Summer Vibes

In the Pacific Northwest, Seattle specifically, they say that summer officially starts after the Fourth of July.  This year, we had an unseasonably warm June, but I've been feeling the summer vibes ever since my Memorial Day trip to our local outdoor pool (well, maybe I've been feeling them since February when I started planning my trip to California!).

At any rate, summer is in full swing for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere and I have been living easier than is typical for me with some additional time off and a lighter teaching schedule.  So I created a card that channeled a retro summer vibe and our current challenge graphic.

If you are familiar with my work, you know I like mixing up materials and brands, and for The Heart Desires, I always challenge myself to see just how many products I can use from the store!

Today's card features a stamp set I love, Whale Tail by Carta Bella, but one I don't see used much in cardmaking land-- but I should-- and you should get it now while it's 20% off!  I featured it here in my mini-journal, exactly a year ago!

There are a lot of nautical sets on the market, but this one is different, a bit quirky like a lot of the Carta Bella stamps, and the quality is great.  The nautical vibe doesn't seem to be leaving the design world any time soon, so I suggest you add this one to your collection!

I paired it with the new Layering Whale set from Hero Arts (called 'Blue Whale', but it's really a humpback they designed...note the fins).  Love this set, love the layering, love that it's a humpback, as we just had a humpback visit the Sound last month!  The wave pattern stamp I feature here is perfect-- like it REALLY represents how the Puget Sound looks when the wind is gently skimming the surface.  I live on the beach and watch the changing water out my studio window throughout the day.  It's such a treat for this water baby!

Tonya has a great collection of Gina Marie Designs dies-- another less commonly seen brand out there-- but they are affordable and unique, and you can create the fern spray I made here with the Aloha set.

But this card didn't end up working out as easy-breezy as it looks.  Wouldn't that just be the way when everything seems to be going along so smoothly?

So where did this card go very wrong, you ask?  First it was the misplaced cross-stitched circle die in the size I needed (it was eventually found on the floor under my desk), and then it was a very poor design decision when I tried (and big-time failed) to appropriately place my sentiment (it's hiding under the yellow circle sticker).  After all the layering, and perfect stamping of the lighthouse, the die cutting and permanent placement of all the pieces-- the sentiment situation made the card a total fail. Too much summer heat!

I took a step back, let it get cold (as a professor once told me to do with my writing-- such sage advice) and then decided to rummage through stickers and ephemera to find something that might actually cover up the mishap and salvage the card.  Maggie Holmes to the rescue-- a Chasing Dreams sticker and Oasis collection sentiment on the tag.  I still don't love the ensemble as much as my original plan, but I do like the repetition of circles and I wasn't about to let the materials and time spent go to waste.

I re-visioned my original sentiment and created the inner greeting using Concord and 9th's Sophisticated Script Letters. Luckily it works with the font on the tag as well!

The inside bottom is finished with some translucent paper tape in yellow-green, echoing the yellow on the front.

Tonya has a lot of new goodies in the store, so if you're looking to make some summery cards with a nautical or tropical vibe, look no further.  Play along at the challenge this month and grab some goods for 20% off.  I can't wait to see what you create!

Happy summer!