Happy Friday, Friends! Today I'm in a cooler Fall mood, so my papercrafting reaped the benefits! Here's the card I have for you today:
Aren't these Mama Elephant New Family forest animals the cutest?!! This stamp set is geared towards a new baby or baby shower, but here's how I turned it into a Fall themed card . . .
First, I stamped two of the foxes onto Prima Marketing's 140 Lb. Watercolor Paper Pad -- I love that you can just open this paper pad and start working on the 6x6 sheet(s). The pad has a glue binding on both the top and bottom of the pad, which is meant to help keep the watercolor paper from warping while you work with a wet medium ... genius! After stamping, I used my wide (4mm) Molotow Masking Pen to cover the images, so I could put my watercolor background wherever I wanted, leaving the animals to be colored as I wished later. The blue masking fluid goes on very smoothly!
While the masking fluid was drying, I used the stamp that is meant to be a floral frame or divider (you can see it at the top of the photo below) to make Fall colored leaves that would be on a tree above the animals' heads. I used these Distress Inks: Fired Brick, Ripe Persimmon, Wild Honey, and Peeled Paint:
Then I used a water brush to blend the stamped ink.
TIP: Blend only one color at a time (moving to each spot you have stamped that same color), being sure to clean your brush between colors so you don't end up with mud!
Once the masking fluid was dry (it doesn't take very long) I repeated the leaf stamping process, using only the tips of the floral stamps to add some fallen leaves beneath and around the foxes. I also stamped a baby fox nose-to-nose to its Mama! The masking fluid allows the baby to appear as if it is wrapped up in Mama's tail!
After blending the leaves on the ground, I used Thermoweb's Adhesive Pick-up square to gently rub off the masking fluid (below) -- the pick-up square makes removal a breeze! Then I began watercoloring the foxes with Rusty Hinge and Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks:
Next, I stamped the bunnies onto watercolor paper and colored them with Hickory Smoke Distress Ink and used Spun Sugar Distress Marker on their ears. Their coordinating New Family dies were used to die cut them, then they were popped up on foam tape. The 6-inch watercolor panel was trimmed down to A2 card size of 5.50" x 4.25".
For the greeting, I used the "hello brand new baby" sentiment, easily masking off the "brand new baby" part beneath the "hello". It was stamped with crisp and bold Jet Black Archival ink:
I like using a strong high-tack double-sided tape like X-Press It's to secure heavier papers such as watercolor paper to a card base. Then a scattering of 6mm and 4mm Pretty Pink Posh clear sequins finish the card:
Is Fall in full color in your part of the country yet? It's just beginning here in south Texas!
