Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy Lunar New Year 2018! The Year of the Dog!

Hello crafty friends! Happy New Year! Gung Hay Fat Choy! Today is the celebration of Chinese Lunar New Year so I'm posting a card I made to mark this great occasion. I love to make festive and pretty cards for this special celebration. I have lots of friends who celebrate this beautiful cultural tradition, so I like to acknowledge it by creating something special each year. (CLICK HERE to see my card from last year) Do you and your family celebrate the Lunar New Year too? This year is the Year of the Dog. Is it your year? CLICK HERE for the list of the years and the corresponding animals. I am a DRAGON! Yep! Gotta love that. 1964 was a very good year indeed. I have lots of Dragon friends. We are strong and fierce! 

People born in the Year of the Dog are known to be extremely loyal. They will never abandon their friends, family or work. Honest and just, they are popular in social circles. Everyone needs a Dog friend for advice and help. They are also good at helping others find and fix their bad habits. Despite how they act, they are worried and anxious inside. However, they will not let this stop them. Once they decide on something, no one can persuade them against it. Famous people born in the Year of the Dog include: Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Prince William, and Steven Spielberg. 

I made a really colorful and festive card to share today using some new to me stamps from Mama Elephant. The main stamp set I used is called "Lion Dance." I also used the fireworks image from the "Around We Go" stamp set, also from Mama Elephant. I used bright distress inks to create my blended background and then used Copic Markers to color the dragons and the lantern. Some gold embossing and sparkly stickles completed the scene.  

 

I started with a crisp white A2 card base made from Neenah Solar White cardstock. I die cut a stitched rectangle for my top layer. The dragons and the sentiment were attached to the card using foam squares/tape. The sentiment is heat embossed with gold embossing paper on black paper for emphasis against all that color! 

 

I inked my background layer using three blended colors of Distress Ink: Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed and Carved Pumpkin. I also splattered bits of Mustard Seed and Carved Pumpkin ink over the background once it was dry. I stamped the fireworks images in both Mustard and Pumpkin. I like the tone on tone look of that! I stamped and die cut my dragons and lantern and then colored them in vivid shades using Copic Markers. I added Stickles as accents on all three pieces. 

 

The lantern is two pieces. You can see that I stamped and cut out a second one and layered just that top center piece for more dimension. Here is a close up of the background also!

 

These stamps are sooooo great. I had such fun coloring them. So cheerful and festive. This stamp set is going to be in my repertoire for a LONG time. 

 

My Copic Shades for today…

 

 

 

The way I positioned the stamps and the lantern, and all the fireworks in the background really give this card movement! I can almost hear the music in the background and see those gorgeous dragons dancing down the streets! 

 

 

GOOD CHEER and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Happy Lunar New Year – Year of the Dog! A chance to go out and celebrate a beautiful cultural tradition. Have a wonderful weekend everyone. XOXO