Sweet friend...

Hello, hello!

I'm up on the Hello Bluebird blog with a card inspired by this month's Design Challenge which is a beautiful mood board filled with sweet summertime images and fresh color palettes. In particular I was drawn to the pink ice cream cones, fresh lemons and the cute little sunshine drawn in the sand. As I flipped through my collection of stamps I found the perfect ones in the older Park Play set. Not only is the darling squirrel enjoying some ice cream but the set also includes the happiest looking sunshine I've ever seen. With the stamps being on the smaller size, the Gallery Frame #2 die gave me just enough space to have them really fill the happy scene I intended for them. On the smaller upper panel I stamped the sun and the part of the sentiment that says, 'thank you", which I borrowed from the Banner Buddies set. While down on the square panel I stamped the squirrel and the bear. By selectively inking just the ice cream cone and stamping it a second time, I was able to have both of these cute critters enjoying a sweet treat.  The next step was to mask them both off so I could stamp the background from the Storybook Friends set behind them. Now it was time to grab my Copic markers and start coloring. Following the Mood Board color story, I played primarily with pinks and yellows with just a pop of orange on the little bear cub's shirt. The results are a bright and sunny scene that captures some of the best things about summer. Once I glued all the parts of the Gallery Frame #2 die back together on a white card base it was time to complete the rest of the sentiment by adding the new Sweet Friend Words die set in coordinating colors of card stock.

I hope this inspires you to get crafty and create at least one last summer inspired card for the Design Challenge. You have through August 31st to post your creations on Instagram for a chance at the prize of a $50 gift certificate to the Hello Bluebird store, and don't forget to use the hashtag #hellobluebirdsummerchallenge2023 when you do.  :)

Stay crafty my friends!

Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Hello Bluebird (Park Play, Storybook Friends and Banner Buddies)
ink- Memento rich cocoa and Versamark watermark
Hero Arts detail white embossing powder
Hello Bluebird Gallery Frame #2 die
Hello Bluebird Sweet Friend Words die
Copic markers:
sun/sky- Y0000, Y000, Y11, Y21, R30/B0000, B000, B00, B01
grass/trees/flowers- YG00, YG01, YG03, G24, YG17/YG00, YG13, YG17, YG67, E35/G07, Y00, Y11, Y18
path- E41, E42, E43, E44
squirrel/dress- W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, 0, R30/C2, Y000, Y00, Y11, Y15, Y26
bear/shirt- E50, E53, E55, E57, E31/YR21, YR04, YR18
ice cream cones- E31, E34, E44, RV00, RV10, RV11, RV02, RV34