Mardi Gras is fun for everyone…even mermaids! Today’s card inspiration comes right from one of Doodles Paper Playground’s newest Sparkle Blends called “Mardi Gras Beads.” The bright purple caught my eye instantly. I love this color combination so much, even though I’ve never been to Mardi Gras. The “Mardi Gras Beads” blend has so many fun shapes and elements that worked so well for this underwater scene.

I created the background using purple and green color burst powders on watercolor paper. I used the seaweed stamp from Simon Hurley create’s “Mythical Mermaid” stamp set on the background, embossed in gold. I also rubbed my embossing ink in the corners and used more gold embossing powder. The background was splattered with Vegas Gold ink from Tsukineko. I also used it to paint some shimmer around the edges of the layers as well as the mermaids. Both of my background layers were trimmed with Tim Holtz’s Deckled edged trimmer, as well as the sentiments which were also embossed with gold. For the final touched, I pulled different elements out of the “Mardi Gras Beads” blend and glued them onto the panel.

The leaf die cam from an old Stampin Up set. I used the positive to create the leaf embellishment behind each mermaid. I pushed them onto my embossing ink pad and then covered them with gold embossing powder. The mermaids were colored with ZIG Real Waterbrush markers on Bristol paper. I brushed some of the gold paint around the edges. I really loved being able to use a Sparkle Blend for a different theme than it was intended for. It really shows how versatile these mixes are. Be sure to check out all the amazing new January Blends on sale now at the Doodles Paper Playground shop.