too good to give away

Having spent a long weekend at Wells Beach in Maine, I was itching to pullout some ocean inspired stamps to create a birthday card. I have used By the Tide more than any other stamp set I own! It's so very versatile! 

I also pulled out my water color paper for this project. I knew that I wanted to soften up the coral stamp a bit, and water color paper and an Aqua Painter were the perfect tools to achieve that look. I used markers to color in the seahorse and then stamp it. Still, something wasn't quite right, so I added a script stamp with stamped off Island Indigo ink to create a subtle background with the feel of water. A little paper piercing around the greeting added a touch of texture. This card is one of my very favorites! It's going to be hard to give this one away!

Happy stamping!