You are MERMAZING!

Despite the large amount of talking and laughing I did at the Craft House, I did manage to create some cards using borrowed products that I have been really wanting! This Mermazing stamp set has been in and out of my cart so many times I have lost count! LOL! I was so thrilled to be able to borrow it from Laurie Willison to create this fun card! I feel completely schizophrenic with my crafting lately; switching back and forth between holidays and seasons like a crazy woman! Anyway, when the opportunity to use this set presented itself, I jumped on it! And...it actually FEELS like Fall today, but don't fret, I have lots of seasonal goodness heading to the blog next week, so stay tuned!

The inspiration for this card began with the Ruffle embossing folder from Stampin' Up! I bought it a few months ago and it has sat untouched. I brought it with me to Kansas because I knew I would have time to put it to use. I had envisioned something pink and froofy, but when the light bulb went on to use it to create waves, a card was born! 

To begin, I used my beloved Zig Kuretake Gansai Tambi Pearl Watercolors on a panel of watercolor paper. I cut the panel slightly larger than I would actually need, because I needed to take into consideration that I wanted clean edges and an embossing folder this detailed can "shrink" your paper. I cut it after the painting and embossing was all done. I waited for the paper to dry before I ran it through my Cuttlebug using the folder. I also gave it a generous amount of Shimmer Spray to give it that sparkle that I just can't resist!

My table mates got quite an earful of my coloring woes with the mermaid images. I really wanted her to have purple fins, but I just couldn't get it to look good, so I settled on blue. When she was finished, it really looked she was just a floating head, so the next morning, I quickly colored over the previous blue and changed her to teal. I really like how it turned out. All of the other images were colored using Copic markers and die cut using the coordinating Mermazing Die-namics. 

The sentiment is heat embossed in silver powder onto a vellum strip! I just love how soft it looks over the watercolor panel! I also gave the shells a coat of Crystal Glaze.The little Clown fish also got some white freckles using a jelly roll pen. 

The handmade seaweed is one of my favorite parts of the card. I made some just like this last summer on THIS card and I have been itching to try it again. It is so simple to do; watercolor the front and back of a scrap of watercolor paper. Let it dry slightly, but before it loses its "give". It is much easier to twist it when it is still damp. I cut it into strips and then twist it. Once it is at the desired height, I snip the top off with sharp scissors into a point. It is so easy to just add some liquid glue to the portion that will touch the card and then adhere it down. I also added a sprinkling of gems from Studio Katia! They were generously given to us and I quickly put them to use. Tip; glue them down upside down! I found this out by accident on this card, but what I discovered is that they keep their amazing sparkle when adhered upside down! The one of the right hand side of the rock is upside down and it looks amazing! I had so much fun creating this card! Thanks for fluttering by!