Category: Beach/Ocean - Crystal Komara

Shark Week!

7/12/2023

Shark Week 2023 continues today with a special Shark Week Instagram Hop! So, please head on over to my Instagram to see all the other amazing shark themed cards that were created for this event from a variety of designers. Plus, there are some jawsome prizes for all who hop along with us!

Here is the card that I created for today's Instagram hop:

Card details:

*All supplies that I used are linked at the end of this post for you convenience.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I then cut a 5 1/4 x 4" piece of the same white cards and using the Wavy Nested Frame dies by Whimsy Stamps, I cut a large hole using the 2nd largest Wavy Nested Frame die in the center of the cardstock. I placed a sheet of ocean themed paper from the Slimline Under the Sea paper pack behind the Wavy Nested Frame die.

I created a blue alcohol ink background on white Yupo paper, using Glacier Ranger Adirondack alcohol ink by Tim Holtz. Once that dried, I die cut the letters "shark week" using the Bold ABC letter dies from Whimsy Stamps. I also die cut these letters three times from white cardstock to layer them for thickness (and a slight shadow peeking out from behind the blue letters). I adhered the die cut letters to the center of the card.

I stamped one of the shark images and the girl on the inner tube from the Snark Attack stamp set from Whimsy Stamps. I fussy cut the images and then colored them with Copic Markers. I adhered the images to the card with 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a layer of Nuvo Crystal Glaze to make it look like the images were wet.

Happy Shark Week friends! Be sure to come back on Friday for my final shark themed card!

XO, Crystal

Supplies used:

Mermaid Hair

12/3/2021

Hello readers and happy Fri-YAY! I thought we'd take a break from the traditional holiday cards this time of year and enjoy this fun mermaid slimline card as we head into the weekend. This sweet image is a new digital release called Mermaid Hair from 88 and Clear. The package deal (seen at the end of this post) offers both the digital stamp and the coordinating digital paper.

Card details:

This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2." Slimline cards are designed to fit inside a regular #10 business sized mailing envelope and require no additional postage. The base of this card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 8" x 3" piece of Mermaid Hair Print #2 and placed it beneath a circular slimline frame. I printed out the mermaid images from the Mermaid Hair digital stamp set and colored the images with Copic markers. I fussy cut the images and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I added a couple colored beads to the card for more dimension. Lastly, I add a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the mermaids for added sparkle. You can never have enough sparkle on a mermaid!

Here is the Mermaid Hair digi-NEXT collection from 88 and Clear. This digital package includes both the stamp set and coordinating papers.

What a fun and magical card and it was equally fun to make! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

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Inky Paws Challenge #130

8/17/2020

Hello readers and welcome back from the long H-O-T weekend! I hope you found a little time to do something crafty. Today we have a new challenge to share with you at Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge Challenge #130 is a theme challenge. Using the sketch shown in the image below, share with us YOUR creations!

Here is the scene I created for this week's challenge:

Card details:

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of today's post.

The base of this slimline card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. For the top sun part of the card, I ink sponged Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide ink onto a 3 1/4" x 3" piece of Bristol smooth paper. Using the Sunscape Stencil, I applied more Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide ink over the sky to create the sun beams. I stamped the sentiment in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I used the Landborders Dies to cut the sand hills from Crumb Cake cardstock and I used the Sea Borders die to cut the waves from Pool Party cardstock and blue glitter paper.

I stamped all of the images from the Newton's Summer Vacation stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock and colored them using Copic markers. I began to adhere the colored images to the card with 3M foam adhesive (for added dimension) and created a scene. I added the Palm Trees in various colors in with the scene as well. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to many of the images for added sparkle.

Are you ready to get your paws inky with us and play along to win a prize? We will chose a RANDOM entry to win a $20 store credit to our Newton's Nook Desig ns online shop! We will also highlight our favorites from each challenge the following Monday so all entries have a chance to be featured on this blog!

You have TWO WEEKS to play along - Deadline to enter is Friday, August 28th, 2020 at Midnight CST. The winners will be announced on the Newton's Nook blog the following Monday.

Are you ready to play along and get your paws inky? Make sure you check the challenge rules page before you link up your project.

XO, Crystal

List of products:

Inky Paws Challenge #129

8/10/2020

Hello readers and welcome back from the weekend! I hope you found a little time to do something crafty. Today I am sharing another card that I made for the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge. Week number two of Challenge #129 is continuing on with this slimline sketch challenge designed to inspire you. Our challenges run for two weeks, thereby giving you more time to create, so I have designed a second card to share with you this week that was still inspired by the same image seen below:

Here is the slimline card I created inspired by the sketch:

Card details:

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2." Slimline cards are designed to fit into a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. Newton's Nook is now selling Slimline Envelopes in a variety of colors designed to fit your slimline cards! The base of this card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I created a frame also from white cardstock using the Slimline Portholes Die. I ink blended the background in Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide ink. I layered the Sunscape Stencil over the yellow sky (to the left) and ink blended Honey Oxide ink to create a sun scene. I die cut the waves from Bermuda Bay cardstock and blue glitter paper using the Shark Bites Die set. Using the Shark Bites stamp set, I stamped three of the sharks in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock. I colored the sharks using Copic markers and then I die cut them using the coordinating Shark Bites dies. I stamped the waves and schools of fish in Bermuda Bay ink on the die cut wave paper. I adhered the three sharks to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment in the upper right corner using Memento Tuxedo black ink.

Are you ready to get your paws inky with us and play along for a chance to win?! We will randomly select one linked entry to receive a $20 store credit to the Newton's Nook Designs online shop!

We will also highlight our favorites from each challenge the following Monday, so that all entries have a chance to be featured on the Newton's Nook Designs blog.

Please make sure you review the challenge rules page before you link up your project!
Deadline to enter is Friday, August 14th, at midnight CST.

Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your creations there!

List of supplies:

Slimline Connected Bubbles

7/30/2020

Hello friends! It's another exciting new release of products at Whimsy Stamps and I have a fun card to show you using the new Slimline Connected Bubbles die. Did you know that Whimsy Stamps is actually the innovator of the slimline dies and has more than 10 dies to choose from with more on the way? That's right, slimline dies all started with Whimsy and many other companies have followed this hugely popular card trend!

Card details:

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

The base of this slimline card is made from Coastal Cabana cardstock. I cut a 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock for the mat. I randomly stamped ink splatters in both Coastal Cabana ink and Daffodil Delight ink on this white background. Using the new Slimline Connected Bubbles die, I cut the bubbles from Coastal Cabana cardstock and adhere this to the center of the card. Using the Best Fishes stamp set, I stamped the fish in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock. I colored the fish using Copic markers and then used my Brother Scan and Cut 2 electronic cutting machine to cut the fish out (in lieu of fussy cutting). I adhered the fish randomly to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment "Best Fishes" in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on a strip of white cardstock, notched the left end and adhered it to the lower right hand side of the card with 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the fish for added sparkle.

I hope you have enjoyed this fun card! To see more of the latest release products from
Whimsy Stamps, please click here.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

List of supplies:

Little Mermaid

7/20/2020

Hello and happy Monday (again)! I had two cards that were due today, so you get a double dose of cuteness between both cards! I seem to be on a slimline cardmaking kit lately, so here is another one for you today using the fun "Little Mermaid" stamp set from Richard Garay Designs!

The "Little Mermaid" stamp set is part of this month's RG Card Club kit subscription! Please see additional details below.

Card details:

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2". Slimline cards are designed to fit into a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. The base of this slimline card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using a 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Bristol smooth cardstock, I created the background scene using Distress Oxide inks in the colors Broken China and Antique Linen. After I had the two colors sponged onto the paper, I layed a sunray stencil over the top blue ink and inked another, darker layer of Broken China to create rays in the water to show depth in my scene. I printed out the digital "Little Mermaid" stamp set onto Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock and colored the images using Copic markers. After all of the images were colored, I used my Brother Scan and Cut 2 electronic cutting machine to cut the images (rather than fussy cutting them). After the images were cut out began to assemble them onto the card using 3M foam adhesive for additional dimension. I added a coat of Dazzling Pat to many of the images for more sparkle. Lastly, I added a couple of clear rhinestones from one of the mermaids and fish to resemble bubbles.

Card Club Subscription Details:

Kit includes, 6×8 stamp set, link to the class, Instructions, 4 kits to create 4 beautiful cards, along with RG.

Subscribe, Receive and Create! It’s that simple!
Live Virtual Class with step-by-step instruction. Classes will stay recorded so if you can’t make the Live class, not a problem you can access it anytime. Come and play when you want!

*Live class is held every 2nd Wednesday of each month*
*Subscription is billed every 1st of the month*

Receive your Exclusive Download instantly after checkout and start creating! Exclusive Digital Download included with files in 4 formats; Regular PDF, Digital Die Cut Machine Outlined PDF, SVG & JPEG. You will also receive an exclusive new stamp set each month to create your projects.

Here’s what you receive in each monthly Kit!
– Exclusive Stamp Set 6″ x 8″, High Quality 100% Clear Photopolymer,
– Exclusive Digital Downloads in 4 formats! (Regular PDF, Digital Die Cut Machine Outlined PDF, SVG File and JPEG File)
– One on one education! Live virtual education class. The recording will always be available so you can tune in at your convenience!
– Learn Design Trends First!
– Tips, Techniques and methods!
– Design and composition!

$27.99/month SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

I hope you have enjoyed this magical underwater mermaid scene.
Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

List of supplies:

Inky Paws Challenge #126

6/22/2020

Hello readers and welcome back from the weekend! I hope you found a little time to do something crafty. Today we have a new challenge to share with you at Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge #126. Using the sketch shown in the image below, share with us YOUR creations!

Here is the card I created inspired by this week's sketch:

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I cut a piece of Lawn Fawn Watercolor Wishes paper to 5 1/4" x 4" and matted it onto a piece of Calypso Coral cardstock before adhering both to the white card base. I cut two waves using the Sea Borders Die set from both a Pool Party and Bermuda Bay cardstock. Using the Lawn Fawn Sunrise backdrop die, I cut the sun rays from Calypso Coral cardtock and adhere it directly over the peach watercolor paper. I stamped the images from the Newton's Perfect Wave stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock. I colored the images with Copic markers and die cut them using the coordinating Newton's Perfect Wave dies. I adhered the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment in the lower left corner in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. Lastly, using the Lawn Fawn glue tube, I put a small line of glue on the bottom of the card and sprinkled Lawn Fawn Chunky Glitter across the bottom for added sparkle.

Are you ready to get your paws inky with us and play along to win a prize? We will chose a RANDOM entry to win a $20 store credit to our Newton's Nook Design online shop! We will also highlight our favorites from each challenge the following Monday so all entries have a chance to be featured on this blog!

You have TWO WEEKS to play along - Deadline to enter is Friday, July 3, 2020 at Midnight CST. The winners will be announced on the Newton's Nook blog the following Monday.

Are you ready to play along and get your paws inky? Make sure you check the challenge rules page before you link up your project.

XO, Crystal

You might also enjoy:

Hippo Beach Fun

5/21/2020

Raise your hand if you are SOoooo ready for vacation! Heck, I'll even take visiting the next town over right now if it means a break from the four walls of my own house! Today I am sharing another fun and colorful card featuring the Hippo Beach Fun stamp set that was a May release from Whimsy Stamps. If you missed the first slimline card using these same hippos, please click here.

Card details:

*A full list of supplies with clickable links is located at the end of this post.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar white smooth cardstock. I die cut a large circle from rainbow scalloped paper (sorry, I am unsure where that paper came from!). I adhered the rainbow circle to the base of the card. I stamped the sentiment "Cheers" in the upper right corner in Memento Tuxedo black ink. Then using the Wavy Edgers die set, I created a layer of sand from kraft cardstock. Using the Kinetic Waves die set, I die cut the waves from blue sparkle paper and adhered this in front of the sand line I stamped the hippo on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock in Memento Tuxedo black ink. I colored the image with Copic markers and fussy cut the hippo with craft scissors. I adhered the hippo on top of the sand using 3M foam adhesive. I added a couple of clear rhinestones in the sky for added sparkle. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the hippo for even more sparkle.

I hope you have enjoyed today's fun beach card! Thanks for visiting.

XO, Crystal

List of supplies:

Scrapbook.com - Cardstock - 8.5 x 11 - Neenah Solar White - 25 Pack

Lawn Fawn - 8.5 x 11 Cardstock - Kraft - 10 Pack

Best Creation Inc - A4 Glitter Cardstock Packs - Ocean Blue

Tsukineko - Memento - Fade Resistant Dye Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black

ZIG - Memory System - Wink Of Stella - Glitter Brush Marker - Glitter Clear

Scrapbook.com - Double Sided Adhesive Foam Roll Combo Pack

Whimsy Stamps May Release

5/1/2020

Hello friends and happy Friday! I can't believe May is here already, but then again March and April were kind of a coronavirus blur! Today I am happy to be celebrating with my fellow Creative Team members a fun new release of products from Whimsy Stamps! This slimline card features the new "Beach Hippos" stamp set and these cuties are ready for some summer fun.

Card details:

*A full supply list is located at the end of this post.

This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2" inches. Slimline cards are designed to fit inside a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. The base of this slimline card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Wavy Edgers die set, the sand is cut from Basic Gray cardsock and the ocean waves are cut from Coastal Cabana cardstock. I added a thin layer of Lawn Fawn's Chunky Glitter on the sand for added sparkle. The background was made from sponging Tim Holtz Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide ink through the Whimsy Stamps Sun Rays stencil. I stamped the sentiment in the upper left corner in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I stamped all three hippos and the starfish from the Beach Hippos stamp set on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock and colored them with Copic markers. I added highlights to the images with a Uniball white gel pen. I added the hippos and starfish to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the hippos for added sparkle.

Please check out the Whimsy Stamps website to see what other fun new release products are available.
Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

XO, Crystal

List of supplies:

Whimsy Stamps February 2020 Release

2/1/2020

Happy Saturday, friends! I hope your weekend is off to a great start! It is a very exciting day today for a variety of reasons, 1) I'm home packing right now as we leave tomorrow for our annual craft retreat on the Cape, and, 2) I'm excited to share with you the new February release from Whimsy Stamps! Today I will be focusing on the "Best Fishes" stamp set and Rainbows paper pack. But, if you would like to see more of the new release products, please click here for the Whimsy Stamps website.

I have three very different cards to share with you today that were all created using the same "Best Fishes" stamp set and Rainbows paper pack. You NEED this paper! It is so full of fun patterns and vibrant colors and they will add so much color and WOW to your projects.

Card details:

The base of this card is made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I mounted a piece of black cardstock to the top half of the card and a piece of the Rainbow Paper Pack to the bottom. I then added a small piece of white cardstock to the top again. I stamped the sentiment "Seas the Day" in Memento Black ink on the center of this cardstock. I stamped each of the fish in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock and colored them using Copic markers. I added a few highlights to each fish with a white gel pen. I cut the fish out using my Scan and Cut 2 e-cutting machine. I adhered the fish to the center of the card in a rainbow array using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the fish for added sparkle and a couple clear rhinestones to resemble bubbles.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Crumb Cake cardstock. Using the Whimsy Stamps Peekaboo 1 die, I cut the frame from white cardstock. I then adhered a piece of the Rainbow Paper Pack paper behind the window frame to let the rainbow colors shine through. I stamped the sentiment in the lower right corner in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I stamped three of the fish from the Best Fishes stamp set in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock and colored them using Copic Markers. I cut the fish out using my Scan and Cut 2 e-cutting machine. I added a few highlights to each fish using a white gel pen. I adhered the fish to the card using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the fish for added sparkle and a couple clear rhinestones to resemble bubbles.

And finally, here is the last card I created using these same products. Look at that beautiful rainbow bokeh background and it was all created with just a simple piece of paper!

I hope you have enjoyed this first look at the February release from Whimsy Stamps. I'll be taking next week off to fully enjoy my vacation, but, I will see you back here on Tuesday, February 11th, with MORE of this month's release from Whimsy Stamps!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative weekend!

XO, Crystal