Each time a new Stampin’ Up! catalogue comes out I can’t wait to discover new stamp sets featuring cute animals. In the past we’ve had sets dedicated to cats and dogs, plus pigs and cows. This year one of the animal sets is Zany Zebras and I couldn’t wait to get it inky.

ZEBRAS ARE BLACK AND WHITE

I know it’s a bit predictable but I really wanted my first Zany Zebras project to feature a traditional black and white zebra. I’ll have plenty of time to play with other colours, so today I decided to use a Tuxedo Black ink pad.

From the three images in the set I chose the galloping zebra and stamped him onto Whisper White Card. Then using my Paper Trimmer I carefully cut the side of the card to above and below his back legs. Then I used Paper Snips to cut around the legs so he looked like he was running onto the card.

In front of the zebra I stamped “It’s time to celebrate” and then set the piece aside.

AGED BACKGROUND

For the background to my card I wanted something that wasn’t crisp and clean. I found some great choices in the Whale Of A Time 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. While one side of the sheets are full of ocean and fish images, the back of the papers have some wonderful patterns. I didn’t want anything too bright so chose a simple design in Bumblebee.

I cut the paper to fit the front of a standard A2 card base and then decided to add some more dimension. Taking a piece of Stampin’ Sponge I sponged Bumblebee ink around the edge of the DSP giving it a darker edge.

At this point I went to get a Thick Whisper White Card base, but I came across one I’d made some time ago using Mossy Meadow Card. That would work really well against the yellow background so I changed my plans. Using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I attached the DSP to the card front.

Next I cut some Mossy Meadow Card and used liquid glue to mount my zebra piece onto it. Then I added this to the background layer with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

To add some sparkle I finished the front of the card with a line of three Gilded Gems.

PROJECT COORDINATION

All I had left to do was coordinate the inside of the card and envelope. For this I went back to the same DSP. I had a 1/2″ strip left over from when I trimmed down my main back ground piece. First I sponged around the edge of the strip to match the front of the card. Then with liquid glue I fixed it along the bottom edge of a layer of Whisper White Card. Once that was done I glued the layer to the inside of the card base.

I cut one final piece of the DSP to 2-1/4″ x 6″ and fixed that to the flap of a Whisper White Medium Envelope with liquid glue. Then I trimmed the paper with Paper Snips, using the edge of the envelope as a guide. I wanted the envelope flap to match the card so once again I sponged around the edges with Bumblebee ink. With that done my first Zany Zebras project was complete.

I’m really pleased with how this project turned out. Celebrate cards can be used for so many different occasions and are really useful to have on hand. The green and yellow background is quite striking and again makes the card quite versatile. What do you think?

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