Sweet November ~ Aloha and Mahalo Nui Loa

Hey friends, I'm back with my next creation featuring the beyond adorable latest release from Sweet November Stamps. This weekend is all about the launch of the adorable Tropical Flutterbees and I'm hugely touched to have been invited a second time by the lovely Amy and Tee of Sweet November Stamps to design for them again. You may recall my previous creations for the Summer Fruit Fairies Release which I also had so much fun creating, especially colouring up all that lush fruit! I'd not done anything like that before and loved it! But today, we're heading to the islands in this decidedly tropical release. I've coloured up the very sweet Kiely for this creation and actually, it was the first of the two designs I completed and I absolutely LOVE how this came together. 

I coloured up this cutie to have tanned skin like the Hawaiian's would have. I used E13, E11 and E01 for this lovely tanned skin. Not sure if I needed another colour between, but couldn't get a really smooth blend with this, I chalk that up to this not being my usual blend, so I may have needed another colour to bring this blend together. I'll just keep watching Amy Young and Faye Wynn-Jones colour and eventually, some of their amazing expertise might catch on with me! Hehe. 

I took this cutie on a couple of different backgrounds, I quite liked this map background, but the shadows that day were too stark, so used the first one for the promo shots. I've made a box card for this design and used a few different Whimsy Stamps papers to set the scene for this gorgeous hula dancer. I've also used a couple of lovely Whimsy dies to add some tropical elements to the scene. The palm trees and that climbing stack of tropical leaves with the butterfly in the background are also from Whimsy. I ink blended some green distress oxides and cut the leaves from that. The palm trees, I stalked watched Faye Wynn-Jones colour to get a hint for how I could bring some colour to these white diecuts. I didn't have the same colours she used, but love how these came out. I highly recommend watching Faye's Colouring Video's she's amazing and has a whole lot that use the Sweet November images too!

Hubby and I visited Hawaii on our way over to the UK, years ago, before we had the kids and absolutely loved it. I so want to go back there one day. So I channelled a little of my love for that land into this creation. Their culture reminds me quite a lot of our native Maori people here in New Zealand and there are lots of similarities in the language, culture and native medicine. They of course have common heritage, so it's not difficult to see the shared influences. I'm fascinated as an Aromatherapist by their beautiful Lomi Lomi massage practice and other nurturing healing practices.

Here is a close up of sweet Kiely, she is such a cutie, I didn't want to change a thing on her, so was very careful to fussy cut around her eyelashes when cutting her out. Blades for the win everyday, for fussy cutting! I'm always nervous to add details on an image where there are none. But I like her little nose and how it came together on this creation. It's just a hint, but I think looks quite cute. I coloured the butterflies to tone with the beautiful sea paper I used from Whimsy and love how that worked. 

Here is the card flat for posting. There are a few little bits that peek out the side, so I'll use a wider envelope to be sure it fits nicely. The actual size of the box card base is 5 inches high and 4 inches wide across two closed sections. So not hard to fit into an A6 envelope. Each panel is 2 inches wide. The base portion is 3 inches high and the top is 2 inches high. I didn't decorate under the flaps, though some do with secret messages etc that are seen only when the box is flat. My focus was on the gorgeous papers and toning the colours across this creation. 

The final touch was to add a sentiment and I've had this 'Aloha' sentiment in my stash for so many years waiting for the right make to use it on. It's from Your Next Stamp. I'm on the hunt for a Mahalo die now, as this is the Hawaiian word for thank you. So let me know if you spot one! I had cut this from an aqua cardstock, but it was too bright for this Whimsy paper, so I just coloured over it with a toning copic marker and I love how well it sits with that lovely Whimsy paper now.

If you missed Amy's live today, be sure to watch her replay. I promise it's worth it! Her sister Tee threw her a challenge halfway through to include a volcano in the background design and she totally rose to the challenge, it was amazing! Honestly, I'm in awe of Amy's skill, her backgrounds are incredible! You can click through to that live on the banner above and I really encourage you to. Thanks for popping in to visit today. I hope you've enjoyed this crafty adventure. My huge thanks to Amy and Tee for inviting me to play along this weekend, I loved it! Hugs and happy crafting friends, I wish you the loveliest weekend xoxo