This card, which features the versatility of the\u00a0Docrafts Brickwork Background Stamp<\/a><\/span>, is a guest design team project for Maymay Made It<\/a><\/span>. These three Katzelkraft Grumpy Penguins<\/a><\/span> with their disgruntled faces totally crack me up so I thought it would be fun to play with them and the Docrafts Brickwork Background Stamp<\/a><\/span> to create a single layer shaped card that would harken to an igloo home for them.<\/p>\n

<\/a>I started out with Strathmore Bristol Paper<\/a><\/span> for the card front and stamped out the Grumpy Penguins<\/span><\/a> using VersaFine Onyx Black Ink<\/a><\/span> (which is water-safe). Then I used Winsor & Newton Art Masking Fluid<\/a><\/span> and covered them up with an old synthetic paint brush that I had first coated with a little bar soap (this helps prevent the masking fluid from permanently sticking to the bristles and makes clean up easier). I waited until the masking fluid was dry to the touch (about 5 minutes) before moving on to the next step.<\/p>\n

To stamp out the Brickwork Background, I decided to use Simon Says Stamp Winter Sky Premium Ink<\/a><\/span> so that the bricks would look more like ice blocks and less like bricks. Then I used Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers<\/a><\/span> in Cobalt Blue (031) and Peacock Blue (038) to watercolor in the blocks. For an even more icy look, I used a\u00a0Uni-ball Signo White Gel Pen<\/a><\/span>\u00a0to add highlights on all the blocks.<\/p>\n

I then used the soft part of my finger to rub off the dried masking fluid. I was careful not to scrape with my fingernail or press too hard because I didn’t want the masking fluid to take off any of the paper, and luckily it came off really easily.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Then it was a matter of just adding some colorful details to the penguins. I used Yellow (050) and Orange (070)<\/a><\/span> to add some brightness to their eyebrows, beaks, feet and bellies. Then for the shadowed lower and sides of their bellies, I used a Light Gray (091)<\/a><\/span>, which I think added a more rounded, dimensional look to the penguins.<\/p>\n

To made the background look even more like an igloo, I decided to make this into a shaped card. I used the largest circle die from Diemond Dies’ Die-Normous Stack-Ems Circle Nesting Die Set<\/a><\/span>, and cut the top half of the circle from the card front top. Then I took a piece of white cardstock, folded one side about 1\/4″ down and put that folded side just under the circle die and ran that through my die cutting machine half way down too; this forms the card base back. For both the card front and the card back, I trimmed the sides straight down from where the half circles left off. This created an arched, or igloo, shape. I glued the two sides together at the tab that was created by doing the 1\/4″ fold. I know reading these instructions can be a little unclear, so if you want to see all of this, the video below walks you through the whole process in detail.<\/p>\n

Lastly, for the sentiment, I simply used\u00a0a Uni-ball Signo White Gel Pen<\/a><\/span> to hand write a little sentiment that reads, “Merry Christmas from our home to yours.” I love the odd juxtaposition of the grumpy faces of the penguins with this super cheery sentiment. LOL<\/p>\n

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