One of my favorite animals to watch at the Como Zoo in St Paul, Minnesota was the Polar Bears. When my children were little, we used to sit by the glass and the Polar Bear would swim around and push off the glass with his huge paws. There is a new fancy display now, I’m sure it’s much nicer for the bears, but I miss seeing those big paws. He always looked like he was enjoying his swim and showing off for the crowd.

The Arctic Bears stamp set and matching Polar Bears Dies are in the new July to December Mini Catalog. This card only uses the stamp set, but I would recommend purchasing the bundle, it saves 10% and you will want the dies too! Because the Polar Bear is white and the snow is white, I decided to color the sky and water. A sample on page 39 of the catalog inspired my card.

Paper Dimensions:

Bermuda Bay Base: 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ scored at 4 1/4″

Calypso Coral: 5 1/4″ x 4″

Basic White: 5″ x 3 3/4″

All of the images are stamped directly onto the white card stock. A mask was created for both ice cliff images. The Bumblebee and Calypso Coral sky was done with a Blending Brush. The Bermuda Bay water was done with a Water Painter and ink picked up from the ink pad lid.

The sequins were added to give the water some sparkle, but I’m still on the fence as to whether they fit the card or not. I think I would leave them off were I to recreate this card. What do you think? Sequins or no sequins?

Use August Hostess Code FBQAVCWA for orders under $150 – Orders over $50 will receive not only a free Sale-a-bration item from Stampin’ Up! but also a Free sample pack of designer paper from The Roost. Orders over $150 will also receive a Free sample pack of paper, but DON’T use the Hostess Code, because your order will qualify for Hostess Rewards and you want to use those!

Product List

Arctic Bears Cling Stamp Set (English) [156428] $23.00	Arctic Bears Bundle (English) [156795] $47.50
Calypso Coral Classic Stampin’ Pad [147101] $7.50	Bumblebee Classic Stampin’ Pad [153116] $7.50
Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin’ Pad [147096] $7.50	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $6.00
Basic White 8 1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [159276] $9.75	Calypso Coral 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [122925] $8.75
Calypso Coral 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [122925] $8.75	Bermuda Bay 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [131197] $8.75
Blending Brushes [153611] $12.00	Water Painters [151298] $12.00
Subtle Shimmer Sequins [156407] $6.50