Allsorts Challenge #826

 Time for a new challenge at Allsorts and this time the theme has been chosen by Christine and it is either **The Beach** or the usual *Anything Goes*.  Prizes this time are from Grafton Crafts and you can see full details on the Allsorts Blog.

When I saw the theme this time I went straight to my collection of useful bits and pieces because I knew there were at least a couple of die cuts in there of some wooden posts, just waiting to be used and, as it happens I also came across a couple of seagulls and a handy clump of grass.  The seagulls and grass were already coloured and ready to go but the wooden posts were white so I set about colouring these with some Distress Oxide ink mixed with water. I then decided to go for a relatively CAS design using a couple of square dies and one of my slatted circles which I layered together, backing the circular area with a piece of a previously made Gelli print which is sea-coloured. Finally everything was adhered to a 6" square card - so far no sentiment has been added to the front of this card, which will probably be left blank because I find that people are often looking for cards in which they can write their own personal messages.

Slatted Circle Dies - from Craft Addictions UK
Wooden Posts and Gulls - dies from Gummiapan
Grass - from On the Horizon set Stampin' Up (long retired)

Inky Play

This card is the result of a bit of inky play and trying out the faux bleach or colour lift technique using a stencil and some water. First I smooshed some inks around onto a piece of white card which was slightly smaller than the card blank and once it was dry I used a damp sponge through the stencil in selected areas to lift some of the colour until I was happy with the result.  It was left to dry naturally although a heat gun could also be used if you are impatient (the results always seem to vary each time this technique is tried).  The stamped foliage was the final thing apart from a small die cut sentiment because I didn't want to cover up too much of the background.

Inks -Distress Oxides, Saltwater Taffy, Victorian Velvet and Wilted Violet
Stamp  and stencil - from Lavinia
Sentiment - a favourite free stamp, die from an ancient set of fancy dies by Sue Wilson