Hello and welcome to my blog. Today I'm sharing one of the favorite cards that I've made. I love anything ocean-related! I grew up by the Pacific Ocean. My parents loved it as much as I do. We spent most vacations in the sand. I've lived by the Atlantic Ocean for almost twenty years. There's definitely different wildlife here than on the west coast. We have sea turtles here and they have always been one of my favorite animals. When I saw this stamp set by Picket Fence, I had to purchase it! I'm going to walk you step-by-step in how I designed and created this card, including all products used. 

I wanted an ocean background, so I started by inking a 5x7 piece of Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 80lb cardstock. I used Distress Oxides for the ink blending: Antique Linen, Salvaged Patina, Peacock 
Feathers, and Black Soot. I used the inks in this order to make the water appear as it was going light to dark. Pro Tip: When ink blending, it's best to tap off a bit of ink off before bringing it brush (or other utensil) to the paper. This helps prevent dark circles of ink that may be so dark that you may not be able to blend it out.

After blending, I spritzed water onto the panel. This looks like bubbles to me. To give depth and interest to my background, I used Picket Fence's Ocean Waves Stencil. I used Picket Fence paper glazes in Cream Puff, Ocean Odyssey, and Jade Vine. I felt that using pastes with similar colors to the inks would give a more natural look.

While the paste was drying, I stamped the four turtles from Picket Fence's A Sea Turtle's Journey Stamp Set with Distress Oxide Vintage Photo Ink. I initially stamped it in black, but it didn't look right to me because I wanted the turtles to have brown spots instead of black ones.

There are so many ways to color images- from realistic to whimsical, the choice is yours. If I wanted a purple or polka-dot turtle, that would be fine. I decided on a realistic portrayal of my turtles. There are seven different species of sea turtles. I really liked the ones that look like this. I used Copic Markers E29, E55, E59, BG72, and B27. Pro Tip: When deciding on how to color something as you would find in nature, Google or other search engine is your best friend! 

Once the waves were dry, I scattered a few jellyfish around. These are from Spellbinder's Water You Up To? Stamp Set. I tried placing the turtles alone to the panel, but there was too much dead space for me. I stamped them with Distress Oxide Vintage Photo. I didn't want them to distract too much, so I thought brown was a better choice over black.

Next, I die cut two of Picket Fence's Layering Over-Sized Ornammental Grass Dies from Neenah 80lb cardstock.

Here are the same die cuts inked...such a big difference! I used Distress Oxides in Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, and Vintage Photo. Pro Tip: overlap ink. Whether if you're inking up a die cut or ink blending a panel, to achieve the best results, overlap your inks.