The Xyron Design Team was given a summer theme for this June project. I went through my stamps and found a sweet little dog sniffing a flower, by Whipper Snapper Designs. I thought it would be fun to do a play on words with "The Dog Days of Summer."
I recently colored an image with Arteza watercolor pencils; this time I decided to use my Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils and Strathmore Series 500 Watercolor Paper to see how they performed in comparison. I still need some practice layering (watercolor pencils seem to reactivate more easily than watercolor even when dry on paper) but these were much easier to work with than the Arteza combo.
The Mega Runner comes with a 1/2 inch wide 100 foot roll of strong adhesive. Refills are available in 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch versions.
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Making the Card
1. Using VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink, stamp Sweet Sniffs of Spring (Whipper Snapper Designs) on Strathmore watercolor paper (I recommend a Stamp Platform or Misti due to the texture on the paper). Although it is waterproof, it is a pigment ink, which usually takes a while to completely dry, so you may want to use a heat tool to set the ink.
2. Color image with Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils, using a waterbrush or watercolor brush and water to blend the colors. You may go over darker areas with pencil while paper is slightly damp to get more pigment lay-down. You may find a list of colors I used below Supplies.
3. Die cut image with Cross-Stitched Oval. Using the next size up oval, die cut the grass background paper (Puppy Love Paper Pad). Note: I highly recommend the Sizzix machines for die cutting. I have been very happy with mine!
4. Cut green cardstock 7x10 inches; fold in half to form a 5x7 inch card base. Cut blue cardstock 4 3/4 x 6 3/4 inches. Adhere to card base using Mega Runner (see photo below). Cut dog scrabble patterned paper (Doodlebug Design Puppy Love) 4 5/8 x 5 1/4 inches. Adhere to bottom part of card as shown above.
5. Cut blue gingham patterned paper (Doodlebug Design Gingham-Linen Rainbow Petite Prints) 1 1/4 x 4 5/8 inches. Use Cricut Maker or other digital cutting machine to cut "The Days of Summer" from green cardstock (I used a system font that I thought would be fun with this card - I also welded some of the letters together). Use a Xyron 1.5" Create-a-Sticker to put adhesive on the backs of the words/letters (see photo above). Arrange words and Mini-Scrabble letters (don't stick down the Scrabble letters yet though) on blue gingham piece, leaving room for bone and paw brads. Note: the brads I used came colored - if you can't find them already colored, you could paint them using Vintage Patina in Onyx and Marble, which is made to stick to metal. Add brads where shown. Hint: I used a soft mallet and cutting mat to lightly tap the prongs flat behind the paper. Use Mega Runner to adhere to top of card base as shown (avoid brads). Adhere Scrabble letters.
6. Adhere die cut grass oval where shown. Adhere watercolored dog oval using dimensional adhesive. Watch the following video to create dimensional adhesive using a Xyron 9" Creative Station with Permanent Adhesive.
Supplies
- Xyron: Mega Runner, 1.5" Create-a-Sticker, 9" Creative Station, Permanent Adhesive
- Cardstock: Grass Green, Ultramarine Blue
- Whipper Snapper Designs, Inc Stamp: Sweet Sniffs of Spring (CY866)
- Doodlebug Design: Puppy Love 6x6 Paper Pad (5299), Gingham-Linen Rainbow Petite Prints (5450)
- Strathmore Series 500 Ready Cut Watercolor Paper 5x7
- VersaFine Clair Ink: Nocturne
- Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolor Pencils
- Optional: Stamp Platform or Stamp Positioner, Heat Tool
- Waterbrush or Watercolor Brush
- CottageCutz Cross-Stitched Oval Set CCB-016
- Optional: Jolee's Boutique Mini Scrabble Letters (I think these are discontinued but you can find some around - there are also generic options)
- Cricut Maker
- Dog Bone and Paw Brads
- Grass/Leaf 267, 170, 205
- Collar/Flower 219, 115
- Dog 176, 182, 179, 199
- Sky 120
