It’s already the 20th of the month and that means that new/exclusive dies are available at The Stamps of Life!  There are two new sets available.  The first one that I’d like to share with you is available today at a special 40% off flashsale price!

Summer4fun Die Set

It’s called the Summer4fun Die Set and it’s filled with so many cute tropical/beach-themed dies.  I paired these with the matching Summer4fun Stamp Set for my first card (shown above).  I first stamped my image of the sand castle on white cardstock and colored with Copic Sketch Markers.  (Colors used for both the castle and the sand: 0 – colorless blender, E31, E35, E57, E13, E29).

I used the Stamps of Life Stitched Rectangles to create the frame around my shaker and then stamped my sentiment with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.  For the surfboards, I simply diecut some Stamps of Life Patterned Paper and solid Cardstock and then attached them with foam squares.   For more inspiration using this stamp and die set, check out TSOL Gallery Webpage HERE.

Island2visit Die Set

For my second card, I used the Island2visit Die Set and matching Island2visit Stamp Set to create my beach scene.

To be honest, I felt quite out of my element as I tried creating/drawing my own background for the first time.  I followed THIS TUTORIAL by Sandy Allnock to create my scene.  Sandy is amazingly talented!  I have a lot to learn, but it was fun (yet intimidating) to try this!  After I created my background scene and stamped my sentiment, I simply diecut my palm tree and blended a few inks to give the tree a little bit of shading and dimension.  (Inks used on the trunk: TSOL Gingersnap and Chocolate Inks; Inks used for the palm fronds: TSOL Kiwi and Green Apple Inks).  For more inspiration using this stamp and die set, check out TSOL Gallery Webpage HERE.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today!  Feel free to leave any comments or questions!

Happy Stamping!

Rachel