Meerkat Valentine

What in the world are Meerkats?  When Stampin' Up first introduced the Meerkat stamp in the Sale-a-bration catalogue that was the first time I had ever seen this animal.  So, I did a little research and found the following:

Meerkats are a type of Mongoose who inhabit all parts of the Kalahar Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namid desert in Nambia, in southwestern Angolia, and South Africa.

They are carnivora a spend much of their day foraging for food and digging deep tunnels.

A group is called a gang or a clan and it is not uncommon for  30 or 40 Meerkats to be part of a gang. This the name of the stamp set "The Gang's All Meer"

Being with Stampin' Up sure gives you an education!

The Meerkat stamp set can be quite versatile using it for birthdays, and/or holiday events.  Today the gang is sending a Valentine message to everyone.

The Meerkats were coloured with Light and Dark Crumb cake Stampin' Blends; the sky behind them with a  Pool Party Stampin' Blend.

Using the Dog Builder punch (which has a tiny heart as well as the dog) a Real Red heart was punched for each of the Meerkats and attached to their hands.  Tiny stitch marks were made with a fine tipped black pen around the outside and a small red rhinestone placed in the center of each heart.

The completed scene was die cut with the So Sweetly Stitched Die and adhered to the card front with dimensonals.

The Real Red card base is layered with Whisper White card stock.  A strip of From My Heart DSP with a lace die cut adhered to the bottom and a 1/8" strip of Real Red to the top was added to the middle.

The sentiment, from "Meant to Be", stamped in Real Red ink and die cut with the Be Mine dies, was added to the left side above the strip.  The rest of the sentiment was stamped directly onto the card front below the strip.

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  The Gang's All Meer, Meant to Be

Inks:  Real Red, Black Memento, Stampin' Blends (Light and Dark Crumb Cake, Pool Party), Fine black marker

Papers:  Read Red, Whisper White, From My Heart DSP

Accessories:  Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Delicate Lace Edgelet die, Dog Builder Punch, Be Mine die, Dimensionals, Real Red Rhinestones

Friends Furever - cats meet dogs - a pop up

For this card I not only made a pop up on the inside, but I also incorporated some cats into the picture. I know cats and dogs traditionally do not like each other, but I have seen some beautiful friendships between these animals.

Card Front:

The card base of Early Espresso is layered with  Smokey Slate card stock embossed with the Dot to Dot embossing folder.  At the bottom is a strip of Wood grain DSP with a 1/8" strip of Early Espresso at the top.

Two dogs punched n Early Espresso using the Dog punch,  face each other between a friendship sentiment contained in a Tailored Tag punchie.  Notice I changed the word "forever" to "furever"

Inside:

Open the card, and ---surprise, a pop up I! -- two dogs and a dog house.  But the cutest thing is what is peeking out at them through a window!

The Pop Ups

Using the stamparatus, one of the dogs was stamped with brown spots; the other dog on Crumb Cake card stock.  Both were punched with the dog punch and set aside.  The dog house was stamped with Cherry Cobbler ink, with Black Memento details on top.  It was fussy cut.

The 3 pop ups, were made using a non Stampin' Up die. The dogs and dog house were adhered to these pop ups.

Below the pop ups is the sentiment, with paw prints moving off to the side.

Cats in the Window:

The cats were stamped using the stamparatus and punched using the cat punch.  Only the top half of the cats were placed in a window created in the Woodgrain DSP with the Stitched Rectangle framelit and window sheet. It looks like they are watching the dogs below.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Nine Lives, Happy Tails
Inks:  Black Memento, Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze
Papers:  Early Espresso, Smokey Slate, Crumb Cake, Woodgrain DSP
Accessories:  Dog punch, Cat punch, Tailored Tag punch, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Window Sheet, Dot to Dot Embossing Folder, Dimensionals.

His Master's Voice

When I finished this card, featuring the Happy Tails stamp set with its coordinating punch, I was reminded of the old RCA commercial of the record player with the large horn and the dog listening at his master's voice coming from the player- thus the title of this post.

My intent for making this card was to create circle texture by embossing the with the embossing mats and then stamping near the raised areas.  As is usually the case, the card became so much more.

This card was a 'create as you go' card because I had no clear plan as to this card's outcome.

I started by stamping and punching three dogs.  A good number. three!

The stamparatus was used to stamp the dogs, two of which were made to look like my grand puppies - the 3rd a fire house dog.  The middle dog was coloured with watercolour pencils and a blender pen. After punching then with the dog punch, they were set aside while I finished the rest of the card.  At this point I still had no idea how I was going to finish this card.

Using the layering circle framelits and the embossing mats, dry embossed circles were created on a piece of Very Vanilla card stock.  The embossed and debossed sides were equally attractive, but selected the embossed side for this card.  Then, using the two circle stamps from the "Swirly Frame" stamp set, Soft Suede circles were stamped just inside the embossed areas.  A larger circle framelit was used to die cut these circles.

As I laid the dogs in the circle, as idea started to form.  Some how the old RCA commercial came to mind = and the rest is history.

The card base of Soft Suede layered with vertically scored Crumb Cake card stock and a 2" strip of Animal Expedition DSP to the left was made. 

Before adhering the embossed/stamped circle, I stamped "ruff ruff" in the middle and outside circles.

The three dogs were then added using dimensionals, looking like they were listening attentively.

Two 3/4" circles were punched from a piece of card stock randomly stamped with paw prints and placed in the upper right of the card.

The sentiment, from the same stamp set, was added.  I rounded the corners with the corner rounder punch.

Supplied Used: 

Stamps:  Happy Tails, Swirly Frames

Inks:  Soft Suede, Black Memento, Watercolour pencils (Crushed Curry and Early Espresso)

Papers:  Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Animal Expedition DSP, Very Vanilla, Whisper White

Accessories:  Stamparatus, Embossing Mats, Layering Circle Framelits, Dog punch, 3/4" circle punch, Dimensionals