Mermaid Collection - The Real Undersea Story - Dream Card for a Literary Young Lady

I went completely overboard on this card...
Literally.

Overboard all the way to the bottom of the sea,
where a little mermaid's collection awaits.

 

 

This is another vintage book illustration of the original Little Mermaid

story, which hardly anyone knows thanks to Disney's version of red-haired Ariel.

 

Now, I loved Ariel as much as any little girl growing up.

I have no daughter of my own to pass that on to, though,

and frankly now that I'm older I'm a bit appalled at her willfulness in the Disney version.

Ever notice Disney parents either meet an early or tragic end, or they get a really bad rap?

 

 

Anyway, the original Little Mermaid is much, much different.

Yes, she falls in love with the young prince.

But--and don't hate me for this--she doesn't get to become his princess.

He is about to wed the mermaid, but then his love that he had despaired of

ever marrying (because she'd been sent to a convent) is suddenly

released from the convent and he marries her instead.

And what happens to the sad little mermaid?

Well, in the original, a mermaid has no soul to go to heaven like a human,

so because she has done well despite how things turned out,

she goes to heaven in the only way a mermaid of the water-world can:

She becomes sea-foam and then a majestic, beautiful cloud--

to watch over and bless humans in the best way she can.

 

Poignant, yes?

 

In one version that I've read, the mermaids' greatest undersea joy

is to tend to their sea-gardens and collections.

So, in thinking about this, I used some fuzzy brown seed-beaded trim

that reminded me very much of red coral.

I've used beach finds of my own, glass pearls, some metal sea creatures from my

jewelry-making stash.  The sand-dollar and sea star are fussy-cut from a Tim Coffey

collection of sea-themed papers by K & Company that I

picked up on clearance a few years ago.  I accented them (and the mermaid's tail)

with Glossy accents.

There's not much of it left visible behind the embellishments,
but I used Golden Acrylic modeling paste to create some sea-foam / waves over
top of the recycled mesh:



You can see some peeking out here, and in other places:

Here is a view of the finished inside,
using rub-ons from Basic Grey.

 

A mermaid's collection, cont'd...

Here are the challenges:

That's Crafty! : Undersea Theme

The Crazy Challenge #224: Tic Tac Toe - 2nd entry

Middle down: Lace (it's rustic, on the left), Digi, DP

Dream Valley Challenge #133: Vintage

Timbro ScrapMania #120: ATG - 3rd entry

C.R.A.F.T. #366: Recipe Challenge:

The ribbon/rustic lace trim is on the left.  I used something more like a beaded yarn

to make the coral fronds.  All 3 papers:  1. yielded the fussy-cut

starfish and sand dollar 2. brown paisley mat for image 3. ocean waves card base

 

Materials Used on this Card:
Cardstock {K & Company, Papertrey Ink}
Vintage illustration {The Graphics Fairy}
Glossy Accents {Ranger}
Rustic burlap trim and beaded trim{Robert Stanley, stash}
Glass pearls, natural shells, metal elements {stash}
Sentiment sticker, pearls {the Paper Studio}
eyelet lace edge punch {Martha Stewart}
Golden heavy Acrylic Modeling Paste
Drywall mesh {recycled}
Run-ons (inside) {Basic Grey}



So while I will be the first to say that this card
is probably the most heavily embellished that I have ever
(or will ever) make, it was also fun and seemed to fit the theme
I had in mind.
Moreover, I know just the literary young lady to send this to.
When I was her age, I think I would have been delighted
with a mermaid collection.

Thank you for visiting
and I hope you have a wonderful day!

--Kathryn