"Zoo Critters"

The second card I want to share with you today is another one made from the "Zoo Critters" stamp set. "Zoo Critters" is such a fun set anyway, and factor in a Toucan, and his rainbow colors, and you've got FUN! Again, I was able to incorporate inkpad stamping with some Copic coloring and blending here, and you can see where one medium compliments the other, as in the background stamping/coloring of the leaves and foilage. This stamp set has many versatile uses and coordinates with "Critter Messages", another Clear Dollar Stamps set, as well. Ordering and pricing details may be found HERE. Be sure to see my team members' blogs, Monique Hawrelluck, Alysabeth Johnston, Stacy Morgan, Kim Teasdale, Tori Wild and Laurie Wilson for some other samples to view using "Zoo Critters".

Stamp Sets Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Zoo Critters" & "Monkey Madness"
Cardstock & Papers: K& Co. "Remake" Rose Reds, Sunset Oranges and Grass Green Designer Mat Pads, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inkpads: Stampin' Up! Handsome Hunter, Garden Green, Mellow Moss, Barely Banana, So Saffron Inks, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers - 0, Y11, Y15, YR01, YR16, R27, G16, G82, E25, E27, 110
Accessories: Nestabilities Regular Square Dies, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch Kit, Tsukineko Sponge Dauber, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesives, K&Co. Paper Leaves, JoAnn's Silk Flowers, Basic Grey "Ambrosia' & "Urban Prairie" Brads, We R Memory Keepers Jumbo Eyelet, American Crafts Polka Dotted Grosgrain Ribbon.
Coloring Medium: Copic Coloring
Special Techniques: Basic Stamping, Background Stamping, Machine Stitching

INSTRUCTIONS:
A 5"x 5"" card base was cut from Paper Trey White Cardstock and set aside. Two large square mats were cut to size: Red - 4.75" x 4.75", and Yellow 4.25" x 4.25." Taking the yellow square mat, I handstamped the vines from Clear Dollar Stamps "Monkey Madness" stamp set, using Stampin' Up! Handsome Hunter Green ink and then colored with Copic Sketch Markers to fill in the leaves. When dry, I glued the mat to the red larger mat, and using my Janome Hello Kitty Sewing Machine ; ) I machine stitched around the 4 sides of both the yellow stamped mat and the larger red mat, and set aside.

The main image was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored and blended with Copic Sketch Markers. I added more vines from the "Monkey Madness" stamp set to the stamped Toucan image for interest and color the vines in with Copic Sketch Markers. Using a Tsukineko Sponge Dauber, I lightly sponged around the Toucan using Stampin' Up! Barely Banana first, and then, more heavily with So Saffron ink. The stamped colored image was cut out using the Nestabilities Regular Square Dies as well as the larger stamped image green mat. I glued the stamped image white mat to the larger green mat, and machine stitched around the four sides of the green mat.

The sentiment is from "Zoo Critters" and was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, and lightly sponged with a dauber using Stampin' Up! Mellow Moss first, and then more heavily using Handsome Hunter Ink. I hand cut the red banner mat around the sentiment mat, and glued them together. The matted stamped image was popped up on the card front using American Crafts Dimensionals, and then I added the matted banner sentiment overlaying the stamped image, using glue and anchoring with a We R Memory Keepers Jumbo Eyelet, to also thread the embellishing ribbon. Polka Dotted Grosgrain Ribbon was thread through the jumbo eyelet around the back of the card and finished with a "bow knot".

Three woodsy tropical flowers on the bottom were created with K&Co. Paper Leaves, that are scored to fold for dimension. Adding JoAnn's Yellow Silk Flowers to the green leaves, and securing with a Basic Grey "Urban Prairie" brad to the center, gives the finished "jungle look" to the card. To finish up, the card front was glued to the 5" x 5" white cardstock base.
The stamped image was cut out using the Nestabilities Labels Two dies, as well as the two pink mats around the stamped image. The stamped image was then glued to the two pink mats and popped up on Dimensionals overtop the horizontal strip and ribbon.

Two paper flowers were punched using Cuttlebug Flower Dies, and using a Signo White Gel Pen, I polka-dotted the petals of the darker pink flower and set aside to dry. Using Martha Stewart Fern and Leaf Punches, I created the foliage for the die-cut flowers. The pink flowers were stacked together, along with the sage green button, and secured with a metallic twine. The flower stack was glued to the card front. The leaves were anchored down around the pink flowers using glue. Two mini pink brads were added to the upper left corner of the card. To finish, the card elements were glued to the white cardstock base.