"Peace"

Today, I want to share another sneak peek sample card from Clear Dollar Stamps' "Spring Critters". I just love this beaver guy! He was such much fun to design with and color. This card was a design team sketch challenge card and I don't know if anyone else who has this stamp set saw the correlation between the v-shaped twig in the beaver's hand and the "Peace" sentiment, besides me...but I thought that it was genius! LOL Or odd. LOL Anyway, the sentiment is included in the "Spring Critters" set and I guess it's all "creative liberty"!! Okay, now the deets:

Stamps Stamp Sets Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Spring Critters"
Cardstock and Papers: Basic Grey Granola Collection, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inkpads: SU! Bashful Blue, Stazon Black
Accessories and Embellishments: Scor-It, Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Argyle Embossing & Swiss Dots Folders, Nestabilities Regular & Scalloped Square Dies, SU! Small Oval Punch, , Marvy Small Round Punch, Martha Stewart Leaves Punch, Tsukineko Daubers, Sewing Machine, Thread, Prismacolor Pencils, Odorless Mineral Spirits, Blending Stumps, SU! Mat Pack, Piercing tool, Amber Brown Ribbon, Antique Decorative Brad
Coloring Medium: "Gamsol Magic" Prismacoloring with Mineral Spirits
Special Techniques: Sponging, Dry Embossing, Paper Piercing

DIRECTIONS:
A 5"x5" card base mat was cut from Basic Grey's Granola collection, a slate blue solid and then embossed using the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder. Another mat was created using coordinating Basic Grey Granola dp, a dotted pattern, and a woodgrain pattern. The upper part of the mat was cut to 4.5"x4.5" and the lower part was cut to 4.5"x1.5". The lower woodgrain panel of the mat was embossed using the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder. Both mats were glued together and using a sewing machine, I stitched around all four sides of the slate blue largest mat and then the dotted/woodgrain patterned mat..

The stamped image was stamped on Paper Trey White Cardstock and was Prismacolored with Mineral Spirits. I stamped another beaver on another piece of Paper Trey White Cardstock, and cut him out to create a "mask". Placing the cut out beaver overtop the stamped and colored beaver, I sponged around his body using SU! Bashful Blue ink, to create a little background color. I paper pierced a triangular decorative pattern to the upper left corner of the stamped image mat. I edged the four sides of the image mat using Black Stazon and a sponge dauber.

The sentiment was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Black Stazon ink, and then punched with a small Marvy regular round punch, then sponged lightly around the edge using SU! Bashful Blue ink and edged with Stazon Black Ink using a sponge dauber, and finishing with freehand paper piercing around the parameter. An amber brown colored oval was punched for a background mat to the sentiment, using the SU! Small Oval Punch. The circular stamped sentiment was glued to the small amber brown oval and set aside. Two branches were punched using the Martha Stewart Branch punch to embellish the sentiment mats, and bring the eye to the sentiment.

An amber brown polyester ribbon was run across the seam of the two coordinating patterned mats and tacked to the back of the card base. The stamped image mats and sentiment mats were then adhered to the card base, and popped up on American Crafts Dimensionals. A hole was punched in the upper right hand corner and a copper colored decorative antique brad was added for visual interest. To finish the card, a 5"x10" piece of Paper Trey White Cardstock was scored in half, and then glued to the finished card base.