Thursday, January 24, 2013

Lemur Card: Cloud Tutorial

I've been busy creating some cards the past few weeks and can't wait to share them with you all! Today I want to share a fun card that would be perfect for Valentine's Day along with an easy tutorial for making a cloud background. This card uses stamps from Texana Designs.
 Here's the finished card and a detail shot:

 And here's how to create the cloud background:

Start with some scrap cardstock and cut it into a cloud shape with your scissors. The bottom edge doesn't need to be cut, just the top edge. You will also need a sponge and your inkpad. I used Weathered Blue Distress Inkpad.
 
 Tap your sponge on the inkpad to pick up the color, then rub the sponge over the edge of the cloud cutout onto your card base. I usually start at the top near one of the edges. You will just rub lightly then move the cloud shape over a bit and rub again. This gives you the depth of color and looks like lots of big fluffy clouds. Just know that the color looks really light until you move your cloud cutout over, then you will see your color pop off the white background. Continue moving the cloud cutout around until you have sponged all your clouds on the card front.

Here's what mine looked like when I finished the whole front of the card:

I didn't take pictures of my coloring steps, but I stamped the lemurs with my black Memento inkpad and colored the image with my Promarkers. I cut the image out using my scissors and a craft knife. Then I die cut an edge of a frame label on black cardstock stamped my sentiment on a strip of red patterned paper. I glued the red strip down onto the black piece and trimmed the edges, and adhered that whole piece to my card. Then I glued down my lemurs to the card front
 
 Once I had my lemurs down on the card front, I took my large house stamp and trimmed the heart off the top of the chimney. This way I can just just the heart on my project, but the stamp can be put back together when I use the stamp on my clear block. I do tend to get "scissor happy" with my stamps and cut all my sentiments apart too...so many more possibilities for ways to use them! :)
 

With my heart stamp, I inked it in red ink and stamped it three times above my lemurs without reinking. This gives me a 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation inking of the same stamp. Each time I stamp it, the ink will be lighter. This is a great way to have ink colors in lighter tones that match the original color.
 

To finish off the card, I colored some clear gemstones with my black Promarker (alcohol ink marker). You could also use Copics or Sharpie markers. I use my craft knife to cut these gems apart and I use the edge of the craft knife blade to pick up the gems and place them on my projects.


And here is the finished card again:

Supplies Used:
Georgia Pacific: White Cardstock
Sweetwater: Autumn Sweet Black Polka
Close To My Heart: Red Linen Pattern
Letraset Promarkers/Flexmarkers: For Lemur--Nutmeg, Saddle Brown, Morning Mist, Grey Squirrel, Cool Grey 1, Blender.  For Tree—Caramel, Burnt Sienna, Walnut, Umber. For Gemstones: Black.
Spellbinders: Nestabilities Die (Labels 8)
We R Memory Keepers: Corner Chomper (1/2”)
Ranger: Distress Inkpads (Weathered Wood, Fired Brick, Black Soot); Foam Blender Tool
The Paper Studio: Clear Gemstones

*Products received as Texana Designs Team member. All other products were purchased personally by me.