! Secondly, there is a great ocean themed stamp set right in the current Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog! It is called Seaside Notions. (Page 36)  It was introduced in the 2019-2020 Annual Catalog, and I am so happy it carried over to the current catalog! Whenever I feel a need for an ocean view I create one. Here is the ocean themed card I created using the  Seaside Notions stamp set.

The background is sponged using a masking technique. I took a piece of scrap paper a little larger than my background panel.  I tore the scrap paper Into two pieces to create a mask, and placed one piece of it on top of the background cardstock close to the bottom, and secured the mask with washi  tape. I used Sahara Sand ink on a sponge and applied the ink onto the cardstock below the mask using downward strokes. Once I was happy with the coverage I moved the mask up a bit, and continued the process with the next color, and worked my way up the card. I did not worry too much about the sponging going into the color below it. From the bottom of the card upward I used Sahara Sand, Night of Navy, Pacific Point, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Just Jade, and Pool Party inks. As I went up the card I moved my mask to the right or left to get a different look for each layer of color. 

Once I finished sponging the background panel, I used a spritzer and lightly spritzed the panel with water to add a few spots of lighter color here and there. I ended up spritzing this card twice. I dried the panel with my heat tool. To finish the panel I used the sand stamp from the set and Sahara Sand ink to add the sand texture to the Sahara Sand section of the panel.

Next  I stamped my images on a piece of Whisper White cardstock with MementoTuxedo Black ink, and colored the images with Stampin’ Blends. I fussy cut the images.

I adhered the background panel to a piece of Basic Black cardstock, and adhered that to a Bermuda Bay card base. I took my bone folder and ran it over the back side of the coral a bit to give it a little dimension. I put adhesive toward the bottom of both pieces of coral, and placed them on the card. I adhered the sand dollar over the bottom of the coral. The shell was adhered using dimensionals. The seahorse is attached with a dimensional at his head and belly, none on his tail.

I stamped the Happy Birthday from the set with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Next I added some Frosted & Clear Epoxy Droplets, and my card was finished. 

A trip to the ocean is just that easy with the Seaside Notions stamp set

I wish you Greatinkspirations with Seaside Notions!

Until next time...

Stamp Happy!

Kim