By the Tide for him and her

About a month ago I ordered the By the Tide stamp set from Stampin' Up!^®. I loved the set as soon as I saw it in the spring catalog, and when it arrived I mounted the stamps on the wood blocks and then ... did nothing. I was stumped. (Everyone I know thinks I just sit down and magically start producing cards, but it's really not that easy.) The images are gorgeous and make me think of all things beachy (oh, what I wouldn't give to be on a beach right now!), but I just couldn't figure out how to put them together on a card. So  I decided the only way to get going was to just start playing with the stamps. The end product was two cards: one feminine and one masculine.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: By the Tide
Card stock: Pool Party, River Rock
Ink: Pool Party, River Rock, Basic Gray
Accessories: Pearls, Dimensionals

Not very many supplies, right? I wanted a clean and simple layout for the feminine card, so I stamped the coral image in Pool Party ink on a Pool Party card base. To create the look of sand along the bottom of the card, I tore the edge off a strip of River Rock card stock and then crumpled and creased the card stock. After I smoothed out the strip, I gently rubbed my River Rock ink pad over it so the edges and creases were lightly inked and then adhered it to the bottom of the card. I also used River Rock ink and card stock for the shell, which I cut out and adhered to the card with Dimensionals. I stamped the poem over part of the coral image with Basic Gray ink and added a few pearls beneath it. To fill the emptiness in the top right corner of the card, I cut two small banners from Pool Party card stock and adhered them above the poem; I like how the tone-on-tone detail adds a subtle visual interest but doesn't detract from the stamped images.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: By the Tide, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Not Quite Navy
Ink: Not Quite Navy, River Rock, Always Artichoke, Soft Suede
Accessories: Woodgrain embossing folder, Natural Trim ribbon, hemp twine, medium metallic brad (Making Memories), Dimensionals

For the masculine card, I used collage-style stamping. I randomly stamped images over a piece of Naturals Ivory card stock using Not Quite Navy (seahorse), Always Artichoke (shell), River Rock (coral) and Soft Suede (fish). I embossed the card stock with the Woodgrain embossing folder to add some texture (I think the wavy lines are reminiscent of water) and mounted the piece on a Not Quite Navy card base. I distressed a piece of Natural Trim ribbon by fraying the ends and then adhered it along the bottom of the card, leaving it bunched and curved in some places. I wrapped a piece of hemp twine around the right side of the card twice, making an X shape. For the focal point, I cut out a stamped fish image, used Dimensionals to adhere it over the knot in the twine and added a thin strip of card stock stamped with "Happy Father's Day." The brad in the corner was a bit of an afterthought, but I'm glad I added it.

So which card do you like better? I think I'm leaning toward the more feminine card, but I have to admit that the masculine one is growing on me. Now that I've got a start with this stamp set, I'm excited to see what else I can create. Thanks for stopping by!