Living where I do in Nova Scotia it was inevitable that I’d get the By The Bay Stamp Set. It’s a Sale-A-Bration set that can only be obtained for free. Simply place an order for $60 CAD before shipping and taxes and then you can select this set as your free gift.
After yesterday’s elaborate gift tag I decided By The Bay would be the perfect set for today’s Simple Sunday project. What’s more, to make things even simpler I broke a few rules with my Stampin’ Blends too.

BY THE BAY
I began with the large cottage image and stamped it onto a layer of Whisper White Card using Tuxedo Black ink. Then I stamped the sentiment towards the top right corner.
On another layer of Whisper White Card I stamped the seagulls image in the bottom right corner.
Finally I stamped the seagulls again on the front of a Whisper White Medium Envelope.
BREAKING THE STAMPIN’ BLENDS RULES
Lots of people talk about blending and the order in which to use Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. I’m sure the talk about these ‘rules’ might put some people off getting them. While it’s true you can get lovely blended effects with these markers, it’s not the only way to use them.

Today I pulled out a whole bunch of paler-coloured Stampin’ Blends and simply scribbled on my stamped images. No blending, no dark then light (or light then dark). Just a whole lot of random scribbles.
The colours I used were: Ivory, light Balmy Blue, and then the light and dark combos in Pool Party, Soft Sea Foam, Mint Macaron, Crumb Cake and Smoky Slate.

SIMPLE ASSEMBLY
With everything coloured I cut and scored a piece of Sahara Sand Card using my Stampin’ Trimmer. Then I folded the card along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to create my card base.
Using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed the cottage piece to the front of the card base, and the seagull layer on the inside. In no time at all I was done.
I love the delicate colours on this project and the very relaxed feel they give to the image.
I must be turning into quite the rebel as I’m working on some other projects where I break the rules with Stampin’ Up! products.
LAST CHANCE FOR PAPER PUMPKIN
It’s the 10th of the month and that means today’s the deadline to subscribe to Paper Pumpkin if you want the February kit. If you’re not sure, subscribe anyway and if you don’t like it when it arrives just let me know. Satisfaction is guaranteed on every kit, every month.
Here’s a little sneak peek from the kit designers. I can tell you the kit will contain 9 full-size cards (3 each of 3 designs).
Leave a Reply