I just had to add that cute little kitty in a mug just for my son! He is a coffee lover and has the most fabulous kitty…she has our hearts!
I hope I have inspired you to simply create something Fabulously Fun & Heart-Warming to bring you, or someone else, a little bit of joy for the moment.
Welcome back to my Studio! I’m so glad you are here today!
Altenew AECP…
I’m so happy to be back again with another wonderful project (AECP Layering 2:1) for the Altenew’s Educator Program!
Today I’m working on ink stamping and layering another beautiful set from Altenew.
A Grateful Heart…
I decided to use “A Grateful Heart” for this layering project. I really love the big flower in this set.
Background…
I wanted to double stamp this image, so for the base of my card, I cut and folded a piece of White Cardstock. Then I cut another piece of White Cardstock to fit in the center of my card. I left enough of a border to be able to see the flowers on both layers of my card.
Then, using my stamping tool, I carefully stamped the outlines first, on each panel, to be able to line up my layering stamps perfectly.
On my smaller top panel, I stamped a couple of the little blossom and then lightly added Watercolors in between the larger flowers, to tie everything all together.
Then I attached my top panel to my stamped card base.
Can you smell the beautiful season of Autumn? Have you noticed the subtle drop of leaves? Soon the colors of Fall will surround us like a warm comfy blanket on a cold day.
Pumpkin everything came out in August this year! Early, right?! NO! Let me just say, my first sip. this year, of Cold Brew with Pumpkin Cream was ridiculously AAH-MAZING!
“My favorite color is October” ~ unknown
I love this quote! It’s a fabulous observation that describes the beginning of Autumn perfectly!
I think this quote may possibly hold true for me and it was the inspiration for my card. Like many of you, Fall colors, cool breezes and the fabulous scents of pumpkins, apples, cinnamon, and wood burning fireplaces/fire pits, bring excitement and anticipation of fresh clean air and the coming Holidays.
“Booker Autumn”
I have to admit, if you are familiar with my Digi Doodles, you will notice I have many, many girly images, a few men/boy images, and lots of little cute critter images!
While I often work with my girly and critter images, today I wanted to give equal time to create an Autumn inspired card using “Booker Autumn”. This little sweetie inspires me, and reminds me of my son.
First Things First…
I sized and printed my image on to paper designed specifically for coloring with markers (full supply list below). Don’t worry, it’s ok if you don’t have marker paper, cardstock or mixed media paper will do. But, you will have much better results when blending marker colors on paper designed for that purpose.
FYI: If you are new to digi stamps, and unsure of how to size and print your images, I have an easy FREE Tutorial using Microsoft Word that you can download instantly from my Digi Doodle Studiosstore website.
So here I have my printed image ready to color.
I knew early on, that I wanted to create a single layer with a blended background. But, since my image is already printed out, I will have to mask Booker so I don’t blend over him when coloring my background.
Protecting Booker…
There are a couple of ways you can mask your digi stamp images, but whichever way you choose, you will need to use masking paper.
Masking paper has low tack, is easily repositioned, and won’t harm your image in any way.
One way, and probably the most common way, is to print your image again, (exactly as your first print) on to a piece of masking paper, fussy cut it, and place it directly over your image.
Another way, and the way I masked my image for this project, is to use a Cricut or Silhouette machine to cut your mask out. I prefer to use my die cutting machine because fussy cutting intricate cuts takes me too long…and I can be doing something else while my machine is working for me! It’s a win win!
Time to Blend…
I die cut my image with a slimline stitched rectangle to give me a sense of how I wanted my background to look.
Once, I cut my mask and applied it to my image it was time to blend.
I also masked my die cut piece with masking tape because I wanted to keep a white border around my image, and it also helped to keep my paper in place while I was blending my inks.
Using the same inks, I carried the colors to the upper corner by dabbling some leaves and fading them downward, using a small course sponge. It was not intended to be a focal point, but in my final piece, it served as a little background imagery.
Let the Ink Flow…
With all the background work done, it’s time to color my image! I chose to use Copic Markers, but of course, there are so many art mediums you could use. It’s really just a matter of preference on what you color with for any given project.
I’ve used other alcohol markers over the years, but I love the ease of Copic Markers more than many of the others out there. The paint brush-like nib on a Copic Sketch Marker allows the ink to flow freely, smoothly, and makes blending very easy.
Putting it all Together…
For my card base, I cut out a piece of Kraft Paper and die cut a stitched border.
To complete my card, I printed a birthday sentiment and attached with a piece of natural twine and a few enamel dots, and my card was finished.
I hope I have inspired you today to try something new, or simply create something Fabulously Heart-Warming to bring you, or someone else, a little bit of joy for the moment.
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Every day is a gift…so do something today that brings you, and others, great joy!
I have entered this card in the following challenges:
It’s a very Happy Day today for me! More years ago than I care to mention, I received the greatest gift I could ever imagine…my AMAZING son was born!
I still remember almost every detail of that special day as if it were yesterday. I’m sure most parents can completely understand.
In celebrating my AMAZING son’s special day, I wanted to create a special handmade birthday card for him.
About 2 years ago, he adopted the most adorable kitty. Needless to say, we instantly fell in love with her! Given her hilariously, super fun personality, I thought it fitting to create a birthday card for him using “Party Cats”
I sized, printed, and cut out my image using my die cut machine and colored these two happy cats with Copic markers (complete supply list below)
I colored the background using a combination of distress oxide inks and spattered it slightly with water to give an illusion of a starry night.
I chose several pattern papers from my “Storytime” Digi Paper Pack because it is full of blues, browns, and stars. It worked perfectly with my “Party Cats” color palette.
A few die cuts and embellishments later, my card was finished!
I hope you have enjoyed my “Party Cats” Birthday project!Now I’m off to celebrate with my AMAZING son, who BTW is a HERO in the medical field!Hope you have something to celebrate today!
Truthfully, anyone with a cupcake that big deserves the spotlight, don’t you think?
Suzette came to me after I created “Let’s Celebrate” and shortly after I “thought” I finished the “Birthday Bash” Release, so needless to say, she is kind of close to my heart!
The “Let’s Celebrate” Digi Paper Pack has a lot of fun celebration patterns. From Ombre Polka Dots to Party Hats, Stripes, and more!
As you can see, I utilized a few different patterns for my card…after all, mixing and matching patterns is a thing today, right?
I remember when I was young, mixing patterns was cringe worthy!
Here’s my finished Birthday Card using “Suzette’s Cupcake”!Now, I’m off to bake some cupcakes…
