Every once in a while, I see a stamp that really appeals to me and I KNOW exactly how I want to use it. This alligator from Trinity Stamp Company is one of those stamps. It’s a 4 X 8 set called Oh, Snap and has so many possibilities. Me, I saw a Mardi Gras partying gator!
Purple, green, and gold are the main colors universally associated with Mardi Gras and I wanted to make him a little different than your typical alligator so I colored him purple with my Copic markers. (Aside here…I really wish that Copic could come up with more/better purple colors!) I had a picture in my head-sort of- of what I wanted the background to look like and although I played with distress oxide ink sprays and pads I just wasn’t satisfied with anything I came up with. I have a pretty healthy paper stash and am pretty sure I have some Mardi Gras paper but couldn’t find it. That’s okay because it made me have to go another route and I am SO happy with the end result.
As I was going to sleep the other night, I had an idea of how to make the background I saw in my head with my Gelli plate. Thank goodness I remembered that idea the next morning! So often those thoughts drift away with my dreams. I got my plate, some paint, and stencils out and went to town playing with combinations. I ended up with lots of cool prints I’ll be using in the future but as soon as I picked this one up, I knew it was the one! I used the Tim Holtz Harlequin stencil and gold paint for the design and then purple and green as the background. The inside sentiment was done on my computer and printed on card stock.
I’m not completely happy with the ‘beads’ (I may end up removing them!) and the gold crown sort of disappears into the background but overall, this card turned out pretty much as I had envisioned it. That really doesn’t happen very often for me so I’m very happy with this one!
Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler
Gathering Goat Feathers 