Kitties, You Need Some Help!

Hello, everyone! This is Allison Frazier, and I am so excited to be sharing my very first card as a member of the design team for Butterfly Reflections Ink. Since it is supposed to snow here today in Colorado, I feel validated in sharing a holiday card. Yes, you read that right - snow in early September! 2020, you've officially gone off the deep end now. To be honest, I love making holiday cards at any time of the year and don't feel the need for an excuse - they're so cheerful and fun to make. And who couldn't use a little bit of cheer right now?

My card today uses several different products from Mama Elephant. I have had this Oh Kitty Tree set for about a year, and while I've made a couple cards with it, I have been trying to think of how to use it differently. I finally came up with this idea that the kitty on top forgot to wear the star on his head when he climbed up, so one of the reindeer had to come to the rescue! Weird? Maybe. But I always have fun trying to think up new ways of using products. Oh, and did I mention that I'm a bit addicted to slimline cards lately?

First, I stamped all of my images using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. When I stamped the kitty tree, I covered the star on top of the tree with some washi tape while I inked up the stamp. Then I removed the tape while stamping. I colored the images with colored pencils and Gamsol. This is my first time coloring critters with pencils. I think I like it – I just need a lot more practice. I normally color images like these with Copic Sketch markers, but I really wanted to try something new. After I finished coloring, I took a well-deserved nap. Just kidding - I don't nap, I have kids. But I'm sure I took a small break after all of that coloring! I then used the coordinating dies to cut the images out. I did use my scissors to perform a bit of surgery to extract the "fishing pole" from the Wish Upon a Star set and to remove the part of the tree where the star would have stamped.

Next, I cut a piece of watercolor paper to 3.75" x 8.75". I randomly sprinkled Nuvo Shimmer Powder on the paper and then sprayed with water. I used the following colors: Atlantis Burst, Solar Flare, Cherry Bomb, and Storm Cloud. I let it air-dry and then repeated, adding the various colors to get the effect I wanted. Trust me - there are times when things will look like a hot mess (including your fingers), but shimmer powders are truly magical and a lot of fun to play with. After it was dry, I took the watercolor panel outside and sprayed it with a sealer. I don’t think you have to do this - I just like to be extra cautious so that nothing rubs off. After the sealer was dry, I splattered the entire background (and possibly my floor) with white acrylic paint. I cut and scored white heavyweight cardstock to make a 4"x9" card base, and then I adhered my watercolor panel to it. Because the watercolor panel had been so saturated, it was a little bit warped. There are many ways to deal with this, but I find that if I just adhere it to my card base with Scor-Tape, all is good. 

We're in the home stretch! I cut a piece of white cardstock into a hill shape with my scissors and trimmed it to the same width as my watercolor panel. I stamped the sentiment with Versafine Onyx Black Ink (any black pigment ink would work) and embossed with clear embossing powder. I then glued the hill shape to the bottom of the panel. I used the kitty tree die to cut a few pieces of white cardstock, and then I glued these together to stack behind the one I had already colored. I prefer doing this instead of using foam tape to add dimension because I think it adds more stability, especially if you’re putting the card through the mail. I attached the very end of the fishing pole to the reindeer with glue and then added a little bit of thin foam behind the rest of it to give it support. I diecut the falala word from shimmery white cardstock, stacked it on top of one cut from plain white cardstock, and adhered it to the top of the panel. I finished the card off with some Nuvo Aqua Shimmer on the ornaments and stars.

Thank you so much for joining me on the blog today, and I hope you all have a fantastic day!  - Allison