As soon as I saw the April Stamp of the Month, O-fish-ally Awesome, when the Close To My Heart March-April Catalog was released, I was super excited for it! And now it’s April–time to use this amazing stamp set. So many wonderful possibilities with it!
For my first project, I did up this fun polaroid-style card with a few techniques included. I felt like this sentiment was perfect for what is currently happening in our lives right now. There’s not a lot we can control these days, so just keep swimming is very fitting.
My tip for today is if you are finding that you have more time for crafting, try incorporating some techniques you’ve been wanting to learn or maybe some you haven’t done in awhile. Challenge yourself! For this card, the first thing I did was use the light side of Toffee Cardstock and debossed it (insert cardstock so the true Toffee color is inserted as usual in your embossing folder, run through your Cuttlebug, Sizzix or similar machine, then instead of using the embossed side, flip it over and use the other side which is debossed or indented rather than raised) using the *NEW* Under the Sea Embossing Folder. I then sanded the cardstock to expose our white core. It gives it a nice sandy look perfect for a sea/ocean/beach look!
Next, I cut out the polaroid image using Close To My Heart’s You Are Here Cricut Collection. I used White Daisy and Glacier Cardstocks. Here’s my pro-tip with this particular stamp set…stamp many images at once and color all at once so they are all prepped and ready when you need them. It will make your life easier when creating these types of ocean scenes with multiple images! My next tip…get a Brothers ScanNCut! Absolutely perfect for moments like this. At first I was a little skeptical since several of these images are pretty small, but I was willing to give it a go rather than fussy cut for days (I hate cutting!) Secure all your extras that you won’t be using immediately. I put all my extras in a small container to use for later 🙂
I layered my cut out images alternating between gluing images flush with Bonding Memories and others with Thin 3-D Foam Dots to add dimension and movement to my card. I added some Gold Shimmer Brush to my little seashell. The final touch was to use some Liquid Glass to adhere some clear sequins from my Loose Silver Sequins pack. They make for some fun bubbles, right?!
I hope you’ll take some time to try out some new (or maybe some old forgotten) techniques. If you find you need any supplies, remember my Close To My Heart store is open 24-7. You can find all our product offerings on my ONLINE CTMH STORE.