How’s your day been so far? Mine’s been fantastic. Yesterday I went for my second PCR test in Nova Scotia since returning from the UK. It was actually the fifth test I’ve taken in the past 18 days, but who’s counting? Anyway, this morning at 7.10am AST the lab results came through showing I am negative for Covid 19. Not that I expected anything else, but you can never be too sure. Still it means that I can now confidently meet up with friends and family again and I can’t wait. Well actually I will wait a few more days until after I’ve had a much needed haircut.

Meanwhile I’ll continue to work in my craft studio. With Nova Scotia now in Phase 3 of its reopening plan I want to prepare for in-person classes again. We’ve waited a long time for this so I want to do it right, but classes are coming! Meanwhile I’m still blogging with new projects every day. Today’s inspiration for you is a sweet baby card with a sentiment from the new One Happy Family Stamp Set.

COUNT ON ME

Everyone knows I’m a sucker for cute animal images, so obviously I couldn’t resist the new Count On Me Stamp Set. I love the kangaroo image as it seems to have a curious expression that would work with so many sentiments.

I began with a 2-1/2″ x 3″ piece of Shimmery White Card and a Saddle Brown StazOn ink pad. StazOn ink is waterproof so I knew it would be ideal, and Shimmery White Card takes water well. After stamping the kangaroo image I made sure it was properly dry using my Heat Tool set on 1 (low). Then I sat down to paint a little scene using Cinnamon Cider, Granny Apple Green, Mango Melody and Balmy Blue ink pads.

TIP – Press firmly on the lid of a closed ink pad to transfer some of the ink to the inside of the lid. Then use a Water Painter or other brush to pick up the ink. Add drops of water onto the lid to loosen the ink for a lighter look. Once you’re done, if it’s not too wet, simply close the lid and leave the remaining ink for next time.

I painted my scene in sections and let some areas dry a little before going back to add more ink. Once I was done I set the pieces aside to dry thoroughly while I prepared the rest of the card.

After painting the Shimmery White piece I decided to use the kangaroo image as my coordinating feature. So I stamped him coming in from the left side on a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Shimmery White Card. Then I did the same on the front of a Basic White Medium Envelope. Finally I painted the flowers and leaves plus a little grass beneath each kangaroo.

ONE HAPPY FAMILY

My baby card was going to be gender-neutral, so I wanted a neutral colour-scheme for the card. In the end I used my Paper Trimmer to cut and score some Crumb Cake Card. Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to create a card base.

Next for the background I turned to the In Good Taste 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. There were lots of great patterns but in the end I chose the cream-coloured woven design. I cut the sheet to 4″ x 5-1/4″ and attached it to the card front using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow). After that I used more liquid glue to fix the 4″ x 5-1/4″ painted Shimmery White piece onto the inside of the card base.

That just left the focal point for the front to complete.

One Happy Family is a great sentiment only stamp set with 18 sentiments suitable for lots of different family occasions. Originally I’d planned to stamp “you made a little human” onto a separate strip, but I changed my mind. Instead, using StazOn Saddle Brown ink, I carefully stamped it directly onto my painted scene. It was much better there and looked more like the kangaroo was making the statement.

With that done I used liquid glue again to mount the scene onto a 3-1/4″ x 2-3/4″ layer of Mango Melody Card. Then I wrapped some Crumb Cake twine from the Baker’s Twine Combo Pack around the bottom of the layers and tied it in a simple bow.

Finally I added the assembled piece to the front of the card base and my cute baby card was finished.

I’m so pleased with how this turned out. That little scene is so cute and not as hard to create as it might look. I have a feeling that kangaroo and his friends might have more to say in future projects. Watch this space!

PRODUCT LIST

UPDATE 2022 – Sadly the In Good Taste DSP and Cinnamon Cider ink pad used on this project have retired and are no longer available from Stampin’ Up!