Making Waves: Dive Into Summer with This Ocean-Inspired Mixed Media Card

Hello crafty friends! Ericka from Strangely Creative here, and I’m diving headfirst into the summer vibes with a splashy ocean-themed mixed media card. If you’re dreaming of the sea or just need a little coastal creativity in your life, this project is for you! It’s fun, textured, and a great way to use up that stack of gel prints we all have stashed away.

For this card, I pulled out the adorable PaperArtsy Tracy Scott 79 stamp set. I’ve always loved the whimsical fish designs, but today I focused on the smaller elements to really let my layered background shine.

🌊 Let's Talk Background:

This card started with one of my experimental gel press prints—created during a session where I played with corn starch as a resist (yes, really!). Here's the quick breakdown:

1. Roll out a base color (I used a bold pink) and pull your first print.

2. Apply a second color on the plate and sprinkle some corn starch before pulling the next print.

3. The starch acts as a resist and gives you a wild pop of texture and visual interest—perfect for a watery, ocean feel!

🐠 Stamping & Embellishing:

Once the background was ready, I stamped the Tracy Scott shell and starfish and heat embossed them in gold for that perfect sun-kissed shimmer. For the smaller fish, I reached for WOW! Sparkling Sand embossing powder—a favorite for giving things just a bit of extra beachy sparkle.

 

The remaining fish were stamped separately, colored with pencils to make them pop, and then fussy cut and layered onto the card. I finished it all off with a sentiment from the Creative Expressions Sentiment Sheet for a final touch of inspiration.

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Whether you’re staying cool inside or soaking up sunshine, I hope this card inspires you to bring some ocean magic into your own creations. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new techniques—like corn starch on your gel plate—you never know what beautiful surprises await!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a creative, colorful summer! 🐚✨

Want more colorful chaos? Visit me over at StrangelyCreative.com for more mixed media tutorials and card inspiration!

 

 

 Topflight Supplies 

PaperArtsy - Tracy Scott 79 Shop at: TP	WOW! Embossing - Clear Embossing Pad Shop at:  TP	WOW! Embossing - Jo Firth Young Silver Snow Shop at: TP	WOW! Embossing - Metallic Gold Rich Pale Shop at:  TP	Creative Expressions - Sentiment Sheets - Birthday Shop at: TP
Tsukineko - VersaFine Clair - Nocturn Shop at:  TP	Gel Press - Reusable Gel Printing Plate Shop at:  TP	Speedball - 2" Brayer Shop at: TP

To the Sea with Lavinia Stamps

Hello, Lisa Hoel here. This week at Topflight Stamps our theme is "Ocean" and I'm back with a second card to share with you. The store has a wide assortment of products that match the theme so check them out! One of my favorite Lavinia Stamps is Sebastian Sea Horse. I stamped it over a Gel Press print I made. I've also been having lots of fun using the new Quirky Post AALL & Create Die Set so it makes another appearance here too.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the Topflight Stamps store for a wide selection of different and hard to find stamps, stencils and other paper crafting supplies from all around the world! Also keep an eye on the Topflight Stamps blog. There is new inspiration posted daily!

Topflight Stamps Supplies Used:

Lavinia Stamp - Sebastian Sea Horse

Lavinia Stamp - Shoal of Fish

Lavinia Stamp Set - Sea Creatures

Lavinia Stencil - Coral

AALL & Create Stamp Set - Everyday Sentiments

AALL & Create Die Set - Quirky Post

Clair Ink Pad - Nocturne

Lavinia Elements Ink Pad - Blue Atoll

Gel Press Plate - round

A Fishy Hello

Greetings! It's Tuesday so you've got Kathi here to share a project with you. This week our theme is Beach or Ocean so I've created a card with Crafty Individuals' Shrimping Unmounted Rubber Stamp Set 588 and their Morning Commute Unmounted Stamp Set 599, the Spanish Moss Clear Polymer Stamps by Lavinia Stamps, and a sentiment the Everyday Sentiments Clear Stamp Set 666 by Janet Klein for AALL and Create.

Here it is!

Please note: Whereas Crafty Individuals has closed, Topflight Stamps still has a great selection of their wonderful stamps in stock!

Use Tuxedo Black Memento Ink by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko to stamp the dapper top-hatted fish from the Shrimping Unmounted Rubber Stamp Set 588 and the Morning Commute Unmounted Stamp Set 599 by Crafty Individuals twice — once onto the center of a white cardstock panel and once onto repositionable sticker paper.

Use Copic markers to color both fish. Outline both fish with one of the BG markers. Fussy-cut the sticker paper versions of the fish and adhere them over their counterparts on the image panel as masks.

Sponge or brush Blue Lagoon, Mermaid, and Blue Atoll Elements Inks by Lavinia Stamps to create a blended sea background. Use a Fine Spray Mister by Spectrum Noir that was filled with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol to mist the image panel. Use another of Fine Spray Misters, this time filled with water, to mist the image panel. Using the alcohol starts to blend and speckle the cardstock. Misting the second time with water, continues to speckle and lift the ink without pilling the cardstock.

Use Grass Green and Green Oasis VersaFine Clair Inks by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko to stamp both of the moss stamps from the Spanish Moss Clear Polymer Stamps by Lavinia Stamps onto the image panel.

Use Nocturne VersaFine Clair Inks by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko to stamp the "Hello" sentiment from the Everyday Sentiments Clear Stamp Set 666 by Janet Klein for AALL and Create centered towards the top of the image panel.

Remove the masks from the fish. Use a gold gel pen to outline the monocle and to add beads to the chain. Let the gel ink dry. Go over the monocle, the chain, and the pipe with a Clear Dimensional Gloss Glaze pen. Allow the gel ink to dry and repeat until the layers of dimensional glaze gel ink on pipe, the monocle, and the chain are built up to your liking.

Trim the image panel to 5.825" x 4.25" and edge with Blue Atoll Elements Ink and Green Oasis VersaFine Clair Ink. Cut a piece of black cardstock slightly larger than the image panel and use to mat the image panel. Adhere the matted image panel to a green A2 card.

Add three clear Rain Drop stickers above the pipe to complete the card.

Please pop over to my blog, Kat's Tales of Stamping, for step-by-step instructions and complete supply lists.

Topflight Stamps Products Used:

Shrimping Unmounted Rubber Stamp Set 588 by Crafty Individuals

Morning Commute Unmounted Stamp Set 599 by Crafty Individuals

Spanish Moss Clear Polymer Stamps by Lavinia Stamps

Everyday Sentiments Clear Stamp Set 666 by Janet Klein for AALL and Create

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko

Blue Lagoon, Mermaid, and Blue Atoll Elements Inks by Lavinia Stamps

Fine Spray Misters by Spectrum Noir

Grass Green, Green Oasis, and Nocturne VersaFine Clair Inks by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko

Thanks for visiting today!

Beat the Heat with an Ocean Theme!

 Hello, Lisa Hoel here. The Summer heat is cranking up and so are dreams of a cool vacation by the sea! This week at Topflight Stamps our theme is "Ocean" The store has a wide assortment of products that fit the bill. I chose a beautiful Darkroom Door stamp called Seaside Squares to use on my card. 

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the Topflight Stamps store for a wide selection of different and hard to find stamps, stencils and other paper crafting supplies from all around the world! Also keep an eye here on the Topflight Stamps blog. There is new inspiration posted daily!

Topflight Stamps Supplies Used:

Darkroom Door Stamp - Seaside Squares

PaperArtsy Stencil - PS165

AALL & Create Stamp Set - Everyday Sentiments

Versafine Pigment Ink Pad - Onyx Black

Lavinia Elements Ink Pad - Blue Atoll

watercolors

Winner 2025 Spring Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

  

 Thank you to everyone who hopped along with us during the 2025 Spring Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop! Thank you for all your kind comments! The winner of the $25 gift card to the Topflight Store is:

I'd Rather Be Scrapbooking  

Congratulations! Please email Ericka at stangelycreativecards@gmail.com with the subject line 2025 Spring Summer Coffee Hop Winner and I will get the information to you. Again thank you to everyone who participated in the hop this year!

Squeeze the Day: A Juicy Summer Card with Gel Press Magic

 

Hello friends, and happy June! Ericka here from Strangely Creative, and I’m kicking off summer with a bright, citrus-inspired mixed media card that’s bursting with color and creativity.

 

Today, I decided to shake things up with the L’Encre Fruity Note set. While I usually reach for the floral stamps, this time I was drawn to the fun fruit image—most likely meant to be an orange or lemon. But who says you have to stick to the rules? I had a bold pink gel press print in my stash just waiting for the spotlight, so I transformed that fruit into something more like a juicy grapefruit—or maybe even a blood orange!

After stamping and clear heat embossing the fruit multiple times, I fussy cut them and went hunting through my gel print collection. I found a piece that hadn’t quite turned out the way I originally hoped… but that’s the beauty of gel printing! Even the “meh” prints can become magic when paired with the right elements. This one had soft hints of pink that perfectly complemented my vibrant fruit slices.

 

To finish it all off, I added a sentiment from the Creative Expressions sheet and gave the card a whimsical touch with a hand-drawn border.

I hope this little burst of color and summer spirit inspires you to dig into your stash, embrace the unexpected, and create something fun and fresh. Save those prints—even the messy ones—and let them surprise you.

 

Here’s to a creative start to summer! 🍊✨

  

Topflight Stamp Supplies

 

L'Encre et L'Image - Fruity Note Shop at: TP	WOW! Embossing - Clear Shop at: WOW US | TP	Creative Expressions - Sentiment Sheets - Birthday Shop at: TP	Tsukineko - VersaFine Clair - Nocturn Shop at: CS | AZ | TP	Ranger Ink - Texture Paste Shop at: SC | AZ | Misc
Gel Press - Reusable Gel Printing Plate Shop at: AZ | TP | Misc	Hero Arts - Wagner - HT400 Precision Heat Tool Shop at: AZ	Speedball - 2" Brayer Shop at: TP

Woodware Thistles

Hello!  It's "Anything Goes" this week at Topflight Stamps. This Woodware stamp set called Flying Birds made me think of spring, so that was my inspiration.  With a piece of green lace as my grass, I created a scene with thistles, a flying bird, some postmark images, and a sentiment.  All of these stamps are from the same set.  I stamped the thistle twice with VersaFine Onyx Black ink, to create more of a cluster.  They were colored and fussy cut and arranged in a staggered fashion.  The bird was also colored and fussy cut and added to the "sky".  Several clear sequins were the final touch.

I'll be taking a break from design team work due to my husband's surgery.

Have a beautiful week! ~ Colleen

Supplies Used From Topflight Stamps Store:

Woodware - Flying Birds

VersaFine Onyx Black Ink