Inspiration Week: Introducing Magical Mermaids & Stitched Scallop Dies

Hello and welcome to day 2 as we countdown to our summer release day on Friday!  I'm super excited to officially introduce you to today's new products with our Magical Mermaids stamps and coordinating dies and a new standalone Stitched Scallop die set.

I had originally planned to go a different direction with our summer release, but a sweet customer at Creativation asked me to try my hand at creating a Mermaid set and while it felt daunting to try and do something with "people" it immediately started the wheels turning in my head.  I hope you enjoy them.  :)

Up first is a card I created using all three Mermaids from the set.  They are super fun to color and personalize with different skin tones and hair colors.  I found myself returning to some of my Pinterest boards repeatedly to figure out the right combination of markers.  ;)  

For my background, I sponged on peacock feathers, salty ocean, and wilted violet distress inks and then used a Stampin' Up Blender pen to remove some of the color. After that, I came back with my White Sharpie Pen and Glossy Accents and created clear glossy bubbles over the top.  I was really pleased with the look and as a bit of a control freak, I liked having a way to play with removing the color that didn't require dropping random bits of water.  ;)

Up next is a card with one of my favorite analogous color schemes--I've always adored the way these colors look together.  I shocked myself, but I finally achieved a watercolor background that I actually liked.  I love how watercolors look, but I really struggle with them (I think it goes back to my perfectionist nature). However, after watching a free class over at Scrapbook.com I was feeling inspired to try some watercoloring again.  ;)

The Turtle and balloons are a preview of another set being shared on Thursday which I paired with the little critter trails from our Backyard Bugs stamps to use as balloon strings.  I added a touch of sparkle to the edge of each balloon using my Stardust Stickles.

For my next card, I created a scene with all the little companion images from the set including the seahorse and jellyfish.  Wanna know a secret?  When I fussy cut my images, I hardly ever cut out the insides like the jellyfish here.  I just came back with a coordinating color of Copic marker to give the optical illusion that I did.  Even in person, it's hard to tell that it wasn't cut out.  ;)

My next card features a fun shaker.  This project shows the other new product being showcased today which is our Stitched Scallop dies.  They are fun in that they are stitched on both sides of the cut line making them perfect for both ocean waves and a scalloped border.  With my shaker the only elements on the inside are the inked up background with the sentiment and sequins.  I then used 3M Spray Mount to adhere my stitched vellum waves over the top (using the same oval die-cut along the bottoms of them). 

For my balloons I taped sewing thread to the back of each balloon and after I had them adhered to my card I pulled the strings into a tight knot which I glued to her hand with some liquid adhesive. 

My last card of the day uses a sandy beach border stamp from that same set being showcased on Thursday.  ;)  I inked up my background using Spun Sugar distress ink and then came back with more of that same ink using all the hearts from our Color Me Happy stamps to create a custom background.  It came together really quickly and I love the results!

My ocean waves were designed by cutting a mask using our Wavy Border dies and then inking them up with tumbled glass distress ink.  I finished my scene by sitting the mermaid on a rock from the set along with some scattered seashells.  

It's a bit hard to see, but I gave my card a sweet scalloped edge along the bottom using the new stitched scallop dies.  It was honestly hard figuring out which day to share these dies as I found myself using them on a lot of the cards I made for this release.  They're quickly becoming my new favorite and are so versatile with the two sizes and the ability to use both the negative and positive portions.  :)

Here's a look at the new Magical Mermaids clear stamps and coordinating dies & Stitched Scallop Dies available for purchase on Friday morning...

          

I hope you've enjoyed today's sneak peek.  Would you like to win a $25 gift code to our online store to spend on some of the new sets?  Use the Rafflecopter below to enter to win.  We will be giving away a new gift code each day for a total of five chances to win!  The contest closes on April 15th at Midnight PST.  Winners will be announced on Sunday, April 16th.  :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway Make sure to check back tomorrow when I will be sharing a fun new set for the guys (& gals) in your life.  :)

Other Sunny Studio Supplies Used: