Happy Easter, Chick!

A card celebrating Easter and all of the wonderful things that spring brings.

STENCILTUTORIALSTRETCH YOUR PENNIES

3/21/20233 min read

Would you like to play around with a design like this? You'll find a supply list below, including a link to the stencil I used from A Colorful Life Designs . Follow the link below and use discount code ChrisFan10 to save 10% on your entire order! (Master Creator Bundles are excluded as they already have a 20% discount built in.)

Green grass and leaves on trees are a very welcome sight here in Ontario, Canada. We have a winter that feels longer and colder than we want it to be (even when it's not... it is!) and the sunny, warm days of spring that bring the green things back are greeted with a sigh of relief.

Card base:

4.25 x 11, scored and folded at 5.5

Black border: 4.25 x 5.5

Card face: 4 x5.25

Stretch your Pennies

note: my card bases are typically white or cream. When I want a different coloured base (as I did here) I'll simply apply a layer in the appropriate colour, but will often cut a rectangle from the center or use a piece that has already had something cut out of it. I find this to be a more economical way to make cards and no one will ever know as this layer is sandwiched between the card base and the card face.

Card Face:

I used the Squeezed Rectangle Masks for this card - specifically I used the second largest one (there are four in the set). I centered it on the card face and taped it in place. Then I took the Grunge Dots stencil and placed it directly on top of the first one. I taped that one down as well.
Using blending brushes and a couple of bright colours for the scene I had in mind. I applied ink through these stacked stencils - blue on top for sky, green at the bottom for grass. The Squeezed Rectangle stencil gave me the awesome, crisp outline, and the Grunge Dots gives a bit of a pixilated feel reminiscent of some comic books.
I removed the Grunge Dots stencil but kept the other in place and very lightly brushed green ink over the bottom section just to get rid of the harshness of the white paper underneath. I used the Cloud Edger stencil towards the top to add detail to the sky - you can just see the clouds peeking out under the sentiment. (I kept the Squeezed Rectangle there throughout to keep the edges clean.)
I removed all stencils and used an assortment of stamps and inks to put trees into my scene, and then I used a marker to create a boundary between the land and the sky.
I added a bit of grass at the bottom of each tree to provide visual interest and a bit of additional texture in the image.
I had already stamped and coloured the sweet little chick with alcohol markers; I simply used a die to cut an oval around her, and then put dimensional tape on the back.
I used a corner punch on all four corners just to add an extra bit of playfullness to the design.

Assembly:

I glued the black border to the card base.
I glued the Card Face to the black layer.
I created a negative version of "happy" by spacing out the dies on a small piece of black cardstock and running them through the die cutter. I saved the actual letters for another project - I wanted to use the openings for this project. I had a piece of yellow cardstock that was just slightly smaller than the black, and I glued that onto the back of the black, so it would show through the openings.
I heat embossed "Easter" in a pearlized purple on white, and used a small oblong die to cut it out. I cut a second one out of scrap and glued this to the back to give it a bit of additional depth and presence.
I glued "Happy" onto the left hand side of the card, alligning the edge with the edge of the card face. Then I glued the "Easter" on top as shown.
I removed the backing from the dimensional tape on the chick , and place it approximately half way up the card face on the right.
I put a tiny gem in each of the four corners (I used an irridescent bubble from Studio Katia).

Final Thoughts:

This card is a mixture of traditional (the chick), contemporary (the sentiment) and a whole lotta cute! I'm really happy with the way it came out.

Supplies: (with links where possible)

Stencils: Squeezed Rectangle Masks, Grunge Dots , Cloud Edger all from A Colorful Life Designs

Chick Stamp: Nellie' Choice, Crafters Workshop

Alcohol Markers: Stampin' Blends, Stampin' Up!

ink: Stampin' Up!

blending brushes, Stampin' Up!

Tiny irridescent bubbles: Studio Katia

adhesive: Tombo Aqua, Amazon

black card stock, Stampin' Up!

yellow card stock, Stampin' Up!