Mermaid Smile

Have you ever committed to a color scheme, then immediately regretted it once you started coloring? That definitely happened to me here. I spent several hours coloring her tail and hair, then I thought, "What if I made her skin look more fish-like, rather than like a human with a tail?" I started coloring her skin yellow, based on the tail colors... and instantly regretted it.

I'd spent so much time on the rest of her, so I kept coloring and blending, and it didn't turn out too badly in the end. Once I added a dark, seafloor background, I liked it a lot more. Sometimes, it's really hard to tell how the final result will look until you complete everything.

The main image is a digital stamp called "Mermaid Smile" by KristaSmithStamps (Etsy).

The final card measures 5" x 7". I colored this cute mermaid with Copics, fussy cut her, and mounted her on foam dots. I finally found a printed paper (Finding Nemo by Disney) that would mute some of her "yellow-ness," so I used that as the background. I printed and mounted the sentiment on foam dots, and I added a few glass drops for sparkle.

In the end, I learned two lessons: (1) If you're going to experiment, color that section FIRST so you can determine if you like it, and (2) If you're initially unhappy about a color choice, keep going, as it's hard to tell how something will turn out until it's complete. After all, you can't learn anything unless you try new things!

List of all stamps used on this card:

• Mermaid Smile digital stamp (KristaSmithStamps)
• Smile You're Beautiful digi stamp sentiment (Make It Crafty, RETIRED)

I hope something makes you smile today!