4- Introducing Pond Life

Candice Aguilar has brought us something VERY special for her second stamp set with us.  It is the type of set that many of you have been requesting for a long time.  Something that can be easily adaptable for masculine cards, especially little boys.  You will be seeing peeks of Candice’s set throughout the weekend.  The images in this set are all so fresh and fun to use!  Be sure and stop by Candice’s blog to see a few other sneak peeks she has prepared for you!

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While brainstorming for this month’s countdown, an old technique cam to mind that I hadn’t done for ages!  I think they used to be referred to as gel cards!  I have prepared a step-by-step tutorial that helps to reinvent this technique and make it new again!

First, you will need to prepare your card base according to the template I have prepared.
Download gel_card_template.pdf

I used Aqua Mist cardstock.  After cutting & scoring in the appropriate places, I stamped one side with a series of open dots contained in our Polka Dot Basics set.

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Next, I folded the bottom flap upwards and punched through both layers with a 1.75-inch circle punch.

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After unfolding it, your project will look like this.

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Now you will want to flip your project over to the backside.  Place small pieces of tacky tape around the opening in the middle section of your project.  You also want to add a couple pieces to the side flaps.

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Put a small amount of clear hair gel (about 1 tablespoon) into a small ziploc bag.  I purchased these in the beading section of my local craft store.

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Trim the top of the bag slightly, about 1/8-inch above the zipped closure.  Adhere to your project with the tacky tape you already put in place.

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Fold the bottom tab up.  The two circles will match up perfectly since you punched them together.  You will be sandwiching the gel bag at this point as well.

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Fold the pocket up and fold the tabs around to the back.

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Here’s the finished pocket with it’s fun gel window!

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To finish my project, I created this tag using fish images from Pond Life.  The tag measures 3.5 x 4.75.  I folded a scalloped circle of Lemon Tart cardstock at the top of the tag as a little accent as well.

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When the tag is inserted in the pocket, it looks like the fish are really under water!   Not only does this gel accent look cool, but it is super fun to play with too, especially for little boys!

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I’ll leave you wit a close-up for the gel window.  Also notice the sentiment "birthday fishes".  thsi sentiment along with a few others that coordinate with Pond Life will be available in a $5 mini set.  They really help to broaden your options with the main set!

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SUPPLIES:
Stamps- Polka Dot Basics & Pond Life from Papertrey
Ink- Summer Sunrise & Lemon Tart Palette inks, White craft ink from SU!
Paper- Aqua Mist, Summer Sunrise & Lemon Tart
Other- Summer Sunrise Swiss Dot Ribbon, yellow brad from Chatterbox, Word Window Punch from SU!, 1.75 inch circle punch from EK Success

MORE MASCULINE INSPIRATION
You have just GOT TO see Heather Nichols awesome Father’s Day project using another one of our new sets.  Be sure and stop by her blog today!!!