Hippest Hippos Really Rock!

I'm suffering from cuteness overload this week and it's all because of the Hippest Hippos Stamp Set and matching dies I got for FREE from the Stampin' Up! Sale-a-bration sale that's going on until the end of this month.  Have you seen this set?  If not check it out:

These three hippos are sure to bring smiles, whether they are stamped individually or grouped.  Just think of all the fun combinations you can make. You can get this stamp set Free until the end of August or while supplies last with the purchase of $60 CDN in Stampin' Up! Products (before s&h and tax).  

There is also a Hippo Die set in the Sale-A-Bration flyer that coordinates with the Hippest Hippos and it really is a must have for making these cute cards.  Again it is FREE with the purchase of $60, CDN in Stampin' Up! Products.  

Here are a few of the Hippest Hippo cards I've made:

Although these cute Hippos are perfect for a child's birthday card, I think a few of my adult friends would also get a kick out of them.  Prior to making these cards I stamped a whole page of Hippos - all three images - and coloured them with Stampin' Blends.  I experimented to see which colours I liked the best, and then used the dies to cut out the Hippos and all the accessories.  Then I got to work.  

My first card features the little Hippo holding a flower stem.  So cute!

The background was created with a blending brush and Tahitian Tide ink on this quick and easy card.  The hippo's body is coloured with light and dark Smokey Slate blends and I used Grey Granite on his tummy and muzzle.  So sweet!  This card came together in minutes but it's sure to get big smiles when I send it out later this month.  

My second card is a slimline birthday card featuring all three of the hippo images in all their cuteness!  The Tahitian Tide card base measures 8 1/2" by 7" and is scored at 3 1/2".  I've added a 3 1/4" x 8 1/4" mat in Sweet Sorbet, followed by a Whisper White mat measuring 3 1/8 x 8 1/8".  

I used blends to achieve the cloudy sky and made a stencil pattern using the cloud border die piece from Basic Border Dies.  Normally  I would use Pool Party ink when blending in the clouds, but today I decided to use Tahitian Tide and I was really pleased with how light the colour was.  I'm sure this will be my new "go to" colour for skies.  I created a sandy base by stamping the ground image from Paradise Palms to give a layered look.  This was stamped with Sahara Sand ink.

I used the rounded die which looks like clouds at the top of the picture .  

I've used the same matting format for the inside of the card which features the Hippo Ballerina.  

My third birthday card features two of the Hippos on a stenciled background. The Hippos are coloured with Light Gray Granite and Light and Dark Smokey Slate Stampin' Blends.  The sentiment is from the retired Many Messages stamp and die set. 

The inside of this card features the Happy Birthday sentiment from the retired Perennial Birthday stamp set and the "hope you find a little paradise....." is from the Paradise Palms stamp set.  The flowers and leaves are part of the Hippo Die cuts.

My final card features a lot of the dies from the Hippo Die set and it was super fun to create. I repeated the Tahitian Tide cloudy sky technique to begin the background and the Sahara Sand for the beach.  I stamped the three Palm Trees using garden green and Early Espresso markers.  I stamped the son directly on the card stock and then masked it off during the blending phase of this card.  Wow the background is really great looking!

This little hippo is all decked out with his snorkel and mask and little brown boat.  What fun!  

Well that's it for now.   Hope you'll write a comment and let me know if you like these type of cards.  I'd love to hear from you.  Until next time.........

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot