Hello Crafty Friends! I’m Marie and I’m super excited to be here today to share my very first blog post.  For today’s card inspiration, I created a sweet and simple Hello Card with a night time scene featuring the recently released stamp set titled Forest Fawns.

This stamp set is just so adorable! I wanted to focus on a single image of the little fawn looking up as if to say “hello” to her new butterfly friend. To start, using an A2 sized die, I cut my cardbase from Neenah Solar White 110 lb card stock. I always use this cardstock for all my bases as it is heavyweight and sturdy.  I then used Hello Bluebird’s Gallery Frame #6 Die to cut my frame out of bristol smooth cardstock. For all my card backgrounds, frames, or die cuts that require ink blending, I always use bristol smooth cardstock because the texture is perfect for inks to glide on and blend out like butter. I then used an A2 sized Teal lightweight cardstock  for my background and glued it to my cardbase. Using Distress Oxide Inks, from the outside blending inward, I used the colors “Chipped Sapphire” and “Black Soot” to darken the paper to look like a whimsical night in the forest. I then used “Vintage Photo” Distress Ink to ink around the edges of my frame.

I stamp out all my images using Distress Ink in “Antique Linen”. I love to no-line watercolor all my images, so using distress inks is perfect as the lines dissipate when water is applied. I then use watercolor pencils to color my images. My favorite pencils to use are my Faber-Castell 120 Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils. After coloring, I cut out all the images using the Forest Fawns Coordinating Dies. I also used some foliage images from the stamp set “Banner Buddies”. I used the sentiment ‘hello sweet friend’ from the new “Forest Friends” stamp set. I cut out my sentiment using the smallest rectangle die from the Nesting A7 Dies.

After arranging my images, I adhered everything down using Score Tape and I used some foam squares to give dimension to the fawn, butterfly, and tree stump. I then added some star detailing using a white gel pen. I used the Sakura Gelly Roll White Highlight Pen in size 05. I finished off my card by attaching another 110 lb cardbase to the top of my card so it opens from a fold and stands nicely by itself.

Thank you for stopping by today! I can’t wait to share more inspiration cards! Happy Crafting!!