OLW57 - Summer Holidays - Sun, Sand, & Surf

It's Wednesday, and time once again for the One Layer Wednesday challenge.  This week our challenge is hosted by Jennifer at Styles Ink.  This week’s challenge is to create a card that is inspired by any or all of the following: summer, the beach, the sea, sun, sand, the lake, the cottage – pretty much anything that says summer and/or summer holidays.  Well...since I had to work today, and the drive to and from the bank was about 2 hours each way (that's 4 hours travel time and 7 hours working - through lunch!), I had plenty of think time to decide what I wanted to do.  So, when I finally got home about 6:30 pm, I crashed for about an hour before I could actually move. These long days really wipe me out!

Anyway....back to the card.  I remembered this stamp, which was one of the first stamps I ever bought, and it's only seen ink once or twice.  I think I might have gotten a little carried away tonight, because honestly, I only intended to stamp the little girl with the little shells at her feet and the sentiment...and then I got all carried away and sponged in a little of the blue Gulf of Mexico (which is only 1/2 hr from me), and a golden sunset (sorry it looks orange here!)

I had to do a lot of masking on this card! First I stamped the little girl image and cut her out and placed the mask over my image on the card. Then I tore paper for the water's edge and masked off the sky with another piece of paper.  After sponging the water, I used the piece I tore off for the water to mask the water and sponge a bit of color on the sand. (you don't know how difficult that is for me since the sand at our beach is white sugar sand!) Then I masked the bottom of the card so I could sponge the sky.  I didn't get as much color difference as I wanted in the sky, but this was the second card I've made tonight trying to get it right, so I finally quit trying to change it.  The sentiment is from Flourishes.  I added a few doodled lines and little shells to carry the image across the card.  I also added some white lines and dots in the water for waves and foam.  All in all, I'm happy with how this turned out. My coloring with Copics could use a little work, but I'm sure I'll improve with more practice.

I also thought I'd share a layout I did recently of my youngest granddaughter, Maggie.  Memorial Day weekend, I volunteered to keep Maggie with me so that my daughter and her family could go with tubing down the river.  I didn't really think that was the place that an 18 month old needed to spend the day.  So, Maggie and I had a little time together that day. The layout is titled:

 There's nothing SWEETER...than the sweet sighs of a sleeping baby. Photos of my dgd, Maggie, napping last weekend. I used Echo Park's For the Record collection for this layout. The double scallops across the bottom were created by punching one inch circles from red and black and then adhered to the back of the polka dotted strip. I backed the printed piece with black to make it pop off the red background. Flowers are a mix of various Prima blooms that I've added black bling to for the centers. Title work is a combination of EP letters, Basic Grey letters, and the last part is computer generated. The green scalloped piece across the bottom is a sticker from the For the Record collection. I put all the layers on an off white background and added lots of doodling in red, green, and black. Journaling reads:

Maggie, you were so good the day you stayed with me while everyone else was tubing down Blackwater River. Your Mama said you would fight going to sleep, but you didn’t. When I told you it was time for your nap, put you up on my bed, and gave you your pacifier, you lay right down and went to sleep. You slept so long that we finally woke you up two hours later!
May 28, 2011

If you haven't played in the OLW challenge before, give it a try...you'll soon be anxiously awaiting Wednesday morning just like the rest of us! LOL!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Comments welcomed and appreciated! Until next time.....

Hugs!