Hi, crafty friends! We’re almost a month into spring already, and it’s starting to feel like it, even though we had a bit of sleet earlier in the week. I haven’t seen anything starting to bloom yet, but I’m actively on the lookout for Coltsfoot, which is the first flower to pop out to greet the sun in the spring. On today’s card, however, spring is more advanced, and the cute Bunny and Besties stamp from Purple Onion Designs are taking a stroll through a wonderfully green landscape.
I colored the image with Copics, adding a simple free hand background of a couple of hills with a few trees, a path for the bunny to walk on and some blades of grass in front. My original plan wasn’t a scene at all, I had planned to add a big Happy Easter die cut, but changed my mind and added the hills and sky instead. I think this looks better than what I had planned.
I used the largest die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 set from My Favorite Things to create a little bit of interest along the perimeter of my panel. I stamped the word spring from the Happy hello sentiment set using Autumn Rose ink from Papertrey Ink to match the bunny’s shirt. I also used a Glaze pen from Sakura to create some shine (and a tiny bit of texture) to the eyes.
I die cut the word HAPPY from the Birthday Script die set from Kristina Werner three times from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink (the same cardstock that I used for my card base, I love this cardstock) and stacked them. I adhered my stacked word above the stamped spring to complete my sentiment.
I decided to die cut tiny butterflies to use for embellishment. I didn’t have any cardstock in the color I wanted, so I colored scraps of X-Press It blending card with the same colors I used for the bunny’s outfit, before using the butterflies die from the Greenhouse Greetings die set from Concord & 9th (it’s a die set from the 2024 C9 summer camp). I scored my tiny butterflies down the body, adhered each of them with a tiny bit of glue and added Rosewater Jewel Drops from Tonic on the bodies of the butterflies to finish.
I used quite a few Copics for this one.
I actually didn’t start with the coloring on this one. I printed the image on a quarter sheet of X-Press It blending card, which is what I always use for Copic coloring. I put a circle mask on top of the penguin, then used the Hurra stencil from Create a smile and some inks from Concord & 9th to create my background. I used Sweet Pea, Clementine and Buttercup, creating a gradient between the three colors. Once I took the stencil off, the white of the background felt a bit stark, so I went in with the 1″ blender brushes from Pinkfresh Studio and did a soft blend of the background using the same three colors.
Once I removed the mask, it was time to color the penguin. I used Copics, went for a pretty bright palette and added a bit of black glaze pen to the eyes, then a dot with a white Sharpie on top once the black was dry. This gives the eyes a bit of shine.
I used the largest die in the Double Stitched Rectangles die set from My Favorite Things to cut my panel down slightly. It also adds a fun stitching detail to the edge. I then adhered my panel to a top fold card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink.
I used a sticker from Kort & Godt for my sentiment. I like my sentiments with some dimension, and to get dimension with stickers, I first use antistatic powder on the back to remove the stickyness, then add foam tape. I finished off the card very simply with some clear dew drops from Concord & 9th. There was so much color going on, I thought clear was the best option.
I used quite a few Copics for this, but that hat alone needed quite a few.
I colored the image with Copics on a piece of X-Press It blending card and nestled one of the sentiments in the little nook between the bunny and the egg. I die cut the panel using the largest die in the Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 set from My Favorite Things.
I adhered the panel directly onto a card base I created from Caribbean Sea prestige cardstock from My Favorite Things and finished off the card with a few dew drops from Concord & 9th. Simple, yet sweet, right?
Lots of pastels for this one.
I printed the image onto a piece of X-Press It blending card, adding a digital watercolor background behind the image before printing. I colored the image with Copics and opted for a warm yellow for the actual number and the book, an analogous color palette always works well.
I die cut the panel using the Postage Stamps infinity die set from Hero Arts, then stamped the sentiments from the Bursdagsbillett stamp set from by.cino (hipp hipp hurra) and the A06 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS (det er din dag i dag) using Clover ink from Concord & 9th. I also used second generation stamping of a couple of the images from the CS0879 stamp set from Marianne Design in the corners of my large postage stamp. I mounted my postage panel onto a card base I created from Summer Sunrise cardstock from Papertrey Ink, then die cut and mounted the Hipp hipp hurra sentiment using the MSTN Say Anything die set from My Favorite Things, before finishing off the card with Clover and Honeycomb enamel dots from Concord & 9th, as well as a dot of a black Sakura Glaze pen to each eye for a little bit of shine and dimension.
Simple color palette for this one.
I used the Triangle Piercing die from C9 to cut into the card base. I then used Sulky metallic sewing thread in color 7003 and a size 26 tapestry needle for my stitching. I was initially planning on having the floral swag span the width of the card and adhering it directly to the stitched background with a sentiment below, but somehow it evolved into something else, I was just along for the ride. I trimmed a piece of Sea Glass cardstock to cover the bottom two rows of rectangles and adhered this to the card base, planning on adhering the flower where the panel ends. Then I found an already die cut frame (I realize now that this is the Classic Rectangle Frames die set from My Favorite Things) in my stash cut from Champagne cardstock from C9, which was the perfect size to add to the card.
I adhered the Juniper die cuts directly to the line that separates the Sea Glass from the card base, then mounted the Sea Glass ones on top, before finishing off with the flower on another layer of foam squares.
I die cut the word celebrate from Champagne cardstock from C9 using the Sweet Sentiments die set from Altenew. I die cut the shadow from white and mounted it on foam squares to make it float across the frame. I usually stack die cut words, but this gives a different look and worked better for this card. I finished very simply with a few champagne glitter drops from Pinkfresh Studio.
Papirmølla 