Hey, everyone! It's Maria from Cardbomb here to share two totally different cards made from the same layout. In fact, not only did I use the same layout but I even used the same die. One of my favorite things about Tonic Studios is the diverse range of products they carry. Whether you want gorgeous paper, pens, pencils, watercolors, alcohol markers, mousses, drops, embellishments, etc. Tonic Studios has it! Today I've decided to share how you can make your cards dramatically different just by switching out your papers and art mediums.
CARD #1: MERMAID SHAKER CARD
For my first card I decided to do a clean and simple shaker card...- Start with a piece of watercolor paper cut to 4.25" x 5.5"
- Use Nuvo Aqua Flow Pens and a wet paint brush to watercolor the background
- Cut the "Mermaid to Be Friends" die out of the watercolored background. You will use the background for this card. Save the die cut for card #2.
- Then, put double sided adhesive sheet onto the back of a piece of glossy black cardstock. Cut the "Mermaid to Be Friends" die out of this piece too.
- Cut a piece of Holo Waves Mirror Cardstock to fill the front of a white card base and adhere it. Set this aside.
- Adhere a piece of clear acetate to the backside of your watercolored background.
- Peel the backing off of your black, glossy die cut and fit it into the watercolored background and adhering it to the acetate.
- Flip the watercolor background over and add foam adhesive. Make sure that it is not visible through the acetate window. Also make sure that you create a foam barrier around the die cut sentiment so that your sequins cannot fall out of the shaker.
- Add as many sequins and embellishments as you want to in a pile in the center of the Holo Waves cardstock. Make sure to use thin embellishments like glitter and sequins so that they will slide easily in your shaker card.
- Stick the watercolored piece onto the card base trapping the embellishments behind the acetate window and within the foam adhesive barrier you created earlier.
- Splatter the front of the card with Glitter Gloss sparkle!
- Embellish with Dream Drops in Cloud 9
- Shake the card and smile!
CARD #2: MIXED MEDIA MERMAID CARD
For my second card I decided to go for a completely different look. I used Nuvo Aqua Flow Pens, Embellishment Mousse, Expanding Mousse and Nuvo Drops to get a tarnished, under the sea, mixed media look...
MIXED MEDIA CARD HOW TO:
- Cut a piece of watercolor paper to 4.25" x 5.5"
- Watercolor wash the background using Nuvo Aqua Flow Pens and a wet paintbrush.
- Using a dry paint brush, brush some Nuvo Embellishment Mousse over the watercolor background. This will add color, texture and a sparkly sheen.
- Grab a palette knife and use it to smear some Nuvo Expanding Mousse onto the background. Heat the mousse with a heat tool until it expands.
- After you've gone crazy with your mousses on top of the watercolor background grab the leftover sentiment die from the first card. Add mousse and texture as you like.
- It's important that the die will stand out on the background so add extra color using the Aqua Flow Pens if needed.
- Cut two more "Mermaid to Be Friends" pieces out of black cardstock. Adhere these pieces together adding the colorful one on top.
- Glue the tripled up die cut to the front of the card.
- Splatter the card with Midas Touch Aqua Flow Pen.
- Embellish the card with Nuvo Drops in Dirty Bronze and Mustard Gold.
HOT TIPS FOR USING NUVO MOUSSES:
- HOT TIP #1: The more Expanding Mousse that you add (I am referring to thickness), the more the product will expand and give you incredible texture as you heat it. Thinly applied Expanding Mousse will not give you the same result.
- HOT TIP #2: As the Expanding Mousse reacts to heat it will lose its sheen and have a more matte finish. This provides a wonderful contrast between the Expanding Mousse and the shinier Embellishment Mousse.
- HOT TIP #3: You can brush either Embellishment or Expanding Mousse over the top of the heated Embellishment Mousse. This will not just add color but will add sheen as well.
That is it for today you guys. I hope you're feeling inspired to break out all of your Tonic products and have a good play. There will be a video sharing how I made both of these cards. So, if you're interested please be on the lookout for that. Thank you for your patience with this as I've just moved and am not properly set up yet so everything is taking just a bit longer than normal. In the meantime I would love to hear which card you like better? Are you more of a clean and simple cardmaker? Or, do you like get messy and slap down layers of product onto your projects? Please leave a comment below and let me know!
Have an amazing day you all! Thanks so much for checking out today's projects and we will see you back here soon!
Maria
PS: These Mermaid dies are not available in the Tonic USA shop but you can still have them! No matter where you might be in the world you can order from the Tonic UK shop. Tonic UK offers affordable, fast shipping for international customers making it easy for you to purchase whatever you want from the UK shop!