Summer Fun!!

As I sit here in Colorado we have had our afternoon thunder storm, thankfully with no extras such as tornado warnings or hail, and I am still sweltering.  I'm not much a beach person, I prefer pools for many reasons (the most important is I can see the bottom!) but this little girl wading, in what I think is the ocean, may have actually cooled me off a bit.

What I Used to Make my Card:
Wheat Colored Card Base
White Cardstock Panel
Darice Clouds Embossing Folder
Young Girl Stamp - SU! Seaside Sketches, #103555 (discontinued but available)
Pebbles/Ikandee Chalk Set in Basic Brights
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black

This idea has been swimming around in my head for quite sometime.  I wanted to use my cloud embossing folder as clouds in a "scene", a little deeper than just background for rain or snow.  I wasn't sure it would work so this is my experiment.  I took a piece of white card, trimmed it slightly smaller than typical A2 size and used the embossing folder on only the top of the card.  I knew that part would work, I wasn't sure about how I was going to handle the crease left behind and the perspective issue.  After I embossed the paper, I stamped the young girl wading.  I was relieved to see that the perspective wasn't too far off and decided to proceed with the design.

I used watercolor pencils to color the girls dress and hair and all the rest is chalk.  I edged the clouds with some blue chalk, both to enhance & pop the texture, and then just kept going. I used a slightly darker blue to sort of put the edge where the clouds meet the "water" at a different color, then just used shades of blue to fill out the water.  I haven't used chalks in ages and it was so much fun! The shading and mixing of the colors gave me the exact soft, wispy, windy day effect I wanted it to.  Looking back, if I do this again, I think the birds will be masked off, but all in all I am very pleased with my card.  I edged the white panel with Distress Ink in Gathered Twigs and then attached it onto the card base and I was done.

I haven't used chalk in ages (I've had this pallet for many, many years) and it is always fun to revisit an old technique or medium for me.  I forgot how much fun it is to get back to basics sometimes, and the ability to blend is one of the best things about chalk, at least in my opinion.

While this is a bit off topic, me & two of my good friends have started a NEW Challenge Blog called Twofers, where the idea is to make 2 of anything as long as the project meets the rules, and there is plenty of time to enter the current challenge, which is weddings.  So get your create on, make some wedding goodies and join in! Honestly, you have an excellent chance of getting at least top 3 <wink>.  

Thank you for stopping by ~ Fondly, Christi

I would like to enter my Summer Fun card in the following challenges:
Through the Craft Room Door (Aug 18-24) Anything Goes (entry 2)
Tuesday Throwdown - #258, Texture
Lawnscaping Challenge - #112, Embossing  

Timbro Scrapmania - #111, Summer (ends Sept 14)
Fashionable Stamping Challenge - #102, Seaside or Beach (ends Sept 12)
Daring Cardmakers - Textures
FairyTale Challenge - #124, Summer Vacation
Fussy & Fancy - Lazy Summer Days
Country View Challenges - (August Challenge) Summertime

Where did I find all these fabulous challenges?!?!
At Challenges for Days ~ come take a peek!