There’s something about an ocean-themed card that makes me want to reach straight for my blue and turquoise inks. Add a little coral, a curious sea creature or a mermaid with flowing hair, and you have the beginnings of a lovely underwater scene. These 11 under-the-sea handmade card ideas offer plenty of inspiration for turning stamps, dies and paper into greetings with a seaside feel.
I love how versatile this theme is. Mermaid cards can be playful and colourful, while a simple sea turtle paired with a thoughtful sentiment can suit someone who prefers a quieter design. Whales, seals and other ocean animals work beautifully for birthdays, thank-you cards and everyday messages. You can build a whole underwater world or let one little creature take centre stage.
Ocean backgrounds are also a lovely excuse to experiment with your cardmaking supplies. Blend shades of blue and green, use a stencil to suggest rippling water, or add a few splatters for a bubbly effect. Even a small change in colour can shift the mood from a bright tropical reef to a soft, peaceful seaside scene. If you enjoy working with paper scraps, try layering curved strips to create waves or cutting small pieces into seaweed and coral shapes.
For anyone who likes a little movement and dimension, the under-the-sea theme offers some fun possibilities. Shaker elements can suggest sparkling water, while layered die-cuts help give an underwater scene depth. A dimensional card is especially lovely when you want the recipient to have something they can display, but a simple stamped design can be just as charming.
You don’t need to buy every ocean-themed stamp set to make these ideas your own. Start with a sea creature, mermaid or shell image you already have, then borrow a colour combination, background technique or layout from the featured projects. Swapping the sentiment is an easy way to adapt your favourite design for a different occasion.
Below, you’ll find ocean and mermaid cardmaking inspiration from talented paper crafters, with links beneath the photographs to their original project posts. Follow those links for a closer look at the supplies, techniques and any tutorials they’ve shared, then bring a little underwater magic to your next handmade card.
This stunning box card from Isha features so many wonderful creatures living under the sea. Her stamped animals are adhered to the front, back and the layers of waves for amazing dimension. She used stamps from Sunny Studio for this project, visit their blog for a closer look.
I love the beach, the ocean, sea, sand, waves and all the wonderful creatures that dwell there. So many paper crafting companies have terrific beach and ocean themed products and I’m always coming across amazing card designs. So with my love of the ocean I thought I gather up some fresh and fun current handmade card designs with an Under the Sea theme. (Makes you think of the Under the Sea dance from “Back to the Future’ doesn’t it?)
Below each photo you’ll find a link, click it for more information like products used, tutorials and tips.
Mindy inked up soft colors onto a gel press plate then pressed a wave stamp into the ink and then pressed her background paper onto that to create this beautifully subtle background pattern. Over top she added white die cut coral, turtle and sentiment for an amazing card design. Visit the Hero Arts blog for all the details.
These two adorable seals make the sweetest card for a Mom. The lovely ocean background was created with ink blending, stenciling and water splatters. Claudia explains more on how she created this card over on the Heffy Doodle blog.
I adore Manatees! Check out the cute pink cheeks and big smile on this big guy on a card from Meg. She used stenciling to create a textured looking background and added die cut coral, starfish and rocks around the Manatee stamp. Visit the La-La Land Crafts blog for more info.
Ok, I know there aren’t really mermaids under the sea but I love them too much not to include a couple in this post. This stunning card from Sara was created with a masking technique, stamping the mermaids, masking them, creating the background and then coloring them in. And isn’t her Copic marker coloring just stunning!? Visit the Hello Bluebird blog for more.
I love shaker cards for under the sea and ocean themed designs to represent the movement of the waves! This adorable otter is dressed as a sailor in beautiful blue colors that are echoed throughout the card. Visit the Catherine Pooler Designs blog for this and 4 more ideas from the same collection.
Amy Young is amazing at scene building! She used stamps from Purple Onion to create this wonderful Whale breaching the surface of the water, her dynamic design has so much movement! Visit her Thousand Sheets of Paper blog for more details.
This super cute mermaid card was created with digital stamps, papers and a sentiment from Polkadoodles. Candi used Copic markers to color in the sweet little mermaid image. Swim on over and take a closer look on the Polkadoodles blog.
Check out this fun slimline card using a tall multi frame die, it takes you from the top at the sun and sand all the way down under the sea. Such a clever design from Amanda! I spotted this card on the Whimsy Stamps Instagram page.
This beautiful card is full of lovely seashells with a fun puny sentiment. Christy created such a realistic looking scene with her coloring and background textures. She is sharing a video tutorial for making this card over on the Lawn Fawn blog.
I’ve saved one of my very favorite under the sea dwelling creatures for last and that’s the Narwhal! Michelle created an adorable scene for this cute guy with stamped and die cut elements, notice how the wavy die behind him adds extra depth to the scene. Watch her video tutorial on the My Favorite Things blog.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this card making adventure Under the Sea with me!
-Heather
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