I just love getting co-op work from my photographer cousin, Kelly.  Her and her husband's photos are amazing and I get to see beautiful blushing brides, sweet infants and darling 1-year-olds covered in cake and frosting.  The best photos to work with are those with obvious themes.  Recently, I created a custom disc case for an adorable baby girl in a cute little crocheted mermaid set.  




As soon as Kelly told me about the upcoming newborn shoot and the plans for the mermaid outfit, I knew exactly how I wanted to decorate the custom disc case.  Prima has a line of doll stamps and pieces designed by Julie Nutting that are absolutely wonderful and one of her stamps was a mermaid.  It had been a while since it had come out and it was sold at any of my usual scrapbook store haunts so I took to searching online and I was in luck! 

Sample of the Prima mermaid doll stamp designed by Julie Nutting, courtesy of Prima Marketing.

I started by cutting out the base pieces for the custom disc case:  two pieces of chipboard, 2 pieces of cardstock to cover the chipboard on the inside and the outside cover; then I glue the pieces together using an artist medium such as gesso or modeling paste.  I usually set the whole thing in-between pieces of parchment or wax paper and then in-between some heavy books to make sure it dries without warping or wrinkling. 

A mixed media disc case made to match the photo of the infant wearing her adorable crochet mermaid outfit.  Texture and dimension was added through the use of artist mediums, pop dots and even tulle.  Photos of infant courtesy of Photography by Kelly.

Once it's dry enough that the pieces no longer shift when gently nudged, I begin decorating the outside cover.  In the meantime, I start with cutting out all of my die cuts--the seahorse, seaweed, lily flowers and coral.  I also used my paper trimmer to cut the mats for the photos.
  

The back of the custom disc case.  Photos of infant courtesy of Photography by Kelly.

For the seaweed, I cut some from a pale green paper and some from Tim Holtz's kraft glassine.  For the pale green seaweed, I covered them with clear crackle paint and set them aside to dry.  The thicker the paint, the longer it takes to dry and the larger the cracks are, the thinner the paint, the less time it takes to dry and the smaller the cracks are.  I used a thin amount to achieve the small crackle effect.  For the kraft glassine seaweed pieces, I crumpled them into balls.  This is the beauty of Tim's kraft glassine--folding, bending or crumpling


the paper causes cracks in the glassine layer.  While the glassine resists inks and other mediums, the kraft paper underneath soaks it up.  So once I achieved the amount of distress in the glassine layer I wanted, I took my ink blending tool and a green distress ink and inked up the pieces, then ran a paper towel over them to remove any excess ink from the glassine.

I also cut the seahorse from the pale green paper but covered him in Prima's Art Extravagance white sand paste, then set him aside to dry.  I used the same medium on the coral, which was cut from a deep coral colored cardstock.

Photos of infant courtesy of Photography by Kelly.

While all those pieces were drying, I shaped each layer of the lily flower petals (cut from white cardstock) using my McGill tools and foam mat, then layered and adhered the pieces together, adding a tiny yellow pearl to the center of each then used the airbrush tool and distress makers to add a bit of color to them.  I know water lilies grow in ponds and aren't found at the bottom of the oceans, but it reminded me of the feathery tentacles of anemones and I couldn't not have flowers on a disc case for a baby girl!

Tiny flowers spritzed with distress markers add a bit of whimsy to the disc case.  Photos of infant courtesy of Photography by Kelly.

After the base of the custom disc case was dry enough, I used a Prima stencil and Prima's Art Basics modeling paste in opaque to add a few "scales" or "waves" to the outside base of the case.  I set this aside to dry for a short period of time. 

A touch of glitter to the headband and a starfish add girlies to the hair..  Photos of infant courtesy of Photography by Kelly.

Next I used my Julie Nutting mermaid doll stamps and Ranger's archival ink in jet black to stamp out the doll and pieces on several different pieces of patterned paper and cardstock--a skin toned paper to match the baby, a brown dot paper for the hair, a flower and seashell paper as well as the same coral cardstock I used before and kraft (as a backing to make her durable).  I hand cut each stamped image out and layered on all the pieces except for the starfish and pearls then added some distress ink to the edges.  I used a small amount of red tulle to cover the mermaid's tail to achieve a scale-like or crochet-like effect, adhering the edges to the back side of the mermaid with glue tape and glue dots.  Next I used Ranger's Glossy Accents and Tim Holtz's distress glitter in rock candy to add a bit of sparkle to the mermaid's headband.  Then I added white pearls to the tail and bikini top and a red pearl to the starfish and, once the glossy accents with glitter was dry, I used a pop dot to add the starfish to the mermaid's hair.  I also hand cut the koi fish from one of the patterned mermaid papers.  

The inside of the disc case showcases softer colors and a photo of the sleeping infant.  The date of birth on the banner was blurred out for privacy reasons.  Photos of infant courtesy of Photography by Kelly.

When all my other pieces were dry, I used green distress inks and my blending tool to add color to the crackle effect on the green seaweed.  I also added green and brown distress inks to the edges of the seahorse then used my airbrush tool and distress markers to add shots of color to the center portions of the seahorse.  Then I added a coral colored distress spray to the pieces of coral as well as some melon colored gelato from Faber Castell.

Red tulle adds texture and a scale-like effect to the mermaid's tail. Photos of infant courtesy of Photography by Kelly.

 I also used my Silhouette sketch pens to write out the name of the baby and date of birth then cut them out on two banners.  Then inked the two baby banners as well as the two url banners with matching inks.  

Once the modeling paste stencil was dry on the base of the case, I began layering on all the photos and die cuts to the inside and outside of the case.  I also adhere the foam mounting circle for the disc to the inside of the case as well as my logo sticker and url banner and my cousin's logo sticker and url banner.  Before adding the lotus flowers and Queen & Co. dots, I applied clear gesso to the bottom of the case then added a multi-hued bronze mix of micro beads to create the effect of sand at the bottom of the ocean.  I set this aside to dry.  Once dry, I added the lily flowers and droplets.

Photos of infant courtesy of Photography by Kelly.

Products Used

• Bazzill:  Cardstock - classic red, candy necklace, white
• Core'dinations:  Tim Holtz Distress Collection - milled lavender; Essentials Color Core Cardstock - begonia
• Scrapbook.com: Chipboard - thin
• Basic Grey:  Konnichiwa - koi pond
• My Mind's Eye:  Stella & Rose "Gertie" - delightful
• Recollections:  Cardstock - sea green, kraft; Microbeads - antique copper
• Silhouette America:  Sketch Pens - red, teal; Sticker Pape - white
• Faber Castell:  Gelatos - metallic mellon
• McGill:  Flower Shaping Tools and Foam Mat
• Ranger Ink:  Glossy Accents; Archival Ink - jet black
• Tim Holtz:  Distress Crackle Paint - rock candy; Distress Glitter - rock candy; Distress Spray - abandoned coral; Distress Marker - picket fence, victorian velvet, peacock feathers; Distress Ink - fired brick, tattered rose, cracked pistachio, pumice stone; Airbrush Tool; Idea-ology - kraft glassine
• Queen & Co.: Droplets - clear
• Doodlebug:  Mini Pearls - lily white, bumblebee, beetle black, lady bug
• Golden:  Gel Medium - heavy gloss (adhesive)
• Prima:  Finnabar Stencil - 12x12 scales; Art Basics - modeling paste opaque; Art Extravagance - texture paste white sand; Julie Nutting Mixed Media Doll Stamp - Sea Sallie, Ledger 3 - 12x12 patterned paper
• Other:  red tulle; black foam disc mount circle

Photos of infant courtesy of Photography by Kelly.

If you wish to purchase the mermaid doll stamp, there are still a few places on line you kind find it for sale, such as Amazon, Flying Unicorn, Photo Bella and even directly from Prima!

Thanks so much for sticking with me through that long post!  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.  Now for your freebie!  I created the water lily flower cut file myself.  There were some cut files in the Silhouette store, but they didn't have the right number of petals.  And for those of you who read my blog often will know I'm a stickler for the correct number of petals on my flowers (I'm an avid gardner as well)!  Click the image below to download your free cut file!

>>Click Image Below to Download the Free Cut File<<