Throwback Thursday Sand and Sea suite

 Chatting with some fellow craft addicts at the weekend the subject of one sheet wonders, OSW, came up. Nothing special there I hear you say but it was because amongst our gathering were several crafters who are relatively new to the world of craft. They didn't have a clue what a OSW is! Ohhh thought I a perfect project for my blog post this week featuring the Friends are like Seashells stamps!!

Now this is where it got a bit controversial.  To some a osw is where you follow a cutting guide for a piece of  12x 12, 6x6 or A4 pattern paper to create a significant number of cards. Just Google one sheet wonder template to see lots or click Here for one I created a few years ago.

But there is another explanation of the term OSW,  one that Gill is particularly fond of and the first type I came across years ago... that of the making your own pattern paper type. And it's this style that I'll be using for the gorgeous seashell stamps for!

So I grabbed my blocks, inks and stamps and clean sheet of white A4 cardstock and set about stamping! 

I stamped the large images first then filled in the spaces with the small ones. Finally I used the splatter stamp inked then stamped off onto scrap paper then stamped randomly, going over parts of the previously stamped images in a variety of colours. This gives the project some depth which I find pleasing.

I then cut my A4 piece into 4 panels and set about using them . 1 piece I did a little ink distressing around the edges once I'd cut the panel to fit the mat for my card. A simple message and that was 1 done.

For the second panel I decided to have a go at giving my panel a pearlescent shimmer. I took some of the frost white shimmer paint and using a blending brush gently blended it over my panel. Now this does have a draw back, or positive depending on how you see it, that the paint is a waterbased one so will reactivate the ink on the page and the colour may spread.  In the photo below you can see the difference it makes to the card 

 Again I cut the panel to fit my mats and made my card. The subtle shimmer real look far better in real life.

For the next 2 cards I cut  the panels into strips and set them onto mats. The effect works both horizontally and vertically.

So there you have it 4 cards from 1 background sheet. A one sheet wonder is a great way to get the most from your stamps and spark your creativity.  So have a play and see where it leads you on your crafting journey.