A manatee-rific challenge card

I fell in love with manatees waaaay back in elementary school. I don't know exactly when or why, but I remember that I chose manatees as the subject for a research project in about fifth grade. (I also remember my teacher giving me a very questioning look when I told her my chosen topic, because at first she thought I said I wanted to do my report about humanity. Ha!) And I've been the proud adoptive mother of Howie, through Save the Manatee Club, for many, many years.

So when I saw the Manatee-rific stamp set (and coordinating dies) from Lawn Fawn, I knew I had to buy it. And while I was playing with it, I realized that it would be perfect for creating a card for the latest Fab Friday sketch challenge.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Manatee-rific (Lawn Fawn)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Smoky Slate, Powder Pink, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green card stock
Ink: Coastal Cabana, Smoky Slate, Powder Pink, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Layering Circles Framelits dies, Manatee-rific dies (Lawn Fawn), Lemon Lime Twist ombre ribbon, Bermuda Bay 1/8" taffeta ribbon, sequin assortment - Go Green (Craft Medley), Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Mono Multi liquid glue

I love this clean and simple layout. Since the images in this stamp set are relatively small, there was plenty of space in the circle to add a manatee and a few extra details without looking crowded.

For the watery background, I used a piece of card stock left over from a mixed media play day. I think I used a couple different colors of paint spread around white card stock with various rollers and tools. How's that for specific? Normally I try to keep track of product and color names, but since I was just playing at the time and I didn't know if any of my pieces would "work," I didn't write down the details.

For the horizontal element behind the circle, I adhered two pieces of coordinating ribbon in different colors and widths. I stamped the sentiment below the circle and finished off the card with a few blue-green sequins.

While I was stamping and die cutting manatees and accessories, I decide to cut out extras and make a second, non-challenge, card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Manatee-rific (Lawn Fawn)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, textured Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Smoky Slate, Powder Pink card stock; alcohol ink card stock (YUPO)
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Smoky Slate, Powder Pink; Stream, Aqua alcohol ink (Ranger)
Accessories: Manatee-rific dies (Lawn Fawn), Frame in Frame 2 cutting plate (Taylored Expressions), linen thread, Mono Multi liquid glue, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, alcohol blending solution (Ranger)

For the ocean background on this card, I used alcohol inks and YUPO paper. I'll admit that I was unsure about YUPO paper at first because it's synthetic and a little pricey. But I found out that it is recyclable as a category 5 plastic, and you really only need a small piece to make a big impact on a card. (I made several different backgrounds with alcohol inks and YUPO paper recently, so watch for more in upcoming posts.) I really loved the way this piece turned out, so I didn't want to cut it down. Instead, I left it a rectangle, mounted the piece behind a die-cut frame and then added the images with liquid glue, Glue Dots and Dimensionals to add depth.



To create the rest of the card, I wrapped a piece of linen thread around a white card base a few times and tied it in a bow near the right edge of the card. I stamped the sentiment along the bottom edge of the card and then used Dimensionals to attach the focal panel over the twine, centered on the card base.

After making both cards, I still had pieces left over, so I decorated the insides of the cards. (This photo is the inside of the first card, but I used the same basic layout for both of them.) One of the things I really enjoy about Lawn Fawn sets are the punny, mix-and-match sentiments. I wanted to use these as birthday cards, so I stamped "Have a manatee-rific day" inside the cards, but you could also create greetings for anniversary, thank you, or general congratulations cards. I added a die-cut manatee, bubbles, seaweed cluster and seashell. Cute!



Thanks for stopping by!