Despite having lived most of my life in a very large town in the UK I think I’m a country girl at heart. Now I’m lucky enough to live in a very rural part of Nova Scotia and I never tire of the scenery. In fact it was the view out over the bay that inspired this card.

FIRST PREPARE YOUR FISH
For this project started with the fish image from the Best Catch Stamp Set.
Using my Stamparatus I first stamped it onto some Window Sheet using StazOn jet Black ink and set it aside to dry. NextI stamped the fish in the centre of the flap of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope. Finally I stamped the fish in the top left corner on a layer of Very Vanilla Card.
Then I created a card base using Old Olive Card and used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to fix the Very Vanilla Layer to the inside.
THEN CAME THE BAY
While I waited for the ink on the Window Sheet to dry I set to work on the bay scene. For this I began with a layer of Very Vanilla Card, a Balmy Blue ink pad and some Stampin’ Sponge.
I tore some scrap paper straight across and used it to cover a 1″ strip along the bottom of my card layer. Then using the sponge I lightly coloured the uncovered area with the Balmy Blue ink to create my sky
Leaving the scrap paper in place I tore another piece of scrap paper and covered everything but a small area on the bottom right of the sky. This I coloured using Stampin’ Sponge and Mossy Meadow ink. Then I moved the scrap paper and created another green area on the left side at the bottom of the sky.
I removed all the scrap paper and then used the larger piece to cover all the areas I’d sponged so far. Finally I sponged the remaining 1″ strip at the bottom of the card with Seaside Spray to create the water.
To complete the scene I decided to add some bullrushes so I used the die from the Catch Of The Day Dies to cut out some Very Vanilla Card. Instead of ink and sponges I created more contrast by colouring them using Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers.
I coloured the leaves with light Old Olive and then added areas of dark Old Olive over the top. For the bullrushes I used dark Soft Suede to colour the stems and the bottom part of the cigar-shaped top. Finally I coloured the whole of the top using the light Soft Suede.
Using liquid glue I attached the completed bullrush coming in from the right side of my sponged scene. Then I cut off the excess with Paper Snips and glued the waste piece coming on from the left side. Once I’d trimmed the excess from the bottom, I fixed the scene to the card front with liquid glue.
BACK TO THE FISH

Now that the StazOn ink was completely dry I could get to work in the fish.
I placed the window sheet on the desk with the StazOn stamped side down. Then I set to work colouring the fish image using light and dark combos of Stampin’ Blends in Bermuda Bay and Cajun Craze.
TIP – StazOn is alcohol based which is why it is the ideal ink for stamping onto Window Sheet. However being alcohol based means the Stampin’ Blends ink would mix with it. By colouring the image from the back I was able to stop this happening.
With the colouring done I cut out the fish using the coordinating die from the Catch Of The Day Dies. I also cut out a piece of Silver Glimmer Paper with the same die and used Mini Glue Dots to fix the coloured fish to it. Then I attached the fish to my sponged scene with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
To complete the project I stamped the “It’s your day” sentiment onto Very Vanilla Card with Mossy Meadow ink. Then I punched it out using the Timeless Label Punch and trimmed the right edge so it was straight. Using a few more Stampin’ Dimensionals I attached the sentiment to the front of the card and I was done.
I love how this project turned out. The scene itself is quite simple but the areas of ‘land’ with the gap between them draws the eye in to the leaping fish. I hope you’ll give it a try.
You’ll find another fishing scene project in my earlier blog post It’s photo season.
Tomorrow I’ll be back with a 3D project and video tutorial, I hope you’ll join me.
Wow! I can readily see how this would be a real dazzler to receive in the mail, especially for an avid fisherman/woman!! You’re THAT close to the Bay that you can see the fish jumping? OR was it just the inspiration of looking out onto the bay that inspired the card idea?! Whatever the reality, it sure worked!! TFS
Thank you Geraldine, no I can’t see the fish jumping from here. But I can see the way the mouth of the bay is framed by the land on either side.