High Tide - Wow!

This weekend the weather was spectacular!!  I think we broke records both days with high's in the upper 70s.  I loved it.  I'm guessing this beautiful weather is south of us too.  Ashley is on her annual Rock Boat Cruise with her friends and I am sure they are having a great time.  This year, she is doing back to back cruises!  When they return next week, I think they have a day in Tampa before heading out on a Train (musical group) Cruise.  Oh to be young again!!

My daughter in law posted a wonderful picture of her youngest daughter on Facebook.  I just have to share with you!  She is dressed and ready to go to the Tim Tebow Foundation's Night to Shine Prom!  It is put on annually for special needs teenagers 14 and up.  It is hard to believe she is so grown up.  I have not seen Cassidy in about eight years and she is now 16!!  I know she had a blast!

My son with Cassidy

Every time I think I've found my favorite stamp set in the Occasions catalog, another one beckons me to it.  This time it is High Tide!  I absolutely love this stamp set!  I've had it for a couple of weeks and wasn't so sure I could do it justice.  See, I really like lighthouses.  I don't know what it is about them but I like to go off the beaten path to find an old lighthouse.  I've been to Cape Hatteras here in NC and also to Peggy's Cove Lighthouse in Nova Scotia just to name a couple.

This first card is my favorite I think.  A lot of sponging went into it!  First I made a mask for the sun and the lighthouse before I started adding color.  The colors that I used were Crushed Curry, Perfect Plum, Tangerine Tango.  For the water I sponged Marina Mist and added a little craft White for the ripples.  The lighthouse is stamped in Smoky Slate and Cherry Cobbler.  This is a two-step stamp.  I stamped the rocks with Smoky Slate.  Then I stamped them again with Versamark and heat embossed with clear embossing powder to give the illusion that the rocks were wet.  I also stamped them a third time with White just for some added dimension.

After looking at a lot of images of lighthouses, I discovered that most of them are white.  But that is the thing about stamping - you can make them any color you want!!  Below are some color combinations that I tried.

My next lighthouse card also had sponging - on the sky and the water.  I used the negative mask to sponge the sun.  It's hard to see, but I pulled some of the Crushed Curry down into the water to make a reflection.  The lighthouse was stamped in Smoky Slate and Cherry Cobbler but I added a little touch to this one.  I used an old Blender Pen and the craft White Refill ink to paint the white areas on the lighthouse.  Instead of rocks I stamped grass around the lighthouse.

This card is a lot like the last one except - NO sponging!  I used a piece of DSP from the Serene Scenery Stack (pg 174).  I love this paper.  This was going to be my card for Stamp Club this month but I have used up most of the DSP (which is very unusual for me!)  I painted the white areas with the white craft ink like I did in the card above.

This next card will be the card for Stamp Club this month.  No sponging - just stamping so it should be ok.

Another thing I love about this stamp set is the sentiments.  Make sure you check out this set in the Occasions catalog on page 25.  I'll have more High Tides to share with you later in the week that are water colored.  There are so many possibilities with this set!