Resilience Fund

Cruising Cape Cod Card – Cape Cod Resilience Fund

Posted on by Lynn Hill

Hi everyone! Today’s project in my four-day blog-posting spree is another card promoting the Cape Cod Resilience Fund. Each day this week I am posting projects made from a set of exclusive stamps made to generate interest in Cape Cod and the small businesses that make it a thriving vacation area.

Cape Cod Stamp Set ($20 – includes shipping)

My crafty and artistic friend, Jenn Shurkus, sent these stamps to me and in exchange asked if I would create cards/projects to demonstrate how they could be used. Jenn’s stamp set features some of the things that come to mind when one thinks of Cape Cod, where she lives (lobsters, Adirondack chairs, sand, etc.). But they aren’t exclusive to Cape Cod, most of them would also send your mind to any beach destination or even to a backyard party with a beach theme.

Today’s card is very simple but it was fun to create. A while back I purchased the AlteNew window sphere die. I bought it for a specific purpose but didn’t ever actually use it. So, when I saw the canal cruiser on Jenn’s stamp set I knew I was finally going to get to put the sphere window to use. To me, it evokes a bright sunny view through a ship’s window.

I could have used plain blue paper but decided to start with some white cardstock and blend various colors of blue Distress Oxide Ink to create a more varied color as the card’s background. I used a combination of tumbled glass, peacock feathers, salty ocean, chipped sapphire, and blueprint sketch. Lots of people question whether one should use sponges or blender brushes. I have used both and I think it depends on how big of an area you are going to work on. I have a set of Taylored Expressions Blender Brushes and love them because they come in a rainbow of colors, they blend ink really well, and they are SO soft!

Once I was happy with the coloring I had achieved on the cardstock, I cut the window using my Big Shot and then glued it to a yellow card base from Hobby Lobby. Let me be honest, I HATE trying to glue small strips of paper because I can’t ever seem to keep the glue from smearing everywhere. A while back I bought some Elmer’s Craft Bond spray and gave it a try and it really solves that problem. The glue is acid free so if you plan to keep your project around it won’t affect the quality of your heirloom. One problem with the glue is that it’s a spray so it does hit EVERYTHING in its path and it’s pretty sticky. So, I usually walk out my front door, hold the paper out, and then spritz it with the glue. While I’m at it i turn the can upside down and spray until no product is coming from the nozzle. That way the can won’t be clogged the next time I use it. The glue is very light but really tacky so once you have it in place it isn’t going to move.

To create the ship, I stamped the image on Neenah Solar White cardstock using a tuxedo black Memento ink pad. After coloring the ship in with Copic YR02, G02, and C1, I fussy cut the image then topped it with Glossy Accents to give it some shiny dimension. (I purchase a lot of my Copic markers from Ellen Hutson because she almost always has them on sale. And, if you are a regular customer of hers she sends monthly discount codes for an additional reduction in price. But, if you are in the market for some Copic markers and don’t care if they are Ciao style, Michael’s has a lot on clearance for 97¢ right now – better hurry because at that price they won’t last long. Both the Sketch and Ciao markers work the same and are refillable. The Ciao holds about half the amount of ink as the Sketch so you might find yourself filling them up more often, but for 97¢, that was an inconvenience I was willing to accept.)

The sentiment, Welcome to Cape Cod, is part of Jenn’s set and the “Make a Splash, Splash, Splash” sentiment came from a goodie bag I received the that I received when I participated in Sandy Allnock‘s fundraiser for the World Central Kitchen (Sunny Studios Best Fishes stamp set).

I used a set of BloPens to create the yellow background on the Make a Splash sentiment. When my kids were young we bought a set of BloPens and they were still usable long after their interest in them subsided. I eventually moved the pens to my craft stash and have been using them ever since. The ink began to run low last year so I ordered another set from the U.K. I looked the link up today and noticed that the shipping is CRAZY now but if you should want to try them out I will attach a link below. Of course, if you have an airbrush system for your Copics that would probably work wonders as well.

I did add a few enamel dots to finish the look and I love how the card turned out!

A little bit more information about the Cape Cod Resilience Fund

The Cape Cod Resilience Fund was created to immediately help small businesses on Cape Cod who are experiencing difficulties due to Covid-19 and is expected to be a lasting fund that will continue to help small businesses of that area for the long haul.

Remember, YOU can help this fund by purchasing one of Jenn’s exclusive Cape Cod stamp sets. For each set sold between June 15 and July 1, $10 will be donated to the CCRF. Another way you can help is to share this blog post with your creative friends and help spread the word. More details can be found on Jenn’s site.

Tomorrow, I look forward to sharing a cute set of cards that were all made with the same general design but each one has a completely different vibe. If you would like to see other cards that have been made using Jenn’s Cape Cod stamp set you can search #shurkusstamps on Instagram or @LoveLiveLocal on Facebook.

I have attached links where you can buy some of the products used in today’s project. I am not an affiliate with any of the links and do not get any financial benefit if you click. However, I wanted to make it easy for you to purchase any times that you might have gotten inspiration for on my post. Thanks for stopping by today!

Products used:

I would love to have you as a regular visitor to my blog. If you do’t want to miss any of my future posts, please scroll to the bottom of this page and click the box where it says, “Subscribe to Blog via Email” and click the orange subscribe button. I will eventually learn how to add a subscribe button and a menu at the top of my blog but until then I know this will work. I would love it if you would follow me on Instagram and Facebook too (just click the links at the bottom of the page). Finally, I would be thrilled if you would share this post with others so that the Cape Cod Resilience Fund will have the opportunity to become more well known to others.

Lobster Wreath Card – Cape Cod Resilience Fund

Posted on by Lynn Hill

Hi everyone, this week I am happy to be posting four cards (one each day Tuesday – Friday) to help promote vacationing in Cape Cod and the small businesses of that area. If the idea of seaside cottages, lighthouses, and sailboats peak your interest you might want to consider a trip to the New England paradise. You can also consume more than your share of lobster and other fantastic seafood creations while you’re there.

You may wonder why someone in middle America would be “advertising” for Cape Cod. Well, the Cape Cod area, like so many other communities, is experiencing financial difficulties due to Covid-19. So, I have partnered with Jenn Shurkus to create themed cards using her new Cape Cod clear stamp set and, in turn, to help raise money for the Cape Cod Resilience Fund.

Jenn lives on Cape Cod and created this exclusive stamp set to raise money for the benevolent fund that will help small businesses on Cape Cod. The Resilience Fund will immediately help small Cape Cod businesses who are experiencing difficulties due to Covid-19; but, will continue to help these businesses in the future as well.

Cape Cod Stamp Set ($20 – includes shipping)

YOU can help by purchasing one of Jenn’s exclusive Cape Cod stamp sets. For each set sold between June 15 and July 1, $10 will be donated to the CCRF (That’s half the cost of the stamp set)! Another way you can help is to share this blog post with your creative friends and help spread the word. More details can be found on Jenn’s site.

For today’s card, I decided a lobster theme would be the way to go. I began by cutting a piece of Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 80 lb cardstock into a 4-inch square. I then used the 4-inch Gina K Designs Wreath Maker template. This template takes the guess work out of making a perfect circle (wreath) when stamping a small image.

I put the Wreath Maker template into my Misti and then placed the 4-inch pre-cut cardstock into the template.

I began to build the wreath by placing the lobster stamp in the center of the top portion of the slot on the template. After I inked and pressed the stamp with Catherine Pooler Rockin’ Red Premium Dye Ink, I rotated my cardstock one position and reinked the stamp to make a second impression with the stamp.

I continued rotating the 4-inch cardstock until it had been placed in each of the eight positions on the template.

When the image was stamped eight times I ended up with a wreath of lobsters that were evenly spaced and in a perfect circle. I then used a Sizzix Framelits Die Set and my Big Shot to cut the square card into a circle.

I cut a slightly larger circle with 80 lb Rouge cardstock (American Crafts). For the plaid background, I used a sheet of cardstock from the Echo Park Celebrate America collection kit and, finally, a larger square of 80 lb Storm cardstock (American Crafts).

I made the card base out of 80 lb Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardstock cut into a 10×5 sheet. I used my scoring board to make a fold halfway across the 10-inch sheet and folded it to make the 5-inch square card.

For the sentiment, I used the Cape Cod set to stamp the sentiment onto a piece of the navy cardstock with a VersaMark stamp pad and embossed it with white super fine detail embossing powder by Ranger. I also cut the sentiment tag using Queen & Co Foundation Dies.

I assembled the card and added the finishing touches with Echo Park navy enamel dots. I thought the inside of the card needed an extra touch so I added a strip of the plaid paper I had used on the background of the card and a smaller stamped lobster which is also found in the Cape Cod stamp set.

I enjoyed making this card and I hope that you can imagine ways these stamps would be useful in your crafting stash. A purchase of this stamp set would definitely be a great way to make some creative cards or scrapbook pages of your trip to Cape Cod – or any other beach locale and it would help the small businesses of Cape Cod while you are at it.

I look forward to sharing another card with you tomorrow with another how-to of ideas I have come up with. If you would like to see other cards made using this stamp set you can search @LoveLiveLocal on Facebook or #shurkusstamps on Instagram.

I have attached links where you can buy some of the items I used in today’s project. I am not an affiliate with any of the businesses that I have linked and do not get any financial benefit from any links I have posted. I just want to make it easy for you to purchase any items that you might have gotten inspiration from on my post today.

Products used:

I would love to have you as a regular visitor to my blog. If you don’t want to miss any of my future posts, please scroll to the bottom of this page and click the box where it says, “Subscribe to Blog via Email” and click the orange subscribe button. (I will eventually learn how to add a subscribe button and a menu to the top of this page, but until then this should work). I would also love it if you would follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

I hope to see you again tomorrow!!