Llama love trio

It has been hot and humid in my neck of the woods lately, so it seems like a fitting time to share a few cards made with bold, "hot" colors. Bonus: there are llamas!

Supplies:

Stamps: Whole Llama Love (Taylored Expressions)

Paper: Sahara Sand, Basic Black, Blush Blossom, Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!); Fiesta Forever Card Stock Stack (DCWV)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Bermuda Bay, Mango Melody Blends markers (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories: No Drama Llama dies (Taylored Expressions); Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables dies (Lawn Fawn); Nested Squares X-Stitch Border dies (Rubbernecker Stamps); Go Green, Citrus, Rhythm N Blues sequins; Nested Banners dies (Simon Says Stamp); foam tape (3M); Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

These llamas make me smile! Since they are all die-cut pieces (except the stamped face), I thought they would be fussy to assemble. But really the only tricky parts were the tiny pieces for the ears and hooves. And I think they are totally worth that extra little effort.

So I started these cards with the Fiesta Forever Card Stock Stack. I just love the bright colors and festive patterns of these papers, and I used a different pattern for the background of each of these cards.

The pack also includes some subtle tone-on-tone prints, so I used those to cut out the blankets and other accessories for the llamas. No searching for matching card stock colors!

With the llamas all cut, stamped, and assembled, it was time to build the cards. For the first card (top photo, on the left) I created a simple scene with a banner-printed background paper and a strip of green along the bottom to act as the grass. I added the llama and sentiment banner to the scene with foam tape and finished the card with three sequins.

For the other two cards, I adhered each llama to a die-cut layer of white card stock to help it stand out from the busy background. I stamped the sentiments directly on the white card stock -- and the sentiments and font in this set are fabulous; all the punny-ness makes me happy -- added the panels to the card bases with foam tape, and again finished the cards with sequins.

On a personal note, I just finished reading White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, and I highly recommend it. It challenges what we (specifically white people in the U.S.) consider racism and illustrates how racism isn't limited to "bad" people. I have a lot to learn about racial justice -- and our country has a long, long way to go -- but it's important for me to work on improving.

Thanks for stopping by!