Happy Labour Day! I had a bit of a lie-in this morning but I wasn’t idle. I was actually thinking about what I should make for today’s blog. I’d decided that it’s been too long since I took part in a design challenge and so my project was inspired by the Just Add Ink Colour Challenge #570. The colours I had to use were Night of Navy, Coastal Cabana and White. I could also add black, vanilla or metallics. The blue combination made me think of sailing, and I already had half an idea in my head. So out came the Sailing Home Stamp Set and I set to work.

LIGHTHOUSE AND MORE

I began by stamping the lighthouse image from the Sailing Home Stamp Set onto Thick Basic White Card using Night of Navy ink.

Then I cut a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Basic White Card and stamped it in the bottom left corner. Finally I stamped the lighthouse in the bottom left corner on the front of a Basic White Medium Envelope.

Next I needed a card base. So using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored some Thick Basic White Card. Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Finally I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to fix the stamped layer on the inside.

With that done I was ready to create the rest of the pieces for the front of my card, starting with the sentiment.

From the Sailing Home Stamp Set I chose “You are my true north”. Using VersaMark ink I stamped the sentiment onto a 1/2″ x 3-1/4″ strip of Night of Navy Card. Next I sprinkled the sticky ink with white embossing powder from the Basics Stampin’ Emboss Powers set. Then I tapped off the excess powder and removed some stray specks, before melting the rest with my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

Once the embossing had cooled I shaped the ends of the strip using the Banners Pick-A-Punch. Using one of the two banner styles on the punch I cut a V at the start of the sentiment. Then at the end of the sentiment I used the other style option on the punch to create a point.

SMOOTH SAILING

Now I needed to cut out my lighthouse and for that I turned to the coordinating Smooth Sailing Dies.

After cutting out my stamped lighthouse I cut a second one from Thick Basic White Card. Then I stacked them together using liquid glue. This would add strength to the piece, but also some additional height and texture on the card.

Next from the Smooth Sailing Dies I chose the ship’s wheel. Keeping within the design challenge rules I cut the wheel out of bronze card from the Brushed Metallic Card pack. I like this die because not only does it cut the shape, but it also adds some embossed details too.

That just left the background to prepare and I knew exactly what I wanted, the Knit Together (background) Stamp. As soon as I saw this stamp I thought of sailing and the sweaters sailors wear so it was perfect for this card. Being a background stamp it’s quite large and I admit I find it difficult to hold in my hand. So I mounted the stamp onto my Stamparatus. I inked up the stamp using Coastal Cabana ink and then stamped the image onto a 2-7/8″ x 3-7/8″ piece of Basic White Card.

Now it was time for me to put all the pieces together.

Using liquid glue I mounted my background piece onto a 3″ x 4″ layer of Night of Navy Card. Then I glued on the die-cut ship’s wheel, followed by the lighthouse image. Over the top of these pieces I added the embossed sentiment using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Finally I used more Stampin’ Dimensionals to attach the assembled layers to the card front and my project was finished.

I love how this turned out especially the texture provided by the background.

If you don’t have it yet, do check out the Knit Together (background) Stamp in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue. You’ll find another project made using this stamp in my earlier blog post Knit one, emboss one, tag fun.

CHALLENGE COMPLETED

It’s been such a long time since I’ve been able to take part in a challenge and I’d forgotten how much fun they are. I must try to take part in them more often.

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