Sweet Stamp Shop: Smash Book

The Event

This week Sweet Stamp Shop is hosting a cross promotion with Epiphany Crafts. The design team is showcasing projects featuring product from both companies. There is also a great giveaway, so be sure to visit Sweet Stamp Shop's blog everyday this week to get some design inspiration and to enter the giveaway worth over $60. 

The Reveal

Today I'm up with a double paged layout in my Smash Book. It is the larger, 11 x 13.5" album, and this is actually the first time I've worked with this album. Since it has more of a casual air, I thought it would be a great place to document my vacation and hold all the memorabilia I accumulated on the trip.

The Details

For the focal point of my layout, I wanted to create an aquarium scene which incorporated my SSS stamps and Epiphany tool. To start, I stamped images from Sweet Stamp Shop's Under the Sea collection onto a strip of white cardstock. I stamped the sea creatures in gray and the seaweed in green, coated them with clear glitter embossing powder and heated it. I wanted a raised outline so it would be easier to color in the images. 

I used Copics to color in the images. I wanted more of a precise coloring job with gradual shading. Here are the colors I used on the seahorses. 

For my water background, I wanted more of an imprecise coloring with random swirls of color. I picked a light, medium and dark blue ink pad and stamped them on my craft sheet. I sprayed the stamped ink with some water. I picked up the colors with a water brush and painted on my background.  This technique yielded a rich blend of colors and added depth to the water.

I also wanted to point out, that when I was stamping, I stamped some popcorn images from the Watchin' TV collection with a clear ink and embossed it in white to create air bubbles, which I colored in with Copics. The popcorn stamp is a long, straight strip of popcorn, so I cut out three of the smaller ones, and stamped them in a curvy pattern instead to simulate movement in the water. 

As a finishing touch, I punched out three flowers using Epiphany's Flower 25 Shape Tool. I covered two of them with Bubble Caps, so there is a glossy dimension to them. I thought the flowers looked like starfish and was the perfect addition to the aquarium. 

Here is the look at the finished page.

I wanted to tie it in to my companion page which holds my photos, journaling and title. One way was to use the same materials. I extended the background orange paper  and washi strips to both sides. Another way was to repeat a pattern. I brought the look of the vertical air bubbles to this side, by interspersing round Epiphany Bubble Caps throughout my journaling and title. 

The Prep

Prior to going on my trip this summer, I participated in the SoCal Shop Hop, so I had a chance to visit some local scrapbooking stores. I picked out my papers beforehand. I figured a blue/orange color scheme would match my eventual photos, so I picked up this summer collection from Echo Park. I also went to a local thrift store and saw this necklace that was in the same color scheme. I pulled off a few charms and added it to my layout. I forgot how much I paid, but I remember thinking it was less than a pack of scrapbooking stickers so I purchased it. So just be on the lookout, you can use lots of things around you for scrapbooking. 

At the end of my tour at Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm, visitors could briefly hold a seahorse. This was the scrappy moment of the trip, but there were some background distractions I wanted to minimize. I masked the foreground and blurred the background, then cropped the photo to let the focus stay on the seahorse. You can read a tutorial on this Photoshop process here. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing my seahorse layout. Remember to visit today's post at Sweet Stamp Shop or any day this week, to enter the giveaway for some sweet stamps and Epiphany tools. 

Thanks so much for stoppin' by,