My “little” brother, Mark, had his birthday a couple of weeks ago and this is the card I made him.  Now, really, my brother is no longer little, he is the married father of 4 great kids but I always think of think of him as the fair-haired pest that drove me crazy. Does anyone else always remember their adult brothers first as little boys?

I knew I wanted to use my Nature’s Nest stamp set, – $30.95, #113826, page 111 – on this card but beyond that I wasn’t sure what my finished card would look like. And that is not really me. I usually have a direction in my head and follow it pretty closely when making cards. I actually played with a few of the stamps and a few different colours before I hit on this idea.

I stamped the turtle with VersaMark ink onto the dotted Old Olve pattern from the Tall Tales designer series paper and embossed with clear embossing powder. Then I used a sponge to add Soft Suede ink over the embossed turtle. I found the effect of swirling ink on with a sponge to be softer than using my brayer. 

After allowing the ink to dry for a few minutes during which time it lightened up a bit, I used a tissue to remove the still wet ink from the turtles. This technique is called Emboss Resist. You can also try the technique with glossy paper, coloured embossing powder and/or a brayer to change up the look.

I added two layers of ribbon at the side of the card, layering Soft Suede over Old Olive before adding some More Mustard brads. I added a knot in Soft Suede after adhering the ribbons on the back of the card.

 I wanted to make a border around the Modern Label punch so I could add another More Mustard accent to my card. I punched two pieces of More Mustard cardstock and cut one in half along the length and one in half along the width.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Next, I adhered the cut pieces to my piece of white cardstock. After attaching one set as shown, I attached the second set in the other direction leaving a gap both times.   

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Stamps:   Nature’s Nest (113826), Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:   Soft Suede, VersaMark

Paper:   Soft Suede, More Mustard, Old Olive, Naturals White, Tall Tales Designer Series Paper 

Punches:   Modern Label Punch (116630), 1/16″ Circle

Other:   Soft Suede Polka-Dot Ribbon, Old Olive Wide Grosgrain Ribbon , Earth Elements Brads, Texturz Plates Kit #4

Don’t think it, ink it!