Hey there. I hope you are all doing well. I have had some time to try some new products, and to put together this card.

The first product I tried were the Spectrum Noir Sparkle Glitter pens. I have seen the fabulous Sheena Douglass use them as backgrounds so I thought I’d give it a go. What fun it was. These pens are vibrant, lots of colour, lots of sparkle.

I first used them onto dry water-colour card, then used them on my Tim Holtz glass mat and ink smooshed, and also put them onto my glass mat, added water, and used a wet brush. They worked well for all of the techniques I tried, though straight onto dry water-colour card is when you tend to use a lot of ink. I cut the strip to the left of the card from that piece, as I liked the uneven outcome to represent waves – kinda – but they certainly do give an even finish if you want one.

I took two colours of blue from one of the sets, created the backgrounds, and die cut the circles, then used a die from the  MFT ‘Otterly Love You‘ matching die set to create the darker blue waves. These waves are all raised on foam pads, as I wanted the otters to poke a little underneath them.

I did try stamping the otters, pencil colouring them and water-colouring them, but I preferred the way they came out when I stamped and heat embossed in black onto grey card. I thought it looked like too much water-colouring otherwise, and they blended even more into the blue. This way I think they stand out more.

A couple of close-ups:

Gorgeous sparkle……

……in both colours. Only two colours used, but I blended them together a little more in one of the circles.

This otter stamp and die set I have had for a while, and ‘found’ again when trying to sort my craft room out, and tidy with my previous Ikea purchases. This sorting is ongoing because I keep finding things I want to play with…..

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches – sketch

Color Throwdown – cobalt blue, aqua, grey, white

Watercooler challenges – masculine

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – use a die and/or punch