The musings and offerings of a burgeoning greetings master

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

It's a SEQUEL!!

There's a point in the summer when the wet, sticky air has been so hot for so long, the ocean lays back and decides it calls himself, "on vacation."  The waves are soft as a melody, and the noonday sun casts a light that commits to no certain time at all.  This is the time to pull your beach chair right up to the water's edge, and let the waves play around your feet. 

I had a longing for a beach day like that.  So I made this.

This was made with my friend Melanie Muenchinger's GinaK Designs set, Gifts from the Sea.  This set has the most beautiful beach sentiments, and the artwork on the shells is really outstanding.  There is even a stamp that does the speckles that were used to do the sand.  This was the first prize I won as a cardmaker.  I talk about that here, and here

Oh yes! And from the Toot your own Horn department, Sweet Melanie Muenchinger has another (!) guest spot with me on her blog, Head, Hands and Heart.  I answered a questionnaire, and also made another sample using her The Vine stamp set, from GinaK Designs.  She is such a magnificent supporter of Yours Truly, and she creates some beautiful artworks.  Check it out!

Oh yes, the card.
The background was done with my Tim Holtz Ink Blending Tool, and Antique Linen Distress ink for the sand, with Antique Linen and Tea Dye for the speckles, SU Marina Mist  and Baja Breeze for the water, and SU Bashful Blue for the sky.  I used post it notes to separate the layers.
I stamped the birds in Tea Dye, and stamped it off to make them seem further away. 

The shells were stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink, and I sponged over them with various colors.  I have used colored pencils on them before, but this kept them a bit simpler.  In with my other inks, I added SU Perfect Plum and Pretty in Pink.  I cut them out after inking them, and cut some foam squares in half width-wise, so they would pop off the card just a little less than usual., after attaching some 1/4 inch aqua ribbon from AC Moore.
(As a side note, I have these SU inks in Stampin' Spots.  I need to talk to my rep about them, because they seem really "NOT JUICY".  I may have gotten some old ones or something.)

The sentiment piece was a happy accident.  I originally wanted to stamp it directly onto the card face, wet emboss it, and then wet emboss a big sand dollar to look like a background for it.  This was pretty much a big fail at first.  In my frustration, I used the image to test out my Marina Mist stampin' spot in a direct-to-paper swipe, to see if I wanted to do the water that way.  Fail there, too.  But THEN......

When it came time to figure out exactly WHAT I was going to do to make the sentiment work, I looked down at the mess I had made. Inspiration struck!  I gently ripped the edges of the card stock away, and then sponged the rough edges with Tea Dye distress ink.  Well, what do you know?! It works! 

I attached the card front to a layer of sandy colored stock, then to a piece of aqua, leaving just a 1/16" reveal.  Subtle is the watch word on this one...

The waves were the last to be done.  The water was really pretty, but the sentiment is about WAVES, remember?  So, I got out my gel pen and drew some in by hand, and then added some depth with a green colored pencil.  Then to give them that last bit of punch, and to really wake up the whole thing, I added some Stickles to the waves, too.  I was really scared this would turn the whole thing into a cheesy mess, but I was very delicate with the application, and I think it really works.

I hope your weekends and vacations bring you to someplace restful.

Thanks for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

17 comments:

  1. Congratulations on another guest spot! You rock, my friend!!! Beautiful card - I love sequels, don't you? And mistakes? There are none! Just creative opportunities waiting to happen :) Your beach looks very real. We were walking the beach in bare feet in March, and it was so delightful, letting the water rush over our feet and legs - you've captured that feeling so well :) Again, congrats! If that happened to me, you would definitely hear me squealing, toot tooting, and then probably passing out cold!!! Lol...have a great day!

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  2. Such a pretty card and now I TOTALLY need a beach day! I think we are going to try to head up to Wells sometime next month if we can find a free weekend!

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  3. Richard You are so talented! All that you do and make cards too! Wow! I love your blog, signing up today. You make me smile! Thanks for sharing your talent with us!

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  4. Hey fellow male paper crafter! Isn't Patti a sweetie? I'm glad she sent you to my blog, because I in turn was able to find you! I've spent some time looking at your previous posts and I really like your style. My fav card of yours is that black and white beauty with the reverse negative technique. That is a stunner. This card's detail is wonderful. Love the ribbon at the horizon line, really adds depth. I've signed up to "follow" you too. Nice to "meet" you. I'm also glad to see that you have a partner of 20 years. Great stuff. Best, Curt

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  5. Life is ironic at times. I arrived here via Curt In Carmel's blog and so happy that I have. Your work is brilliant as is his. Glorious when you stumble upon talented male paper crafters. And you live in my favorite state...MA. My daughter went to BU School of Fine Arts.

    Love your beach card and you've captured it beautifully. Looks like I've just walked off the beach where I live in Cape May.

    I've signed to follow you.

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  6. You've been doing a great job guest designing for Melanie - your cards are fabulous! You have a natural talent. I enjoyed reading the bits about you. My little poodle (in pic) became blind a few months ago. Vet says he's on borrowed time (he will be 18 in Nov) - we just have to make the most of the time we have left.

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  7. thank you for the mini vacation you took me on with your prose! :) I need one!
    This a beautiful design and I enjoyed reading about the process as always, sounds like one of my cardmaking mishaps!! very cool that is all just sponging on your shells, I never would have guessed, the colors look terrific and so natural!
    hugs!

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  8. Wonderful card. I love the ocean and can just feel the cool ocean breeze by looking at this lovely card. Found your blog through Melanie's, congrats on being a Guest designer there. Keep up the good work.

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  9. Richard,

    I found you from your post on Curt's blog - Curt is a dear friend of mine!

    I love this card and learned from your detailed explanation of the process - thank you for taking time to do that! I'll be coming back - really nice work!

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  10. This is a gorgeous card!!
    and I love those happy stampy accidents, they always work out to perfection :)

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  11. What a gorgeous card! I can just feel the sand in my toes and feel the salt spray as I pick up the beautiful shells. Thanks for the mini vacation.

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  12. WOW Richard! Great card. That water is yummy - looks good enough to jump into on a hot day! Your shells are superb! Yes, I did notice that we used the same stamp for the last Vine card! Great, creative minds thinking alike - Love it! It was great reading about you too. Have a great weekend!

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  13. Hi Richard! Your card is lovely!! Love the beach scene. You're doing great as Melanie's Guest Designer. I enjoyed reading the interview & learning a bit more about you. You are one talented guy, Richard. Have a great day!!

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  14. This is a beautiful card. WOW. The colors and composition and details are all just perfect. I think that some day soon, your art career may be more than just a dream. Those waves? Incredible. Bravo.

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  15. Oooh, I want to be at the beach now. Love the ribbon, nice touch. thanks for sharing

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