Inspiration Week: Introducing Tropical Paradise & Island Getaway

Hello there!  I'm so thrilled to be kicking off the countdown to our new release on Friday with some fun projects using the newest sets along with a GIVEAWAY each day!  Today I am showcasing just a few of the fun ways you can use Tropical Paradise, Island Getaway and our fun new Wavy Borders dies!

Up first is a card using Island Getaway and borrowing a monkey from the new Comfy Creatures set to be showcased on Thursday.  ;)  For this card I die-cut clouds from a sticky masking material using the dies from Rain or Shine and Sunny Sentiments.  I added them to my background before sponging on Tumbled Glass distress ink.  I then layered on some Peacock feathers distress ink along the bottom of my card front feathering out the color to blend with the tumbled glass.  I then stamped the waves over the top in Tumbled Glass using the waves stamps from the set.

To create the hammock, I die-cut a circle from some extra white cardstock and then cut another circle in same size from the edge of the original circle to create the moon shape.  I then inked it up with a heavy layer of that same Peacock Feathers distress ink and traced the edge with a sharpie (using a piece of scratch paper beneath it) to give it the appearance that it had been stamped like the rest of the scene.

For my next card with Island Getaway, I used the same cloud masks from the Rain or Shine and Sunny Sentiments dies.  Then for my waves, I sponged on Peacock Feathers, then Mermaid Lagoon and Salty Ocean distress inks with masks cut with the Wavy Borders dies.  I used Post-it tape and was able to cut and use them over and over again on a number of cards before they lost their stickiness.  I love the finished results of the waves with the layered colors!

I finished my card by coloring in the flip flops and the little clothespins from the set with Copic Markers and stamping a sentiment onto a strip of paper, cutting the end with our Fishtail Banner dies.

For my third card using Island Getaway I wanted to create a card with the monkey playing in the waves.  I used my island stamp in the set to form my sandy beach, hiding the edge behind some die-cut waves.  This time for my waves using the Wavy Borders dies I cut them all from white cardstock.  I then sponged on ink starting at the bottom using Salty Ocean, trying to make the blend gradual and keeping the top edges fairly light.  I love how it gives a frothy appearance to my waves and makes them stand out against each other.  I finished my card with a flower in the corner from the Tropical Paradise set.

Up next I have a card combining the palm tree, island, waves & sentiment from Island Getaway with the flamingos from Tropical Paradise.  For this card I used my mask to sponge on Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean and Mermaid Lagoon ink on the bottom two-thirds of my card, moving the mask down as I worked to add some different layers of color.  I then used the waves stamp from Island Getaway to add some more waves.  For the top half, I cut a second mask using the other side of the die and sponged on Mustard Seed and Spiced Marmalade distress inks.  Keeping my wave mask in place, I layered the negative portion of a circle mask over the top and inked the sun in more Spiced Marmalade before stamping my sentiment over the top in black ink.

My stamped images were colored with Copic markers and I cut a little sliver from my wave using a craft knife to slip one of the flamingos feet into the water so it didn't look like it was walking on water.  ;)

My next card uses the florals from Tropical Paradise, the smaller hibiscus flower (in my background piece) from Island Getaway and a sentiment from the Sunny Sentiments stamp set. 

For this card I sponged my background with Peacock Feathers distress ink and then stamped the subtle flower print in the background using Tumbled Glass distress ink.  My flowers were colored in Copics and my sentiment was stamped using SSS Doll Pink ink

For my last card today I wanted to focus on all the fun fruity drinks and pineapples from the Tropical Paradise set.  I started by die-cutting a circle from white cardstock and lightly sponging on some Tumbled Glass distress ink in the center.  I then layered my stamped images colored with Copics, grounding them with a banner from our Sunny Borders stamp set.  For my sentiment I borrowed one from the Island Getaway set, curving it on my clear acrylic block to match the curve of my banner.  The outer frame of my card was inked using Mustard Seed and Spiced Marmalade distress inks and then I used a small heart stamp from the Tropical Paradise set with the Mustard Seed ink to stamp a repeated pattern.

That's all I have for you today.  Here's another look at all the new products featured on today's cards...

 

  

Would you like to win some of these fun products?  Today we are giving away the Tropical Paradise and Island Getaway stamps to one lucky winner using the Rafflecopter below.  Come back everyday this week for another chance to win the products featured that day.  

Winners will be announced here on the blog on Sunday, April 3rd.  :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I hope you enjoyed all the ideas shared today.  I had so much fun playing with these sets!