Good Wednesday morning and welcome to the CLASSroom. I have received many requests for a tutorial on how I create the appearance of sea foam on the water in my beach scenes with Liquid Applique. My project today shows step by step photos starting with the sponged ground, sea and sky background scenery and adding die cut images to complete the scene. All of the dies are from Impression Obsession and most are from the new Summer Release.
Apply Antique Linen ink to the sandy beach area with a sponge. Note: I like using the Color Box stylus and foam tip as it small and allows me to control the shape.
Mask off the sky area with a piece of paper or Post-it Removable Labeling Tape to sponge in the water line. I love the removable tape as it hold securely in place while sponging and can be used over and over again for future projects.
Sponge in the water taking care not to overlap the blue on the brown sand line.
Sponge in the sky area using a cloud template and Inkssentials Ink blending tool. Note: This cloud template was hand cut using my snips and scrap cardstock.
Lay the cloud template on the top of the scene base.
Apply ink using a light sweeping up motion holding the tool slightly on it’s side. This allows the ink to be applied to the line of the template without totally covering the whole open space. I hope that makes sense. I tried to capture it in the photo.
Move the template down the page moving side to side and alternating the position of the ovals so they are offset to create a natural looking sky. The cloud lines are light and hard to get a good clear photo. You can see better in the second picture below.
Apply light thin oval shaped lines of Liquid Applique on the water area to create the sea foam.
Tap the lines of Liquid Applique with your finger to smooth it out and remove bubbles. This step will help create a smoother foam. Heat the Liquid Applique with your heat gun. Apply a little heavier layer of Liquid Applique along the water’s edge and up on the sand to give the appearance of the frothy waves rolling in. It is especially important to smooth this well before heating. Note: It is important to apply the LA in stages because if it dries too much before heating it won’t puff up.
Apply a light layer of glossy accents on the frothy water’s edge and touches of it over some of the foam areas on the water. Smooth lightly with your finger and then sprinkle with clear glitter and shake off excess. I used Elizabeth Craft Designs Cool Diamond.
Cut a thin frame. I used the Nesting Card Template dies.
Hand cut two thin strips for beach sand, sponge on brown ink and attach the larger strip flat to the front of the frame with adhesive.
Apply thin strips of mounting tape to the back of the frame and attach over the scene card base. Attach the second sand strip to the front of the frame with a thin strip of mounting tape
Parts and Pieces
Once your background scene is complete you can pick out all the parts and pieces of die cut images you would like to use to complete your scene. This is the most fun part for me. I chose to play with the Beach Chairs, the sandcastle and pale from the Mini Beach Fun Set, the Shore Birds and Sea Birds. And I added a tiny handmade striped beach towel.
Color the gulls using Pumice Stone and Wild Honey markers. I basically scribbled the ink on the backs of the birds.
Apply adhesive to a small piece of printer paper. I used my ATG. Cut thin strips of red and white cardstock and attach to the paper to create a fun beach towel or blanket. You could use a colorful piece of designer paper but I wanted to add another touch of bright red to the project.
Cut thin strips along the edge to create the towel fringe. I cut off the amount of towel that I needed and attached it to the arm of a beach chair with glue dots.
Assemble all the parts and pieces and begin attaching in the scene.
Attach the focal pieces in the scene first making sure to have balance on both sides of the scene. I attached the chairs, bucket and sandcastle with mount tape.
Attach the birds in the sky and along the beach with mounting tape. Popping the birds up with mounting tape adds dimension to the project.
Does this make you want to take a vacation? I sure want to. I think those gulls are hovering and hoping for a snack.
I hope you have enjoined my tutorial and have been inspired to try you hand at making a beach scene. I’ll look forward to seeing you next time.
