Welcome to the second installment of this week's Happiness Caribou Card. Today, I'm going to give you an up-close look at it's creation process and the varying techniques that went into making it. Because there's an abundance of content ahead, let's jump right in!
*Please allow some additional time for the uploading of today's blog post. The instruction set is image heavy.
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In order to make this a more feasable tutorial series, supply lists won't be provided. Instead, products used will be identified by manufacture via a bracket enclosure, and linked appropriately. I encourage you to seek out alternative replacements when a product is either retired, or unidentified. Also, exact replication isn't the sole purpose of this project. I recommend exploring your own creative path while working on your Mapping Happiness Board. Though, do consider trying the techniques and ideas presented!
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Nearly everything I craft is distressed in some way. The arsonal of products I use to produce the effect is as follows:
Ranger Distress Ink {Frayed Burlap}, Sponge Tip Applicator & Nail File
There are other Ranger Distress Ink colors available. I happen to like the shade and feel of Frayed Burlap. Here's a quick overview of the process:
1. --> Apply ink to the paper's edge by rubbing it directly along the inkpad surface.
2. --> Pat the sponge onto the inkpad a couple of times, and brush the edges of the paper with it. At the same time, blend the ink "in" so that there are no harsh lines.
3. --> If desiring a rougher edge, sand paper edges with a nail file before applying Distress Ink.
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This is by far the easiest step! Layer a small Vanilla sheet of cardstock {Paper Source: Rick-Rack Paper/Retired} with Grey patterned paper. Make sure the background is neutral. This will prevent color competition and over-riding color conflict.
Sew around the edge of the patterned paper, or if you prefer, skip this step altogether.
Find a circle stamp that is 1", or 1.25" in circumference {My Mind's Eye: Lost & Found}. Stamp a total of ten to twelve circles onto Craft cardstock using clear embossing ink. Sprinkle them with White embossing powder & then apply heat until the circles take on a shiny, opaque appearance. Punch them from the cardstock with an appropriate sized circle punch {1.25" Circle Punch}. Arrange them on top the card in a random fashion, including off the edges.
There's a new acrylic paint on the market that I can't seem to get enough of, Martha Stewart! The color selection is what I love most about it. None of the colors are over-the-top, and there are a host of beautiful pastels to choose from. Also, the simple, white-topped bottles make it really easy to identify the colored paint inside. They're pretty, too!
Select acrylic paint colors that resemble the interior of an ice cream parlor. Match them with a Metallic Gold paint & Gold Glitter.
Here's where the fun begins - Using a small round tip brush, and the cheerful color palette just created, paint 3/4" dots on White cardstock. Save the Gold dots for last ;) Allow them to dry thoroughly. Feel free to blend differing colors together when painting your dots. I mixed in a small amount of White paint with some of the colors. This varies the shade of a color just slightly, and if not entirely blended in, the addition leads to variegated circles!
Paint three or four gold dots in their own separate area. Sprinkle a large amount of gold glitter on top of them and press the glitter into the paint. Allow it to sit a few minutes, and then go ahead and remove the excess glitter.
After them sweet lil' dots have dried, trim them haphazardly from the paper while maintaining a border around each one. Add them and the distressed stamped circles to the card as shown. Feel free to pop-up a couple of the dots and if limited on space for positioning a photo, layer a dot on top of it. :)
Details. Details. This card is not by any means without a few of them, so take note! There's a specific Basic Grey Rub-On Booklet you'll want to check out for this card: Picadilly {Basic Grey}. From the booklet, I used three of four rub-ons in total. Also, the color palette and garden imagery is perfect for Summer! And no where else will one find an apple tree, strawberries, birds and flowers, like those found in this lively booklet! So glad I picked it up...
Moving on! Trim and carefully apply Basic Grey's "today" rub-on onto your photo. You might need to make it slightly "thinner" to make it fit, and you know what? That's entirely ok - it serves strictly as an accent item.
Grab from your journal card stash, a yellow-colored card {Crate Paper: Pretty Party Tags} and trim it to fit within the confines of the lower, right corner. Adhere down with pop-dots.
Not sure if you remember these or not, but I believe they're still readily available in the sticker section at either Michaels or Joanns. Making Memories came out with their clear phrase sticker sets a long time ago, and I have nearly every single one of them! They're awesome for layering because they're "CLEAR"! And not only that, typography-wise, they're crisp, fresh and fun! I added one on top the upper, left corner of my photo - you almost can't see it!
Trim two small sections from this cute sticker set {American Crafts/Elizabeth Kerchner: Neapolitan} and sneak them behind a few of the dots, and Yellow tag.
Up the vintage vibe by backing the card with a retro-style section of fabric. Adhere the card to the fabric using adhesive spray.
Trim an additional tag {Basic Grey: Picadilly?} to fit the lower, right corner of the card.
Layer it with Dark Brown cardstock and adhere into place.
Continue to build on the card using dot-matching colored elements such as American Craft's "Sunny Skip" {patterned paper} number sentiment and a Fuchsia layered star die-cut {Jillibean: Chicken Dumpling Pea Pods}.
Ok, so this precious butterfly is officially retired, but if you were lucky enough to get a hold of Making Memories die-cut butterfly packs two or three years ago following their release, then you might just happen to have a butterfly that is either identical, or similar in some way to the one above. If not, don't panic. Select a different butterfly from your butterfly stash! Create a brad/circle combination for attaching it to the card.
*The gorgeous Cream rhinestone brad is old Pink Paislee, meaning it's no longer available for purchase. Sorry!
*Pink/Red Striped Date Strip is New Elle's Studio! Find it HERE.
From the same Basic Grey rub-on booklet, layer the floral and circle rub-ons and just above them, position a a similar colored transparency circle {Hambly: Company Closing} w/an inserted Yellow epoxy brad. Prop it up with a pop-dot!
And finally, the very last step - Spell out the card's title from a small alpha set {Bella Blvd.: Pink-Red High Five Alpha Stickers}. The longer the title, the smaller the alpha! My small alpha's are kept separate from the large ones.
And if you have the additional space, jot down a brief note on Vanilla cardstock and position it on top the "Today" rub-on. Make sure to distress the note's edging for added dimension, and interest.
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Next week, I'll bring you an entirely new Happiness Card! This one is already hanging up! If you've questions regarding today's tutorial, don't hesitate to send me an email! Also, feel free to leave it in the comment section as well!
Happy Weekend to All of You!
