Aussie Themed Swap on Allure of the Seas

I had been itching to do a swap with the Aussie and Kiwi girls on Grand Vacation and was delighted when one of my friends mentioned it to the group. Because we participate in a larger group swap, quite often we miss out on swapping with our fellow Aussies and Kiwis; I was really disappointed that I missed some beautiful ones last year (despite getting photos of them).

At the time of this posting we will be exchanging our swaps on the Allure of the Seas, as we cruise the crystal waters of the Caribbean.

The parameters of the swap were - colours: Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana and Pool Party with elements of colour (although this had to be kept to a minimum). Theme: tropical, beach, cruising and ocean. Size - 2" x 2" so that they can ultimately be mounted as a momento of our cruise on Grand Vacation.

This is my swap:

I made 20 of them and could not believe how fiddly they were! I used the Petite Petals, Gorgeous Grunge, Peaceful Petals  and Summer Silhouettes stamp sets. Due to the size of the cards I fussy cut the flowers and daubed them with Coastal Cabana Ink.

Base card is Bermuda Bay. DSP is from the Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper Stack. I stamped the fine splotches stamp from Gorgeous Grunge in Coastal Cabana and the tiny flowers in Real Red on Whisper White cardstock.

Flowers are stamped in Bermuda Bay. Leaves are made from Simply Pressed Clay which I coloured with Pool Party Re-inker, stamped with the leaves from Peaceful Petals. I cut the clay out and once it had dried I painted it with Crystal Effects which I had also added Pool Party Re-Inker to.

Finally for additional texture I added Linen Thread and Basic Pearl Jewels and the sentiment from Fabulous Phrases. . .

It was only after finishing them that I decided that they didn't really fit the theme. . . so I made another set of swaps. Check back tomorrow for the continuing saga. . .

Happy Cruising
Shanni