I made this card for the Ellen Hutson’ July Challenge using Pantone’s color palette called Quietude. The color palette and inspiration images are shown below:

I love the various shades of soft pinks, mauves and taupes. They make for a very subtle, subdued, yet sophisticated color palette. The palette is also quite feminine.

I decided to create a mermaid-themed card using graceful mermaid tales colored in pink and mauve tones with a touch of soft aqua for the sea. The delicate pinks and aqua decorations on the side of one of the birthday cakes also reminded me of the scales on the mermaid tails. So, my inspiration for the card was complete.

How I made this project:

• Stamp two mermaid tails, and a seashell onto a piece of white cardstock using a Copic-friendly ink.
• Color the images with Copic markers (the colors are listed in the supply list below).
• Die-cut or fussy-cut all the colored images (the mermaid tails and seashell).
• Die-cut a banner using a stitched fishtail sentiment strip die from aqua cardstock.
• Using the quilted stitched spirals cover die, die-cut the pattern onto an A2-sized (4.25 inch by 5.5 inch) piece of aqua cardstock and an A2-sized piece of white cardstock.
• Trim the white cardstock piece down an eighth of an inch on all sides (final size will be 4 inches by 5.25 inches).
• Arrange the mermaid tails on to the trimmed piece of white cardstock.
• Stamp the sentiment onto the fishtail sentiment strip to the far left on the strip.
• Determine the placement of the aqua-colored stitched fishtail sentiment strip onto the white card front. The right side of the sentiment strip will be trimmed off once the placement is determined.
• Final assembly of card:
  • Adhere the white (4-inch by 5.25 inch) piece of cardstock to the A2 aqua piece
  • Adhere double-sided adhesive foam tape to the mermaid tails and sea shell.
  • Position all images and sentiment as show in the photo of the finished project and adhere them to the card front. Note: Before adhering the sentiment strip, trim of the excess strip so that the right end of the strip is flush to the white cardstock edge (refer to the final photo).
  • Mount the finished card front onto an A2-sized card base.

Supplies used in making this project:

• Stamps: Essentials by Ellen: Inner Mermaid stamp set (mermaid tail and seashell); Essentials by Ellen: Mermaid’s Tail (sentiment).
• Dies: Essentials by Ellen: Inner Mermaid coordinating dies (mermaid tail and seashell); Lil’ Inker Designs: Quilted Stitched Spiral cover die; My Favorite Things Die-namics: Stitched Fishtail Sentiment Strips (smallest one).
• Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black ink (Copic-friendly) for all the stamped images; Versafine pigment ink in Onyx Black for the sentiment.
• Copic Markers: Mermaid tail: R30, RV93; Mermaid body: RV93, RV63; Seashell R30, E13.
• Cardstock: Neenah Solar White 80# cardstock (for stamped images and the white swirl-stitched cover-die mat); Papertrey Ink: Aqua Mist cardstock (for card mat and the sentiment strip); Neenah Solar White 110# (for the card base).