Mini Photo Tutorial: Sandy Beach Technique

Want a real wow for your next summery card? How about a beach, with real sand! I'll show you how simple it is to add a real ka-pow technique to your card in this easy mini photo tutorial.

All you need is a clear, quick-drying liquid glue, fine-grain sand (not the gritty, pebbly stuff) and a little drying time. I used the Colorful Seasons stamp set for my saying and my fun little canvas beach chair. The ink colors are Sahara Sand, Bermuda Bay, Tranquil Tide, Soft Suede and Soft Sky.

First up, let's talk about the background of this card, because I know you're wondering! I made them with a folded baby wipe dipped right into the ink pad and dragged left to right across regular Whisper White cardstock. This works better than a sponge because the baby wipe works to spread out the ink smoothly as the ink mixes with the liquid in the wipe. So your ink is going to go farther than if you're using a dry sponge.

NOTE: you will want to re-ink your pads after this technique, unless you're only making one card. But this is messy enough that you'll want to make a bunch at once, methinks : )

As you can see from this sample of four backgrounds, no two are alike. I think that's part of the charm! Now, you can get a similar look by dragging the actual ink pads across the paper, BUT it is not very precise and can easily go wrong and add way too much ink in all the wrong places, so sharp edges where you'd prefer smooth ones. So the baby wipe is worth a try if you like these direct-to-paper backgrounds.

Ok, onto the Sandy Beach technique! Protect your surface first, or be careful to have a wipe handy to quickly take care of any gluey sand that might drip onto your table.

You can mix this in anything, of course, but I suggest something disposable like a Dixie cup or paper nut cups,  as who really wants to wash more dishes, right? The popsicle stick is also not a necessity, but you will need something with a flat edge, like a plastic knife or even a small strip of heavy cardboard.

If you try this and have ANY trouble with sand flaking off after drying, add more glue next time, and make sure there are no clumps. The sand/glue "batter" should be spread as flatly and evenly as possible, without being a control freak about it, naturally : )

I used Stampin' Up's new Fine-Tip Glue for this project, but years ago when I demo'd this technique at a convention, I used a product called Crystal Effects. Either dries with a slight gloss to it, so there may be some areas where there is more gloss than sand. If that bothers you, like it did me a bit, go over the sand with Clear Wink of Stella so that the glimmer appears to come from the subtle glitter effect, instead of dried glue. Yep, glitter on the beach... it works!

That's all there is to it! I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial and the others in Song of My Heart's 100% Free Tutorial Library.

Don't forget to check out my latest cardmaking resource on Etsy, Common Cuts for Cardmakers 102!

Comments

[Chris R. from Iowa]

I can feel the sand between the toes! Thanks for the idea and the tutorial. I will be trying this once I get the sand. Thanks for the tips on the background as well.

[Jan Hoyt]

This is beautiful, Lyssa!! Thanks for sharing..I may have to try this even though I'm not usually into the messy projects.

[Glenda Terry]

Love this technique!