A Happy Day at the beach

Crafting Clare Towers looked like a junk yard this morning and, since we're expecting visitors, it couldn't be ignored! I didn't mind as I'd had a peek at the Less is More challenge earlier and was stumped at the theme of Sand. But it's amazing how a little elbow grease and hoovering can focus the mind - perhaps I should try it more often! Come and see:

I used sandy-looking Naturals White card stock for my base and topped it with a Whisper White panel with an aperture cut into it with my favourite 2 1/2" circle punch.

Before adding the panel, I sponged a sea and sky-scape through a mask and added a sandcastle nestling in sand made of torn textured card stock. The flags are from Make a Cake, the gulls from the retiring Up, Up and Away set and I embellished with a Real Red button tied up with white bakers twine.

And what about the sentiment?  You only have to look at it to feel happy! It's from a new set called Happy Day which will be available when the brand new catalogue goes live on Tuesday - YAY!!

• If you catch up with my blog using Blogger Reader, don't forget it'll be closing at the end of this month. I've swapped over to Blog Lovin' and have been really pleased with it. When you register, all the blogs you currently follow can be swapped automatically, so it's really convenient.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Happy Day (available 2nd July), Make a Cake, Up, Up and Away (retiring)
Ink: Pool Party, Basic Grey, Real Red
Card stock: Naturals White, Whisper White
Other: Markers, 2 1/2" circle punch, Real Red button (retiring) white bakers twine, stamp-a-majig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.

The Sand theme today reminded me of being on holiday in Devon two years ago. We'd spent one afternoon at a local sheepdog trials where a very talented shepherd named Bobby Watson walked off with pretty much all the prizes, impressing everyone with his calm and gentle style. It gave us a new catch phrase too. For the rest of the holiday, any question from "Shall we go for a walk after dinner?" to "Would you like chocolate or strawberry ice cream?" was answered with "What would Bobby Watson do?"

It was even inscribed in the sand at the beach!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I'll be back soon.