Oxide Ink birthday card

Got out some of my oxide inks to make a quick birthday card with a Crafty Individuals stamp set I love using. This card is intended for an Irish friend whos turning 60. Hares have a special place in Celtic mythology and are seen as magical and wise animals. In my mind anyone reaching 60 has the right to be considered very wise. The hares in these stamps are quirky but suggest the intelligence I equate with these animals.

I did start photographing the process while I began with smooshing oxide ink onto my mat and misting and dipping. I made a few extra pieces at the same time to use for my hares and sentiments.

Then some stencilling. I stencilled circles and then wet them and removed some ink to get a subtler effect.

At this point I got distracted and forgot to photograph for a while. I added some numbers using a stencil and Peacock Feathers oxide ink. Next I stamped a some random text in Manganese Blue archival ink. Happy now with my background  I stamped plants at the bottom in Potting Shed  Archival ink. I used the same ink to stamp the two lovely hares onto one of my spare background pieces and then fussycut them and edged them in brown distress ink. I had a little fun creating some embossing powder from a mixture of ancient antiquities Verdigris and Frantage Aged Aqua embossing enamel. I love the large white pieces that create a kind of splatter and it has also has blue glitter for a little magic. I stamped sentiments on more of my spare background peices and edged them with the embossing mixture. When I arranged them I decided it looked far too busy. Instead I used a small circle die to cut a hole in my card. Then I mounted the card on a larger peice of teal cardstock.

I die cut number 60 from spare smooched paper and glued it into the teal circle. The finished card front is attached to a pale blue card base and the sentiments are all stamped inside. It looks a little like hares are gazing up at a blue moon.

After choosing hares for their magical qualities I had to join in with the August challenge at That's Crafty whose theme is "Animal Magic."

I also think hares are quite wild enough to join in the "Wild Things" Simon Says Stamp Challenge this Monday.

Finally as the number 60 was the whole point of this card I am playing for the first time with Stampotique and thier current Challenge - "Number It"

Animal magic
Wild Things
Number It