Summer Time, and the Livin' is Easy!

Do you recognize the title?  It's a jazz number that always evokes summer time images for me!  Today is the first day of official summer, and the first day that has actually felt like summer for ages around here.  June is usually an unsettled month in these parts, with lots of rain, but this year has been really wet and flood warnings are in effect all over BC as the temperatures rise and the higher than normal snow pack begins to melt.  Down by beautiful Okanagan Lake, the beach has disappeared and the willows are standing knee-deep in water.  One friend posted on Facebook that the Revelstoke Dam opened its spillway for the first time in 15 years!  You see the massive amounts of water thundering through and you've got to be thankful that you live in a country with an abundance of clean drinking water, when in so many places on earth, people are dying daily for a lack of it!
But, by August, we'll be hot, dry and wishing for a little rain, I'm sure.

Speaking of water, nothing is as comforting and down-home as a nice cup of tea!  Don't you agree?  Everything looks a little better as you cradle a warm, steaming cuppa in your cold hands!  Here's a card I created while waiting for Grandbaby #2 to decide to show up!

This card involves some layered stamping and emboss resist techniques and took a while to make, but I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.  I used the Framelits Labels collection and die cut a label in Very Vanilla.  I used Crumb Cake ink to stamp the background stamp, En Francais, then sponged over it randomly with Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral and Pool Party.  I then used Versamark ink to stamp the tea cup and the little violet-like flowers around the outside.  I covered them with clear embossing powder and heat set the powder for a clear finish.  Then I sponged Soft Suede ink over the whole label, which brought up the tea cup design beautifully, but leaving some of the background of the En Francais still visible.  The heat embossed areas resist the Soft Suede ink and it only colours the areas that are not embossed.

The Calypso Coral cardstock in the background was dry embossed using the Fancy Fan embossing folder (mmmm!  love it!) and I used some Very Vanilla Seam binding ribbon and some Paper Daisies to embellish, along with some Basic Pearls.  The sentiment is also part of this Tea Shoppe stamp set and it was punched out using the Modern Label punch. 

Looks like I'm on a kind of Calypso Coral kick right now, and why not?  It's such a great colour! I'll have to switch gears for my next blog, I think.  Have a wonderful Summer Solstice, everyone! 

Stamp Sets: Tea Shoppe, En Francais

Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Calypso Coral and Very Vanilla cardstock

Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Calypso Coral and Pool Party

Accessories: Very Vanilla Seam Binding ribbon, Paper Daisies, Basic Pearls

Tools: Big Shot, Fancy Fan embossing folder, Framelits Labels Collection, Modern Label Punch, Boho Blossoms punch

Fancy Fan Embossing Folder

Tea Shoppe Stamp Set

En Francais background stamp