Zany Zoo/Zoo Crew Thank you to a knitter

There’s a super fun DSP (Designer Series Paper) paper pack called Zoo Crew which is part of the Zany Zoo Suite with stamps and corresponding dies.  Recently, I created a thank you card for a special knitter friend. The knitting llama was just perfect! I decided on a bridge card and here’s the final card:

If you’re not familiar with a “bridge” fun fold card, this is a top view of it, which makes the “bridge” and design of the card clearer: 

I used several products, retired and current for this card! First and foremost is the seated llama who is knitting. It’s from the Zoo Crew DSP pack and yes I had to fussy cut it out with my paper snips.  But it’s so worth the time and effort to fussy cut! 

The card base is Balmy Blue card stock 8 x 4.25” and I’ve used two patterns from the Bright and Beautiful DSP pack as the back ground of this card.  The “bridge” is made from one of the Nested Essential Dies and cut from Petal Pink cardstock. 

The sentiment is from the Flowering Flowers cling stamp set (stamped in Poppy Parade ink) and the heart is punched from the Bee Builder punch. 

The card needed something more for a  back drop behind the knitting llama so I used the window die from the Welcoming Window bundle and the tree/scenery from the Happy Home set from many years back! Here’s a close up of the window:

And a close up of how it looks with the window “behind” the llama:

And because there was no space to even sign this card on the front, I added a Basic White panel on the back side.

I had a ton of fun pulling in various sets that I have to make this card. I hope you enjoyed my run down of how it was made. The various items used to create this card (much older items excluded) are listed below. Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day!

Supplies & Tools used:

-Zoo Crew 12”x12” DSP #161304 

-Balmy Blue cardstock 8.5x11” #146982

-Petal Pink cardstock 8.5x11” #146985

-Nested Essential Dies #161597

-Poppy Parade Classic Stampin’ Pad

-Bright and Beautiful 6x6 DSP #161449

-Welcoming Window dies (retired)

-Flowing Flowers cling stamp set (retired)

--Happy Home cling stamp set (retired)

Adorable Spring Baskets for Easter etc. Paper Pumpkin March 2024 Alternative

I always have a treat of some kind at each place setting when I teach a card class and I had been WAITING for spring to make these! I knew I wanted to fill them with a little filler grass on the bottom and add chocolate easter eggs! I used a 6x6” piece of Daffodil Delight card stock and I scored a “grid” using my paper trimmer by scoring at 2” and 4” then rotating the paper 90 degrees and repeating the scoring.  This created a “tic tac toe” design of score lines. Then I cut the top 2 and bottom 2 score lines from the edges to the middle and folded the cut edges over and glued them angled and overlapping partially to form a basket! The handle is a  8.5” x .5” strip of card stock. I then cut some of the checkered green and white,  and some checkered pink and white from the March 2024 Paper Pumpkin kit and adhered them to the sides that were folded over. These squares measure 1.75x 1.75”. I added 2-3 punched medium daisies as a focal to the basket…and how cute they turned out! Oh I also used a corner trimmer to round out the corners. Here’s  a close up:

I put a snack size package of gummies, Hershey chocolate eggs and a couple of kisses in each and set them at each seat! They were super cute and a ton of fun to make! I hope you try…if not for Easter, how about Mother’s Day…??

Thanks for stopping by…have a wonderful day!

Cherry Blossom cards - softly watercolored with pencils

I remember this stamp set each year around this time in spring, but I often don’t get around to using it. I love it and can’t get rid of it but…actually use it?? Hmmm….LOL I don’t even remember the name of the set anymore as I just kept the stamp!! But I love the way the cards turned out and am so happy to have used the set again and so, I am sharing it here.

On the left, I did the cards in coral (Calypso Coral to be exact!)  using the Stampin’UP! watercolor pencils and brushed over the color with a water painter brush. When I was done with coloring, I embossed the panel using the Textured Textile Embossing Folder in the Cut & Emboss machine. I love the subtle texture that this embossing folder imparts, without becoming too overwhelming with the rest of the card. The punch used for the sentiments is the Double Oval and the Thinking of You sentiment came from the Paper Pumpkin kit Pick of the Crop from June 2022. I added jewel-like sequins to the card to complete the cards. Here’s a close up of the coral card design:

After I finished the coral cards, I decided that I needed to make some in a soft pink, which is more the typical cherry blossom color. So I used the Melon Mambo watercolor pencil fairly lightly and matched it with Bubble Gum card stock and a soft pink ribbon as embellishment. Tiny faceted rhinestones completed these cards:

 

And I forgot to photograph the insides and the envelopes separately but I stamped the lower bottom insert in the card with a cluster of  buds. And you can see the envelopes peeking out from behind the card also have the flower branch stamped on it.

If you like coloring with pencils and/or the softer watercolor look, try the watercolor pencils and a bit of water on a brush. See the supply list at the end of this post. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies used for this card include:

-Basic White card stock 8.5x11”  #159276

-Calypso Coral cardstock 8.5x11” #122925

-Bubble Gum cardstock 8.5x11” #161718

-Watercolor pencils assortment 1 #161700 & assortment 2 #149014

-Double Oval Punch #154242

-Water Painters #151298

-Paper Trimmer #152392

-Cut & Emboss machine #149653

-Calypso Coral Classic Stampin’ Pad #147101

-Stamp set: retired (name unknown)

-Ribbon: white or pink organza ribbon (from my stash) 

Flowering Zinnia friendship card

I have to admit that when I first saw this DSP pack called Flowering Zinnia….I thought…yikes, BRIGHT...perhaps a bit too bright for me...??  This was at the beginning of March in the depths of gloomy and dark rainy days in the Pacific Northwest! But I bought a pack of the DSP anyhow. And wow, I opened it and LOVE IT so! Yes, it’s got some bold and assertive coloring going on but how cheery and fun! I needed 3 thank you cards for an upcoming class and I came up with this design.

Flowering Zinnia DSP cards

Sadly I gave away the cards before jotting down the measurements of each piece!! The zinnia DSP panel is approximately 2.5” x 5”. And to save DSP, I used two thin purple panels instead of one larger one since it just got layered behind the focal panel. Those measure approximately 4x1” and 4x1.5”. The tougher part of aligning the two so that it LOOKED straight (like it was one piece of printed paper). I aligned it on my a sheet from the Stampin'UP! grid paper and that made it so much easier! The green  striped background  panel is 4x5.25”. And last but not least, and it’s punched out using the Hexagon punch.

And here’s a closeup of the card again:

Oh almost forgot: the wonderful sentiment is from the retired Grace's Garden set. So perfect for a floral card...

Definitely a cheery feel good card! Hope this easy card inspired you today to create...thanks for stopping by.