Imagine a sunny beach!

Right now I'm closing my eyes, imagining the warm sun above me, the white sand beneath me and the sound of the waves simply relaxing me.  This is the life!

Of course then I open my eyes, look outside, and see the snow on the ground and still feel the chill in my hands after going out trick or treating with the kids tonight.  The temperature?  In Celsius it was -4 degrees which, for our southern neighbours would be about 24 degrees (why doesn't it sound as cold in Fahrenheit?)

So, of course I want to continue my beach fantasy.  I've been making Christmas cards lately but today,join me in making a nice summery card.  I think flip-flops and flowers and sand sound like the right combination for this fantasy.

To begin I'm using some great Designer Paper from the Floral District Series.  The combination of Baja Breeze, Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White just screams summer.  When I look at it I swear that I feel a tropical breeze move my hair.  So I"m making the card base in the Rich Razzleberry with the next layer in the Daffodil Delight.

I've cut the Designer Paper to be 3 3/4" x 5" and the Daffodil Delight to be 4" x 5 1/4".  And then there should be flip-flops.  I've seen several cards online but no measurements for the flip-flops.  So I'm going to have to design my own.  After cutting and recutting, I've come up with a very promising template.

I'm cutting two of these soles out and turning one over so that they will be left and right.  Then I'm using the trio of flowers and leaf from the Betsy's Blossoms stamp set and am stamping the flowers on the soles in Rich Razzleberry ink and the leaf in between the flowers in Baja Breeze.  To make them look more like real flip-flops, I'm putting the pieces into my Square Lattice Embossing folder to run through the Big Shot.  I love the resulting textured look.

The next step is putting straps onto the flip-flops so that they will look real.  The 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in the Baja Breeze looks as if it has been designed for this purpose.  I'm piercing a hole approximately 3/4" down from the top and 1/2" in from the inside edge and then, am folding the ribbon in half and pushing a retired Rich Razzleberry Glimmer Brad through the ribbon and the pierced hole.  Then approximately 1 1/2" down from the brad, I'm cutting a 1/8" slit near each side of the sole and inserting each end of the ribbon, using a glue dot to adhere the end.  I'm leaving the ribbon loose on top so that it looks as if a foot could slip through.

 Using my Tombo liquid glue, I am adhering the soles to pieces of Rich Razzleberry.  I prefer to use the Tombo because of the intense texture.  Snail doesn't have as much to hang onto, I find, and sometimes doesn't hold embossed pieces as well.

Then I am cutting around the shapes of the textured flip-flops, leaving  a 1/8" border of  Rich Razzleberry around them.  My flip-flops look good enough to wear!

To carry on the look of the Floral District paper and also to carry out the fantasy I have of tropical flowers on the beach, I'm cutting three daisies with the Blossom Party Originals die, one in Baha Breeze, one in Rich Razzleberry and the third in Daffodil Delight.  I'm also cutting three flowers in Whisper White using the flower framelit from the Cannery Set.  For the centres I'm using more Glimmer Brads.  The sand is easily provided by tearing a piece of Crumbcake.

Assembly begins with the Crumbcake, then the blossoms at the bottom left and then placing the flip-flops as if someone has just walked out of them.  For me, the sentiment "So Worth the Wait" from the Word Play stamp set is perfect because I'm just waiting for warmer weather but other sentiments would work just as well depending on how you're going to be using the card.

I hope you enjoyed my beach fantasy as much as I have.  Now lie back and dream of soft tropic breezes and the sound of waves.