Serendipity Stamps June Blog Hop #2!!

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all enjoying your summer! The temperature is really climbing here in Atlanta...great weather for staying inside and crafting! 

Keep in mind that today is the first day of Serendipity Stamp's second BLOG HOP for the month of June! 

Serendipity Stamps showcases a new set of stamps every two weeks. Just comment on the Design Team's blogs listed below to enter to win a $20 gift certificate to Serendipity Stamps. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have of winning!

Here's a list of all the designers participating in the blog hop today...

Mary's Blog (Serendipity Stamp's owner)

Julie Warner

Beth Chiu (that's me!)

Vicki Zimmer

Marybeth Lopez

Today's card features the adorable Bikini Kitty stamp from Serendipity Stamps. I thought this would be a fun card to send to a friend who needs a little reminder to take time out for herself from time to time (don't we all need to remember this?)

I stamped my image onto Copic X-Press It paper using Ink On 3's Blackout Detail Ink and began coloring with Copic markers. I first colored my sky around the the kitty with BG0000 and BG000.  I extended the beach sand area on both sides using a Sigma Micron .45mm pen and then colored the sand using E31 and E33. Kitty's bikini was colored by blending RV34, R14, YR16 and Y35. I used the same colors for her umbrella but added YG01 for a pop of lime green. The kitty was colored with YR 21, YR23 and YR24, plus a little R20 for her cheeks and ears.

After Kitty was all colored up, I colored and fussy cut an extra umbrella and used a ball stylus to shape it into a more rounded shape and added it on top of the original umbrella using a couple of small drops of COLLALL colloidal silicone...in retrospect it was almost too small of an area to do this technique with, but it still added a bit of interest to the card.

Next, I cut out my image using a rectangle frame die and put that aside while I worked on my card.

I used Kraft colored cardstock to create a top-folding A2-sized card. I then cut an A2-sized rectangle from persimmon cardstock, then turned the rectangle die at an angle and cut it diagonally. I like doing it this way because I like to have the stitched line across the cut line at the top (hope that makes sense...sometimes it's hard to explain things in writing)!

I glued the persimmon panel to another A2-sized rectangle and then placed a o.5 inch strip of Scor-Pal tape above it. I took some kraft colored jute twine and wrapped it around the panel several times, using the Scor-Pal tape as my adhesive. Once this was finished, I added the panel to the front of my card using my ATG gun.

I then used foam tape to adhere kitty's "frame" to the front of my card, being careful not to place the foam tape directly on top of the twine. I used a double layer of foam tape to add the kitty image so that it popped up above my frame.

For my sentiment, I stamped "Just Unwind" from the Meow Mix Cling Set using Versafine Vintage Sepia ink and cut it out using a stitched fishtail banner. I added it below my kitty using foam tape. 

I used Nuvo drops in the colors Ripened Pumpkin and English Mustard to create glossy little "pearls" to add to my card. I didn't add this directly to my card as I have a fear of accidentally making a mistake on my card after all the hard work I've put into it! To get around this, I simply squeeze the drops out onto a piece of acetate, let them dry (usually overnight), and then glue them onto the front of my card. 

I also added a jute twine bow onto my card as a final touch. 

Thanks everyone for visiting today! I hope you all have a fantastic week and good luck on the blog hop!!