Yesterday didn’t go at all how I’d planned. I thought I would spend the evening working on some projects for today and later in the week. I had a box of new products from Stampin’ Up! and lots of ideas. Unfortunately something pretty major happened to my computer and I ended up spending hours recovering and reinstalling data and software instead. So today’s project is a fairly quick one using the Sending Sunshine Stamp Set.

POCKET PHOTO ALBUM

I must admit I love decorating the covers of these 4″ x 6″ pocket photo albums. I buy them at The Dollar Store and they have rather uninspiring covers inserted into the front and back pockets. So the first thing I do is remove them.

Next I measure the cover pieces I’ve removed and cut my own from Stampin’ Up! card. For today’s project I chose bright and cheerful Mango Melody Card. I cut two pieces (4-5/8″ x 6-1/8″) then I inserted one of the pieces into the back pocket of the album. I set the second piece aside for later.

For the actual sunshine scene I cut a 4-3/8″ x 5-7/8″ piece of Very Vanilla Card.

SENDING SUNSHINE

Now I was ready to begin building my scene using stamps from the new Sending Sunshine Stamp Set.

I began with the clouds. These are two separate stamps which allowed me to place them exactly where I wanted. I stamped them onto the Very Vanilla piece using VersaMark ink. Then I sprinkled the sticky ink with White Stampin’ Emboss Powder and tapped off the excess. With that done I melted the rest of the powder with my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

Going back to the stamp set I then chose the larger of the two water images. It was important to ensure the top line of the water was horizontal so I used my Stamparatus to help me. After some thought I decided to stamp the water using Coastal Cabana ink. Then the sun and attached reflection image was stamped using Daffodil Delight ink.

At this point I chose to colour the sky and sand. I placed some scrap paper over the lower part of the scene in line with the top of the water. Then I used a Sponge Brayer to sponge Seaside Spray ink over the top portion.

TIP – When using the sponge brayer be sure to always start rolling from scrap paper onto the card. This way you will avoid hard lines on your finished piece.

Once I’d finished the top portion I wiped over the clouds with a paper towel to remove any ink from the surface of the embossing.

Then I moved the scrap paper to cover the sky area so I could colour the ground. Once again I used the Sponge Brayer. I began by using Sahara Sand ink and then went over it with Daffodil Delight ink to brighten it up just a bit.

FINAL TOUCHES

Next I stamped two sets of rocks on the horizon and one in the bottom right corner with Sahara Sand ink. This was followed by the leafy plant on the right using Old Olive ink.

Finally I chose the “Inhale. Exhale. Enjoy” sentiment and stamped that onto the ‘sand’ with Old Olive ink.

With the scene complete I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to fix it to the second piece of Mango Melody Card. Then all I had to do was slide the layers inside the front pocket of the mini photo album. Job done.

I must say that the Sending Sunshine Stamp Set is really fun to use. The stamps are made from see-through photopolymer so it’s easy to stamp exactly where you want. I have a feeling you’ll be seeing more projects using this set in the coming months.

SENDING MORE SUNSHINE

Talking about sunshine, don’t forget that today is your last chance to subscribe to Paper Pumpkin and receive the June kit – Box of Sunshine.

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