Hello Bluebird June Release Preview Day 2 - Seaside Girls

Welcome Bluebird friends!   It's Preview Day 2 of the June 2019 Release featuring, Seaside Girls

Spikes of coastal grass poking out of sea glass and gravel, give way under the crunching tires of the car - then spring to life again.   Unrestrained shouts of summer laughter fill the air.  Car doors fly open as children scatter like sandpipers along the waters edge, and gulls cry out a welcome.   The summer place sits as it always has, weathered and slightly salted, ready for a fresh coat of exhilarated joy!   Rustic window boxes filled to the brim with a kaleidoscope of wild and unruly color.  Aged lace curtains ripple gently in the breeze in need of a stitch or two.   And the sweet smell of summer's bounty fills the air as the door swings wide.  A summer place, safe and warm, rain or storm.    A place a family shares.    All their hopes.    All their dreams.    All their love.

Laughing gulls, sun-kissed cheeks, ocean breezes, and sand between your toes.  What treasures do you think this little darling will find as she wades through warm aqua rippled tidal pools?   A periwinkle, starfish, clam, or maybe a mischievous little crab!

What ideas might you have for this adorable set from the newest Hello Bluebird stamp collection?   Instead of a card, I created a project that I could frame and give as a gift. 

I began by placing a piece of Neenah 110 lb Solar White card stock in my stamp positioner and stamping all my images with a hybrid black ink that is Copic friendly.   I colored them with Copic markers and some Polychromous pencil for additional depth.  I die-cut them with the available companion die and set them aside for later.

My layout includes the use of a new stand alone die called, Ocean Scene.  This die creates a frame, an inside scene of waves and clouds that can be kept together in a static display or taken apart and used individually.   Because I decided to frame this piece I wanted the outside frame a little larger.  Something I could fit the Ocean Scene into.   I chose several wave pieces, plus the clouds.   I colored two of the wave pieces in a sand motif by using an easy technique called, Pointillism.   I positioned both the sand colored pieces on my background panel to create a tidal pool area colored in a light blue-green.  The third wave is colored in a deeper blue-green to give perspective to the tidal pool.  I used white gouache to show the light that bounces in and around tiny bubbles in the water, mixes together to look white, and appears to be breaking waves washing on the sand along tidal pool edge. 

Next, I masked the bottom area, then sponged some clouds in the background with Ranger Distress Ink (adding a little yellow that would be behind the little bathing beauty's head).   With the background complete, I stamped my sentiment from the Seaside Girls stamp set using a nice black dye ink.   Tip:  When using dye ink, please remember to either heat set or allow your piece to air dry completely before moving on.   Once dry I added the die-cut clouds to the upper part of the panel.

   The scene is now ready to set inside the frame and add the die-cut colored images.  I added some shells and greenery for embellishment and balanced the design by adding the gull in the bottom right corner.

I hoped I've inspired you to step outside the box today with my summer project.   A gift from heart and hand to another.  A gift that says, I made this for YOU!

Don't forget to visit the Hello Bluebird Blog for a chance to win a $50 dollar gift certificate.   Just leave a comment on Preview Day 1,  2, and 3    The winner will be announced on Preview Day 4, June 26th, before the release goes live at 7pm MST

I'll be back tomorrow with Preview Day 3 of the newest Hello Bluebird release.  Until then, thank you for your visit and have a wonderful day!

Hello Bluebird June Release Preview Day 1 Strawberry Jam

Hello Bluebird friends, and welcome to my front porch and day one of the June 2019 release previews.   For the next four days I'll be featuring some of the cutest storybook stamp sets ever!

The Hello Bluebird Summer Release features six stamp sets, companion dies, and stand alone dies.

Todays card sample features the new, Strawberry Jam stamp set.  The set has a companion die set which is a wonderful asset when creating little scenes like this one.   Tip:  The smaller stamps also make lovely embossed or watercolored backgrounds, or compliment a singular larger stamp for a striking CAS card.  Once colored and die cut move your elements around and try a layout that fits your style!

How do you begin when creating a card?   I began by stamping and coloring all the stamps on Neenah 110 lb Solar White card stock and coloring the pieces with Copic markers and some Polychromous colored pencils for additional depth.   With the companion die set, I cut out all the colored pieces and set them aside.   Then I began working on the layout by using the new Gallery Frame #4 which provides a nice pinked edge frame as-well-as a small plain inside frame that you can use for later if you wish.  It also includes some sweet tags - what a bonus!

The big surprise for this set is the additional stand alone die, Strawberry Jam Part B, which cuts a shaped outline of the strawberry vines.   After die-cutting I sponged around the edges with Ranger Distress ink in Scattered Straw and set it aside to dry. 

On a second piece of card stock I started working on the background picnic scene.   I used Ranger Distress ink to sponge some clouds in a pale pink, and green to ground the characters.   Then I began arranging the colored characters and additional pieces I had die-cut earlier.   Happy with the placement, I adhered the pieces with both Tonic glue and dimensional tape.    I then adhered the panel that was die-cut with the Strawberry Jam Part B die with some soft fun foam over my picnic scene.

Time to adhere the pinked edge frame which includes my stamped sentiment from the Strawberry Jam set.   Additional lift is achieved with dimensional tape on the back of the frame and carefully placed on top of the Strawberry Jam cut-out panel.   I now have my background scene with characters, the Strawberry Jam cut-out on top of that, and the frame as my border.   To finish this card I placed both left and right strawberry vines on the frame using the Strawberry Jam Part B cut out as my guide.  I used Tonic glue where the leaves touched the frame, and dimensional dots under the berries where needed.   Some Sour Apple Tonic Nuvo drops are all I need to bring this project to a close.

I'd like to invite you to hop over to the Hello Bluebird Blog for a chance to win a $50 dollar gift certificate.   Just leave a comment on their blog on Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3   Winners will be announced prior to the release on Wednesday, June 26th

Thank you so much for visiting today.   I'll see you tomorrow with another sample card from this adorable release!