It’s true…I love mermaids! I collect (ahem…hoard…ahem) them. I’m pretty sure I was one in a past life. It started with the Little Mermaid and took off from there. I’ve created a lot of mermaid projects over the years but I was completely smitten with Sassy & Crafty’s new “Salty But Sweet” stamp set. If you’ve not checked them out…GO NOW!!! Forget about the adorable crab, shells and flower, and aside from all the awesome sentiments, the mermaid is captivating. I remember watching the Little Mermaid as a kid and being fascinated by the way her long hair floated through the water and swirled around her face. I got that same feeling when I saw this set. I could not wait to create something with it. I was finally able to find some time this weekend for craft therapy. So “Shelly” (that’s what I named my new mermaid friend) and I have spent a lot of time together. She’s a great listener and helps me forget about all that’s going on in the world. In return, I used a ton of amazing products to make her as beautiful as possible.

I definitely got caught up and lost myself in creating this, but we all need to do that sometimes, right? Let’s start with the background…I used another gem from Sassy & Crafty, Mermaid Tails stencil. This one is running low, so if you need it, act fast! I embossed a piece of white cardstock first with an embossing folder that is supposed to look like falling snow. I turned it around to make it rising bubbles. I used various blue shades of Distress Oxides and the awesome new Cotton Tail blending brushes from The Rabbit Hole Designs. Once I lifted the stencil I filled in the background with a lighter shade of blue.

Next it was on to coloring. Although I have been coloring with alcohol markers for a few years, this was my first time using Copics. I tried to have some fun with pink hair and all the shades of blue/green in the tail. I attempted an opalescent look on the star crown using a very pale blue, purple and pink in the center of each star and then blended out with the blender pen. I added Glisten Stickles which has a very iridescent/prismatic look to it. On the hair I used Wink of Stella Clear Glitter brush pen and on the tail I used Wink of Stella gold.

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I love the glittery shimmer that Wink of Stella adds. It’s subtle but sparkles nicely when the light hits it. Unfortunately, that can be difficult to capture in photos. For the hair I brushed the clear glitter over all of it. However on the tail, I used the gold and just brushed a highlight on each scale and a few on the tail. I also used the clear glitter on the shells. I finished off all the colored elements by using a white gel pen to make small dots or “bubbles.”

Once the coloring and highlighting were finished, the real fun began. It was time for bling! Of course I went right to my case of Sparkle Blends from Doodles Paper Playground. I really wanted this card to have an ethereal underwater feel. I chose “Springtime” because there were so many different elements in this blend and I knew the versatility of it would work. Every single sequin and gem on this card came from that one blend. “Springtime” is on low inventory so grab it before it runs out!

I wanted to differentiate the crown from the rest of the “floating” elements. I picked out the pink & yellow gemstones, yellow glitter discs and pink beads to adorn the crown. (Yes! Gems, beads and sequins all in one mix! Why are you still here? Go buy it!) Next I sifted through the blend placing the various pieces around Shelly. I tried to create a sense of depth by placing larger sequins closer to her and smaller ones around the edges and top. As you can see, this was easy to do because of all the different shapes, sizes and colors in the “Springtime” blend. I used the silver curls on the seashells and just a few accentuating details on the flowers. Lastly I used the Glisten Stickles to add some glitter dots or “bubbles” around the background to unify all the different pieces. One final touch is the foil border. It was hard to capture in the photo but the frame around Shelly is actually pink foil paper that I picked up at Dollar General. The rest of the paper is Stampin’ Up cardstock except for the white which is Spectrum Noir paper.

I thought it might be fun to show my evolution of mermaids from over the years. As I mention earlier I “collect” mermaid stamp sets. However since I usually give my homemade cards away, this was the only one I was able to find. Did I mention I love mermaids?