Hello friends!
I hope you are all well and welcome back. I wanted to kick off this post by saying thank you to everyone that has sent such kind and thoughtful messages to me over the past few weeks – they really are appreciated and it’s lovely to know that there are people out there that care.
What always helps to lift the spirits of course is a new release from Simon Says Stamp! And this one is called Fresh Bloom and SSS very kindly sent me a stamp set to have a play with. I haven’t yet seen the whole release as of writing this but I am expecting to see some florals, Easter fun and all things Springy! My cards feature a fun set called Dog & Cat Dress Up and I thought I would introduce some fresh and bright colours into my cards for you today!
RSuper fun right? I have used a lot of the stamps in the set to make both my cards and whilst I was making them I was reminded of books I used to get as a child which were called something like “cut out doll” books. You were given a main image of a girl or boy which was printed on thick paper/card. And then printed on separate pages were lots of clothes, accessories etc which had little tabs on them. This meant that when you cut them out, you could hang them on the main image. We loved them! And these cuties are a similar concept except in stamp form and you can fussy cut or use the coordinating dies.
I began by stamping the dog, cat, clothes etc onto Neenah 80lb using Memento, and then colouring them with Copics (numbers listed below). They were fussy cut, but there are dies available if you prefer.
For my backgrounds I took some TH Distress Watercolor Cardstock and die cut two panels with the SSS Stitched Square dies. I then pulled out the Altenew 36 Pan Watercolor set and grabbed a 1/2″ flat brush. I simply picked colours I thought went well together, and painted the stripes across the panel – five on each (colours listed below). These were matted onto a square Neenah 110lb card base with DST.
So that the dog and cat wouldn’t get lost in those bright stripey backgrounds, I next die cut a couple of vellum circles using the SSS Stitched Circles.
I “dressed” the dog and cat by adhering their clothes and hats with wet adhesive and I then popped some foam tape on the back and placed them onto the vellum. To attach the vellum circle to the watercolor panel, I used some DST which was hidden behind the images.
The sentiments are from the set and both were white heat embossed on SSS black cardstock and trimmed using the SSS Sentiment Label Dies and then popped up with foam tape. Some sparkle came in the form of Ice Crystal sequins on the pink card, and some Aqua Shimmer on the hats and clothes on both.
I hope you agree, but I think the fun and bright backgrounds suit the images perfectly and I love the pops of black and white from the sentiment strips. Do head over to take a look at the full release …. at your peril! I’m pretty sure I’m going to be doing some shopping :).
Thanks for your company today and as always, thank you for leaving your comments. Happy Thursday, not long til the weekend folks!
Altenew paint colours: Pink Diamond, Puffy Heart, Citrus Burst, Mountain Mist, Lagoon, Bamboo
Copics used: Dog (W7, W5, W3, W1,W0, CB, BG11, BG13, YG00, YG01) Cat (E44, E43, E42, E41, CB, R20, Y000, Y02, Y08, RV10, RV02, RV06)
Ruth says
We still have those paper dress up dolls. The girls – especially Helen – loves them! I absolutely love the simplicity and class of those backgrounds though. They are amazing!! xx
Andrea Hastilow says
These are so colourful, bright, fun & uber cute Lisa.
Glad you’re feeling the craft love , you’re such a lovei, genuine person & I hate to think of you having a tough time & feeling alone. We’re here for you x Have a good week .
Debbie P says
Cute cards. Love them.
Michelle Short says
Aww, these are so cute! I love how you have dressed up with cat and dog! I used to play with those paper dress up dolls when I was young too! 🙂 Love how you have done the background and your colour choices. Great cards! xx