When I made my last card with the Waffle Flower Inquisitive Seagull dies, I knew this was what I had to do next. These little guys needed to really show off their inquisitive personality. Thank you, Waffle Flower, for giving us the “Mine” stamps so we could really have fun with this.

I created this one as a birthday card for my dad. He loves Disney, the beach, and has a t-shirt with the seagulls from Finding Nemo.

For this post, rather than just writing a step by step explanation here, I’ll explain some of the thought process and approach for this, and give you a look at the way the idea in my head becomes a finished card. Let me know if you like it done this way, or if you prefer the step-by-step.

For a casual and impromptu style - which is what is needed foe these seagulls - an asymmetric arrangement is the way to go. Balance, when things are matched up and aligned is typically a calmer feel. Not what I wanted here. I also made sure that I varied the amount their heads are in the frame, and that they don’t line up and aren’t at the same angle as any of the others. Adding some depth with foam squares behind their heads adds to that “they just popped in” feel.

You’ll notice that the stamped (and embossed) words on the front also follow the asymmetric and “just enough crazy” vibe, to go with the seagulls. They are stamped in an intentional random arrangement, with one for each gull, but not all perfectly lined up. If you look and think about it, you’ll notice that although they look totally random, the “Mine” stamps are placed on one of two angles. (Too much variation and it might look too jumbled. It is a fine line sometimes, to create visual surprise or interest, but not disorganized chaos.)

This card has layers of die cuts, as almost all of my cards do, and the foam behind their heads adds to that, but there are also a few ways that I added in visual texture.
For the water, I cut out two pieces of cardstock (Aqua Sky and Oceanside, from Concord & 9th) with the Spellbinders Tunnel Clouds dies. I wanted the outer part of the die cut, not the inside, so that it flows more like water does as it comes up to the beach. Because I wanted my curve to be different than what the dies do, I cut a section with the die, then rotated it and cut another section to whittle it down to a shape I wanted. (I probably should have done a video or more photos of that… I can add that later.)

Once I had two pieces that I was happy with, I used the Sea Foam Stencil to add some soft pattern to them. I used a blending brush lightly on the Oceanside piece, but on the lighter Aqua Sky piece I wanted more of a sea foam effect, so I used white pigment ink, and a foam dauber. I pounced (rather than rubbed) the foam onto the paper and that also left it with little “bubbles” from the texture of the foam - perfect, and also a variation from the smoother blending on the other layer for the “deeper” water.

I added texture to the sand (Kraft cardstock, by Concord & 9th) in another way by stamping on it with Versamark ink. There is a perfect stamp for this in the stamp set. Another tip - as much as I love the MISTI and it was a game-changer for me in terms of being interested in stamping at all, I did this with a block. I wanted to be able to place it randomly, and in this case, any imperfection in the stamping pressure or coverage would enhance the natural sand texture effect.

To create the look of wet sand right along the water, I took a foam blender with Versamark ink and rubbed it in a circular motion right where the water pieces were going to overlap.
Even though this is just ink and cardstock, techniques like this add a perfect level of visual interest so our brains know exactly what to imagine as we look at this card.

The seagulls are obviously the highlight of this card. I left them bright white on this this one. Bold and bright and simple. Embossing the words in white connects them visually with the gulls. I wanted all that to stand out, and the background is secondary. Or actually, tertiary (gulls > words > background). All important to tell the story, but in order for some of it to stand out, other parts have to settle back. I chose the two colors for the water based on what would be similar in color value to the paper I used for the sand. I did have a range with more variations, including deeper water and lighter for the sea foam edge, but any of that would have been more distracting, and therefore more busy. Neither are things I wanted.

Note: if you aren’t familiar with color values, think of it as how light or dark the color would be if it was all in black and white. The grays… some are lighter, some are darker. If you ever wonder, take a photo on your phone of a range of colors, and then change it to be in black and white. You’ll see that even if they look very different in color, say oranges and blues, when considered in terms of value, some are pretty similar, and some stand out as darker or lighter. It is another way to think about how you use color.

Not every project has a why, but all of mine do. I find my projects are better if I have something to solve or accomplish; some kind of goal. This one I created as a birthday card for my dad. He is 78 today, but say he may not ever grow up. He loves Disney, the beach, and has a t-shirt (or few) with the seagulls from Finding Nemo. We also have a tradition of my brother in law taking the kids out to the beach and giving a few leftover fries to the seagulls after we go out to eat on our annual beach vacation. Which always is a lot of fun and has become something that everyone gets excited about. I think he’s going to enjoy this card.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you get some time to create something soon.

Links are below if you’re interested in any of the products I used.

Supply list*:

(Listed by company, with links to Simon Says Stamp. Affiliate links are used with no additional cost to you.)

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