Cards with Animals

What fun it is to work with The Angel Company's realistic animal stamps!!! When I saw this set, 'Treasure Found', in the fall supplement I knew I had to have it ... giraffes have the larges hearts of all mammals ... did you know that!!!  When I was teaching, I worked with a group called Non-violent Communications and the giraffe was my reminder for me to speak from the heart.  This is set is found with the Valentine stamps but I will be using it all year round.  None of the cards I have in this post are frilly or girlie so they would be great for men or teens.  I used Cha Cha SWIC with matching ribbons, dark brown and white CS for all of the cards.

This first card is a Stand Up Card with the base being 4 1/4 x 5" and then I scored it at 2 1/2" on the 5" side with my Scor-pal. The top panel is placed so the card is 5 1/2" tall, it still fits in an A2 envelope when flattened.  The words are stamped in a small oval layered on a larger scalloped oval.  I will be honest with you .... there is a boo boo under the oval that I wanted to cover .... so the boo boo gave me a creative opportunity for the placement of the elements in this card.  Mistakes are great aren't they!!

I used Copic markers to color. One giraffe is colored all over with E1, then shaded (but not blended) with E21 and then the dots are colored in with E08.  The second one is the same using E31 as the base, E33 for shading and E39 for the dots.  The horns are W7, inside of the ears RV21 and the shading around it is C1.  I am keeping a book 'My Favorite Copic Blends' and inside of it I have a page with my giraffe colors listed on it and how I used them so I will always remember. Once you find what works why not use it over and over again!!

This next Stand Up Card is a Bookmark Card.  This time I made the base 5 x 5 1/2", scored and folded it at 2 1/2" on the 5" side and then made a slit in the fold to slide the bookmark into.  I stamped the words on white CS, layered it on dark brown and then attached them with mounting cushion so the bookmark would slide under it.

I stamped just the giraffes' heads on a scalloped white rectangle and colored them with the same Copic markers but this time I did a little shading with B000 behind them. This is layered on craft, gold and then a printed paper from Cha Cha.

The last layer is a dark brown CS, I only attached it to the top so it would be open and would slide over the top of a page in a book. The picture above shows what it would look like over the top of a book page.  I just love this image .... they look so connected to each other emotionally .... but do giraffes connect emotionally???

Those of you who know me know I love dogs ... so I had to make a few cards with our great realistic dog images.  I used 'Time with You' for this Stand Up Bookmark Card.  It again has a base like the first card but I attached a 3 3/4 x 5" piece of brown CS with white over it for the bookmark to hang on to.  Sometimes I have to add a small piece of ribbon with glue dots on the inside of the base of a stand up card, as wide as you want it to open to help it stand up.  It will still lay flat with the ribbon inserted inside the base.

Notice the great dog footprint border punch and ribbon I have for my dog cards! Is it too many paw prints????

Here is a picture of the bookmark off and placed in front of the card.  You could even write a message under the bookmark to the person you are giving it to.  I always attach a white piece of CS on the back of my cards that do not open so they can be signed and a hand written message can be added.  The bookmark is made from a 5" square cut on the diagonal and then the corners folded in.

The dog is colored with Copic markers E08, E33, E35, E37, W5, R37 and the Copic blender.  I dabbed blending solution over the finished dog with a wadded up paper towel for texture.  The above picture shows the bookmark over the top of a page.

My last card is a card made from the scrapes from the above cards. I stamped the larger dog from 'Time with You' in brown Memento Ink and colored him with my chalks ... just one color ... plain chalks colored with the cotton ball.  I colored his nose, tongue, and scarf with Copic so they would pop more.  It is layered on brown CS and attached to the card front with mounting cushion.

Here is a close up of the colored image.

I hope you have been inspired to pull out all of your animal stamps and start creating!!  It is fun to work with realistic images and see the character they share with you after you have completed your project.  Animals always bring a smile to my face and warmth to my heart since they give unconditional love and are so forgiving.

Now add your link for your animal cards ......