Running Zebra Card - First Card in a Series Featuring Wild Animals

I'm going to be walking on the wild side in my next few posts by sharing several cards featuring wild animals.  I discovered a number of animal print papers in my stash and decided to use them as a starting point for a series of cards.  Because I wanted the animals to be the focal points for my cards, I used a very simple sketch consisting of the animal print and two colors.  One of the two colors was chosen to add some zing to the cards. The first animal I selected to feature is the zebra.  My zebra stamp is not as detailed as some of my other stamps and I thought it would be a good one to start my card journey into the wild side.

Speaking of wild sides...we have a river running through our town and we routinely take drives along it looking at the wildlife.  Not too long ago we were driving along the frozen river and saw a fox crossing the river on the ice.

Here's a picture of him when he's half way across the river.  The red arrow points him out since he is difficult to see.

These next two pictures are a zoomed view of the fox after he has reached the other side of the river.

 

We sat along the river watching him for quite some time.  He was a beautiful sight.

The Making of My "Running Zebra" Card


Card Statistics

• Final Card Size: 5.5" wide x 4.25" tall
• Tools: Martha Stewart scoring board, Making Memories paper cutter, blending stumps, ruler, sponge pieces, Rubber Stampede zebra stamp
• Materials: cardstock, animal print paper, cover stock, adhesive, gamsol, Stazon ink, Colorbox inks, Koh-I-Noor pencils
• You can purchase this card in my Polished Moxie Etsy Shop: Running Zebra Card

Card Front

I employed a very simple design for this card.  The base card is created from a deep violet-red cardstock and layered with the zebra print and a strip of black cardstock.  I used the base card as the color pop in the design.

For the focal point of the card I stamped the running zebra on white cardstock.  To increase depth in the image I added a touch of color along the zebra's spine, ears, muzzle and hoofs.  I sponged a combination of colors around him reflecting the overall card color scheme and then matted this image with violet-red and black cardstocks.  To add dimension to the card I popped the image panel off the surface of the card.


Angle Views of Card Front to Show Dimension

 

You can see the dimension added to the face of the card by the popped image panel.  Also, if you look closely at the zebra, you can see the subtle color along his spine, ears, muzzle, and hoofs.


Card Inside

  
I kept the inside of the card clean.  White cardstock is matted with black cardstock and embellished with a strip of the zebra print paper.

The coordinating envelope I constructed from heavy cover stock and added a decorative strip of the zebra print down the left side. 


Final Card and Envelope Combo

 

I liked the way the card turned out...simple with a rich zing of color.

You can purchase this card in my Polished Moxie Etsy Shop: Running Zebra Card

  

Card Recipe Specifics

• Cardstock: Wausau, The Paper Company, Embassy
• Animal Print Paper: Me and My Big Ideas
• Cover Stock: Staples
• Zebra Stamp: Rubber Stampede
• Koh-I-Noor Pencils: 8750/23 brown
• Tools: Martha Stewart scoring board, Making Memories paper cutter, blending stumps, sponge pieces, ruler
• Misc: Stazon ink, Colorbox inks, gamsol, adhesive, silicone

   

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