Inspiration Hop, Day 2: Wild About You and Blooming with Blessings

The Design Team for Gina K. Designs welcomes you to another fabulous Inspiration Blog Hop! As you hop through their blogs today, make sure to leave a comment on each of them because we will choose a few random comments and those stampers will each win a grab bag of deeply etched, pre-cut Gina K. Designs stamps! To see the full list of winners check the Big News forum at Stamp TV a couple of days after the hops!

First up, we have the gorgeous safari set "Wild About You" from Theresa Momber. Loving all these animals and silhouettes that so perfectly capture the heart of Africa! Maybe I'll make it there some day, exotic names that roll off the tongue like Kalahari, Congo, and Zanzibar have always captured my imagination, so I'll be making some very inspired sunrises and sunsets with this set in the meantime! TIP: Google "African sunset" to find some gloriously vibrant photos for realistic colors to use and model your cards after!
This card is inspired by a layout and technique tutorial from my book "A Year of Flowers". The torn reverse masked edge is so appropriate for the rugged landscape. Sponged sunset and grass use Wild Honey, Mustard Seed, Barn Door and Black Soot Distressing Inks. TIP: Instead of using a mask to create a hard horizon line, instead I started sponging at the bottom and made strokes upward over and over to crate the illusion of long blowing grass. Card base and elephant are Pure Luxury Moonlit Fog, elephant is popped up to look like he is coming out of the scene.

So easy to color this elephant! Stamp in Memento Tuxedo Black on gray cardstock, then add shadows under the ears, legs and trunk with W-1 and W-5 Copics. TIP: Using Theresa's lines and dots in the image as a guide make it easy to create some wrinkles and folds in the ears with quick strokes of your marker or pencil, starting on the edge and working inward toward the head.

Add a bit of white to the trunk and eyes with an Inkssentials Gel Pen.

Cut out elephant and snip around the ear and pull out slightly to add more dimension before adhering on pop dots. TIP: stamp elephant's feet planted on grass onto white mat, then put cut elephant over it, this way you aren't cutting out the individual blades of grass.

To accompany this card, please bust out your best rendition of one of the most memorable choruses of the 80's, Toto's "Africa"! Altogether now!

It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from youuuuuu
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever doooooooo
I bless the rains down in Aaaaaaaaa-fri-caaaaa
I bless the rains down in Aaaaaaaaa-fri-caaaaa
I bless the rains down in Aaaaaaaaa-fri-caaaaa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never haaaaaaaad

(Nothing like 80's music to get you going on a Monday morning!) ;)
Next up, We have Rupa Shevde's Blooming with Blessings, a sweet spring set of animals and sayings! I chose this adorable duck and found a perfect match for the Copic colors and cardstocks I decided on in this Pure Luxury Petals and Wings print.
Here is a closeup of the coloring. Card uses Pure Luxury White, Ocean Mist and Just Peachy for the mats, Lemon Drop for the base, and Wild Dandelion and Creme de Menthe for the tag.
And here are the colors I used for the duck and water, just a couple shades of each color! This is a much cleaner and easier way to indicate the marker numbers, I'm sure you'll agree. (I saw Jeanne Streiff do this on her blog and thought it looked more professional and easier to read (and faster than stamping again and trying to draw the lines myself.) Thanks, Jeanne!)
Splish splash!

Now please check out all the amazing designs and inspiration:

• Gina K
• Theresa Momber
• Carolina Buchting
• Cathy Tidwell
• Deb Felts
• Donna Baker
• Emily Giovanni
• Giovana Smith
• Jennie Harper
• Jimmi Mayo
• Lee Murphy
• Lori McAree
• Melanie Muenchinger (you are here, thanks for visiting!)
  
• Suzanne Dean
• Tina Gilliland
• Vicki Dutcher

Have a terrific day! More inspiration coming tomorrow, see you soon!