This is a card I made for my husband's great-niece who was turning 18. She loves nature, is an individual thinker, and cares for animals and humans alike. So, I had seen a technique to make a three fold card which also created a scene. So, I decided to use this technique to create this 18th birthday card. I hope you like it.
Dancing by the Sea Card
Paper used: Whisper White Thick, 8 1/2 by 11, card base; Wood Textures Designer Series Paper (DSP), for beach chairs; and Whisper White medium envelope
Stamps used: Beautiful You - Dancing Woman;
Eastern Beauty - "life is beautiful" sentiment on the front;
Number of Years - top sentiment on inside of card;
Butterfly Basics - Happy Birthday on inside of card; and
High Tide - front of the card and first inside layer for the beach, the sea, and the seabirds.
Inks used: Crumb Cake and Soft Suede for the beach and beach grass;
Early Espresso for front sentiment, dancing woman, and Happy Birthday on inside of card;
Pool Party and Bermuda Bay for the sea and Bermuda Bay only for top inside sentiment;
Soft Sky and Marina Mist for the sponged sky; and
Basic Black Archival for the seabirds.
Other Tools: Layering Oval Framelits for the cutout on the front of the card; and
Seasonal Layers Thinlits for the beach chairs
I am showing this photo first so you have an idea of
what the card is suppose to look like.
Step One: Using a scoring tool, score the 8 1/2 by 11 Whisper White Thick
cardstock at 4 1/4 down the length of the cardstock. Then turn the cardstock
and score at 5 1/2 across the width of the cardstock. Turn the cardstock
lengthwise again. You will see the cardstock has four sections. You
will now cut out the top left section so you have three sections
as shown above in the photo. Set that piece aside to use for another card.
Fold down and burnish the top right section,
this will be the first inside layer. Fold over and burnish the bottom
left section and this is the front layer. Lightly mark this layer with
a pencil. This is so you know which section you will cut out the oval frame.
Lay the card down on the Big Shot making sure you will only be cutting
through the front layer. Cut out the oval frame. Set aside the oval to use
on another card.
With the card folded so the oval frame is open on the
first inside layer, lightly mark in pencil the top, bottom,
and both sides of the oval on the first layer. This
gives you the boundary for creating the scene you
want to have show on the front of the card.
Now, to create the scene.
Step Two: Open up the card so you can stamp on the front of the
card. You will create the beach only for the front.
Using the long beach stamp with the chair insert in it,
stamp the beach with Crumb Cake, sometimes
stamping off for lighter shades. Go up on the bottom
of the oval. Now, using the small beach stamp and
Soft Suede ink stamp randomly to add depth to the
beach. You will want to test to see if you need to
stamp off so the beach isn't too dark. I played with
this on scrap paper until I found the combination
I liked. Using the beach grass stamp and Soft Suede,
randomly stamp the beach grass. Again test to see
what you like.
Step Three: Using the Seasonal Layer Beach Chair die, cut out
two chairs on the Wood Textures DSP. Pick the
color you like, there is a great variety. I actually
cut out a number of chairs to see which one I liked
for the scene. Lay the Beach Chair on the front
covering up the hole for the chair. The stamp the
sentiment on the front using Early Espresso ink.
Don't adhere the Beach Chair yet. Turn to the first
inside layer.
Step Four: You are going to want to fold back the front layer
of the card and flatten the first layer so you can stamp
the scene without getting anything on the other
two layers.
As you stamp, you may want to stop and check to
see what is showing through the oval frame.
Create the beach like you did on the front of the card.
Then using the water stamp, first stamp with Pool
Party ink, being random and stamping off so you have
some white spaces and different shades of water.
Then stamp with Bermuda Bay, definitely stamping
off until you create the sea you like. You may want
to go back over it with Pool Party again. I played with
this on scrap paper until I got the look I liked.
Next you will create the sky using a sponge dauber with
Soft Sky first. You can create texture and color variation
by going lighter or heavier with the dauber. Always start off
the edge of the cardstock so you have a more blended look. Have
paper under the card to keep the edges clean. Leave some
white spaces here as well. Then use Marina Mist very
sparingly to add depth to the sky. Again, I played on scrap paper
until I liked the combination for the sky.
Once you like your scene, then stamp the dancing woman
in Early Espresso. Note, she will be close to the bottom and
won't fully show through the oval frame.
Then in Basic Black Archival ink, stamp the seabirds in the sky.
I angled it up slightly.
Step Five: Lay the Beach Chair on the inside scene, don't
adhere yet. Close the front of the card to see if
it aligns with the front beach chair. Once you have
both Beach Chairs where you like them, adhere with
Tombow glue to allow you to move around. On the
Beach Chair for the front, do not put glue on part
of the Beach Chair that will be over the oval frame
as it will glue the card shut. Eek, I almost did that.
Almost done.
Step Six: You can choose whether you want to stamp the
top of the inside layer or not. Remember,
to use colors that won't show through on the
scene which is on the other side of the section.
I did it because visually it looked better to me.
Otherwise, the bottom inside layer would have
been very busy.
This is the bottom inside layer with the sentiment
stamped in Early Espresso.
Step Seven: Here is the envelope and finished card; I would
recommend doing the envelope at the same time you
are creating the beach for the scene on the front and inside.
You could also add Happy Birthday if you wanted to the
envelope. Have fun and make the card your own.
