A Not-Too-Shabby Summer...

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Ahoy! I'm still in a beachy, nautical mood and thought I would create a card today to match. Before I get to the details, I'd just like to let you know that today is the last day to vote for Gallery Idol 2010's Top 15 round: Masculine Garage. Voting ends at Noon! You can see my card HERE, or scroll down to the voting widget at the end of this post. Thank to everyone who has voted so far, and I'm really hoping I make it through to the next round, but I know how lucky I am to have made it this far!
Now on to today's card. How happy was I that both the Pals Paper Arts Challenge and the Shabby Tea Room are hosting summertime challenges? When I think of summer, I think of ocean breezes, gorgeous marine life, and happy days. I took some inspiration from this week's 2 Sketches 4 You sketch and the Color Cue Challenge. This is the first time for me on a couple of these challenges, and I love discovering new ones!
For this card, I wanted to try my hand a little at the shabby chic look. It's not really my usual style, though I admire it very much. I don't have much of the wonderful accoutrement that goes with it, but I did my best, and made use of some distress ink to soften all the edges of my card elements. I added some large rope twine and some raffia, alongside a pretty pearlized button, and that was that!
BEAN NOTES: Seahorse (unknown origin) and Papertrey Ink Fancy Flourishes and Birds of a Feather (sentiment) Stamps; Memento Rich Cocoa Ink; VersaMark Clear Ink; Tim Holtz Broken China and Antique Linen Distress Ink; Stampin' Up Wild Wasabi Classic Dye Ink; Copic Sketch Markers; SU Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, and Wild Wasabi Card Stock; SU Rope Twine; Clear Embossing Powder (generic); Foam Dimensional Squares (generic)
HAPPY BEANS: Pearlized Button (generic); Chocolate Raffia (generic); Adirondack Terra Cotta Dimensional Pearls