I’ve been feeling very woodland-y lately, perhaps because it is summer in Colorado and there seem to be deer and other critters everywhere. Plus, there’s nothing like a stunning natural landscape to inspire dreams! As a result, I had to make a card using the Birch Forest stamp set. I combined the stamps with some of the new patterned papers, particularly the ModaScrap Butterfly Dream paper. It seemed like the perfect mix for a card with animal friends that are here to encourage your dreams and imagination.
Here’s how I made the card:
- Stamp the deer, butterflies and mushroom from the Birch Forest stamp set onto 85 lb. White Soft Finish Cardstock in permanent black ink. Color them with the medium of your choice; I used Prismacolor pencils with Odorless Mineral Spirits for blending with a paper stump. If desired, use a black translucent Glaze (dimensional ink) pen to reinforce the eye on the deer and a white opaque Glaze pen to highlight the deer’s spots.
- Cut apart the “Follow your dreams” stamp from the Dream Sentiments stamp set into 3 separate words and stamp individually on to some 85 lb. White Soft Finish Cardstock with a black detail ink. Fussy cut around each word and set aside for now (not pictured; see Step 5 for fussy cut words).
- Die cut the colored stamped images from Step 1 using the matching Birch Forest dies. Cut a piece of 85 lb. White Soft Finish Cardstock to 4 ¼” x 5 ½” and place into the Berry Branch Embossing Folder and run through a machine to emboss the paper with the pattern. Cut the pink and blue butterfly patterned paper from the ModaScrap Butterfly Dreams 6 x 6 paper pack to 4 ¼” x 5 ½”. Create an A2 size top folding card base by cutting a piece of 100 lb. White Soft Finish Cardstock to 4 ¼” x 11”; score at 5 1/2″ and fold in half. Cut a 4 ¼” x 1” piece of green polka dot paper from the Thinking About Rio De Janeiro 12 x 12 paper pack and then trim it into a gentle hill shape.
- Adhere the patterned butterfly paper to the front of the A2 size card base with 10 mm Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape. Then, tear a line vertically down the center of the embossed piece of white paper from the top to about 1/3 from the bottom. Fold the torn edges back diagonally from the end point to the top corners. Tear off some of the excess paper that is hanging over the edges to create a ragged V shape. Place 6 mm Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape on to the back of the piece making sure to get it along the edges of the V and then adhere on top of the patterned butterfly paper. Adhere the green polka dotted hill along the base of the card. Use 3 mm and 6 mm Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape to adhere the mushroom and deer on top of the polka dotted hill, so the deer’s head is centered just over the bottom of the torn V on the front. If desired, use a gray marker or colored pencil to add a shadow below the deer and mushroom to ground them on the polka dot hill.
- Carefully run a Spun Sugar Distress Ink pad (I used a mini) along the torn edges of the V on the front of the card to add a slight pink tint to the edges. Use 3 mm Clear Double Sided Adhesive to adhere down the torn edges to the front of the card, but leave some dimension (not entirely flat). Add foam tape to the backs of the 3 fussy cut words in the greeting from Step 2. Center the “dreams” word above the deer and overlapping both edges of the lower part of the torn V and adhere down. Place “follow” and “your” diagonally back and forth above the “dreams” word, placing the 2 butterflies amongst the words inside the V shape on top of the patterned butterfly paper. Adhere the words, and use 3 mm Clear Double Sided Adhesive to adhere just the bodies of the butterflies, bending the wings upward for some added dimension. Enjoy!
Elizabeth Craft Designs Products:
Other Products:
Prismacolor Pencils
Odorless Mineral Spirits
Paper Blending Stump
Permanent Black Ink Pad
Detail Black Ink Pad
Spun Sugar Distress Ink Pad
Gray Marker or Pencil
Black Glaze Pen
White Glaze Pen
