Are you sick of sea life yet?

Ha!! I'm not!!! I *heart* the sea life images!! I loved yesterday's sketch challenge so much that I had to use it again, but this time I kept it the way it was given.


I stamped the image onto shimmery white cardstock (I use the Cryogen white found here), then used my Prismas & gamsol to color it in. I sponged Ranger Broken China Distress Ink all over (I went a little crazy with that, the water's a bit darker in some spots, lol) & used Crystal Effects on the bubbles & his mask. I took a close up of the diver so you could see a little better, although my pictures today are coming out somewhat blurry. I apologize for that ~ not sure how to fix it. I even used my timer thinking I was shaking the tripod, but they still aren't that great! I used the "Hugs & Kisses" sentiment, but I made it two lines instead of one by inking the words with a marker. I wanted to use my circle punch on it so I had to make it fit. Please don't look at it too closely, I didn't do a very good job lining it up! I wanted to finish by putting something in the corners, but nothing looked right. Dew Drops were a little too big, & rhinestones didn't look right. So I took a hole punch (sorry, not sure of the size) & punched 4 holes in the Blue Bayou cardstock. Glued them in the corners & added Crystal Effects to the top ~ VOILA ~~ brads that aren't bulky!! I've done this many times, & I sometimes add glitter to the CE to make them sparkly. I tried to take a close up but again ~~ blurry picture!


Here's a picture of the inside of my card, so you can see how I decorated it. (At this point I was ready to throw my camera out the window! If anyone has any tips I would appreciate it!! I even sharpened the images a bit in PSP & they are still blurry!! Please do not click on this last picture, the enlarged version is HORRIBLE, lol!). This card ended up being a crazy size ~~ 5.75" X 5". That's because I started with the image & worked my way out, & that just happens to be the size it ended up being!! I will have to attempt to make my first envelope if I actually want to sell this card. I've never made one before but I have a couple of emails in to some faithful friends who HAVE made envelopes. Again, tips are welcome!!!!


It's supposed to be in the 90's here today, & stormy. We could actually use the rain but I have lots of errands to run today so hopefully Mother Nature will wait until we get home!!!!! Hope you all have a splendid day!!

EDITED: I've decided that all the white space on the inside of my card is what makes it look blurry. So I took a picture just of the image I stamped inside, but you can still see the layers I added. Looks better than that nasty ole blurry pic!