Hello my crafty friend! Today, I’m sharing a fun birthday card, that’s perfect for guys. There’s not a lot of technique to share; it’s a simple card to recreate, but I really like the way it turned out. Take a look…
To start, I stamped the Caffeinated Koala onto a white panel with black ink. (Since I knew I wanted to stencil a green background, I decided against no-line coloring.) Next, I masked him off and blended two light shades of green ink all over the panel. Then, I placed the Amanda Stencil on top, and lightly blended darker green ink through. This kept the background soft.
Using Copic markers, I colored the Koala in warm greys. I chose shades of brown for his robe and slippers, to coordinate with the kraft card base, and opted for a green mug to pull the background colors in. For the white parts of his robe, slippers, and eyes, I used cool grey markers. And speaking of his eyes, check them out! I used a cool new coloring trick I learned from Jammie Clark at the Sweet Retreat last weekend. I need more practice, but I love her technique! (You can see how she does it in this video.) Here are all of the colors I used…
It’s important to note that I colored the image after stencilling the background. This way, if my mask isn’t perfect (and it never is), the coloring is on top. It helps my focal image stay in the forefront and really pop. And it allows me to fix any little ink blending mistakes near the outlines.
Once I finished coloring the Koala, I added a few white gel pen highlights, and stamped a belated birthday sentiment underneath. After trimming and matting the panel onto a slightly larger black one, I popped it up onto a kraft card base with foam tape. Since it’s a masculine card, I added a few satin sequins, instead of sparkling gems. They add a little sheen, without feeling glittery. Here’s a closer look…
What do you think? It’s pretty cute, right? And easy to recreate! I hope you’ll give it a try. Tag me on Instagram if you do, so I can cheer you on!
Thanks so much for stopping by today. I have another fun project on the blog, perfect for the holidays. And speaking of the holidays, be sure to swing back this Saturday, for a special light-up holiday card hop! You’ll be amazed to see who’s joining us…
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