All Hands on Deck

#stampinup   This week's color challenge at the Stamp Ink Paper blog brought to mind a nautical theme. I thought about going straight to the "Traveler" set, but that would have been an obvious choice. Then I spied the "Sea Street" set on my stamp shelf and realized it hasn't gotten as much love as that cute set deserves, so I pulled it off and got ready to add some ink.



I stamped the cute octopus in Bermuda Bay onto a Whisper White panel. Then I stamped him again onto a scrap paper and fussy cut his lower half so that I could use it as a mask. I stamped the school of fish in Bermuda Bay across the panel. I stamped the first image with full strength ink and the images to each side in the next "generation" of the stamp so that each image is lighter than the first.

I thought the sentiment from the "Build a Birthday" set would be great with this design. It's stamped in Night of Navy ink. Then, since I apparently cannot get enough of the balloons from the "Party Wishes" stamp set, I stamped two balloons in Night of Navy and one in Pool Party and punched them out with the matching balloon punch from the Party Punches set. 

I added the strings with a Night of Navy Stampin' Write Marker--I hope it looks like the octopus is holding the strings! For a final touch--because I realized I hadn't used much Pool Party--I added three Pool Party Candy Dots to the corner of the panel. The Whisper White panel is adhered to a Night of Navy mat, which is adhered to a Bermuda Bay card base with Stampin' Dimensionals.

tams# 6625

Product List

Sea Street Clear-Mount Stamp Set [133988] $17.00	Build A Birthday Photopolymer Stamp Set [138646] $16.00	Party Wishes Clear-Mount Bundle [141071] $30.50	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad [131171] $6.50
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad [126970] $6.50	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [126982] $6.50	Bermuda Bay 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [131197] $7.00	Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100867] $7.00
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $8.50	Night Of Navy Stampin' Write Marker [100069] $3.50	Subtles Candy Dots [130933] $6.00	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.00
#IMBRINGINGBIRTHDAYSBACK Single Wood-Mount Stamp [143573] $12.00

A Cheery Octopus

The challenge this week at the Addicted to Clean and Simple blog is a sketch. I decided to use a set that I haven't picked up in quite a while: Sea Street. I've been making Christmas and fall cards for a while, so I wanted a little change of place. This sketch challenge was just the ticket for a change of pace!
 

I really love the colors in the Maritime Designer Series Paper--"classic" Real Red and Night of Navy and an "In Color" Coastal Cabana. I can never quite figure out how to "display" the cute octopus in this set. Fussy cut? Circle Framelit? Square? Ah! I tried the Window Frames Framelit Collection and I like it!!

(Stamp Sets: Sea Street, And Many More; Inks: Coastal Cabana, Real Red; Card Stock: Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White; DSP: Maritime; Accessories: Window Frame and Banners Framelits Collection, Real Red 1/4" Cotton Ribbon, Pool Party Candy Dots)

Fresh Fun

The sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches is a fun one! I like how the focal point can be "any shape." I thought about some of the stamp sets that haven't had much love lately and "Sea Street" came to mind. I love that octopus. I decided to make him the focal point and he fit nicely into a circle from the Circle Framelits Collection. Instead of using a strip of designer series paper, I decided to stamp a school of fish swimming across the card.

Here's the sketch.


And here's my card:

(Stamp Sets: Sea Street, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Inks: Marina Mist, Calypso Coral, Wild Wasabi; Card Stock: Wild Wasabi,Calypso Coral, Marina Mist, Whisper White; Accessories: Circles Framelits Collection, Decorative Dots Embossing Folder, Circle Framelit Card (banner)

I wanted a fun, bright card to send to my friend's granddaughter who was just diagnosed with leukemia. She's getting great treatment and the prognosis is top-notch. My friend said her granddaughter loves to receive cards, so I made one for her to cheer her day and to encourage her.

Happy Birthday, Bro

So, my brother's birthday is tomorrow. I've been meaning to make a card for him all week. But I'm buried in convention swap "card parts." And tonight I attended my BFF's new catalog open house. (My BFF is also my downline.) I knew I'd be there for a while this evening, but I also knew she had planned a really cute make and take card. And I knew that I could convert that make and take into a birthday card for my bro! And I knew I could use that card on my blog tonight. Winning!

Here's the ever-so-cute card my BFF, Lynn Birus, designed (based on a design she saw on Pintrest).

(Stamp Sets: Sea Street, Four Wishes; Inks: Real Red, Night of Navy, Pool Party; Card Stock: Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White; DSP: Maritime; Accessories: Banner Punch, Coastal Cabana Thick Baker's Twine, Stampin' Spritzer, Piercing Tool)

The "sea" behind the octopus is made by stamping a clear block directly into the Pool Party ink pad and spritzing it with alcohol from a Stampin' Spritzer. The little crabbie flag is attached to the octopus by using a Piercing Tool and punching just above and below one tentacle and threading a toothpick through. So cute!!

Retro Sea Street

I used a variety of pieces of the Maritime DSP for this card that I created for this week's Retro Sketches challenge. When I started putting the pieces together, I realized that the sketch wasn't as straight-forward as I first thought. It was like making a quilt--a very patriotic quilt with all the red, white, and blue (with a little Coastal Cabana thrown in)!!

Here's this week's retro sketch:



And here's the card I made:

(Stamp Sets: Sea Street, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Inks: Coastal Cabana, Night of Navy; Card Stock: Real Red, Whisper White; DSP: Maritime; Accessories: Real Red 1/4" Cotton Ribbon, Modern Label and Word Window Punches)

Yippee-Skippee! Little Crabbies!

If you've been reading my blog, you know that I got the Sea Street stamp set because of the key-oot little crabs. I had a chance to play  with the crabs today, using the fabulous sketch at the Retro Sketches challenge blog.



Since the matching Maritime DSP uses Real Red, Night of Navy, and Whisper White (along with Coastal Cabana), I stuck with the red, white, and blue theme for my card. I've never actually used the "yippee-skippee!" stamp from this set, though  I've used several other sentiments. I think the little crabbies are happy little crabs and I think they look they're shouting, "Yippee-Skippee!"

(Stamp Sets: Sea Street, Yippee-Skippee!; Inks: Night of Navy, Real Red; Card Stock: Real Red, Whisper White; DSP: Maritime; Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, 3/4" and 1" Circle Punches, Banner Framelit from Circle Card Framelit Set, Whisper White 1/4" Cotton Ribbon)

The "Yippee-Skippee!" sentiment fits perfectly in the banner framelit from the Circle Card Framelit set. I curled the edges a bit to give it some dimension. I added a strip of our NEW Whisper White 1/4" Cotton Ribbon--I'm loving this new ribbon! I may have to buy all the colors. The crab circles are each popped up with a Stampin' Dimensional, as is the sentiment.

Sea Street Birthday

One of the many new stamp sets in the new Stampin' Up Idea Book and catalog is the "Sea Street" set. It's such a cute set and, being from Maryland, I had to buy it because of the cute little crab. This set would be great for any occasion and for any age. There are 8 seriously cute and versatile stamps in the set (item number 133988 clear-mount $16.95; item number 133985 wood-mount $22.95)

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Even though I love the crab, I thought I'd start with the octopus--he's totes adorbs, too! I fussy cut the nautical flags and draped them across the card. I used the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder to mimic sea bubbles. I stuck to the colors in the coordinating Maritime DSP--Coastal Cabana, Real Red, Night of Navy, and Whisper White--even though I ended up not using DSP.

(Stamp Sets: Sea Street, Label Love; Inks: Night of Navy, Real Red; Card Stock: Real Red, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Night of Navy; Accessories: Decorative Dots Embossing Folder, Artisan Label Punch)