Have A Mermazing Birthday

 Happy Monday! Hope everyone is faring well in this summer heat. We got a respite via rain last week but now it's another heat wave this week. As my Arthurs flared from the rain and humidity, I chose to hunker down and play with my Distress inks/oxides and some embossing folders, which is why you haven't heard from me since Wednesday. It's funny, I used to do this technique a lot years ago when embossing folders were still a cool new thing. I would brayer ink onto the folder using my Ranger Big and Juicy Rainbow ink pads. This week I've used sponges, blending foam and blending brushes, and will use a brayer next. I love how old can become new again because it's all up to us and what we decide! 😊

I woke up yesterday and saw it was time to mail off a girlfriend's birthday card, but I wasn't feeling the love for any cards in my inventory. So I pulled an inked and embossed background from my playtime and made this one. 

I used a Crafters Companion 5x7" Bubbles folder and Speckled Egg, Salty Ocean and Chipped Sapphire Oxides on Distress Water Color card. I used a blending foam tool to apply the Oxides to the front inside of the folder. I love the soft look of it on the wc card. 

  

Here's the Splitcoaststampers sketch I used along with my A2-size card to show how I followed it. Instead of paper, I used inks for the 3 sectional elements. And then 3 image elements over that.

Before adding my images and sentiment, I added some Glossy Accents to a few of the bubbles, then brushed the rest of them with clear Wink of Stella. I used my new-to-me Hero Arts Stamp and Cut Mermaid set to stamp everything on Distress Specialty Stamping Paper using Nocturne VersaFine Clair ink and heat-embossing with clear powder. OMG! This paper (it actually feels more like card) is fabulous for getting a clear and crisp adhesion for the ink and the powder! I'd only used it up until now for inking and stenciling, but this is my new go-to for embossed stamping. The Hero Arts stamps are also to thank, they are very well made.

The paper also took my water-based colorants wonderfully. Here's a shot to try to show the shimmer and shine.

After cutting her out with the coordinating die, I colored this fabulous mermaid with a mix of colorants. I began coloring her skin and hair with my Zig Clean Color Brush Pens, then switched to my Distress Markers to color the seaweed in her hair and her tail. I then used my Crafters Companion Glitter Markers on the tail.

See how wonderful the black raised embossing is? After cutting him out with the coordinating die, I colored the turtle with my Zigs.

And I cut the sentiment with a Spellbinders Labels 4 die and colored it with Distress Markers.

Inside, just a simple Avery Elle stamped sentiment.

And a final view of my card. LOVE how it came out!

But WAIT, there's MORE!

This is a dessert called Peaches and Cream Gelatin Dessert and I'm sharing for Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date, linked below. Since I haven't posted since Wednesday, I made sure to share today. The recipe gives you a choice of orange or peach jello and we used orange. It went fast! So refreshing in hot weather and the orange jello tasted great with the peach slices. Easy to make, too! Well, that does it for me today. I hope the rest of your day is delicious, too! XOX

MY CHALLENGE PLAYLIST:

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date

Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge SC395

Hero Arts Stay Crafty Challenge: Another Year Older (Birthdays)

I've used HA DC226 Stamp and Cut Mermaid set

Daisy Chain Challenge #65: No Designer Paper

Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge #84

Paper, Inks, Embossing Powder, Glitter paints, Watercolor markers

Mixed Media Lovers Challenge #15

Paper, Inks, Embossing Powder, Glitter paints, Watercolor markers

We Love Stamping July Challenge: Anything Stamped

CYHTP Challenge: AG Embossing with a Twist of Summer

MAWTT Challenge #144: Inky Background

HLS AG with Dies July Challenge

AAA Birthday Game #39: Where In The World

In the Ocean...and I'd love to be a mermaid!

Vesela Hiska Happy House Challenge #32: Summer

Scrapping4Fun Challenge #214: Happy Birthday

Cut It Up Challenge #256: Summer Lovin'

Used Hero Arts Stamp and Cut Mermaids Dies (mermaid and turtle)

Colour Crazy Craft Challenge Week 27: AG with Colouring

Cardz4Galz Challenge #177: Get Inky

Try It On Tuesday Challenge: Make It Magical

TTCRD Challenge 7/5-7/19: AAG

Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge #525: AG w/Paper

Creative Fingers Challenge #235: AAG

Crafty Animals Challenge #63: AG w/an Animal

The Four Seasons Challenge: July AG Summer

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #101: AAG

Pearly Sparkles Challenge #75: Clean and Simple

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday Challenge: July AG

We Love 2 Create Mixed Media Challenge #7: AMMG

Paper, Inks, Embossing Powder, Glitter paints, Watercolor markers