Today I am sharing my tips for inking die cuts using these beautiful deer as the example – come see!

I love sharing all the little tips and tricks I’ve learned in my years of card making. Remember, EVERYONE starts with their very first card! Today I am focusing on sharing some tips for inking die cuts to add beautiful layers of color and these deer made with Rubbernecker’s Deer Family #2 were perfect to show this off. I also used their Full Tree, Tiny Leaves #2, Branches and Leaves, Grass, Grass #2, Tiny Flowers #2 and Small Birds to add all the other details.

Card Base and Grass

• Use white cardstock to cut an A2 sized card base.
• Cut a 5.25″ x 4.00″ sized light blue layer.
• Apply strips of mounting tape to the  back of the blue layer and attach it to the white card base.
• Cut two 4.25″ wide Grass layers using green cardstock.
• Attach one grass layer directly to the blue layer using ATG adhesive.
• Apply a strip of mounting tape to the back of the second grass layer and attach it to the back grass layer.

Tree and Leaves

• Use Kraft cardstock to cut the Full Tree.
• Apply Pecan ink to the tree using a wet baby wipe and dry it well with your heat gun.  Pro Tip:  Adhesives like glossy accents, glue dots and double stick tape won’t adhere to wet ink on cardstock.  You will have much better success attaching pieces like leaves and flowers to a well dried die cut.
• Use green cardstock to cut the Tiny Leaves #2.
• Form the leaves by gently pushing down in the center of each leaf using a leaf tool or small tipped stylus.  Pro Tip:  Forming the leaves adds a perfect touch of dimension and interest to the tree.
• Attach the leaves to the branches using glossy accents.  
• Apply a strip of mounting tape to the back of the tree trunk and tiny pop dots to the back of several key leaves.
• Tuck the tree in behind the front grass section and attach it to the card base.  

Color the Deer Using My Tips for Inking Die Cuts

• Use white cardstock to cut the mother and fawn from the Deer Family  #2 Set.
• Apply Mocha ink to the upper body section and ears of the fawn using a mini applicator.
• Continue by adding the slightest touches of Mocha to the rest of the fawn body.
• PRO TIPS:
  • It is very important to use a very light touch with the applicator when applying the ink. 
  • Each time you apply more ink to the applicator you will need to dab it off on scrap paper before adding more shading.
  • You can always add more shading to build up the depth of color, but you can never remove it if you add too much at once so start light and add layers of color. An added bonus to this inking tip is that each light layer adds some depth, which helps to create the realistic properties of how we see color on anything.
• Continue applying light touches of the Mocha ink to the fawn until you reach the desired shade of light brown on the ears and upper body.
• Apply Mocha ink to the upper body section and ears of the mother deer using a mini applicator and continue blending to get a light brown color.
• Continue by adding the slightest touches of Mocha to the rest of the mother’s body.
• Continue adding very light touches of Pecan ink to the mother’s body and ears to create a darker color brown.
• Apply a double layer of mounting tape to the back of the mother and fawn, tuck them in behind the front grass layer and attach to the card base.

Foliage, Flowers and Birds

• Use green cardstock to cut a section of the Branches and  Leaves.
• Cut a section of the Tiny Flowers #2 using yellow cardstock.
• Place the flowers face up on the molding pad and form them by pushing down in the center with a tiny tipped stylus.
• Attach a few flowers to three of the branches using glossy accents.
• Tuck the flower branches in behind the front grass section and attach them using glossy accents.
• Cut three  Small birds using red cardstock and color their beaks black with a marker.
• Apply small pieces of mounting tape to the back of the birds and attach them to the tree, brass and sky area.

Here are the things I used from Rubbernecker to make this for you.  For all the other stuff that I use on a regular basis, go here and see My Favorite Crafting Tools.

5522-01D Full Tree Die [ RBB ] 5514-08D Deer Family #2 Die [ RBB ] 5334-02D Tiny Leaves #2 Die [ RBB ] 5422-03D Tiny Flowers #2 Die [ RBB ] 5404D Branches and Leaves Die [ RBB ] Tabbed Grass Set Die Cut 5152-03D [ RBB ] 5210-02D Grass #2 Die Cut [ RBB ] Small Birds Die 5147-06D [ RBB ] Color Fuse Set #3 [ RBB ] Color Fuse Set #9 [ RBB ]

I encourage you to practice these tips for inking die cuts on a variety of elements – animals, flowers, flower pots, tree trunks, any die cut element you might want to add to a project. If you are brand new to ink blending, practice on some scraps of card stock. Know that your first try might not give you exactly what you want but don’t give up! It took me a while to learn my own motions and pressure and angles and I will tell you that once you get it, you will be able to create these looks all the time. You can do it!