Cuttlebug Mania Challenge - 'Summertime/Enjoy the Summer'

It's time again for a new fortnightly challenge over at Cuttlebug Mania - and the theme this time is 'Summertime/Enjoy the Summer! If nothing else, we're always optimists on the DT, although judging by the current heatwave in the UK perhaps this really IS Summer at last:)

You do have to use a manual die cutting/embossing machine for Cuttlebug Mania entries (it doesn't need to be a Cuttlebug but it must be manual, not electronic). And, you can't mix the two, it must be all manual please. Then make your entry, link into the challenge, link to the challenge in your own blog post and and make sure that you also say what products you used for any die cutting/embossing.

Details of our sponsor can be found over on the Cuttlebug Mania Challenge blog.

I was quite well prepared to make this card, for once! And here's the end result, and I had a real blast making it too:

I used:

- 5.75" x 5.75" square white card blank

- slightly smaller piece of green backing paper from the Carta Bella 'Beach Day' paper pad, glued in place

- using the Lil' Inker's 'Instant Camera' die I cut a white Polaroid frame and then a blue 'inner'. And, as I don't like the teensy little gap between the frame and the 'photo' (OCD again!), I backed the whole frame with more blue card and set it aside

- the paper pad I used had a Polaroid photos image sheet in it - what a result! So, I followed the colours when making up the little scene for the photo 

- for the scene I stamped a palm tree and crab using the Paper Smooches 'Summer Lovin'' stamp set with Memento 'Tuxedo Black' ink, coloured them with Pro markers and then fussy cut round them using little Fiskars scissors - and set them aside

- next I die cut the sun and the cloud using the Joy! Sun & Moon set and MFT's 'Cloud Trio' sets of dies, and used the 'Summer Lovin'' stamp set with Memento ''Tuxedo Black' ink to add a smiley face to the sun and then popped them onto the 'photo' scene I was building and snipped the corners away from the back

- then came the 'waves', another little stamp from the same 'Summer Lovin'' set and Brilliance 'Moonlight White ink - which to be honest I did go over with a Signo White roller ball 

- then glued the palm tree in place - and it was taking shape! 

- added a couple of seagulls, using the same stamp set again and Memento 'Tuxedo Black' ink (anyone spot that the seagulls are flying upside down? I spotted this much later, just before leaving for Southampton yesterday in fact and too late to change so they are in fact acrobatic seagulls -snigger). I then checked the stamp set itself and the acetate is printed the same way up as I used the little stamp. Still think I prefer them the other way up though.

- at that point I used the Misti to position one of the sentiments from this fabulous Summer themed set of stamps and added it to the bottom part of the Polaroid frame making sure I had a nice little gap to the right hand side

- into that gap I glued the darling little crab - as if he's escaping from the photo (anyone who's ever been 'crabbing' will relate to their abilities to escape!) and then added a couple of googly eyes for fun

-  used a half panel of the patterned Polaroid sheet from the same paper pack (the same sheet I'd been using for colour matching) and glued it to the left hand part of the card front, over the lime green layer

- added the Polaroid scene, again using glue - at a jaunty angle

- finally, added three Paper Smooches 'Beach Day' orange Enamel Dots along each right hand corner

This was another fun card to make - even though the flip flops from the stamps set which I really, really wanted to include would have been just too much :( Watch this space kids! A great stamp set for sure, despite acrobatic seagulls!

We'd love to see you over at Cuttlebug Mania, it's a great theme with plenty of scope and the challenge runs for two weeks. ALSO, we're taking a little break over the Summer but will be back with you in September so hope to see you then.

I must confess, I've been quietly almost sobbing here - so many of you have been making the most gorgeous Summer themed cards using dies/embossing folders this past week or two. And I've known that this challenge theme was coming along and of course couldn't say peep. I do hope you'll have another go and join in with us!

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