Tuesday, November 25, 2014

You Light Up My Life

Whew - I'm pretty sure that if I got any more excited for the upcoming week I might implode with happiness. I'm getting ready for a 5-day trip to visit my family. They all live about 6 hours away in Minnesota. Much to the chagrin of my mother, I moved to North Dakota for a job about two years ago and have been living in the frozen tundra ever since. AAAAaaand I'm going to get to meet my online bloggy friend and creative genius Betty Keefe, whose daughter is actually one of the only 600,000 people who inhabit North Dakota. Small world.

I have been so stuck on Christmas cards lately that my other stamps are now glaring at them with jealousy. Before there was a rubber mutiny on my hands, I decided to ink up a new set that I won from Inspired By Stamping. It's the Ahoy, Matey set and it has some AMAZING nautical images and is perfect for creating masculine cards.

Since it's Thanksgiving week, I decided to do a thank you card using the lighthouse from the set. 



Don't worry folks, my design aesthetic hasn't got completely out the window, those flowers won't be there for long. That's actually a piece of washi tape that I cut and used for a mask. The general premise behind this card was that I wanted to create beams of light going into the night sky. So I masked the "beams" and then sponged Weathered Wood and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks onto the sky area. 



This is what it looked like after I removed the mask. I kept the Distress Inks intentionally blotchy to create a stormy and misty sky look. 



I also got a piece of cork that I wanted to play around with, and I thought it would make a perfect beach. I cut the cork into rolling hills and swiped the edges with Vintage Photo DI to give it dimension. 



I added in a blue piece of paper for the water, popped in my lighthouse, and then mounted tiny stars in the sky area to create a sparkly, shimmery night sky. Last but not least, I embossed the saying with white and stamped a big THANK YOU! on the inside. It's not my typical card aesthetic, and at first I wasn't sure if I liked it but the more I stared at it the more it grew on me. Maybe it's Stockholm syndrome? :)

I'd like to support the following great challenges:
Shopping our Stash - "Free is Good" (use something you got for free - My stamp set)
Simon Says Stamp - "Thanksgiving/Thank you"
TIME OUT - Embossing with the Optional twist of sparkle 
Inspired by Stamping - Customer Gallery

Thanks for stopping by! Follow my blog and leave me a comment and I'll be sure to return the favor!

25 comments:

  1. that is such a cool card, Becca - looking forward to having a cuppa with you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Darling nautical themed card, Becca!! OK--now it's your fault that I'm singing 'You Light Up my Life" by Debby Boone (right?)--When I was in Glee Club, that was a song we sang and I still know the words!! LOL!!
    Have a great trip to Minnesota and that's awesome that you're meeting a new crafty friend in person!! Have fun!! XOXO-Shari

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fantastic!!! The light beams are so creative and perfect for the light house. Love the way you used the cork on here too.
    Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
    Lynn

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very cool design! I love the light beams on your design and the cork for the grounding is such a clever idea!! Happy Thanksgiving! :) HUGS

    ReplyDelete
  5. You really pulled out all the stops for this one, Becca! I love the results!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Awesome lighthouse card - I really like how you created the beams of light, and using the cork for the beach is a fab idea. Great texture!

    ReplyDelete
  7. cool design of your lighthouse Becca wooowww and lovely add of the cork there...clever!!!
    Nice manly card Becca...(is it a manly or for woman card hehehe :) )

    ReplyDelete
  8. Clever!! That cork looks beaut..gives such dimension... LOOOVE meeting scrappy folks... Something to look forward to:):)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great card Becca, love what you've done. Enjoy your time at home. Carol x

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is great! I was wondering about the coloured tape at first and thought-what is her clever, creative mind going to do and voila! I see the result and love it-a great Manly card that can be used for a gal too. Love the cork idea

    ReplyDelete
  11. Other than I get you're not a super-flowery crafter, I was thinking the washi light beam was pretty cool! :D Certainly original. But I do like the stormy sky/regular light beams much more. The card is terrific! Enjoy your trip. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Very impressive Becca!, I like the masking past, and the addition of cork....I bought some cork, long time back, but keep forgetting to add to my cards ;) The first picture got me though, I was thinking - hmm a flowery light beam! haha

    ReplyDelete
  13. Very creative, Becca! Hope you have a safe trip & wonderful time with your family!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Such a fun card. Love the different elements especially the cork. Thank you so much for playing along with us in the Thanks/Thanksgiving challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a FABULOUS card! LOVE the texture and thank you for the step by step tutorial! Thanks for joining us at Inspired By Stamping, too! HUGS! :) Mynn xx

    ReplyDelete
  16. fabulous scene Becca. I'm struggling make anything but Christmas cards at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love lighthouses. Have a great time meeting Betty.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oooooo!! What a cool card!! I LOVE how you masked off to make the sky and the lighting for the lighthouse. The addition of the cork at the bottom is GENIUS. Really, really fabulous card. Happy Thanksgiving!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Stockholm syndrome! Omg, I say that ALL THE TIME, at least every day. lol! I think this card is amazing - so much texture, and that SKY. Perfection, Becca!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Using the cork that way is just genius!!! What a fabulously uplifting card, Becca. Enjoy your time away with the fam!
    xxx Asha

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh I hope you are away having an amazing trip with your family! Love this sweet lighthouse scene you've created. Thanks so much for playing with us at Time Out!

    ReplyDelete
  22. what a great tutorial on how the card progressed. Beautiful nautical scene. Thanks for playing along with us at shopping our stash for the Free challenge.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Love this design and your inky skills are awesome 😊

    ReplyDelete
  24. Such a pretty card Becca. Love that scene and how you made the light... the cork adds a nice texture.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Fabulous, love how u did the light !

    ReplyDelete