Welcome to the Jungle

Doodle Pantry is having their monthly "Ants in My Pantry" challenge. The theme, as always, is "Anything Goes," so long as it uses a digital stamp/image. I created another card to send to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

I began by choosing the 4 animals included in Doodle Pantry's "Safari Critters" set. I opened each image in Photoshop, and created a blank canvas sized to 4.25x2". I moved each animal to my canvas, overlapping & repositioning them until I liked the arrangement. Then I printed them onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I colored them with my Inktense pencils, using a damp brush to move & blend the colors. Then I set that aside to dry.

For my background, I used the "Irregular Arrow Bold Prints" stamp by Hero Arts. I inked it with bands of Bundled Sage, Shabby Shutters, & Peeled Paint Distress inks, creating something of an ombre effect. Then I spritzed the stamp lightly with water, and stamped it on another piece of watercolor paper. Once the panel had dried, I blended more of the same green inks over the stamping, to create a tone-on-tone look.

For the greeting, I printed one from "Safari Critters" onto a piece of cream cardstock. I trimmed it to size, and matted that & the focal panel with kraft cardstock. I wrapped a piece of jute twine around the panel where the 2 pieces met, and glued down 3 buttons on the greeting strip. When the glue had set up, I threaded more twine through the button holes, taping the ends on the back of the panel. Finally, I adhered that to my background panel, and mounted that onto a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Craft Your Passion Challenges #302: "Anything Goes"
Incy Wincy Designs: "Shades of Green"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge: "A Bit of Green"