Sand & Sea Suite

 Are you tired of winter yet?  I thought today would be a great day to share this card with a seashell theme.  We just had a snow storm roll through last night with really cold temperatures.  And while it is pretty outside, I'm really ready for some warmer weather.  Hence the seashells today!

This card was made with the Sand & Sea Suite, in particular the Friends Are Like Seashells stamp set and the Sand & Sea 12" x 12" Designer Paper.  These are both available now in the January - June Mini Catalog.  Just by purchasing the Friends Are Like Seashells Bundle of stamps and coordinating dies for $54 makes you eligible to choose 1 item from the Sale-a-bration catalog.  This offer is only available until the end of February, so if you're interested now is the time to act.

The idea for this card comes from the many posts I've been seeing on Pinterest and many blogs that are highlighting the 'split card' technique.  If you're like me, you have all this lovely Designer Paper on hand.  You want to use it, but what is the best way to cut it to get the most out of it?  Normally if you are cutting  your paper to make a layer on your card front, you would probably cut it to 5 1/4" x 4".  You would end up making 6 cards from one sheet of Designer Paper.  The 'split card' idea uses a piece of only 4" x 4", giving you 9 pieces to make into cards.  When you are making multiple cards at a time, this is definitely a plus.

For this card, I cut diagonally from about 1" from bottom left edge to about 1" from top right edge.  The pieces were then "split" and layered onto a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Basic White cardstock.  In the open area of white cardstock that shows through, the sentiment was stamped using Rococco Rose ink for a slightly darker look.  This was then layered onto the folded Flirty Flamingo card base.

The larger shell was stamped with Flirty Flamingo ink and die-cut.  The sand dollar, starfish, and sea grass were all stamped using Crumb Cake ink.  Accents were added to them using Flirty Flamingo Light Blends.  These were also cut out.

Attaching these to the card was done with Mini Glue Dots for 3 of the items.  It kept them a bit looser from the card front.  I used Dimensionals for the larger seashell so it hovers above them a bit and gives it more visual appeal.

The final touch was the embellishment.  I had thought about using pearls because we're talking underseas here, but they really didn't work as well as I'd hoped.  So this is the first time I tried using the Opal Rounds that are part of this Suite.  Oh my, are they ever lovely!  They are like a clear droplet of water with iridescent glitter inside.  Just perfect.  I added three and that was it.  Such a pretty card!  

I added a layer of Basic White cardstock inside with a birthday sentiment inside stamped again with the Rococco Rose ink.  I also stamped a couple of shells in the bottom corner using Flirty Flamingo ink that was off-stamped to keep them nice and light.  Add a few stamped shells to the envelope to match and it's ready to get in the mail.  One more birthday card ready to go.

Time for a new Host Code for the month of February.  If you'd like to place an order under $150, please use this Host Code.  If you want lots of goodies and your order is over $150, please contact me so we can make sure to get you all your free rewards.  Don't forget that Sale-a-bration only goes through the end of February.  If there's something in the Sale-a-bration flyer that you are wanting, please do it soon before items are sold out and no longer available.

Happy stamping!  Hope you give this "split card" idea a try soon.  It's a wonderful way to s-t-r-e-t-c-h that gorgeous Designer Paper.  I've used this idea with many different Designer Paper sets, and I haven't been disappointed yet!  Thanks for stopping by today.  Leave me a comment so I know you've been here.  You know I just love hearing from you my friends!

Virtual Hugs from Sharon