Beachy Keen...

Hey there! Here’s a “Mexico inspired” card for you guys, today. I have this batik swimsuit coverup/sarong thing. Here’s a pic…

I’ve had this for years and always loved the colors and the bleached out look of the sun images. And (actually, as I was lying on the beach in Mexico, wearing this!) I was wondering how I could get the same feel with stamps and papers **insert sound of waves here** and I was thinking of these super-cute fish stamps that I won from my SpottedCanary.com prize package a few weeks ago. And then it occurred to me **move wave sounds** BLEACH! I haven’t stamped with bleach in awhile, and it really is such a cool, fun, and EASY technique to do! To do this just fold up a paper towel, put it on a plate and soak it in Clorox, then use that in lieu of an inkpad. Color safe bleach will not work, you need the real deal here.  Make sure and clean your stamps right after using them with bleach to prevent corrosion or other damage to your stamps. I have also used spray bleach and sprayed cardstock, and that gives a cool look, too. Just be careful of your clothes, etc. just like if you were using bleach to clean your house.

So I took scraps of a variety of papers in blue (solid cardstock). I used Pacific Point (my fave, of course!), Bermuda Bay, Taken With Teal, Not Quite Navy, Marina Mist, Tempting Turquoise, and Brilliant Blue cardstock scraps and I stamped the same striped fish randomly on all the scraps in bleach. So, after I let the bleach dry, I took another fish stamp, this one had detailed scales, and I overstamped the bleached fish with this one, using a Night of Navy ink. SOME of the bleach was not quite dry, and I think that gave the overstamping a softer look, which I like. So, then I cut the scraps into strips that were 4” wide, and I cut them into a variety of thicknesses. I made a card that was 4 ¼” wide and 8 ½” tall. I arranged the strips the way I wanted on a turquoise mat and trimmed as necessary. Then I took some clear epoxy gel (Crystal Effects is the brand I use, but most craft stores sell it by the stamps, it comes in a bottle that looks like glue) and covered some of the fish in it and let it dry. Then I added some border stickers and a stamped banner that I hand cut. A few turquoise gems complete the card. I hope you like it!

 Have a fishy day! ;) xoxox, Noelle

Supply list: stamps: Inkadinkado; cardstock: Stampin’ Up!; gems: Martha Stewart Crafts; border stickers: K&Company; Clorox bleach; inkpads in Night of Navy and Tempting Turquoise: SU!

DUST IT OFF!: Use some old scraps to play with bleach stamping. Each color bleaches out to a different shade, so it’s pretty fun! Then trim your stamped scraps to make a cute card :)