Friends Like You -- Lovely Layers: Water Lily

Happy Friday crafty friends!  Today I'm sharing my card that's part of an Instagram hop to celebrate Honey Bee Stamps new Adventure Awaits release!  I've used another gorgeous set in the Lovely Layers line called Lovely Layers: Water Lily!

(THIS HOP HAS CONCLUDED.)  I hope you'll pop over to the Instagram hop where I have the complete hop list.  There will be two commenters chosen to receive a $50 gift card to Honey Bee's shop!!

First I created my inky water-like background.  I smooshed Salty Ocean and Mermaid Lagoon Distress inks onto my craft mat.  I spritzed the ink with water and smooshed a piece of watercolor cardstock into the ink.  I dried it with my heat tool, and repeated the steps until I had the look I wanted.

Next I ran the piece through my die cutting machine with the Waves Pierced A2 Cover Plate die.  Then I trimmed it to A2 size.  I decided to add more of a watery look by first sprinkling on water drops then blotting them up with a clean paper towel.  Next I added some small splatters of white paint that I diluted with water.

TIP:  I recently discovered white paint that even when diluted will NOT pick up the Distress Ink (or any other ink) colors.  I've tried gouache, acrylic, and gel pens and those would all eventually pick up the blue shade.  This fabulous paint is called Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White and I've found it on Amazon and at Blick art supplies (who I trust for this type of product much more than Amazon).

When I was all dry, I used double-sided tape to adhere it to my card base.

Next I die cut all of the pieces in the Lovely Layers: Water Lily die set from 80# Neenah.  I used my ink blending brushes to add color to each piece with Distress Inks and Parsley green ink from Concord & 9th.  The Distress Inks I used are:  Picked Raspberry, Spun Sugar, Rustic Wilderness, Squeezed Lemonade, and Mustard Seed.

I used some of Honey Bee's thin foam strips to adhere each layer of the flower and bud together.  This adds a lot of beautiful dimension, but doesn't make it too thick.  I used Bee Creative glue to adhere the flowers to the greenery and then to the card.

I stamped the sentiment from the Be Still stamp set with black ink and cut it out with the coordinating die.  I popped it up on the card with narrow foam strips.

I so enjoy creating inky backgrounds like this!  And the Lovely Layers: Water Lily is super easy and quick to color and put together!  I sure hope your Memorial Day weekend is a good one as we remember those who gave everything for our country.  

Don't forget to stop by our inspirational Instagram hop!  Thank you so much for stopping by!

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Friends Are Like Seashells We Collect

Happy Wednesday!! Today I have a card I made that features the beautiful new Lovely Layers: Seashore Honey Cuts. This is one of many fabulous new products in the Perfect Day release. Since the beach/ocean is one of my very favorite places, I couldn't wait to have a play with these beautiful dies!

First I used the new Waves Pierced A2 Cover Plate die to add the pierced waves to 80# Neenah cardstock. Then I used blender brushes to ink up the piece with Distress Inks. I used Mermaid Lagoon, Salty Ocean, and Uncharted Mariner. I used Bee Creative glue to add it to an A2 card base.  (All supplies are linked below.)

Next I die cut all of the pieces in the Lovely Layers: Seashore die set from 80# Neenah. Then I used the tan rubber embossing mat to get even more detail from the etched lines of the dies. This really does deepen the embossed lines even more than the die cutting does! I used various Copic markers to color the shells and sea grass. If you need a guide for the layers, check out the images over on the product page. I placed thin foam squares between each layer for extra dimension.

I arranged the images and popped some up with foam dots and adhered the others with Bee Creative glue.

To finish up, I stamped the sentiment from the new Seas The Day stamp set in black ink. I die cut it with the coordinating Honey Cut, then popped it up with foam dots. I added a bit of bling by gluing on a few small Clear Dew Drops.

Be sure to check out all of the other beautiful new ocean themed sets over in the Honey Bee shop! (The new wedding, florals, and baby sets are just as awesome too!) Thank you so much for stopping by--have a wonderful day!