Sneak Peek: Beach Bum and Botanicals

Hello! Welcome to our first night of Gina K Designs previews! I don't know where you are or what time it is there as you read this, but the sun is shining with these sets and new Gina K Pure Luxury Wild Dandelion I used in today's samples! My first card uses Rupa's new set "Beach Bum", what a fun set for scrapping vacations! I made a card using the surfboard image stamped onto the Wild Dandelion, Ocean Mist, and another new Pure Luxury color: Sweet Mango. Don't they put you in the mood for summer, hot sun and cool water? I colored the tops of the boards with Copics a shade or two darker than the CS and then created a little scene using jumbo sponge daubers.

I started covering the top third of my Pure Luxury White Mat with scratch paper and sponging in Aqua ink to make the sea and removed. Next I sponged in random areas above with some soft blue ink to make the sky, areas I didn't sponge are the clouds. Then Icut out my surfboards and cut off just the bottoms in a curve to look like they are buried in the sand. I adhered these on top and made a little shadow underneath with a Brick Beige Copic. Last I used a couple stamps from "Gifts from the Sea" to complete the scene: the little seagulls at the top and the speckles, again in Antique Linen ink, to give the sand sponged bottom more texture. I'd love to step into this card right about now! :)

The next sample uses Gina's new "Botanicals" set. The first cards I learned to make so many years ago with stamps were with flowers and script images, and I will never tire of that look, nor will they ever go out of style! These silhouettes are some of my favorites, this one in particular. I started stamping the script, which is the Love Chapter from 1 Corinthians if you look carefully, in Memento Black, then added the flower over it in Black and Vivid Butterscotch.

Using my sponge daubers again, I layered yellow, green and orange ink over the mat, now the whole thing just glows like a summer night! When I sponge I always try to let a little white peek through, plus have dark and light areas, the contrast of colors is so beautiful this way. Mounted on Black Onyx and Wild Dandelion again, plus a little stitched ribbon, this card is about was simple and quick as it gets, still sweet!

TIP: Buying a separate dauber for each color has been such a great investment, being able to use several colors at once to finish my card without needing to clean out the sponge or get the colors muddy makes me want to sponge everything! :)

For more samples with the stamp sets being previewed tonight, check out these Designer's Links:

• Gina Krupsky



• Jessica Fick



• Theresa Momber



• Melanie Muenchinger



• Nina Brackett



• Cathy Tidwell



• Lee Murphy



• Donna Baker



• Lynn Mercurio



• Emily Giovanni



• Erika Martin



• Kurtis Amundson



• Bev Gerard

• Colleen Schaan



• Sankari Wegman



• Suzanne Dean



• Valerie Stangle



• Kay Simmons *May's CenterStage Spotlight Team Member!*

Please make plans to attend our Release party this Thursday night, May 27th from 7-10 central time which will be held at StampTV. There will be contest questions, challenges, samples from several designers and lots of chatter all leading up to 10pm central, when all the new products and stamp sets previewed this week on our blogs become available online through GinaK Designs store!