Hello Friends! Yesterday I had a chance to play with a stamp set I’ve been holding onto since last September! I wanted to make Christmas cards with the Art Impressions Happy Mail Cubbies, but time got away from me. I have been sending out a lot of cards lately, and just knew this stamp set was perfect to make my next card.

I love how bright and cheery this card is! This set has an included die that cuts and scores the mailbox openings, so you can add as much mail as you want – I love this concept. Before I started painting, I stamped and die cut the mail boxes and a few letters onto scratch paper. I do this often before starting a project with a unique product, so I have a full understanding of what it does. This helps me design quicker, and determine how I want to color, without making too many mistakes.

I stamped the image with VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink onto Extra White Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper and then used Daniel Smith watercolors to paint the scene. I kept my painting loose, using a #8 round brush, to match the whimsical lines of the images.

Once everything was die-cut, I stuffed the mailboxes with mail, then covered the scene with Glad Press ‘n Seal. I pressed firmed so the seal had a good grip on everything. I flipped the image over, and added thin foam squares to the back. This attached all the pieces together, so I was able to carefully take the Press ‘n Seal off the front. (Washi tape or Purple Tape works great to hold your pieces together too!) I added a little glue here and there, behind the letters, then attached the image to a watered colored background. I added quick shadows under the legs, stamped a sentiment, and attached it to a card base with foam adhesive.

You can find another Art Impressions Cubbies card I did last year HERE.

I am so in love with how this card turned out. I absolutely LOVE versatile stamp sets like this one and I can’t wait to use it for different occasions. Thanks so much for joining me today – I hope I have passed on a little crafty inspiration to you!