Hello from Toni: Underwater Tri-fold Scene

Hi, my lovelies! Long post today because I don't always think things through.  LOL.  When I started this card, I had no idea it would morph into a giant scene. I swear!

It all started with the Avery Elle Underwater Background Builder set. I knew I wanted to use the cliffs as the opening on a tri-fold card.  As I was stamping, I noticed the two cliffs aligned almost perfectly so I decided to stamp them so they would wrap around to the back of the card.

Of course, it's only after all this stamping that I realized my Copics would bleed through the paper in spots (duh) so I stamped the central panel on its own piece of cardstock. That then gave me the opportunity to fancy up the back even further. 

I used a few different stamps sets here:  Avery Elle Underwater Friends, Underwater Background Builder, and Monkey Sea Monkey Do.

I colored the card base first, spending a lot of time layering and deepening colors to create ever more shadows. I LOVE how this turned out.

Next I colored up the front panel.  Notice all the white highlights?  That really made things pop. I've tried a variety of white pens but my favorite is the Posca. 

After all of this coloring, I realized I had left nowhere to handwrite a note so I did a quick fussy cut of the cliffs and adhered that to the back of the front panels.

I added a belly band I created using the Lawn Fawn Shutter Card dies along with a Lawn Fawn Porthole Frame (fantastic that LF is consistent with sizing so easy to mix and match).

I sponged it with Distress Oxides for a yellow submarine effect. I created the porthole using stems from the Lawn Fawn Acorn House--totally seaweed!

Ack, it occurs to me now that I could have added acetate as a window on the porthole.  OMG, that would be amazing.

I'll see you again soon.  If you'd like to check out my other creations in the meantime, you can visit my blog, Frankie Helps Craft, my Instagram, or my Pinterest Board.  

Products Used and/or Recommended Include: