I Brake for...Going Outside the Lines!

Hi, Stampers! Hannah here, from Fanciful Spaces!

I love squid and octopuses. I REALLY love them. I also really like the animal mechanical images by Carmen Medlin, if you couldn't tell. ;) You'll be seeing quite a few more cards based off of her designs in the near future. How could I not fall in deep, deep love with them, they are so creative! I Brake for Stamps has SO many Carmen Medlin designs to choose from, I encourage you to check them out!

Wow, do I have a lot of video for you today! I filmed myself painting the background and the squid in two separate sessions. I went into painting this card with zero ideas of how it would turn out. I very much wanted to do it in the spirit of the sentiment, but I just couldn't.

Painting the Background with Zig Markers, watch this.

Painting the Squid with Zig Markers;

My filming of this card was inspired by a conversation that happened in a Facebook group about how some people found it hard to paint with Zig brushes. I get that, boy do I ever. I almost sold mine because I couldn't figure them out. In fact, they were in my house for a solid year before I finally "got" them. It is so funny to think back on how much trouble I had with them, especially since my family and I are taking a trip shortly and I think I've decided that they will be the coloring medium I choose to use while away from my stash!

The videos show what ended up being the background of the main panel and the critter itself. I do not show how I built the card. Honestly, I didn't know how I was going to finish the card for the longest time. It floated around my craft room for a couple of weeks while I pondered that.

In the end, I'm extremely pleased with how the card was finished. I re-created more background for the back panel. I feel like the black middle panel acts like a black line in a coloring book and the background that I re-created is the color going "outside the lines".

I silver embossed all edges, because that is my MO, and finished the card off with single strands of silver embroidery thread. I also took a black Multiliner from Copic to color the card panel corners black, thus providing a more finished look to the card, instead of leaving the corners white.

I worked hard on this card, I spent more time thinking about it and trying to decide how it would look than most cards. I am extremely pleased by how this turned out, and I hope it inspires you!