Tuesday 11 August 2015

CASology 159 - Aquatic


This week's CASology Cue Card is Aquatic!



CAS is simple. Stamp a small image over a small sentiment on a white cardbase and you will never, ever go wrong. But that's not always fun, is it? Sometimes you want to use big images and big sentiments (at the same time!).

I bought this shark (part of a Recollections clear stamp set) years ago because of his (evil or innocent??) smile. This cue card seemed like the perfect opportunity to use him for the very first time. And I knew I also had the perfect sentiment - this one is from The Stamps of Life.

Let's face it - this is not the most CAS card I've ever made. The scale of these stamps made it tricky to have a lot of white space.  But I was determined! I tried many (MANY) layouts and here's what I did to keep this card as CAS as possible:

- bigger card (4.25x5.5) than my usual (4.25x4.25)
- horizontal layout to preserve white space on both ends
- minimized layers
- no embellishments
- limited, pale colours (and fading the sponging out to white)
- white card base
- 'straight' water (I think a wave edge would have added fussiness)
-centred focal area (balancing the width of the shark by creating height with the positioning of the sentiment)

I could have put the bottom half of the sentiment on the inside of the card - that would have provided much more white space (I probably could have gone back to my normal, 'little square' format!) but it seems a shame to make someone wait for the punchline! lol!

Anyway, there you have it. We at CASology struggle with CAS sometimes too! But we're all in it together and we can't wait to see what you come up with this week!

24 comments:

  1. Haha! Your card made me laugh when I first saw it! Definitely a questionable smile on that shark! I'm not sure I'd trust him! ;) Love how this turned out!!! :)

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  2. Such a fun card. Thanks for the help on creating a CAS card, I'm very much learning all the time. Great to really push ourselves and slightly out of our comfort zone once in awhile...Love your card x

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  3. hee hee - love the smiling shark! Also, I adore how you did the partial water - looks fabulous!

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  4. Fun, fun, fun! I love this...and in my opinion, totally CAS! Beautiful blended 'ocean' and awesome sentiment (which would have completely lost the intended message if it was inside the card!

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  5. Haha - this guy definitely made me giggle. I can't get over how beyond perfect your style lines are! Visually stunning!

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  6. I love this card....what a fabulous sentiment and so very true!

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  7. I think you did an excellent job in making it CAS and it is great to hear how you did this x

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  8. lol.. this is perfect.
    At work, when the going is especially tough, when asked how things are going I tend to answer "Perfect. It can't be better"
    Keep them guessing I say .. :D

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  9. Your card is pure genius, love the sentiment and that rakish smile of the shark!x

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  10. HA!! This is terrific Ardyth and looks perfectly CAS to me!!

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  11. Such a great card, Ardyth! So fun!

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  12. Ahhhh! Perfect sentiment with that image! LOL! I'm still laughing!

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  13. Too funny. That shark is a great image, and I'm still trying to decide "evil or innocent..." Think I'll go with funny. He kind of looks like he's laughing. Love the straight, fading to white water, and how Mr. Shark is tucked behind it. Really a fun card Miss Ardyth. I like this one! Miss you. Bev

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  14. This card is SO cool! Love it!

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  15. This totally cracked me up when I saw it on the DT blog. That shark is awesome! The inked sea is gorgeous and I like how you walked us through your design process too.

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  16. Definitely evil! But lovable all the same. I really like that straight see and the fade out. Nice explanation also. Love how your mind works.

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  17. Oh, I couldn't help but LOL at that sentiment, Ardyth!!! Love your sweet card!!!

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  18. The first thing I thought of, after smiling of course, was "Ardyth, you have a stamp for everything." I love it!!! Thanks for the hints on CAS, too.

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  19. Well, this is about the friendliest shark I've ever seen, Ardyth ... his smile is brilliant, he's fabulous over that delicious sponged ombré sea ... and the sentiment ... it's perfect! Hugs & bisous, Anita :)

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  20. Just adorable. Love that shark and the cute sentiment you paired with him. And, as usual, I appreciate hearing about your design process. I think you made all the right decisions on this fantastic card.

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  21. Hey Ardyth!!! I totally love your shark!!! He make me smile. The sentiment font is beautiful too!!

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