Smile Crocodile

by Kylie

Hi Everyone,

Sometimes you sit down to create and your card comes together easily and you are perfectly happy with the end result. Love it when that happens. But have you ever made a card and then thought to yourself “what if I did this?” So you tried the design again. Having another look at the card you think…”hmm…but what if I do this?” Ah, the evolution of the card. I do this all the time…as there are an infinite number of possibilities to explore.

I am going to share the evolution of one of my cards today. The card features Lawn Fawn stamps and is quite a simple design, with only a few changes, but let me share how it ended up here:

Smile Crocodile - Take 5 Materials used: Bon Voyage, Critters Down Under, Home Sweet Home (Lawn Fawn); Cardstock - American Crafts, Knight; Distress Ink, Distress Markers; Glossy Accents (Ranger) and Googly Eyes.

Smile Crocodile – Take 5
Materials used: Bon Voyage, Critters Down Under, Home Sweet Home (Lawn Fawn); Cardstock – American Crafts, Knight; Distress Ink, Distress Markers; Glossy Accents (Ranger) and Googly Eyes.

Here’s where I started:
The crocodile and tree images were stamped onto the centre panel and coloured with Distress Markers. The backround was created using Distress Inks. The clouds were then added, as too the greeting strip. The final touch was the addition of the glossy accents to the heart to give it some shine. This panel was mounted onto coloured cardstock. Simple and cute but I wasn’t quite happy with it. The ink of the tree was a little dark. The clouds were only on the centre to right hand side of the card. It’s okay but needs a bit more tinkering.

Smile Crocodile - Take 1 Materials used: Bon Voyage, Critters Down Under, Home Sweet Home (Lawn Fawn); Cardstock - American Crafts, Knight; Distress Ink, Distress Markers; and Glossy Accents (Ranger).

Smile Crocodile – Take 1
Materials used: Bon Voyage, Critters Down Under, Home Sweet Home (Lawn Fawn); Cardstock – American Crafts, Knight; Distress Ink, Distress Markers; and Glossy Accents (Ranger).

Onto Card 2:
I stamped the tree directly onto the centre panel but attached cut out images of the crocodile and the clouds. This time the greeting was pop dotted. The panel was then attached to the blue cardstock. The clouds are looking better. The dimension of the stamped images also looks better but I think it needs a little more.

Smile Crocodile - Take 2 Materials used: Bon Voyage, Critters Down Under, Home Sweet Home (Lawn Fawn); Cardstock - American Crafts, Knight; Distress Ink, Distress Markers; and Glossy Accents (Ranger).

Smile Crocodile – Take 2
Materials used: Bon Voyage, Critters Down Under, Home Sweet Home (Lawn Fawn); Cardstock – American Crafts, Knight; Distress Ink, Distress Markers; and Glossy Accents (Ranger).

Card 3:
All of the images have been stamped, coloured and cut out before being adhere to the background. The greeting has been pop dotted and the heart covered with glossy accents. This time I added googly eyes to the crocodile. The panel is adhered to coloured cardstock and then added to a white card. I’m beginning to get closer to the look I have in my mind.

Smile Crocodile - Take 3 Materials used: Bon Voyage, Critters Down Under, Home Sweet Home (Lawn Fawn); Cardstock - American Crafts, Knight; Distress Ink, Distress Markers; Glossy Accents (Ranger) and Googly Eyes.

Smile Crocodile – Take 3
Materials used: Bon Voyage, Critters Down Under, Home Sweet Home (Lawn Fawn); Cardstock – American Crafts, Knight; Distress Ink, Distress Markers; Glossy Accents (Ranger) and Googly Eyes.

Card 4:
As per the above card, I stamped, coloured and cut out all of the images and then adhered them to the background. The greeting has been pop dotted but with a smaller sized pop dot. I’ve added some more hearts and changed the type of googly eye. This is starting to look like what I had imagined but I want to try and improve my colouring and the layout of the design.

Smile Crocodile - Take 4 Materials used: Bon Voyage, Critters Down Under, Home Sweet Home (Lawn Fawn); Cardstock - American Crafts, Knight; Distress Ink, Distress Markers; Glossy Accents (Ranger) and Googly Eyes.

Smile Crocodile – Take 4
Materials used: Bon Voyage, Critters Down Under, Home Sweet Home (Lawn Fawn); Cardstock – American Crafts, Knight; Distress Ink, Distress Markers; Glossy Accents (Ranger) and Googly Eyes.

Finally I arrive at a point where I am pretty pleased with the card I have made.

Smile Crocodile - Take 5 Materials used: Bon Voyage, Critters Down Under, Home Sweet Home (Lawn Fawn); Cardstock - American Crafts, Knight; Distress Ink, Distress Markers; Glossy Accents (Ranger) and Googly Eyes.

Smile Crocodile – Take 5
Materials used: Bon Voyage, Critters Down Under, Home Sweet Home (Lawn Fawn); Cardstock – American Crafts, Knight; Distress Ink, Distress Markers; Glossy Accents (Ranger) and Googly Eyes.

There’s nothing really wrong with all the cards shown above, of course, but I was just trying to get what was in my head onto paper. It’s a fun process when you consider the things you change and the things you keep the same.

I hope you enjoyed this look into the evolution of this particular card. If you find this interesting, please let me know and I might share something similar in the future.

Hope you have a great day!

Happy Stamping!

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6 comments

Elizabeth Allan 7 June, 2013 - 11:37 pm

Loved not only seeing your cards, but also enjoyed the accompanying text about the “evolution” of the designs. Fascinating to hear your artistic thoughts as you created each piece.

Kylie 8 June, 2013 - 9:58 am

I must admit I find those sorts of stories interesting too so hoped others might find my thoughts of interest too. Thank you so much, Elizabeth!

Bev 7 June, 2013 - 11:07 pm

Your blog popped up on my sidebar, and I had to look. I’m in the middle of stuff, but wanted you to know that your evolution of this adorable card is fantastic. The first one is fun and sweet, but I love those “come hither” googly eyes on the final one! Really, really great cards. You will go a long way in card making, Kylie. Amazing coloring on sweet images, as usual!

Kylie 7 June, 2013 - 11:29 pm

Oh thanks so much, Bev! You are so sweet! (Sorry for the distraction. 🙂 ) I love using the googly eyes on the critters. It’s amazing how it gives the characters such personality.

Ardyth 7 June, 2013 - 11:03 pm

Sweet! Amazing how the eyes make such a big difference in the feeling of the card!

Kylie 7 June, 2013 - 11:28 pm

Thanks, Ardyth! Love the googly eyes, especially the ones with lashes. 🙂

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