Lili of the Valley ~ Say Cheese

Hey crafty friends, I'm popping in with the 'part two' of a card I shared over on Instagram recently. I showed the inside which I'd used the coolest Whimsy Stamps set to decorate and as some suggested, the design could have a been a cool CAS stand alone creation. But it was in fact, the inside to this design. The finishing touch, which I absolutely love. It completes and elevates this cute design which was a birthday card for a ratty lovin' family member.

These adorable little mice were re-released in Digital Format recently by Lili of the Valley. Originally a Photopolymer Stamp Set, they are fabulous added now to the Digital Collection and makes it fabulous for folks like me who live abroad, not in England where Lili of the Valley is based. 

I wanted to add some colour for some depth and interest in the cheese holes. So I grabbed my ink blending tools, some Wild Honey and Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide Inks and a shimmer pen to trace the outline of the holes without leaving a line I'd need to erase. This adds a subtle touch of shimmer which is really nice, but serves to show were the holes are too, to make the inking easier. Sweet thing was, it was noticed and commented on! The cardstock I started with I'm pretty sure was Beeswax from my Spellbinder's ColorWheel cardstocks. The inks just added some additional depth and interest to this cardstock.

Once I was happy with the inky layers, I brought the two panels together to check if anything extra was needed and then flipped the decorative die over, added some thin foam strips to pop the panel up a bit for that dimensional look and feel and stuck it in place ready to be decorated. 

I coloured these adorable lil' rodent boys in with Copic Markers, one I tucked in peeking out of one of the big cheese holes, the other I sat in front with his little chunk of cheese. Two cuties, which I had a feeling would go down well with this laddo and happily did. 

This laddo is in our extended family and greatly loved by us all, so it was a real pleasure to see his response when given this card along with his birthday gifts from us. I thought the sentiment 'Say Cheese', was cute and funny for this card and would finish it off nicely. I pulled out a panel from my scraps that had some Mica Stain on if from a previous project. It has this steely green hue. Shiny and lovely up close. I am pretty sure the Mica Spray I used was Fresh Balsam, this was a scrap and I cannot for the life of me recall which Mica Stain used for sure. But hunting through my stash, it's a pretty good match for that one. I diecut the sentiment from a Whimsy Stamps Die Set that has a 'selfies' theme. So fun! I did layer the sentiment up three times to ensure it had enough strength to bridge those open spaces. This helped give it a stronger structure. 

If you'd like to see how I decorated the inside of the card for this cute design, be sure to pop over to my IG channel to see that here. The card base is actually cream, so looks a little different to this inky front after I added the ink blending, but it is indeed the inside of this card with some additional cute lil' rodents to complete the design. Thanks for popping in to visit friends, I hope you're having a great week. I'm catching my breath after a whirlwind couple of weeks helping family. I'm quite frankly plum tuckered out! But I'll be back soon with another crafty adventure. Hugs, Wends xoxo

(I share thumbnails to the elements I design with in order to make your search for them easier, in case you like something I've used. If there are two thumbnails for the same item, I have sourced it in different countries for you. I do use affiliate links where possible, which gives me a tiny commission but costs you no extra whatsoever. I do not earn affiliate payments on my Whimsy Stamps links, these are just for tracking. It helps the companies I design for to improve their marketing practice and track my contributions. I am deeply grateful if you use them for these reasons. I am proud to design for the companies I do and always feel happy to share where my inspiration and where my crafty stash comes from. I am occasionally gifted products to use, but I only design for companies whose products I absolutely love and buy for myself. My opinions are always my own. If you use my Whimsy Stamps links and it's your first time shopping with my links, you'll be offered a 10% discount, which is a cool treat. So my links cost you nothing, but may also save you a few pennies. This is a 'one time' benefit, great if planning a bigger purchase.)

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