Mermaid Diva Card

Happy Saturday! Today I would like to share a card featuring one of the original SPS plates of rubber stamps. This image can be found on Plate #3 along with the sentiment.  The image was colored with copics, I grunged up the background paper by using a dtp tech along with some distress ep. Thanks for stopping by!

Connie-A Sweet Pea CAS Card

I used some stamps by 

  Sweet Pea Stamps

(image is by Elisabeth Bell

"Li'l Miss Polly") and the verse

is from SP's Plate #3.

The embossing folder is by Cuttlebug

"Wedding Suite"

for this CAS card.

The hardest part of the entire card

was fitting those pesky squares together!!

Connie

Connie-Miss You

I stamped this gorgeous image from Plate #30 "Nostalgia" and after I colored it with Copic markers I used my Creative Memories circle cutting system to cut it into a large circle.  Then it just seemed to take off from there.
I layered some DP by Cosmo Cricket on the red base and then used various circle punches to cut different sized circles from a piece of dp.  Edged those with black dye ink and stamped the saying (from plate #3) on one of the larger circles.
Several Prima flowers (Calypso) and some skittles for centers were stuck on with some homemade glue dots I made.  A few gems here and there and I think I like it.
I colored her tail to blend in with her gown so she is no longer a mermaid!

Connie-Funky Mermaid

Isn't this the most outrageous mermaid you ever saw??  Talk about a fish with an attitude!  You will find the entire plate HERE
I was playing with a new punch set that reminded me of seashells....
I folded a piece of text paper into quarters and punched my shape, then unfolded and used it as a template for sponging around my mermaid image.  I stamped a Sweet Pea saying on the Prima flower before adding a button and some sparkly fibers.  
Colored with Copics and at the last minute (I could not resist) placed a small rhinestone on her belly button for even more pizazz!!
To tell you the truth, she just looked like a mermaid who would have a body piercing!!

Friendship Card

Supplies:

Mermaid Diva Stamp
Fish Racer Stamp
Find At Sea Stamp
Ocean Coral Stamp
Black VersaFine Ink Pad (Tsukineko)
Copic Markers (Imagination)

• G94 Grayish Olive
• G24 Willow

Photo Twinn Marker (Zig)

• Peach
• Golden Locks

H2Os (Luminarte)

• Rich Cocoa
• Jasmine
• Ruby Red
• Mystic Blue
• Icicles

White Cardstock (Unknown)
Printed Cardstock (Unknown)
Zots Small Glue Dots (Therm o Web)
Mod Podge (Plaid)
Scissors
Paper Trimmer

Instructions:

1. Stamp the mermaid and racer images one time each and the ocean coral image three times, in black ink, on white cardstock and trim out neatly.
2. Color the mermaid's tail with the two green colors using the dark on the tail and the lighter on the fins. Color in her vest, belt and key with the rich cocoa H2O, her skin with the peach marker, hair with the yellow marker, and the shell with the jasmine H2O.
3. Color the Fish Racer image using the mystic blue for the mermaid's tail, rich cocoa for the body of the fish, icicles for the head and tail of the fish, peach marker for the mermaid's body and yellow marker for the mermaid's hair.
4. Color the coral and shell images using the mystic blue, rich cocoa and jasmine H2Os.
5. Cut the printed cardstock to 4.25" x 11" and fold to 4.25" x 5.5.
6. Adhere the ocean coral images along the bottom of the card front with mod podge, for this card portions of the images were cut away to break up the pattern.
7. Attach glue dots that have been doubled, to give depth, to the back of the fish racer image and position at the bottom of the card.
8. Attach the Mermaid Diva image to the card along the left hand side positioning a bit of her tail behind the racer image.
9. Stamp the sentiment, in black, on the upper right hand side filling the open area.
10. Enjoy sharing!

Our guest designer, Micki Harper brings us

one more delightful creation using a mermaid image from plate #3.

We have enjoyed having Micki design for us this month and are sure we will see more of her in the near future! Thank you Micki for all your creative submissions!

We are always looking for artwork to feature on the blog and website. Please email submissions to: Jennifer.

Under the Sea

This mermaid is from Plate #3 and I just love the way her hair is drawn. It really has that floating in the water look to it. I decided to go purple - a lot of purple. The wave punched border and brads let me highlight the image as the main focus for the card. I am looking forward to many more cards in many more colors with this stamp!

Time to read a book

I used the stamps from Sweet Pea plate #3 to make this bookmark. You can also buy these great plastic bookmark sleeves from Sweet Pea stamps website.
I started with 2 pieces of white glossy cardstock. On each piece of cardstock I stamped a background image with VersaMark and dried the ink before applying various colors of alcohol inks. Then I stamped the Sweet Pea images with black India ink. I glued the 2 pieces of cardstock to each other and used a metallic leafing pen to draw a border around each side of the bookmark.

Now that kids are back in school.... a bookmark will come in handy!


Here's the other side of the bookmark.
I looped various fibers and a ribbon through the hole at the top of the bookmark sleeve. I tied a couple of sea shells and a flip flop foam bead to the ends of the fibers..... perfect embellishments for the mermaid theme.
These might even be great gifts for that special teacher!
And they take so little time to create; give it a try.
Chrissy

Two on Tuesday

I have TWO items to share with you today. It seemed fitting as the stamps are currently on sale BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!! Can you believe it? It is a shopper's DREAM!

First is a card created with the new Halloween plate. This little "vampire" just cracks me up, he is so cute! I had to ink him up right away. The blue word paper, he is matted on, was done using the sentiment in the same set. I just stamped it randomly on the paper before gluing on the cut out images.



The second item is an ATC I created using the Bodacious Mermaid. After coloring her in gray tones, I trimmed around the image and glued it to the prepared ATC. I then put some stickles on the background and smeared (yes, that is the technical term) it around with my finger.


I hope you enjoy these creations and are excited to create something of your own! Remember, if you use the Sweet Pea stamps to do so, send a photo to Jennifer so we can share it with others on Mondays!

Altered Notebook by Chrissy

There are lots of great back to school items out there.... why not alter a few??
I took a 3x5" notebook and decided to alter the cover. I did unwind the wire from the notebook to make working on the cover easier.
First I cut a piece of glossy cardstock to fit the cover. I stamped a background image with Versamark, used a heat gun to dry, and applied 3 colors of alcohol ink using an alcohol ink applicator. I wanted to get some texture, or the look of water behind the mermaid.
Using permanent black ink, I stamped the mermaid in the center, the shells in the lower left corner, and 'attitude' at the top of the glossy cardstock piece.
Then I attached the glossy to the notebook cover using double sided tape. I punched holes through the cover using the existing holes as a guide. Then I rewound the wire through the entire notebook.
I did apply diamond glaze to the shells worn by the mermaid, but it is difficult to see in the photo.
Maybe some glitter would add a little pizazz to it!
I gathered a few different types of fibers and strung them through the wire binding, attaching the glass fish bead to the end of one of the fibers.
I used only 3 of the Sweet Pea images from plate #3. Go check it out, there are some great verses on that plate!

Materials and supplies used:
- a 3 x 5" spiral bound notebook
- a piece of glossy cardstock cut to fit cover of notebook
- background stamp
- alcohol inks and applicator
- Versamark
- black permanent ink
- various fibers
- glass fish bead
- double sided tape
- heat gun
- hole punch
- mermaid, shells, and 'attitude' stamp from plate #3
- Diamond Glaze

Find yourself at sea

E E Cummings had the right idea about finding yourself at sea; but not when you sail down the Hudson where my son sails! This is the card I made for him after his sailboat collided with another in a speed race.

Credit for this card goes to Schirmcat over at splitcoast who created the design.

1. Paper piece the sailboat from print paper

2. Stamp text on separate gold paper

3. Rim the water edge and sun with stickles or other sparkle glue

4. Assemble

card by cat gondek

Dream dream dream ...

  I just love using that undersea vegetation stamp and here it is used as a corner even though it stands on its side.

1.  Stamp dream twice, follow your dream and sea vegetation in white craft ink on dark paper. Let dry.

2. Color lightly with chalks or markers in just a few spots.

3. Mat with narrow green at center and larger pink on sides. Add ribbon and brads.

Sample by Cat Gondek

Undersea butterfly!

This one was really fun to do combining the undersea with the Happy Birthday Butterfly and getting what I think was a very effective result.

It uses the Sweetpea phrase "If I counted every drop in the sea, It wouldn't match what you've given me" with the butterfly birthday however you don't see the happy birthday at all. Then the border is filled in with the undersea plants and some positive and negative punches making the whole card very busy but striking in my opinion.

1.  Stamp butterfly birthday on glossy cardstock and heat emboss with clear powder.

2.  Brayer background with "bouquet" kaleidacolor pad over the butterfly and borders. Polish ink off embossing with a kleenex

3. Stamp background over and over with undersea plant stamp from Sweetpea.

4. Stamp sentiment on blue cardstock, layer on a longer strip and punch out a branch.

5. Punch additional branches from 3 colors of cardstock. 

6. Layer and attach, adding a couple of pearlized translucent brads.

card by cat gondek

Party Divas

In a hurry for cute party invitations but don't want a bunch of cards that look like they were done on the assembly line? Try these two samples. They are made using the same supplies, making them easy and efficient while not all looking the same.

Supplies:

Bodacious Mermaid Stamp
Party Time Stamp
Black VersaFine Ink Pad (Tsukineko)
Kaleidacolor Autumn Leaves Ink Pad (Tsukineko)
Copic Markers (Imagination)

• G94 Grayish Olive
• G24 Willow

Peach PhotoTwinn Marker (Zig)
Adirondack Markers (Tsukineko)

• Mushroom
• Rust
• Ginger

White Cardstock (Unknown)
Printed Cardstock (Unknown)
Green Card Stock (Bazzill)
Double Sided Tape (Provo Craft)
Sticker Maker (Xyron)
Mod Podge (Plaid)
Scissors
Paper Trimmer

Instructions:

1. Stamp the mermaid image on white card stock, trim out neatly and color. Use the greens for the tail, the pink for the shell top, peach for the skin and the remaining colors for the hair.
2. Cut the green card stock to 4.25" x 11" and fold to 4.25" x 5.5".
3. Ink the party time stamp using the Kaleidacolor ink pad, make sure to use all the different colored inks and the letters are all coated. Stamp the image on the white card stock.
4. Stamp the image parallel to the first image about .5" away from the first stamped image.
5. Continue to stamp the image at least 7 times. Try to move the words of the image up and down each stamped line to give the card more interest.
6. Cut the back ground paper to 4" x 5.25" positioning the stamped images within the area in a pleasing manner.
7. Attach the background paper to the front of the card with double sided tape.
8. Attach the mermaid to the card front with Mod Podge.
9. Cut a 1" x 2" strip of the printed cardstock, run through the sticker maker and cut into two 1" x 1" pieces.
10. Cut the one inch printed cardstock pieces at a diagonal to create corners and attach to the card front.
    

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To create the second card:

1. Ink the party time stamp using just the red color from the Kaleidacolor ink pad and stamp.
2. Trim away the excess paper from the stamped image allowing for a .75" strip.
3. Cut a 1" x 5.5" strip of the printed cardstock.
4. Run both the printed cardstock and stamped image strip through the sticker maker and attach the stamped image onto the printed strip.
5. Create another green card as before and attach the matted, stamped image to the front about .25" away from the left hand edge.
6. Create another mermaid image as before and attach to the card front.
7. Enjoy Sharing!

Bookmarks are FUN !

These were really fun to create and I will have a great way to remember my place when I read my summer novels ...

1. Use sea bottom stamp and a kaleidoscope pad to create floor of ocean about 1 1/2 inch up from the bottom.
2. Use same stamp to create borders up the sides. Yes, one will be upside down, but could you see that before I told you? Just keep close to the edge and nobody will know.
3. Stamp same image on acetate and turn over, place carefully and rub the ink off to create illusion of a reflection
4. Use torn paper and a cotton ball to create rows of fluffy clouds
5. Create central image. Color if needed.
6. Add a bunch of glitter glue to the reflection in zigzags. Stickles is my favorite brand.  This doesn't show well in the scan, but try it on yours and see the difference it makes.
7. Insert into a SweetPea bookmark sleeve and choose your fibers for the top.

Priceless !

Love these long strippy sayings - they could go down the card but I thought something like PARTY TIME had to be screaming across the card. This card will be a birthday card for a JULY 4 birthday.

1.Wet a watercolor marker ( crayola fat markers work fine) and spatter across white cardstock.

2. Cuttlebug Birthday across white

3.  Stamp "Party Time" and add more color with a contrasting color marker

4. Layer and adhere; add some punchies and brads for more fun.

I love the "priceless" stamp for the back of a card, but decided to try putting it on the front. I was kind of tickled with how this turned out.

1.  Stamp the mermaid on fish images randomly with a dark color leaving large gaps between

2.  Repeat with 2 lighter colors and fill in the gaps

3.  Layer with solid and coordinating print cardstock

4.  Stamp "Happy Birthday" using quick dry pigment ink on colored twill tape

5.  Stamp "Priceless" on scrap of print background

6.  Highlight just ONE of the fish/mermaid images with glitter glue, dazzles, or sparkle of your choice. Mine doesn't show up in the scan but is pearlized with twinkling H2O's and does stand out from the crowd.

More fun with the fish and mermaid pair.

1.  Use the seabed stamp and a kaleidoscope pad to create an underwater hillside for the fish to swim down.

2. Color fish and mermaid with prismacolor pencil

3. Deckle cut edges and rub with dabber or cosmetic sponge

4. All images have been sparkled with a variety of glitter glues; my scanner doesn't like sparkle

5.  Stamp sentiment on scrap; attach and border with brads. Again these are sparkly metallic brads but my scanner is keeping that a secret!

If I counted ...

This thank you card was for a very dear friend who took me out to lunch on my 60th birthday. We have been friends and did lunch together wayyyyyy back on my 40th!

1. Choose 3 coordinating papers.

2 Cut squares and rectangles and back with solid paper 1/4 inch larger.

3  Layer

4. Stamp sentiment on white and layer

5. Assemble and add brads

This is based on the splitcoast sketch challenge # 232. See splitcoast for more details.

Sentiment stamp is from SWEETPEA, of course.

sample by cat gondek