Beach Huts Best Wishes - LIM One Layer Frame Card

This weeks challenge at the Less Is More blog is to make a one layer card with a frame.  Challenging indeed - OLCs look deceptively easy but there's nowhere to hide any boo-boos LOL!  I used the beach huts stamp I've borrowed from Lesley again to make a framed beach scene.  The card base is made from watercolour paper and is a side opening A6 size.  I always use hot pressed watercolour paper as it has a smoother texture than cold pressed and so is easier to stamp on.  As the paper is less bumpy you get a good stamped impression first time which didn't always happen for me with cold pressed paper!  I drew my frame first with light pencil lines and then went over them with my SU! Basic Black Stampin' Write Journaler pen, leaving a gap for my sentiment to fit into.

I stamped the sentiment and then stamped the beach huts twice - once on the card front and again on a Post It note to make a mask.  With the mask in place, a circle mask for a sun and extra Post It notes around the frame, I sponged Bashful Blue and Baja Breeze inks for the sky and Crumb Cake ink for the beach.  I then lightly stamped a speckle stamp a few times in Crumb Cake ink on the beach.  I scribbled different coloured markers onto a ceramic tile and picked up the colour with a wet paintbrush to colour the image.  For the tiny parts, I used just a marker direct to the paper.  I then used a reverse mask to sponge So Saffron and Pumpkin Pie inks onto the sun and then stamped the birds. 

To finish off I applied some Rock Candy Distress Stickles to the beach.  Rock Candy is different to other Stickles glitter glues, the glitter is clear, there's no coloured sparkle.  The nozzle is wider than on normal Stickles bottles and you apply a blob and then smoosh it round where you want it, with the nozzle or a finger.  It's had a fab effect on this card, it's given a gritty, granular texture to my beach and the clear glitter has made the sand look quite authentic!  You can click on the picture to get a larger view to see what I mean.

So here we are, a Sunday in the middle of June, how lovely it would be to enjoy a sunny day at the beach - sitting on the front, listening to the seagulls and enjoying an ice cream.  However, thanks to the chilly British weather I'm indoors with my winter woollies on!  But at least I can get some more card making done!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hobby Art Beach Huts, Flock of Birds & Best Wishes, speckle stamp from SU! Itty Bitty Backgrounds set
CS: Daler- Rowner 'The Langton' extra smooth hot pressed watercolour paper
Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black, SU! Bashful Blue, Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, So Saffron & Pumpkin Pie, various SU! marker pens, SU! Basic Black Stampin' Write Journaler pen
Tools: Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Embellishments & accessories: Post It notes, Tim Holtz Rock Candy Distress Stickles