Shell-ebrate Summer
Sharing Summer Cardmaking Challenge 1
Good day, fellow crafters. Today I am sharing with you my entry into this weeks Sharing Summer Cardmaking Challenge! This challenge is being hosted by @thatcraftygolden and you can find their page on Instagram, and is running from July 9th - September 3rd. This week's theme is Shell-abrate Summer with the main goal to feature shells as the focal point of your designs. I had a lot of fun with this one and the stencil I used was one I had forgotten I even had so it worked out really well for me. If this theme sparks your creativity, join us in the fun! Don't forget to use the hashtag #sharingsummercards, as we can't wait to admire your creations. I hope you enjoy it.
The background of this card was pretty fun to make. To begin with, I chose a pale blue-green cardstock that added a Florida Natutical kind of feeling to my design. I next used a Nautilus Shell stencil from A Colorful Life designs, link under the picture, which I taped down onto that blue-greeen cardstock. Next using my pallet knife and some Nuvo Embellishment Mousse in the color of Orange Blush I worked the mousse into the openings of the stencil. This method is very much like spreading icing on a cake and you want to use it when you want the look you are going for is a bigger bulkier texture, sort of like using a texture paste. In this case, I wanted something that looks more like a fossil than a shell off the beach so I went thicker. You can however use foam applicators to apply the mousse in the same manner you would blend in inks or you could also add just a small amount of water and apply the paste like an acrylic paint.
Once the application was complete, I carefully removed the tape from the stencil, ensuring not to smudge or tear the paper. Whenever possible, I prefer taping the paper and stencil separately to a work surface where any accidental tearing won't matter. However, this might not be feasible with larger stencils. Additionally, I highly recommend promptly cleaning the stencil and palette knife after using the embellishment mousse. If left to dry, the mousse can stain the plastic and become challenging to remove. I made sure to clean my tools and set aside the mousse-covered background to dry.
Moving on, I proceeded to craft the sentiment for the card. For this, I chose a sentiment from the Seashells stamp set by HoneyBee stamps, accompanied by its corresponding die. To begin, I used the same pale blue-green cardstock and stamped the sentiment using clear embossing powder. Then, I coated it with extra fine black embossing powder and heat-set it. Once the embossing had cooled down, I used the corresponding die to precisely cut out the sentiment.
Lastly, it was time to assemble all the components. I trimmed the background and the complementary black mat to their final dimensions with my stitched rectangle dies, then adhered them together before affixing them onto a pre-cut A2 white card base. Then, I carefully put all the pieces together, mounting the sentiment onto the background with some pop dots to give it some dimension and visual interest.
