Frantic Stamper Happenings: June 2020

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Porthole to Adventure

by Kathy Berger

I made the porthole that is on this card using the porthole die set from the June release the same day that I got my dies, and I set it on my desk for me to use to make a card to share. that was nearly 6 weeks ago. I swear, this porthole nagged at me for most of those weeks, but I just wasnt inspired to use it. I knew I needed to get a card made with it before the end of the release month, and time was ticking!

I finally sat down with my paper stash and looked for some papers that sort of matched the colors in the porthole, and that had something to do with travel. I came across a 6"x6" piece that had the map and the tickets, and several other travel-themed items. and I came across a piece of black and white paper that had a grungy grid on it. With a little fussy cutting, some ink blending, and a bit of piecing to make my frame, I was able to finally get that porthole off of my desk!

I think this card has a marvelously masculine feel to it. What do you think? I hope you enjoyed the card!

*** Materials for this project available at www.franticstamper.com.

FRA-Die-10846

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Shell Greetings

by Kathy Berger

Today I am here to share a small card with big impact. The card only measures 3.5" round, but it packs a lot of wow into that little space! It shimmers and shines pretty much everywhere thanks to some really cool a pearlescent water colors from Yasutomo and some glitter from a Wink of Stella brush pen.

To make the base for this card I cut three 3.5" scalloped circles out of blue card stock. I diecut the new from one, and then used one of the blue pearlescent colors to add shimmer to it and one more of the scalloped circles. The third scallop circle i scored at 1/4" and 1 3/4", making sure the two scores were parallel. On the first score line I valley folded, and on the second I mountain folded. I then affixed the back scalloped circle with the current lines to the front of the folded circle ONLY in the area from the 1 3/4" fold to the far edge, taking care to line up the scallops. Finally, I glued the back of the folded card to the final scalloped circle ONLY in the area between the 1/4" score and the near edge, taking care to line up the scallops.

Next I cut two of the new Scallop Shell from white card stock. I watercolored both with the pearlescent paint, making sure that the color was very light and used the colors commonly seen in mother of pearl. While they were both still damp I lightly curled up the edges of each shell to give them dimension, and then I set them aside to finish drying.

While the shells were drying, I diecut and colored the sea horse from the Sea Creatures Icons die set, each of the Ocean Floor Icons set, both dies in the Seaweed & Anemone die set, and both of the dies in the Stag & Pipe coral die set.

I adhered one of the scallop shells to the front of the card mechanism, right at the bottom edge of the scalloped circle. I then added some of the diecut and colored elements to the shell and the scalloped circle to decorate both. I added a small sheer white bow to the bottom edge, at an angle.

I stamped my greeting on the remaining scallop shell, upside down. I then adhered the shell to the inside of the back of the mechanism, also upside down, and about 1/4" from the fold edge. I finished things off with the remaining Ocean Floor Icons, and with a large flat-bottomed pearl. The pearl acts as the stop for this tiny easle card, and isn't it appropriate to have in a shell?

I hope you liked today's tiny card!

*** Materials for this project available at www.franticstamper.com.

FRA-Die-10649	FRA-Die-10839	FRA-Die-10845
FRA-Die-10240	FRA-Die-10241	FRA-Die-09506

Monday, June 15, 2020

Oceans of Love

by Kathy Berger

Slimline cards seem to be all the rage these days, and I decided I needed to see what the craze is all about. I think I figured it out! Making these long slender cards allows a lot more of a scene to be captured. It reminds me of when televisions switched from the old 4:3 screen ratio to the newer 16:9 format that is so normal to us now. When I first saw an older movie on a flat-screen TV with that new format I was amazed at how much I had been missing because the old format cut off the picture. It is almost exactly like that with the slimline format.

At first I felt like the card was too wide to be able to be filled, and then I thought it felt too short to get in enough to create a scene with depth and background, but in the end it felt just right, and like I had more horizontal space to tell my story.

Will this cardstyle become my goto style? Probably not. But it does feel good to have it in my back pocket when I need it!

I really loved coloring the new Sea Buddies dies from the June 2020 release and the assortment of sea bottom dwellers and ocean creatures that helped to round-out my story. I hope you will enjoy the card half as much as I enjoyed making it.

*** Materials for this project available at www.franticstamper.com.

FRA-Die-10843	FRA-Die-10241	FRA-Die-10240
FRA-Die-09507	FRA-Die-09506	FRA-Die-09503

Saturday, June 13, 2020

Ocean View

by Kathy Berger

There are many dies in the June 2020 die release that I really love. My favorite, though, is the Lighthouse and Sailboats die set I used to make this card. When I drew the dies I had a card like this one in my mind's eye andI couldn't wait to make it!

To make the card I blended some clouds using Tumbled Glass distress ink and the Scene Builder Stencils (FRA-STN-011). I then masked the cloud area, and using the hilly sidde of the Scene Builder Stencil and Faded Jeans distress ink I created a bit of wavy ocean.

Next I tore light Kraft cardstock to make 6 layers of sand dune hills. I used copic markers to create shadows behind each layer, and I added some beach grass from the Shoreline Grass die set (FRA-DIE-09880).

I added the lighthouse to the top of the hills, and two sail boats to the ocean. I also added the pampas grass and beach fence to the card. For some reason, though, The card just seemed unbalanced, and also a bit lifeless. To fix that I decided I needed to add something to the lower left of the card, and adding kids building a sand castle seemed to me the perfect way to fix both problems at once.

I carefully cut the kids building the sandcastle and the seagull from the Sancastles on the Beach card panel. I colored the kids with Copic markers, and then added them to the lower left of the card. I added teh seagull to the sky.

Something was still missing, though. The panel I had built was full A2 size, and when added to the card front, it just felt unfinished. I decided what it needed was a frame. I dug out my small strips of craft wood and my miter cutter and in minutes I had built a simple mitered frame. I painted it with a wash of white, then when dry, dry-brushed some gray paint on it. I glued it to the card front. Even though it covers part of the lighthouse and put the seagull right on the edge of the frame, I liked really liked the beachy feel the frame provided.

This card was not a quick and easy one, to be sure. There were hours of work involved, but every minute of the work was enjoyable and relaxing. After all, isn't being creative what this hobby of ours is all about? I greatly enjoyed making this card, and I hope you have enjoyed seeing it and learning a bit about how I made it.

Until the next time,
Kathy