When I am struggling to find my crafty mojo, there is one foolproof way to get me going and that is by doing a doggy-themed project. I recently picked up the adorable Whimsy Stamp, “Puppy with Balloons,” and I figured coloring up this cutie would certainly get me out of my present funk — and I was right!<\/p>\n

<\/a>I altered this stamp a bit, just by inking up the stamp and wiping away the fizzled out balloon on the ground before stamping it on my card stock. I stamped it with Momento Tuxedo Black Ink and then used the following Copic colors to color him up:
\nWhite areas: E40, E70 and Uniball Signo white gel pen and white Gelly Roll gel pen for details
\nBrown areas: E31, E33, E23, E25 and warm gray 0.3 pt Copic Multi-Liner Pen for details
\nNose and eyes: C9
\nBalloons: YG61, YG63, B66, B69, BG45 and BG49<\/p>\n

For the background, I freestyle drew and cut out a stencil for clouds and then used an ink blending tool and Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tumbled Glass to create the impression of puffy white clouds. I also used a Memory Box Birch Trio Die to cut out a couple of birch trees to give a sense of a scene high up in the trees. To make the birch trees a bit more realistic, I Copic colored the indented areas along the trunks with a Copic E25.<\/p>\n

To frame the main puppy image (which I fussy cut and was going to raise up at an angle to give the impression of the puppy being lifted up by the balloons), I die cut an oval frame using the 3rd and 4th largest dies from the Diemond Dies Ovals Nesting Die Set<\/a><\/span>. I popped the oval frame just a smidge by using some rolled up double sided adhesive. Then I popped up the puppy with Stampin’ Up! Dimensionals foam dots, placing him over the edge<\/strong> of the oval frame to emphasize lift and movement of the pup flying through the air with the balloons.<\/p>\n

I wanted the sentiment to coordinate with the balloon colors, so I blended the same marker colors on a small scrap of card stock. I blended back and forth to create a kind of ombre effect. Then I die cut the “celebrate” word die from the Sizzix Script Celebration Word Die Set from this ombre colored scrap. I love how it came out!<\/p>\n

I’m not sure how I feel about the sparkle I added at the last minute, but I went ahead and used some Glitz glitter glue from Recollections over the top of the balloons and the “celebrate”. I like the sparkle, but I feel like some of the nice Copic coloring, especially on the balloons, was lost. I also added some Glossy Accents to the puppy’s eyes and nose for a bit of shine.<\/p>\n

The following is a start to finish process video of crafting this card:<\/p>\n