Sunday, August 4, 2013

By the Seashore

Many of you know that I come from the East coast and visit Cape Cod twice a year.  I think that's why this stamp set, By the Tide (w: #131910, $27.95; c: #129120, $19.95) is near and dear to my heart.  I love the seashore feel of the coral, shells and seahorse. 
Coincidentally, while surfing the web last week, I came across a tutorial for making your own molds for the Simply Pressed Clay, and discovered a way to create shell molds.  Wow!  I started dreaming about a sea-inspired card...and look what happened--




I embossed the coral using White embossing powder on Marina Mist cardstock, which I then sponged with Marina Mist ink.   Gorgeous Grunge was stamped on a small piece of Crumb Cake and torn to resemble the sandy bottom of the ocean.  The fish was stamped in Smoky Slate and fussy-cut, popped up on Dimensionals.  The greeting from A Dozen Thoughts was also embossed in white...but it still needed something...Shells! 

So I made a few shells from a hand-made mold, and voila!  A sea-scape.  Like it?  Please let me know.

Stamps:  By the Tide; A Dozen Thoughts (w: #131056, $26.95; c: #131059, $18.95)
Inks:  Marina Mist (126962, $5.95) , Crumb Cake (#126975, $5.95), Versamark (#102283, $7.50)
Paper:  Smoky Slate (#131202, $6.95), Basic Gray (#121044 ($6.95), Marina Mist, (#119682, $6.95), Crumb Cake (#120953, $6.95)
Goodies:  White Embossing Powder (#109132, $4.75), Heat Tool (#129053, $29.95), Dimensionals (#104430, $3.95), Mini Glue Dots (#10383, $4.95), Simply Pressed Clay (#130685, $6.95)

Take a little vacation, and dream about the sea...
And let's get creating!

3 comments:

Karen (karey2005) said...

Love your shells! Very cool card!

Amy Hoffman said...

What a great card! Would love a link to the tutorial for making your own molds!

Stampin' Amigos said...

Hi Amy,
I wish I could link the tutorial for you, but it was in German. It was on the Stampin' UP exclusive website and had been posted by a German demonstrator. Fortunately it was easy to follow with the visuals...
You use hot glue (from a glue gun). Squeeze out the glue onto a silicone mat (Stampin' UP sells a great one for just this purpose) and then press a real shell into the glue ("oil" it first with some baby oil, so it slides out). Let it harden somewhat, remove the shell, and leave your mold to cool completely. Then you're ready to press your Simply Pressed clay into your new mold...voila! Your own sea shells, lighter and non-breakable so they can be mailed.
Hope this helps!