Often when I make a project featuring flowers the blooms are big and the focus of attention. For today’s card however they are much more subtle. That said, they were definitely the most time-consuming part of the creative process. You see the flowery background is one of the black and white patterns in the Zoo Crew 12” x 12” Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. My colour scheme came from another sheet from the DSP pack where the cute alligator is riding a bike with a basket full of pink flowers.

ZANY ZOO

Having found the paper with the little flower outlines I started by cutting a 6″ x 6″ piece. Then I simply coloured in the pattern using Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. For the flower centres I used dark Lemon Lolly, with dark Petal Pink for the petals. Unfortunately I don’t yet have the Lemon Lime Twist Stampin’ Blends listed on the DSP pack so I had to improvise. In the end I coloured in all the tiny leaves using the light Parakeet Party marker. Once the 6″ x 6″ piece was coloured I had enough paper to decorate the card front, inside and envelope.

My cute alligator needed absolutely no colouring at all. He was one of the colourful characters on another sheet from the DSP pack, and I simply cut him out using the coordinating die from the Zany Zoo Dies.

For my sentiment I chose “Something great to celebrate – you” from the Zany Zoo Stamp Set. After cutting a 2-5/8″ x 2-7/8″ piece of Basic White Card I stamped the sentiment in the top right corner using Tuxedo Black ink. Then I mounted the panel onto a 2-3/4″ x 3″ piece of Basic Black Card before adding the die-cut alligator with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

FAST FINISH

Now all I needed was to put everything together. First I cut a 2-1/4″ x 6″ piece of my flowery DSP and attached it to the flap of a Basic White Medium Envelope. Then I trimmed off the excess paper with my Paper Snips, using the edge of the flap as a guide.

For my A2 tent-fold card base I chose Petal Pink Card. Using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored the card, then folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder.

Going back to my altered DSP I cut a 3/4″ x 6″ strip and then trimmed it down to 5-1/4″ long. Using liquid glue I attached the strip down one of the long edges of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Basic White Card. Then I glued the assembled layer inside the card base with the flowers towards the bottom edge.

Next I trimmed the remaining piece of altered DSP to 3″ x 5-1/2″. For the mat layer I initially cut a 3-1/8″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Basic Black Card. However when I laid the DSP on top I felt that the black border was too thick. So I trimmed 1/16″ off the Basic Black layer making it 3-1/16″ x 5-1/2″ before gluing the DSP on top leaving a very narrow black line along one edge.

With that done I glued the layered DSP to the card front with the floral edge up against the crease. Then I added the assembled sentiment over the top with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

At this point I thought my card was done, however sitting on my desk I noticed some scraps. First there was the 1-16″ x 5-1/2″ piece I’d trimmed off the Basic Black mat. So rather than waste it, I opened up the card and carefully glued it along the top edge of the DSP strip on the card liner.

Then there was a 3/4″ x 3/4″ piece left over from the strip added to the card liner. This piece had two tiny flowers so I cut them out with Paper Snips and rolled them between my fingers to lift the edges a little. Then with a dot of liquid glue on the back I added the flowers to the bicycle basket and my project really was complete.

Now as I sit here and look at the card another idea has just popped into my head. So I’ve made some notes and popped that into the stamp case to remind me next time I fancy a trip to the Zany Zoo.

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Zany Zoo Stamp Set and coordinating Dies in a bundle. Using the single bundle item number to get these two items meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying them separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle below in case you want to explore this option.

DSP SALE – The Zoo Crew paper used here is one of 13 packs included in the Designer Series Paper sale. But remember, if you want to get 15% off you must place your order by this Friday (June 30th).