A day at the lake

December is just flying by! I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since my last post -- and only one week until Christmas. I've been frantically trying to finish all my holiday projects and to dos, and I think I'm finally in the home stretch. But this will be a short post tonight, because I do have a few tasks I'd like to check off my list tonight.

I made the cards for today's post months ago (as with so many of the cards I still have to share), so they are a little out of season, at least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. But it's always fun to dream about a day at the lake, right?

Supplies:
Kit: July 2019 My Monthly Hero (Hero Arts)
Paper: Balmy Blue, Garden Green, Early Espresso, Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!); 110-lb Solar White card stock (Neenah)
Ink: Lime Green, Forest, Dusty Blue, Sand Stone, Cocoa (Hero Arts [in the kit]); Real Red, Sahara Sand, Tip Top Taupe (Stampin' Up!); Momento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: High Flying Kites dies (Poppy Stamps), Express-o Yourself mini prills (USArt Quest), clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen (Kuretake), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute), foam tape (3M)

I love both of these scenes, but the lake monster casually swimming by on the right-hand card really cracks me up! Both of these cards are made with mostly stamping, die cutting, and layering. I did add some clear Wink of Stella glitter in the "water" to add some detail and a bit of sparkle. You can see it a little in the close-up photo below.

After you spend all day swimming at the lake, it's time for some sunset fishing, right? That was the focus on the next card.

Supplies:
Kit: July 2019 My Monthly Hero (Hero Arts)
Paper: Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Abandoned Coral, Seedless Preserves, Salty Ocean, Faded Jeans Distress Oxide inks (Ranger); Momento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Blender brushes (Picket Fence Studios), masking paper (Inkadinkadoo), clear shimmer spray (Avery Elle), foam tape (3M)

I covered the bottom half of the card stock panel with masking paper while I used blender brushes and distress oxide inks to create the sunset on the top part of the card stock. Then I moved the masking paper to the top of the card and blended the water. (I was bummed to see that when I removed the masking paper from the sky, it pulled off tiny spots of ink, so the sunset isn't as smooth as it could be.) I also spritzed some clear shimmer spray over the water to activate the inks and add sparkle.

The background was definitely the challenging part of this card. Once that was done, it was just a matter stamping, die cutting and layering on the images.

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll try to be back soon with more cards to share.