sophisticated yet playful...

Hello my fabulous friends!

Ever since the day I first became an Aunt, I have made birthday cards each year for all the littles (and their parents).  For a long time it was super easy... find a cute little animal stamp... add in an interactive element... and you have a birthday card the kiddos love.... However,  my oldest niece is now a teenager (AHHHH! Where did the time go?!?!) and I'm finding it harder to find just the RIGHT image for her cards each year. 

This year I wanted something sophisticated yet playful... with a touch of whimsy....

With the help of La-La Land Crafts, I think I've got a card she will love.

Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Ranger Foil Cardstock; Georgia Pacific black cardstock

Stamps: LLLC Summer Dress Molli

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Distress Ink Twisted Citron, Seedless Preserves, Mermaid Lagoon

Coloring: Copic

Skin- E30, E31, E33, RV42, E04, R00

Hair-E53, E57, E47, E49

Dress- G000, BG32, BG45, BG07, BG09, B99

Shadow- W3, W1, W00

Stencils: LLLC Building Blocks

Dies: LLLC Star Wreath, Nested Frames Large, Stitched Elements

Other: ribbon; Ranger Perfect Pearls

I love how versatile this sweet stamp is! Just by changing the colors, she would work for so many different things!

I wanted her dress to reflect my niece's top favorite colors... teal, blue and sea green.  Do do this I started with blues as my deepest shadows, then work through teals, and the highlight are a light sea green.  These colors blended beautifully!  Remember, you don't have to stick to "blending groups" or even color families! 

I die cut the Star Wreaths from foil cardstock, so they are super shiny (which my photo lights hate, but looks fabulous IRL).  This die was released as part of the Christmas collection, but it can easily be used all year round!

To capture the vibrance and playfulness of my niece, I decided to do a multi-colored background using the Building Blocks stencil and Distress Inks in some of her favorite colors. Because this is a three step stencil, It was really easy to get lots of colors scattered across the page without things getting muddied.

*TIP: Clean and dry your stencil before flipping it over... Otherwise you risk smudging ink where you don't want it! (don't ask how I know...)

 I flicked on some drops of water mixed with Perfect Pearls to add to the playfulness... 

While you don't see all of the pattern once everything is layered on, you see just enough to make it worth the effort!

I hope this inspired you to play with some stamps and stencils! 

If you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment!

See you soon!

~Kassi

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