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 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 stamped 
I colored Tofu and the sentiment with Copics, adding a black dot of Sakura Glaze pen to the eyes once the coloring was complete. This creates a tiny bit of dimension, as well as a bit of shine.
I used a Quickie glue pen to create a burst from the flame, then sprinkled on Rock Candy distress glitter. This adds a tiny bit of sparkle and some subtle texture.
To finish off, I added a 5 mm pom pom from Cousin DIY to the top of the party hat.
I used lots of Copics for this one. I wasn’t quite happy with the color of the cupcake liner or the party hat, but it is what it is. The card is still cute!
I colored up the cute little mouse with Copics, adding a plaid pattern to the apron using a Zig watercolor brush marker (No. 98 Pale Dawn Gray), before fussy cutting the image leaving a white border. I used the Gift Pocket Tag die set from Mama Elephant to die cut from patterned paper from the Christmas Nostalgia collection from Maja Design to create my tag. I mounted the smaller piece with foam squares and did the same with the cute little mouse.
I stamped a sentiment from the 
I die cut the tag a second time from white cardstock and did quite a bit of stamping on it. I used second generation stamping of an old sheet music stamp from Magnolia using Powder ink from Concord & 9th – I wanted it to be very soft. The sheet music is actually for Silent Night, making it extra Christmas-y – not that you can really tell. I used first and second generation stamping of a branch from a Mathia Design stamp set using Eucalyptus ink from Concord & 9th to add a little something to the corners. I stamped a postmark stamp from Ladybug & Friends, as well as a to/from stamp from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Amarena Cherry ink from My Favorite Things. I don’t think Ladybug & Friends is in business anymore. Neither is Norsk Stempelblad, but I love their stamps and can’t bring myself to stop using them.
I didn’t use too many colors on this one.
I started by coloring the images with Copics. They each come with a frame, but I wanted this postage stamp look, so I cut my images on the inside of the frames.
I wanted some interest in the background, and the Sparkling Snow embossing folder from Simon Hurley/Spellbinders is amazing! It creates proper six pointed snowflakes and gives such a cool texture, I want to use it on everything. I used it with a panel of Blue Breeze cardstock from My Favorite Things. It’s one of my favorite light blue colors, I may need to hoard it since MFT went out of business. I trimmed my panel down, matted it with a panel of Cranberry cardstock from Concord & 9th and adhered both to a top fold white card base I covered with an A2 panel of X-Press It blending card, just so that my whites would match.
I adhered each of my colored images onto Cranberry cardstock for a nice framed look, then adhered my matted images to postage stamps I die cut with the Postage Collage die from Waffle Flower.
I mounted each of my postage stamps using foam squares, adding the first two straight before making sure the last two were wonky. I like that both the images and their placement tell a story about what happened in that photo booth, everything going perfectly at the start, followed by slight chaos. To finish off the card, I added black glaze to the eyes for some shine and a tiny bit of dimension, as well as snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.
Not a whole heap of colors used for these.
I stamped my images (both the critters and birch tree background) on separate panels of X-Press It blending card with Copic friendly ink, colored them in and fussy cut them. Before fussy cutting the critters, I actually stamped over my initial stamping with Obsidian ink from Altenew, which gives super black lines that are extra crisp. It’s a pigment ink, though, so it needs to be stamped after the coloring. I also colored a sky and some bushes on a separate panel, where I stamped my sentiment in Blueberry Sky ink from Papertrey Ink. I cut an oval into a panel of Americana cardstock from Papertrey Ink using an old oval die from Spellbinders (Petite Ovals Large) and then created two pieces of accordion folds in the same color cardstock. I glued my background with bushes and sky to the back of the accordion pieces, the birch trees in the center, and the panel with the oval window in front. I mounted my critters using foam tape and used black glaze pen for the eyes. I then adhered my accordion to a top fold card base I created from Rustic Cream cardstock from Papertrey Ink.
I used a lot of Copics for this one. I even used B20, which is a color I’ve created myself using an empty marker, B21 reinker and blender reinker.
I colored the image with Copics onto X-Press It blending card and fussy cut it right up against the black lines. From another piece of X-Press It, I die cut the postcard shape using the Postcard combo die set from Mama Elephant. I used Peachy Glow ink from Altenew to ink blend across the panel, giving it a vintage feel. I then went in with a stencil from the mini stencil set 3 from Tim Holtz and added the splatter texture using Classic Kraft ink from Papertrey Ink along with a blending brush. In some areas, I added ink with the blender brush without using the stencil.
I stamped the leaves from the 
Fairly limited color palette for this one.
I stamped the image with black ink onto X-Press It blending card and colored it with Copics.
I added a mask to my image, then used the Bokeh Elements stencil duo from Waffle Flower to softly ink blend additional bubbles in an ombré effect in the background. I used Sweet Pea, Grapefruit and Buttercup inks, all colors from Concord & 9th, making sure to add slightly more color on the smaller circles than the large ones, while still keeping it fairly light.
I stamped a sentiment from the 
I trimmed my panel down slightly and added it with of dimension to a top fold white card base that I ombré ink blended using the same three colors I used with the stencils. I did also add a dot of black Glaze pen to the eyes of the ducks for a finishing touch.
Simple color palette for this one.
I fit a lot of images into this scene. 
I colored in my scene with Copics, opting for very vibrant colors for all the floating elements and the details on the boat house, while keeping the rest fairly muted. The lake is lighter the further back you get, and the sky is a bit moody off in the distance. I added a bit of black glaze pen to the eyes of the gang on the pier for a little bit of dimension and shine.
I stamped a sentiment from the 
I adhered the panel to a card base that measures 6 1/8″ x 4 1/4″. This is an irregular size for a card, but when I create scenes like this, I let the scene dictate the size of the card. I can always make a custom envelope to fit.
I used lots of Copics for this one.
Papirmølla 