Stamping Whale Wishes

The card base is Soft Sky Textured card stock.  The large Brilliant Blue layer took a ride through my Cuttlebug with the Spots and Dots Embossing folder.  I lightly brushed my fully open Whisper White Craft Ink Pad over the top to make the texture really pop.

The whale was stamped with Black Stazon on watercolor paper.  TIP:  I covered the whale's spout before inking to eliminate it when stamped (I was itching to use bling instead).  I tried coloring with my Brilliant Blue marker and felt it was drying too quickly to properly blend with the Aqua Painter  (I'll experiment with it again later to find the magic combo).

TIP:  For quick alternative watercoloring, squeeze a closed inkpad to create a small pool of drops on the inside top of the lid.  Dip an Aqua Painter in the ink droplets and color.  As I do with markers, I lightly colored the entire object and then began to remove color, continuously wiping off  excess moisture on a rag or my hand to keep from depositing too much liquid on the image. TIP:  You can also use a marker on a piece of plastic to create a little pool of ink (especially handy if you have a marker color but not the same color in an inkpad).  I sponged the edges in Brilliant Blue and added a spout of stick-on rhinestones for the final touch.

TIP:  Faux stitching is a quick way to give a hand sewn look to cards.  I used a Paper Piercer and a template to punch line "stitching" and then used a Signo White Gel Pen to connect the dots.  Keep your touch light or you may clog the holes (but you can always clean them up with a tiny poke from a Paper Piercer or even a toothpick. 

I layered Soft Sky Double Stitched Ribbon over Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain and added a few larger, matching rhinestones.  I stamped the circular stamp from Big Pieces in Brilliant Blue on Whisper White card stock.  A 1 1/4" Circle Punch pops it out with ease and I attached it with dimensionals to a 1 3/8" Circle.

Hugs and Pretties . . . . M   

Stamp Set:  Pun Fun (111028), Big Pieces (108306)
Paper:  Soft Sky Textured (Assorted In Color, 108694), Brilliant Blue (100721), Old Olive (100702), Whisper White (100730), Watercolor (105019)
Ink:  Jet Black Stazon (101406), Brilliant Blue (100691), Whisper White Craft (101731)
Cool Tools:  Paper Piercer and Template (Crafter's Tool Kit, 104310), 1 1/4" (104403)and 1 3/8" (104401) Circle Punches, Aqua Painter (103954), Sponges (101610), Cuttlebug
The Perfect Touch:  Stampin' Dimensionals, Signo White Gel Pen (105021), Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (109054), Soft Sky Double Stitched Ribbon (109059), Cuttlebug Spots and Dots Embossing Folder, Non SU Stick-On Rhinestones