New Year Card, Starring the Meerkats!

It's Tuesday, which means it's time to share a project created for Topflight Stamps. This week my teammates and I are sharing projects to celebrate the new year!  In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that I had a shaker card planned with five of the six meerkats included in Katzelkraft's adorable Meerkats Unmounted Rubber Stamp Set. The image panel was completely stamped, stenciled, colored, and die-cut. 

However, things went awry when I sealed the shaker. The black foam was showing and screaming, "Look! Kathi messed up. Again!". When I tried to peel the image panel from the foam, the left part tore. 

So I started another card with completely different stamps because I do have lots of ideas. Then I stamped part of it sideways. Near tears, with two hours to go before this post was due, I rescued part of the fubarred shaker card. Or I think I did. Thank heavens for my collection of cutting dies. The instructions have been written as though the card below was my original intention. Hahahahahaha.

Anyway, here's my Meerkat New Year's card! You'll have to admit that they look like they're having fun!

Topflight Products Used:
Meerkats Unmounted Rubber Stamp Set by Katzelkraft

Classic Sentiments by Heffy Doodle

Super Hero Rays 6x6 Stencil by Paper Rose Studio

Stones Stencil by Lavinia Stamps

Blending Brushes by Time for Tea Designs

Onyx Black VersaFine Ink by Tsukineko

PSA: There are lots of fantastic new products at Topflight Stamps, so you should definitely click on over there after reading my instructions! BTW, if you'd like to get 12% off your order at Topflight Stamps use THIS LINK!

Other Products Used:
Solar White Classic Crest® Cardstock by Neenah Papers
Grey Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
Tuxedo Black and London Fog Memento™ Ink by Tsukineko®
Picked Raspberry, Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean Distress® Ink by Tim Holtz® for Ranger Ink
Copic® Markers: 

   Meerkats Left to Right: E41, E42,E43, E44, B21;  C0, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5,C7, E04, RVV43, B21, B60;  E51, E53, E55, E56*, E57, E59, B21

Fancy Folded Banners Lawn Cuts by Lawn Fawn®

Dot-Stripe Petite Prints 6x6 Patterned Paper Pad by Doodlebug Designs, Inc.™

Powder Blue Double Dot Paper from the Bold and Bright Patterned Paper Pad by BoBunny Press®

Sunray Venus Layering Basics die set (Tonic Studios)

STAY-tion by Wendy Vecchi for Ranger Industries

Stamping Platform
Removable ID Labels by Avery®

Post-It® Notes by 3M

Instructions:

1. Use magnets to secure a piece of white cardstock onto the stamping platform.
2. Position the dancing meerkat facedown onto the cardstock.
3. Press the lid of the stamping platform onto the stamps, lift, ink the stamps, and stamp. Repeat inking and stamping if necessary for a clear impressions.
4. Place a piece of Removable Label paper onto the platform (over the image panel), re-ink the stamps, and stamp.
5. Fussy-cut the label version mask and place over its counterpart on the image panel.
6. Remove the stamp from the stamping platform.
7. Position the other two meerkat face-down onto the image panel, press the platform's lid into the back of the stamps, ink, and stamp. Repeat inking and stamping if necessary.
8. Stamp the two meerkats onto removable label paper, fussy-cut them, and position the masks over the meerkats.
9. At this point all the meerkats should be masked because these days wearing masks is very important.
10. Remove the image panel from the platform and use magnets to secure it to the STAY-tion.
11. Place the magnetic ruler horizontally over the meerkats' feet/paws.
12. Brush Tumbled Glass Distress ink over the masked meerkats onto the image panel.
13. Use magnets to secure the Super Hero Rays stencil over the image panel and brush Shaded Lilac Distress ink from the center of the stencil outwards. 
14. Brush Picked Raspberry from the edges inwards to the center of the stencil.
15. Blend the inks to your liking.
16. Use Post-It Notes on each side of the ray to extend the ray to the outer edges of the image panel. Brush Picked Raspberry Distress ink between the Post-It notes, then blend the ink colors.
17. Repeat Step #17 to extend the rays as necessary so that the rays extend to the image panel's edges.
18. Move the ruler so that it covers the top part of the image.
19. Brush Salty Ocean Distress ink over the ruler to the bottom of the image panel.
20. Secure the Stones stencil to the image panel using rulers, then brush 
21. Remove the stencils and the image panel from the STAY-tion.
22. Remove the masks from the image panel and reserve for a later use.
23. Color all of the meerkats with Copic markers.
24. Continue to work on the shaker card by die-cutting the champagne glass, trimming the image panel, adhering acetate to the back of the image panel, created a Super Hero Rays stenciled back piece, add dimensional foam adhesive, fill the aperture with shaker goodies, peel back the adhesive, and put the image panel askew so that the black foam tape is showing. 
25. Use one of the dies from the Sunray Venus Layering Basics Die Set to cut the image panel. 
26. Use the next largest die to cut grey cardstock.
27. Trim patterned paper to 4" x 5.25" and edge with a V01 marker.
28. Adhere the patterned paper onto a grey A2 card.
29. Adhere the image panel as shown.
30. Use one of the dies from the Fancy-Folded Banners dies to cut blue patterned paper.
31. Use magnets to secure the die-cut onto the stamping platform.
32. Position the "Happy New Year" clear stamp face down onto the banner. 
33. Press the lid of the stamping platform onto the stamp.
34. Ink the stamp with Onyx Black VersaFine ink and stamp. Repeat the inking and stamping if necessary.
35. Adhere the sentiment to finish the card.

Thanks for visiting today1