Less is More challenge blog is following up their ‘B is for Beach’ theme with a new seashore-related subject: ‘under the sea’. Just enter your clean and simple card designs in the next two weeks featuring the theme for the chance to have the accolade of being shortlisted for our favourite card. I’ve not got any ocean-related stamps, so have created this panel card to fit the theme:

I started by choosing the panel size to fit my card blank, leaving plenty of white space for a good CAS outcome. Spritz the white panel with the two shades of distress stain, then some water and cover with rumpled cling film. Allow to dry to get an uneven finish with crinkle marks – these have largely disappeared in the example, but looked good!

Sponge dark green paint through a wiggly stencil for the background weed. Then bubble streams in a pale blue. Add foreground weed in light green and white bubbles over the top of that. Edge the panel with distress ink to add contrast, and lighten the centre with white pigment ink behind the motif. Add the cut-out elements of the seahorse and mat onto the card blank.

Used for this under the sea card

• Ranger / Tim Holtz Distress Stains: Tumbled Glass / Salty Ocean
• DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint:
  • Holly Green / Sour Apple
  • Blue Chiffon / Snow (Titanium) White
• Ranger / Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Chipped Sapphire / Picket Fence
• Faber-Castell Polychromos Coloured Pencil: White
• Stencils: rising bubble streams and zebra effect stripes (manufacturers unknown)
• Seahorse free to use from Pixabay edited in Adobe Illustrator and laser cut
• Unipin Black Pigment Pen 08
• Posca Paint Pen: White (PC1M)
• 6×6″ card blank