Friends Are Like Seashells

Welcome back, my friends! Update on the snow: We got it! It was only about 8-10″, but it was fun. Amelia, of course, was ready to go out before it had even accumulated, I think. Wes & Katelyn sent pictures of her in her snow gear; what a cutie! (Yes, I’m a little biased.) Schools were closed, businesses were closed, people stayed home – it was a magical snow day.

Today, though, things were back to normal for a lot of adults. And the poor kids in public school also had school. I think the worst thing about this year has been virtual learning. Now that schools know how to do that, kids will never get another real snow day. Happily for me, though, I got a snow day with Amelia since her school has closed for the holidays and Wes and Katelyn had to work.

We had a blast. We were going to build a snowman, but she got distracted organizing her craft corner. It looks amazing, and she did a wonderful job. I gave her some storage spaces and she had fun filling them up!

After she went home, I had such fun breaking out my Sand & Sea Suite from the Stampin’ Up!® January-June Mini Catalog. Oh, my goodness! If you’re a beach fan (or even if you’re not), you’re going to love this suite. I ordered the entire suite, because it was easier to enter one number than seven. The only thing I wasn’t going to purchase was the Seaside Shells Sticker Sheets, but I knew Miss Amelia would love them. (She did; she’s already made a magnet with one of the shells.)

Here’s the first card I made.

I love this suite, because everything works together so well. I didn’t do anything fancy with this card. The large die coordinates with the Friends Are Like Seashells Stamp Set and the Seashells Embossing Folder, so first, I die-cut the shells and seaweed from the beautiful Pearlescent Specialty Paper. Sadly, my photo does not do this paper justice. It’s gorgeous!

Next, I stamped the shells with Flirty Flamingo, Calypso Coral, and Bermuda Bay Classic Ink. I used my Stamparatus to be sure to get perfect placement.

Here’s a tip I learned from my friend Pricilla Ivler.  First, place the die-cut in the Stamparatus and place a stamp on the appropriate shell. Close the Stamparatus to adhere the stamp to the plate. Now, position a clear, thin plastic sheet (it could be a report cover, one of our cellophane bags, or an imaging sheet from a stamp positioner) in the corner of the Stamparatus. Make sure it’s covering the die-cut piece. Ink the stamp, then stamp on the clear sheet. Pick up the sheet and the die-cut, and make sure the stamped image on the sheet is perfectly aligned with the area to be stamped. Place the aligned stamp and die-cut carefully back into the Stamparatus, making sure the clear sheet is again in the corner. Then carefully remove the sheet while placing one of the magnets on the die-cut. Ink the stamp, close the plate, and your image should be perfectly stamped.

I continued this process with all of the shells, then colored the seaweed and seagrass with Just Jade and Coastal Cabana Classic Ink and a Blender Pen. Then I was ready to emboss. Before you place the die-cut into the embossing folder, be sure the ink is dry. Whenever I use a glossy-type paper – which the Pearlescent Paper is, I always turn it upside down on the scrap paper on my table, then gently rub on the back. Or you can lightly heat it with your Heat Tool to dry the ink.

I adhered the embossed, stamped, die-cut to a piece of the Sand & See Designer Series Paper, then to a Coastal Cabana card base. I used one of the Many Messages Stamp Set sentiments with the Messages Dies. I love this bundle from the JJ Mini Catalog. You can stamp and die-cut all the sentiments at one time. And if you use markers, your sentiments can be all different colors. I stamped all of mine in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, simply because it was easier, and black goes with almost everything. And now I have a lot of sentiments ready to add to a card!

To add something below the sentiment, I stamped the sand dollar image on the Pearlescent Specialty Paper using Crumb Cake Ink, then die-cut with the Seaside Shells Dies. I attached the sand dollar to a Metallic Mesh Ribbon bow (from the August-December Mini Catalog) with Mini Glue Dots. The final touch was to add a few of the beautiful Opal Rounds to the card.

This is such a fun suite! If you choose to order the Friends Are Like Seashells Stamp Set, be sure you order the bundle with the stamp set and Seaside Seashells Dies together to save 10%. Also, you are really going to want the Seashells 3D Embossing Folder as well, because all these products work together. Of course, you will probably want the Designer Series Paper, the embellishments, and the Pearlescent Specialty Paper as well. These products will be available on January 5, 2021.

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!