Gnome Day, It's a Thing | ft. Lawn Fawn

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

Have you noticed that every week seems to be national-something-or-other week, and every month is national-support-this-cause month, and it can get really really heavy. Don't get me wrong, there are tons of causes and they all need the exposure, but sadly it gets to a point where I just scroll past it because it's always national-save-the-extinct-animals day.

So, while I was scrolling what national day it was, it turns out that June 21st is Garden Gnome Day. And while I missed the day completely, I couldn't let it pass me by. Every other day gets re-posted through the year so why not one that will at least make people smile?

I crated this card for my sister in law who is one of the most wonderful people I know, not only is she beautiful and kind, she's a hard working mom of two and an amazing wife to my awesome brother in law. So this was for her, to belatedly celebrate a day that celebrates something she loves. Gnomes!

To begin, I stamped the gnome from Lawn Fawn's "Gnome Sweet Gnome" on a scrap of Strathmore Bristol Smooth Cardstock using CTMH's Archival ink. This paper has a vellum finish that makes it awesome for the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, but it does take a little longer for any stamping to dry. So I set that aside.

I then used my two largest stitched square dies to cut a few frames. From one of those pieces I used the very inside to stamp the mushrooms and the flower from Lawn Fawn's "Gleeful Gardens". My idea here was to create a raised frame with a little garden picture inside, but with the gnome on the outside, like it was coming to life; or (if that's too terrifying to think about--because you never know) to have the gnome showing off a picture of his garden.

I coloured all my images in with the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers. For the gnome, I started light, pulled the colour out with my waterbrush, let that partially dry, then added more colour to get a watercolour look. For the mushrooms I didn't use any water, I just blended the colours straight from the pen. For the soft blue of the background, I traced around the images, and then pulled the colour out with water to create the halo.

Once everything was dry, I stamped the greeting using the same archival ink. I adhered the stitched square piece down first, where I wanted it to be on the card front. I then used my Tombow Mono glue to build up the frame around it. Finally, I used the same liquid adhesive on the back of gnome where he would be resting on the frame and some foam tape for where he hung off. This creates some support so when it is mailed it won't warp or bend and look sad.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't all ready, please follow me over on the right sidebar so you don't miss any future posts. Toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

This card is for:

CAS(E) this Sketch Challenge #231