Hi everyone! I can’t believe we already finished the first week of February. I’ve been spending most of the past few weeks inside because of the cold weather, and I’m definitely ready for spring to arrive!
Today I’m back to share a Valentine’s card I made using the Mama Elephant Fuzzy Hugs stamp set. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that I’ve been reaching for this stamp set quite a bit over the past few fews. For today’s card, I focused on the adorable little birds from the set.
These images are very small, but I wanted to use only these birds on the card. To make them stand out, I decided to create a clean and simple window card, which helps draw the eye directly to the scene and keeps the small images from getting lost on the card front.
When working with small images, a few simple design choices can make a big difference. Here are some quick tips I keep in mind when creating a scene like this.
Quick Tips for Scene Building With Small Images
- Use a window or frame to naturally draw attention to tiny images
- Keep the background soft and simple so the images stay the focal point
- Limit your color palette to avoid overwhelming the scene
- Add dimension with stacked die cuts to give small images more presence
- Group images close together so they read as a cohesive scene
Coloring
I stamped the birds using black ink and used the coordinating dies to cut them out. The coloring for this card was very simple, and I only used a small selection of Copic markers:
- Y15
- Y13
- Y11
- R20
- R00
To finish them off, I added a few gel pen details to create subtle highlights.
Die-Cutting
To create the window frame, I used the Stitched Scallop Square dies from Pinkfresh Studio. This die set includes two sizes, and each size includes two frames: one with scallops facing outward and one with scallops facing inward. For this card, I used the smaller size to keep the focus on the tiny images.
I decided to use both frames from that size, but I wanted the outer frame to have a bit more height and dimension than the inner frame. To do this, I cut the larger scalloped frame four times from white cardstock and stacked the pieces together with glue. I then cut the smaller scalloped frame once from white cardstock and set everything aside while I worked on the background.
Creating The Background
For the background, I cut a piece of white cardstock slightly smaller than the stacked frame. I placed a cloud stencil over the panel and blended blue ink on top to create a simple sky background.
Finishing The Card
Next, I added glue to the back of the entire window piece and carefully positioned it toward the top of the card front, making sure it was evenly spaced from the sides. I placed an acrylic block on top for a minute to help everything adhere securely.
To finish the scene, I added the birds and a few small hearts. For the sentiment, I stamped it onto black cardstock using VersaMark ink, sprinkled white embossing powder over it, and heat set it.
Final Thoughts
I really love how this card turned out. It was easy to put together, and the window frame does a great job of drawing attention to the small images. If you have stamp sets with tiny images, this is a simple way to turn them into a focal point and create a sweet little scene.
I encourage you to look through your stash and see if you have small images you can try this technique with!
Supplies Used
- Mama Elephant Fuzzy Hugs stamp set and coordinating die
- Mama Elephant Up With Love stamp set (sentiment)
- Pinkfresh Studio Stitched Scallop Square dies
- MFT Stamps Slimline Cloud Edges Stencil
- Distress Ink: Salty Ocean
- Memento Tuxedo Black ink
- Versamark Ink
- Brutus Monroe Alabaster White embossing powder
