Stampendous Hugs Collection – Sweet Animal Cards with Annie Williams

Hi there, this is Annie Williams and I’m thrilled to be back on the blog today to share a couple of projects using the new Stampendous Hugs Collection from Spellbinders.  The adorable huggable critters, fun accessories, and sweet sentiments in this collection inspired me to create three simple and cute cards for a variety of occasions.

Beary Special Slimline Card

With so many cute characters to choose from in this collection, it was hard to pick what to work with first…but those little bears from the Stampendous Bear Hugs Die Set just stole my heart!  Here I created my own slimline window background to pop them out of for a cute way to send a big hug to a friend.

I started by cutting Waterfall Cardstock using the slimline panel die from the Stampendous Fran’s Frames Die Set.  Then I cut windows into the panel by positioning the larger hexagon die evenly down the panel about a half-inch apart, but staggering them horizontally.  (Using a T-square ruler to line up the bottom of the die and securing it down with Best Ever Craft Tape each time before cutting helps to ensure your windows are not crooked.)  Once all of the windows were cut, I embossed the panel using the Tiny Dots Embossing Folder for a little texture.

I cut the small bears from Dune and Latte Cardstock using the Stampendous Bear Hugs Die Set, stamped a face on each using the Bear Hugs Faces & Sentiments Stamp Set, and inked around the edges of the die-cut with Vintage Photo or Ground Espresso Distress Ink.  I added some confetti-patterned paper behind two of the windows before popping the bears in on top and stamped a sentiment from the stamp set directly onto the white card base through the third window.  To embellish, I added a couple of hearts and a few Crystal Mix Gems.

Birthday Kitty Card

The outstretched arms on the cute cat from the Stampendous Kitty Hugs Die Set are perfect for sending a hug, but they also reminded me of juggling!  My own kitties have been known to perform intense juggling acts with their toys, so I added some brightly-colored yarn balls above one of their likenesses to create this fun birthday card.

I started by cutting white and Pink Sand Cardstock using the Stampendous Kitty Hugs Die Set and stamped paws in pink ink using the Stampendous Kitty Hugs Faces & Sentiments Stamp Set.  Once assembled, I lightly blended Lost Shadow Distress Ink around the edges of the cat and Spun Sugar Distress Ink onto the belly (the new Mini Blending Brushes are perfect for things like this!).  The yarn balls were cut from Fruit Punch, Persimmon, and Peridot Cardstock and inked around the edges with Picked Raspberry, Ripe Persimmon, and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink.

I stamped a sentiment from the stamp set onto white cardstock using black ink and then cut it out with one of the rectangle layers dies from the Stampendous Fran’s Frames Die Set using the double die-cutting technique.  (Line the die up with the top of the sentiment and cut once.  Then line the die up with the bottom of the sentiment, place the top cutting plate only over the very bottom of the die, and cut again.  You can easily use most simple shape dies to cut custom sizes of frames this way as long as it doesn’t have an irregular or complicated border pattern.)  To assemble the card, I matted some patterned paper with Onyx Cardstock and adhered it all to a top-folding A7-sized white card base.  Then I popped the die-cut elements up on top with foam adhesive and added a few Crystal Mix Gems to embellish.

Missing You Card

Lastly, I created a simple and sweet missing you card to tuck into my son’s lunchbox this week while he finishes up first grade.

First I die-cut Dune, Latte, Pink Sand, and Onyx Cardstock using the Stampendous Puppy Hugs Die Set and assembled my critter with liquid glue.  Then I created a little envelope and letter out of Raindrop, Pink Sand, and white cardstock, stamping a message on the note using one of the sweet sentiments from the Stampendous Puppy Hugs Faces & Sentiments Stamp Set.  (Patterned paper always inspires me to try new color combinations and I pulled the blues and pinks for my envelope here out of my background panel.)

I trimmed a piece of patterned paper to 4.25” x 5.5” and adhered it to a top-folding A2-sized white card base, then popped a panel up on top cut from white cardstock using the Fluted Classics Rectangles Dies.  Since I am sending this card to a little boy, I kept the rest simple and just added my puppy and envelope to the card front with foam adhesive.

Spellbinders Supplies:

Other supplies

White heavyweight cardstock, Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso, Spun Sugar, Lost Shadow, Picked Raspberry, Mowed Lawn, and Ripe Persimmon Distress Ink, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Acorn, and Pine Cone Ink, Simple Stories Retro Summer 6×8 Paper Pad, Echo Park Our Story Matters 6×6 Paper Pad, T-square ruler, tape runner, foam adhesive.

I hope you enjoyed these sweet critter cards and thanks so much for stopping by today.  You can find more inspiration over at my blog AnnieBWills.com.