Have you seen the Unforgettable elephant birthday stamps from WPlus9 yet? I ask because it seems most stampers have seen them, purchased them, and used them. I see them everywhere! I tried to buy this set forever, but it was sold out for a long time. So I patiently waited and finally got it in my elephant loving hands last week. And now I have joined the throngs of elephant stamp lovers and created this card with them. I might even show you some of the other cards I've seen with these adorable creatures because apparently elephants are the next hot thing out there!
Anyhoooooo, on with my Elephant card tutorial. Lots of pictures on this one with product links at the bottom. And here we go ...
Cute lill' fella's, right? I used Distress Inks to watercolor this image. Here is a close up and then I'll show you all the steps for the stamping and watercoloring portion of the card.
STEP 1: GATHERING SUPPLIES
To start, I gathered the following supplies: Unforgettable stamps, masking paper, a stamping block, Archival black ink (which is waterproof so the best ink when using watercolors), and a piece of Ranger Watercolor Paper die-cut with a stitched rectangle from the Lawnfawn Large Stitched Rectangles set. Note: This rectangle is the size of a full 4.25x5.5" card. I used it as I wanted all three elephants to fit on it. You could either use this piece as your entire card front, or you could do what I did - mount it on card stock and have a bigger than normal sized card.
STEPS 2 AND 3:
Step 2: PREPARING MASKS
Stamp the images you plan on using on a piece of the masking paper. I used all three elephants, three balloons, and three hats. Cut these images out - this goes super fast because the paper is so thin.
Step 3: STAMPING IMAGES
Stamp your images on your actual die-cut card stock rectangle. Note: I die-cut a few of these because I didn't get this step right the first time! When you have images that are overlapping, use your masks to get them right. Before I stamped the elephants, I stamped their hats and put masks on them so that they appear to be on their heads. I wanted the center elephant to look like he was in the front. So I stamped him first, then I put the mask on him and stamped the next elephant on the right. That way he appears to be in the back. For the balloons, I stamped the center one first, put the mask on it and then stamped the other two over the center mask. Last, I stamped some of the little grass images along the bottom overlapping some of my masked elephant.
STEP 4: BLENDING COLOR ON THE BACKGROUND
Now it was time to add color to my background with Distress Inks. I used Tumbled Glass for the sky and Mowed Lawn for the grass. I used the Ranger Blending tools to apply the color. I added some (not very tacky) (not my favorite) (didn't mind wasting) washi tape on the outside edges of my rectangle covering up the stitching and outside edge so it stayed white.
When applying the color, rub it from the image out or from outside the edges in. You want the first stroke of ink to not show so it looks more natural with less lines. I applied the blue ink primarily to the center of the image and left some of the areas white around the edges. Once you are done and get the color built up the way you like it, remove the masks (see last image above). Note: The color will look much darker once you remove the masks.
STEP 5: WATERCOLORING THE IMAGES
Now for the most fun part of the process - painting! I used the medium round brush from my Ranger brush set. For the balloons I used three colors of Distress Inks: Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, and Mustard Seed. For the elephants, I used primarily Black Soot, but also a little Victorian Velvet and Stormy Sky to add shading and depth.
Before I add any color, I apply water rather liberally to the entire area I am about to paint. In this case, I added water to the center balloon getting close to the edges. Then I picked up some ink off my Ranger Craft Mat (you can also use a stamp block). I put it onto the water and let it spread out. Whatever is wet will take the color. So it is very important not to work on an area that has a wet area next to it (which is why this is version two of this card). The colors will bleed if there is any wetness next to them. First I started with the center balloon, and then I worked on the elephants and came back to the other two balloons. You can also use a heat tool to dry areas as you work to make it faster. Continue to apply color to the entire balloon to keep it as transparent or opaque as you prefer. Adding the water first lets the color move around and makes it look more shaded and less flat.
For my elephants, I pressed my three stamp pads onto my stamp block. I started by applying water to the center elephant. The more water you start with, the lighter the color will be and the more transparent you can keep it. I made my first elephants way too dark for my liking. So this time, I started with a lot of water and very little black ink and then moved the color around the entire elephant.
These three images above will show you how I applied the color. I started with just a light coat of black ink on the center elephant. Then I added some additional black to shade and some blue to add depth to the overall color. Last, I added some pink for his cheeks and the inside of his ears. I let him dry and then went back a couple times to add a little more shading until I was happy. I worked on the other two elephants the same way. Each elephant got a little lighter than the last as I learned to use less ink and more water! After I finished the elephants, I painted the other two balloons and the party hats in the same colors as the balloons.
STEP 6: FINISHING TOUCHES
To finish off the painting, I added some Mowed Lawn ink to the grass pieces for shading. I used a white Uniball Marker to add some polka dots to the center party hat and some dots to the balloons. I added some twine and mounted my piece on two colors of My Favorite Things card stock in Razzle Berry and Tropical Teal.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I entered this card in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog (Things That Fly). Come back tomorrow for another card! It's almost the weekend - yippppppeeeee!!! xoxo suzy
ADORE!!! Tried to buy it this week, was still sold out. :-/
Posted by: Michele | March 14, 2015 at 07:24 AM
Your cards are adorable and glad to see you are creating again! I noticed you weren't blogging but figured you were busy with your dad and family things. So sorry about your father. I lost my dear sweet dad last summer so I know some of what you must be feeling. What a blessing dear sweet dads are...we were very lucky to have had one. Looking forward to seeing more of your work as time goes on. :-)
Posted by: Elena Maus | March 16, 2015 at 11:01 PM
I love this card and thanks so much for the tutorial! I would not have thought to add stormy sky to the black soot for the elephants but you made it look perfect so will definitely try those colors together. All of the tips are terrific!
Posted by: Brenda | March 18, 2015 at 08:21 AM