Blogger Challenge: Week 49

This week's challenge was to feature animals. I have collected lots of animal stamps so it was hard to decide what to do! I decided to go with a summery theme and make a card using Crab & Company. I resisted this set when it first appeared, but I finally caved and bought it a while ago. I like the whimsical line art style of the images. It looks like it's drawn by the same artist who created one of my other favorite animal sets, Unfrogettable.

I decided to create a scene for the little crabby guy by making a shadow box card. You can find a tutorial for making these fun cards here. The cutout for the card and the scalloped frame were made using Nestabilities dies. These made the card really easy to do! After I made the circle opening, I used a Scor-Pal to create the score lines on the pieces for the front and back of the card.

For the scene, I stamped the crab image on a scrap of of white cardstock and colored it with Copic markers, then trimmed closely around it. For the background, I used some scraps of kraft cardstock. I tore the cardstock and then, to get the "sandy effect," I rubbed my white craft ink pad along the torn edge. I layered the pieces, using foam tape between some of the layers to create a varied shoreline. Originally, I had planned to place the crab image in the scene using dimensionals, but because the image has some tiny parts, I ended up gluing it directly to the scene. I found some small wiggly eyes in my collection and attached those to the crab image--cute! I added some more ocean life (shells, starfish) in among the layers of sand, too.

I have tons and tons of small chipboard hearts from a recent bulk buy purchase opportunity for SU! demos, so I decided to add one to the crab's hand. I inked it with red craft ink, then attached it to the scene with dimensionals. To match the heart, I used the "shore do love you" sentiment as an accent.

If you have a chance, check out what the other challenge players have created for this week's challenge. I'm sure you'll find a bunch of great ideas.

Materials Used:

Crab & Company and Twill background stamps, Night of Navy Classic ink, Real Red and White Craft inks, Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue, Real Red, and Kraft cardstock, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, Bashful Blue striped grosgrain ribbon, chipboard heart, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); circle and scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities); markers (Copic Ciao); white cardstock (Georgia Pacific); foam tape; wiggly eyes