Clean and Simple Fishy Fun

I just got the new Surf set from Clear and Simple Stamps--too cute! It's perfect for summery cards. I made two different clean and simple cards this afternoon using the set's fish image.

This one was inspired by this week's CAS-Tastic Wednesday challenge to use buttons. I decided to use a trio of buttons to make the bubbles coming from one of the fish's mouths.

I started by stamping dots on the orange strip that I used on the left side of the card to repeat the dot/circle element from the buttons. A strip of blue ribbon, embellished with a bow, runs along the edge of the orange to separate it a little from the white space.

I stamped the trio of fish in a sort of triangle shape using orange ink. The "a warm hello" sentiment fit nicely into the arrangement. Once all of those elements were in place, I added the trio of tiny blue buttons using glue dots to secure them. I always have a hard time figuring out how to use the smallest of the buttons in those button packages, so it was nice to use some of them on this card.

Materials Used:

Surf and Dots and Lines stamp sets, A Blanc Check and Orange Your Fabulous cardstock, Simply Blue-tiful buttons (Clear & Simple Stamps); Only Orange Classic ink (Stampin' Up!); Hawaiian Shores ink, Hawaiian Shores grosgrain ribbon, twine (Papertrey Ink)

This one is made based on this week's One Layer Wednesday challenge to use a masked background. For the most part, I tend to lean towards clean and simple cards, but one layer cards are a challenge for me, so I'm trying to stretch myself here just a bit.

I used a circle mask to create the circle on my cardfront. It was filled in with a sponge and some soft blue ink. The fish and bubble images from the Surf set are stamped inside the circle.

I stamped the sentiment overlapping the edge of the circle just a little in a slightly darker shade of blue. I went back and added just a teeny, tiny touch of glitter to each bubble to add some interest without adding dimension or layers.

Materials Used:

Surf stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); Cool Caribbean and Only Orange Classic inks, Dazzling Diamonds (Stampin' Up!); Hawaiian Shores ink (Papertrey Ink)

And, while I'm on the subject of clean and simple summery cards, I have another one that's featured exclusively on the CSS iPhone app today--be sure to stop by and check it out! After you download the app, you'll find a fabulous new CSS project at your fingertips each and every day.