Valentine Variations

Greetings! It's Tuesday, so it's my turn to share the projects I created for Topflight Stamps! I'm firmly in the Valentine's Day groove and have made a set of three cards that are a variation on a theme. They all  feature AALL and Create's screamingly cute Love Birds, Paper Rose Studio's' Scalloped Rectangle Frame die set, Hunkydory Crafts' Prism Inks, and my poor neglected  5x7 Gel Press.

Here are all three cards together.

Here's the Love Birds Penguin card, which also uses the Grid of Hearts stencil by Alexandra Renke.

The Together Cat card.

The XOXO Owl card.

Topflight Stamps Products Used:

Love Birds Clear Stamp Set by AALL and Create

Scalloped Rectangle Frame die set by Paper Rose Studio

Grid of Hearts stencil by Alexandra Renke

5x7 Gel Press

Blue Ombre, French Navy, Nautical Blue,  Purple Velvet, Dusky Rose, Rainforest Green, Evergreen, and Arctic Mist Prism Ink pads by Hunkydory Crafts

2" Brayer  by Speedball®

Onyx Black VersaFine™ Ink by Tsukineko®

Other Products Used:

Solar White Classic Crest® Cardstock by Neenah Papers

Avalanche White Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®

140 lb. Mixed Media paper by Strathmore®

Kitten Smitten 6x6 pad by Doodlebug Designs Inc.™

Tuxedo Black Memento™ Ink by Tsukineko®

Stormy Sky Tim Holtz® Distress® Ink by Ranger Industries

Copic® Markers:

   Penguins: N6, N7, N8, C00, C0, B60,

   Cats (colored to look like my babies): C00, C0, C1, C2, C3, R81, B60, BV0000, BG00, BG01, B00, B01

   Owls: E70, E71, E74, E77, E79, E81, E84, E87, R2, Y23, Y35, Y38

Green Bice and Grass Green Chalk Pencils by General's® Pencil Company

Branch Die

Circle Nestabilities® Die Set by Spellbinders®

White Blizzard Nuvo Drops by Tonic Studios

5x7 Perfectly Clear Acrylic Handle by Stampendous®

4" Brayer by Speedball®

Self-Adhesive Removable 8.5" x 11" Labels by Avery®*

STAY-tion™ by Ranger Industries

Stamping Platform

Removable Scotch Tape by 3M 

*The packet of these labels contains 25 8.5" x 11" sheets that make cost-effective masks!

Instructions: 

1. To create the card bases for all three cards, trim three sheets of Avalanche White cardstock to 8" x 5.75", score at 4", and fold. 
2. Use the larger of the two dies included in the Scalloped Rectangle Frame set to cut Avalanche White cardstock twice and the paw print 6x6 patterned paper once.
3. Set aside the cards and the die-cuts.

Penguin Card Instructions:

1. Using Memento ink, stamp the penguin pair onto 140 lb. Mixed Media paper and onto the label paper.
2. Fussy-cut the label version and adhere atop the penguins on the image panel.
3. Adhere a strip of removable Scotch Tape over the base of the card.
4. Place the 5x7 Gel Press on top of the 5x7 Clear Acrylic Handle.
5. Brayer Stormy Sky Distress ink onto the 5x7 Gel Press. 
6. Use the Gel Press as a stamp to stamp the background onto the masked penguin image panel. Carefully separate the Gel Press from the image panel, spritz lightly with water, and heat set.
7. Secure the image panel and the Grid of Hearts stencil to the STAY-tion with magnets then randomly sponge Dusky Rose Prism ink over the Grid of Hearts stencil onto the image panel, starting between the penguins and continuing upwards.
8. Keeping the mask over the penguins, remove the Scotch Tape strip along the base of the image panel.
9. Sponge Arctic Mist over the penguins feet to the bottom of the image panel.
10. Remove the mask from the penguins and realize that the ink bled a little around the penguins' feet. Oops.
11. Color the image with Copic markers.
12. Secure the image panel onto the base of the stamping platform with magnets, position the sentiment as desired, lift the handle, ink the stamp with Onyx Black VersaFine ink, and stamp the sentiment. 
13. Coat the base of the card, including the penguins' feet, with White Blizard Nuvo Drops and let dry several hours. Move on to the next card. 

Cat Card Instructions:

1. Stamp the cats onto Neenah cardstock using Tuxedo Black Memento ink, color the cats with Copic markers to look like your cats, fussy-cut, edge with a dark marker, and set aside.
2. Brayer Ombre Blues Prism ink to the top part of the Gel Press to create the sky.
3. Brayer Rainforest and Evergreen Prism ink to the bottom part of the Gel Press to create grass.
4. Place Mixed Media cardstock onto the Gel Press and pull a print to create a background.
5. Use the two green chalk pencils to add some dimension to the grassy area.
6. Secure the image panel onto the base of the stamping platform with magnets. position the sentiment as desired, lift the handle, ink the stamp with Onyx Black VersaFine ink, and stamp the sentiment. 
7. Color the center of the hearts with the Copic marker(s) that match the background.
8. Adhere the cats to the image panel.

Owl Card Instructions:

1. Stamp the cats onto Neenah cardstock using Tuxedo Black Memento ink, color the cats with Copic markers to look like your cats, fussy-cut, edge with a dark marker, and set aside.
2. Cut a circle from white cardstock using one of the Circle Nestabilities dies to create the moon.
3. Use Dusky Rose ink to stamp the hearts onto the moon.
4. Cut a branch from a scrap of brown cardstock.
5. Brayer Purple Velvet, Nautical Blue, and French Navy Prism inks onto the Gel Press. 
6. Place Mixed Media cardstock onto the Gel Press and pull a print to create a night sky background. 
7. Contemplate adding a spray of stars with white acrylic paint. Decide against it.
8. Use Purple Velvet and Nautical Blue ink to randomly stamp xoxo and "Hugs and Kisses" onto the image panel.
9. Adhere the moon, branch, and owls to the image panel.

To Complete the cards:

1. Secure each image panel behind the openings of the Scalloped Frames die-cuts.
2. Adhere the combined Scalloped Frames/image panels to the card front positioning them close to the top and fold of the card.
3. Trim.

Thanks for visiting today and reading all the above! You're a trooper!