A taste of the tropics

Yay, the weekend! I'm happy to see the end of the week (especially since I don't have to work this weekend!), and I'm hoping to get some card projects finished in the next couple of days. It will be a prefect weekend to stay inside and craft because it's feeling tropical around here, and being out in the heat and humidity is not my favorite thing. But it is a great reason to share a few tropical cards!

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Timeless Tropical

Paper: Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Crumb Cake, Whisper White card stock

Ink: Old Olive, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake

Accessories: In the Tropics dies, Beach Chair dies (Rubbernecker Stamps), 1-1/4" circle punch, foam tape (3M), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

I'm pretty sure I would enjoy the tropical weather more if I had a nice chair and a view like this!

This card is mostly layers of card stock. I started with a Pool Party card base and added a piece of Bermuda Bay card stock just below the middle of the card to make the ocean. I punched a circle out of Crushed Curry card stock, cut it in half, and glued it right at the top of the Bermuda Bay card stock in the middle of the card.

To create the sand, I cut two pieces of Crumb Cake card stock. I tore the top edge off one of the pieces and adhered it over the Bermuda Bay card stock. Then I stamped and die cut two of the palm tree images and adhered them to the Crumb Cake card stock on either side of the sun. Then I tore the top off the second piece of Crumb Cake card stock, making sure it was shorter than the first piece, stamped the sentiment near the right side, and added it to the card base. The final touch was to die cut the chair out of white card stock and glue it next to the sentiment. I added a birthday sentiment inside the card, but this would also be a great retirement card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Timeless Tropical

Paper: Watercolor paper (Strathmore), Pool Party card stock

Ink: Mango Melody, Poppy Parade, Old Olive, black journaling marker

Accessories: In the Tropics dies, jute twine (May Arts Ribbon), foam tape (3M)

I tried something a little different with this card, and I think I had mixed results. I wanted to use the flower images from the Timeless Tropical stamp set, but I didn't want to stamp them in black and then paint or color them. So instead I stamped them with colored ink on water color paper and then used a damp paintbrush to pull the color from the stamped lines into the "empty" part of the images.

I think it worked pretty well with the large flowers (especially the bottom one) because the Mango Melody ink, which looked pretty orange when stamped, became more yellow as it mixed with the water on the paint brush. So you can still see some definition in the flower. The leaves turned out okay, too. But that technique didn't work so well with the smaller flower. The Poppy Parade ink was just too strong, and I ended up losing all the lines in the flower when I added the water. I restamped the image again after I watercolored, and that helped, but I still wasn't thrilled with that one.

I tied some twine around a Pool Party card base and then layered on the flowers and leaves. It still needed something, so I doodled a border and some little clusters of dots.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Timeless Tropical

Paper: Very Vanilla, Baked Brown Sugar card stock

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Art Philosophy Metallic Accents paints (Prima)

Accessories: Layering Ovals and Stitched Shapes dies, linen thread, brulap ribbon trim, Tiny Attacher stamper (Tim Holtz), blender brush (Picket Fence Studios), Dimensionals, foam tape (3M)

I love the vintage feel of these two cards -- and the neutral color scheme makes them great masculine birthday cards. To create these cards, I repeatedly stamped various images on a piece of Very Vanilla card stock using Baked Brown Sugar ink. (The flower images are the same as in the card above so you can see what the stamped image looks like.) I cut the card stock in half and then used a blender brush to blend ink around the edges of each piece. I usually use a sponge to apply ink on card stock edges, but I think I like the brushes better; it create a softer look. I wanted to add a little accent, so I used metallic paint to make a gold splatter.

Once the paint was dry, I embellished each background piece with ribbon or twine, adhered it to a Baked Brown Sugar card base, and used Dimensionals to add a layered sentiment.

And now for some more color ...

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Timeless Tropical

Paper: Thick Whisper White, Whisper White, Pineapple Punch, Granny Apple Green, Calypso Coral, Baked Brown Sugar card stock

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar

Accessories: In the Tropics dies, Subtle embossing folder, Dimensionals, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

This card was one I made to include in a "box of sunshine" that I sent to a friend. The box was full of fun yellow and orange things to make her smile, so this bright yellow card fit right in. I started with a white card base, and for the background I used a piece of (perfectly appropriate) Pineapple Punch card stock embossed with the Subtle embossing folder. (I rounded two opposite corners before adhering it to the card base.) Then I die cut the pineapple and glued it to the background. I stamped the sentiment on a strip of white card stock and used Dimensionals to adhere it over the bottom of the pineapple. For a final touch I added a few Calypso Coral die-cut flowers.

Now I'm ready for a cold tropical drink with a pretty umbrella!

I have a few more tropical cards to share next time. Thanks for stopping by today!