Remember going to the beach as a kid and picking through the sand to find your best and most favorite shell ever? But when you picked through it for the best one, you STILL came back with a huge pocketful of shells because they were ALL the best and most favorite?
I was like that as a kid....and so is my daughter. When we go to the ocean on vacation or when we go down to the lake (Lake Champlain is only 2 1/2 miles down the road from where we live), my daughter loves to beach comb. When my parents go on vacation (or even when they don't, considering they're ALWAYS on the beach because they live on their boat year round), my mom always collects handfuls of shells for her grandkids. My grandparents have even give my kids shells from their trips to Florida years ago.
Girly never really knows where to put them. She keeps them in boxes and bags in her room but that's certainly not the most FUN way to keep them. One of my best friends in Belgium recently told me that she sent my kids a little package with shells from their trips to the oceanside not far from where they live. I knew this was a great time to put the new 3-Step Shells set from Kitchen Sink Stamps.
Just the other night, I finished up the last of the Ghiradelli cocoa mix I had in the cupboard. I never throw away something I think I could turn into a groovy crafting idea. When I finished with the round container (it has a red plastic lid that fits on top and matches the Riding Hood Red ink and cardstock perfectly!), I knew it would be PERFECT to turn into a keepsake holder for those shells and beach treasures that Girly is always collecting. And it was SO easy, too!
I wrapped Creamy Caramel cardstock around the container for the base color. I used Whisper White to stamp my sea shells on and then spongeded around the edges with Creamy Caramel ink. I also sponged some Baja Breeze ink above the shells to give the look of sky above the shells.
I stamped the word "beach" on a strip of Creamy Caramel cardstock with Chocolate Chip ink using the Playful Alphabet set and sponged around the cardstock with the same color ink. Right below the word "beach" I stamped the word "memories" using the Vintage Words set. This was done on Riding Hood Red cardstock with Chocolate Chip ink (and matches the lid of the container).
To jazz things up a bit and to give the shells that "salt water sparkle," I applied my 2-way glue pen to parts of the shells (and the word "beach" and dusted them with Dazzling Diamonds glitter.
I lined the container with some white tissue paper so that the shells would have something to nest on, but this isn't a necessary step. I just like the way it looks. :)
I can't wait to give this to my daughter and see what she thinks! I'll have to finish up that second container of hot cocoa so that I can make a matching one for Zach!
Happy Creating!
-Stampin' Mama
What a fun and useful project Erika!! Your shells came out so pretty - love the color scheme! :)
Posted by: Julie Masse | September 27, 2008 at 10:50 PM