We haven’t seen much of our resident red squirrels during the spring and summer, but that’s about to change. With autumn, their activity is much more noticeable as they stock their larders. Come the heavy snow of winter we’ll put out a few nuts and raisins each day to keep them going. We love watching them and seeing which of the treats they go for first. So it was no surprise when I decided to add the Nuts About Squirrels Stamp Set to my collection. Like the real squirrels, there’s something about this set that just makes me smile. This was one of the cards I made for my recent World Card Making Day challenge and it’s perfect for today’s simple Sunday post.
TWO-STEP SQUIRRELS
Nuts About Squirrels is a ‘two-step’ stamp set. That means that it’s designed to add detail by combining two stamps to create a single image. In this case there’s the outline of the two squirrels and then there’s additional solid stamps to fill in the colour.
I began with Basic Gray ink and the outline of the squirrel (without the acorn). I stamped the outline three times altogether. First, the whole outline on a 3-3/4″ x 5″ layer of Very Vanilla Card. In the space between the body and tail I then stamped the “Hope you’re feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed” sentiment.
Next on a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Very Vanilla Card I stamped the squirrel outline just coming in from the left hand edge. Then I did the same thing on the front of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope.
To complete the images I changed to a Smoky Slate ink pad and the corresponding solid stamp. Lining up the images was pretty easy as the stamps are made of clear photopolymer material. I simply had to look through the stamp and the clear acrylic block to fit the solid image inside the outline.
Once the stamping was complete all I had left to do was create the simple layers for the rest of the card.
COORDINATING LAYERS
I began by using my Paper Trimmer to cut and score a piece of Smoky Slate Card. After folding it along the scored line I sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to create the card base.
Then on the inside of the card base I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to add the larger of the stamped Very Vanilla layers.
Matching with my ink colours I cut one final layer, a 3-7/8″ x 5-1/8″ piece of Basic Gray Card. With more liquid glue I mounted the final Very Vanilla piece onto the Basic Gray layer. Then I added Stampin’ Dimensionals to the back and attached it to the card front. In no time at all my project was complete.
I love stamp sets that give me options. This one allows me to use just the outline, or to use the outline filled in using the solid stamp, or even add colour inside the outline by hand. So many possibilities to explore…
For some other projects using the Nuts About Squirrels Stamp Set see these earlier posts:
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