Nautical High Tide Welcome Home Sign Tutorial

I love love LOVE making cards, but sometimes a card just won’t do. My partner’s mom had been in Arizona for the winter and was returning home to sunny Pennsylvania, so we decided to clean and organize her house so she could relax after her journey. But something was missing for her homecoming…a giant banner seemed overkill, but a small sign set up on the entrance table welcoming her home would be perfect! How about a nautical welcome home sign?

I got to work at my craft table. Their house is decorated with a nautical theme, with beautiful blue walls and an anchor and netting on a wall. No question, I pulled out the High Tide stamp set from Stampin Up along with a few blue ink pads and white twine.

Instructions to make a Nautical Welcome Home Sign:

The size I decided on was 8 1/2″ x 8 1/2,” (honestly just because I found an old plate holder to place it on) but it can easily be sized up or down to fit your needs.

CUT

I began with sky blue cardstock and trimmed it to a square 8 1/2″ x 1/2.” For extra stability, I adhered it to a thin piece of cardboard of the same size.
Cut a piece of sandy brown cardstock to a 7″ square. This will go in the center of the blue “mat” with a large border.
I chose a dark blue cardstock for the next layer. You’ll only need one piece. PRO TIP: First cut 2″ strips from the cardstock. Then cut them into the rectangles and squares you need. You’ll need 2 – 4 1/4″ x 2″ rectangles and 5 – 2″ x 2″squares.

Lastly, you’ll need white cardstock. I cut a few 1 7/8 strips first. From this, cut 2 – 4 1/8″ x 1 7/8″ rectangles and 5 – 1 7/8″ x 1 7/8″ squares.

Sometimes it’s difficult to visualize the best way to cut your cardstock in order to get the most out of your cardstock. One of my stamping friends told me about an app called DyCut that will calculate possible layouts from whatever size paper you have. It has it’s limitations, but is super useful when you are cutting multiple pieces of the same size.  It’ll save you paper (and $$$)! Check it out and let me know if it helps you.

STAMP Nautical Images

Playing with a new stamp set always releases some dopamine! The High Tide set along with the Anchors Away set from paper pumpkin April 2018 was spread out on my craft desk, and I found the ink pads to match the cardstock I chose: Dapper Denim, Soft Suede, and Riding Hood Red. (Check out my other creations made using the Anchors Away set!)

Play around with your set! I would recommend stamping the sand first (soft suede stamped off first), and then the detailed lighthouse (Riding Hood Red) followed by the solid lighthouse (Riding Hood Red stamped off first).

Use a post it note or scrap piece of paper as a mask over the lighthouse when you stamp the blue water. Lastly, stamp the light beam.

If you don’t like what or how you stamped it (happens all the time!), just cut another white square. They are small and easy to cut a new one! Have fun with your stamps to create different scenes.  😀

ADHERE

I highly recommend adhering your stamped white squares and rectangles to their respective blue squares and rectangles first. This allows you to position them on the sandy brown square with equal space between them.
Adhere the squares and rectangles down using your favorite adhesive.

It’s not permanent until it’s glued down!

CREATE A BANNER (if desired)

Welcome Home Banner

I used my go-to alphabet set to stamp out “Welcome Home” in Riding Hood Red. I cut each letter apart, and cut the bottoms to look like a pennant banner.

PRO TIP: If you don’t have a pennant punch, make a small cut down the center, and then cut at an angle from each of the corners to the top of your first cut.

I folded the top of each letter pennant and glued them around a 12″ piece of white twine. Once you get it positioned where you want it, adhere the ends of the twine to the back of the sign (right onto the cardboard), and adhere a few of the letters to the sign to decrease the chances of it moving around.
It felt good to place the sign onto the plate stand and place it on the table for his mom to see when she walked in the door!

The Finished Product!

She really seemed to love the sign when she walked in, and was debating where she would permanently keep it! That made me feel so special!

I hope this inspired you to create a sign with your stamps!

Interested in more nautical creations? Click on the images below to learn more!

Happy Crafting!