Aloha, all!
Those of you who follow my personal page on Facebook know that I often post photos of the view of the Pacific Ocean from my apartments’s lanai (balcony). Sometimes the surface of the ocean is dark blue, sometimes light. But it’s always vast as we look towards the horizon.
One thing we don’t see from our 9th floor apartment is what’s IN the sea. Oh, occasionally we’ll think we saw a turtle. But for the most part, that’s it. Now that I have the gorgeous new patterned paper from Stampin’ Up! – Whale of a Time Designer Series Paper – I get to see all kinds of sea scenery. Today’s card takes a peek at one of the views you can see in the paper set.
From a Porthole on a Wooden Sailing Ship
I got the idea for today’s card from one that I saw posted on Facebook. I knew right away which paper the artist had used to recreate the idea of a Wooden Sailing Ship’s porthole as I had some in my stash.
The paper that forms both the ship’s bulkhead as well as its porthole window is from the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper set. I cut a 4″ strip from paper, trimmed 5-1/4″ for the card background. Then I die-cut the porthole frame using two circle dies from the Layering Circle Dies set. I cut both circles at once, making sure the smaller one was spaced evenly inside the larger, and using a sticky note to hold both in place while I ran them through the die-cutting machine. Then I cut a circle of the jellyfish print from the Whale of a Time Designer Series Paper and adhered it inside the die-cut frame. I placed 6 Metallic Pearls evenly around the circle and adhered it to the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals. If you do this, make sure to place one in the center to keep the lighter paper from sinking in.
Choosing My Accent Colors
The printed paper with the jellyfish has quite a few different colors in it. I had originally thought to use the Just Jade that is the color of one of the jellyfish in the print. But when I found the right spot for die-cutting the paper, only a small jellyfish with the jade color was in the design. So I chose the colors of the larger jellyfish – Calypso Coral and Blackberry Bliss. Before I cut the paper, I went back and forth about which one would be on top, and finally chose the Calypso Coral Cardstock.
That Doesn’t Look Like Linen Thread!
And yet it is linen thread that I used to make the cord wrapped around the card front. I spent many years with my first adult hobby – counted thread work – and often make cords as part of the projects I created. So off I went with a looooong length of Linen Thread to make some cord. Here’s a link to a quick tutorial on how to make cord using thead. The one thing that I do differently is to anchor one end of my thread to a door handle (not a knob – too hard to get it off) and stand back from it and twist away with a pencil.
The Final Touch – a Perfect Sentiment
I have a friend who loves all things “ocean” and I will be sending this card to her. So I went right for this friendship sentiment from the Positive Thoughts Stamp Set. I decided to stick with the Coral/Blackberry color theme, and just punched the ends of the sentiment strip with the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch. Works like a charm with this sentiment!
I hope you’re having a lovely July. I know many of you who are reading this are still somewhat hampered by rules related to the coronavirus. We are sheltering in place for the most part due to our age and our desire to still be around when we once again can safely fly to visit our children and grandchildren. Meanwhile, I’m making and sending cards, and hope you have the chance to do so also.
