A manatee-rific trio

We are in a heat wave in my neck of the woods (it's like we jumped from spring to the middle of summer), and an ocean vacation would be so amazing right about now. Sadly, there are no beach days in my immediate future, so I'll enjoy making ocean-y cards instead.

Supplies:
Stamps: Whale Done, We'll Walrus Be Friends (Stampin' Up!); Manatee-Rific (Lawn Fawn)
Paper: Under the Sea, Manatees, Otterly Awesome, Sand Dollars & Starfish patterned papers (Dare 2B Artzy); Whisper White, Blueberry Bushel, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Grapefruit Grove card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Blueberry Bushel (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Stitched Squares and Layering Squares dies (Stampin' Up!), Shadow Box Ocean Add-On dies (Lawn Fawn), Wonky Stitched Circles dies (My Favorite Things), Calypso Coral baker's twine (Stampin' Up!), Whale of a Time sequins (Stampin' Up!), foam tape (3M), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

I made these cards for a friend who requested a card with manatees (one of my favorite animals). I do have a few manatee stamps, but I remembered that I also had these patterned papers, which are all part of the Seas the Day Collection from Dare 2B Artzy. I had purchased a few of the individual papers at a stamp show a couple of years ago but hadn't used them yet. This was the perfect occasion!

I started by hand cutting several of the manatees from one of the sheets of paper (I even used a partial image for the card on the left). I paired them up, arranged them on die-cut shapes, and stamped punny sentiments to make focal points for three cards. I chose coordinating card stock colors for the card bases and used more of the patterned paper for the backgrounds. I attached the focal layers with foam tape and finished off the cards with sequins and little die-cut shapes.

I think these cards all turned out pretty cute -- and I think my friend agreed, because she decided she wanted all three!

Thanks for stopping by!