The sea, the sea, it calls to me

We're back to birthday cards today, and I'm going to share a few designs that have a sea or nautical theme. These designs really could be used for any occasion, and they are great options when you need a masculine card. (And again, I apologize for the poor photos. Grr. If I still had the cards I would take new pictures that didn't have weird shadows in them.)

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Wetlands, Plane & Simple
Paper: Crumb Cake card stock, watercolor paper
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Crumb Cake, Lost Lagoon, Soft Sky
Accessories: Aqua Painter, Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, Neutrals Candy Dots, sponge

Of the cards I'm sharing today, this is the only one with a birthday sentiment on the front of the card. But you could easily omit or change that sentiment to have a great all-occasion card.

To make the focal image, I stamped the bird image twice across a piece of watercolor paper. Then I used an Aqua Painter to apply washes of color: Crumb Cake for sand, Lost Lagoon for water, and Soft Sky for the sky. I let it dry for a bit and then adhered it to a Crumb Cake card base, which I had sponged with Crumb Cake ink. For a couple of simple embellishments I added a Crumb Cake Candy Dot and a piece of Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon tied in a knot.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: The Open Sea
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Natural trim, game spinner, 1/16" hole punch

I used collage-style stamping with the Triple Time technique for this card. But once I had all the panels stamped and matted, I had a hard time deciding how to embellish the card. Since the background is pretty busy, I decided my embellishments should be pretty neutral. I wrapped a piece of natural trim around the smallest panel, tied it in a knot, and frayed the edges a bit. Then I remembered that I had a pack of retired game spinners, so I decided to make a little compass. I stamped one of the compass images on a scrap of card stock and cut out the circle (I cut off the N-E-S-W directions). I punched a 1/16" hole in the middle of the circle and attached the spinner with the included brad. Then I adhered the compass to the upper left corner of the smallest panel. It really spins, too!

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: By the Tide
Paper: Whisper White, Night of Navy card stock; wood designer card stock paper (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Night of Navy, Hello Honey, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Pewter jumbo eyelet, Cappuccino baker's twine (Hemptique), corner rounder, Crop-A-Dile (We R Memory Keepers), foam dots (unknown)

I've never been to the East Coast, but this card makes me think of an old seafood restaurant in New England, a little mom-and-pop place just off the shore that's been weathered by years of sun, sea spray, and storms.

This card is my favorite out of this group. There's nothing "fancy" or complicated about it, but I just love how everything came together: the weathered boards on the background paper, the navy with a pop of yellow, the cut-out seashell, and the jumbo eyelet with baker's twine bow. It creates a very calm, peaceful feeling for me.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Backwoods
Paper: Lost Lagoon, River Rock, Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Lost Lagoon, Chocolate chip markers; Lost Lagoon, River Rock, Pear Pizzazz, Crisp Cantaloupe ink pads
Accessories: Houndstooth embossing folder, River Rock stitched grosgrain ribbon, corner rounder, Blender pen, Dimensionals

To make the fish images for this card, I used Lost Lagoon and Chocolate Chip markers to apply ink to the rubber stamp (blue on the waves and brown on the fish). Then I stamped the image on Very Vanilla card stock and used a Blender Pen and ink to color in the fish (Pear Pizzazz along the top of the fish, River Rock in the middle, and Crisp Cantaloupe along the bottom).

I matted each fish image with River Rock card stock and adhered them in a column on a Lost Lagoon card base embossed with a houndstooth pattern. I adhered a piece of River Rock ribbon along the left side of the card for a simple embellishment.

I don't know about you, but these cards have definitely put me in the mood for an ocean vacation. Thanks for stopping by!