welcome to my crafty blog. I’m back with another card using the Stampin’ Up! ‘friends are like seashells’ stamp set. This is such a fun set to use – much more versatile than it appears at first glance. I’ve taken inspiration for this card from the current challenge layout over at CAS Colours & Sketches

I started by stamping a rectangle of card with the large A5 stamp from Claritystamp’s ‘by the seaside’ texture stamp set, using ‘mermaid lagoon’ Distress Oxide. I then cut it into three pieces with one of the SU ‘quite curvy’ dies.

Next step was to die cut an oval of white card, and blend a little of the ‘mermaid lagoon’ around the edge. I then stamped the sentiment onto it in the same colour.

I then attached the three strips to a 5×7 card blank and sat the oval over them using foam pads. I had to cut the strips in half, as the card was not long enough, but that was fine as the oval hid the gap.

I then needed to create my seashells. I first stamped the images onto white card using Artistry Inks in ‘ roasted chestnut’, ‘blushing rose’ and ‘terracotta’. I used the large die to cut out the two shells, and the separate little one for the starfish. Once cut, I had to trim a few excess bits of card from the two shells and then ran them through the seashells embossing folder to give them dimension. There isn’t a starfish in the embossed image, so I used an embossing ball tool and my silicone craft mat, working on the reverse of the die cut so it wasn’t completely flat. After embossing, I blended a little of the ‘blushing rose’ on all three pieces.

The final part was to add the three pieces onto the oval on the card, again using foam pads.

I don’t really know much about shells, especially American ones (SU is a US company), so decided to do a bit of checking online (although even I know that the starfish on this card is not a seashell!) Having done my best detective work, I think the top one on the card is a nutmeg shell, which is apparently usually found in the shallows on sand. The larger shell appears to be a true tulip, more commonly found in grass flats around bays. I’ve never heard of either of these, so your education today is thanks to www.seashells.org! Here’s a couple of photos from the website – do you think I’ve found the right shells?