Little Critters Cards - C Clark Creative

Mama Elephant has a wonderful collection of small images perfect for today’s little critters cards. Their Little Agenda stamp sets are available in cats and dogs (used today) in addition to many more (including panda’s, reindeer, ghosts, etc). The images are fun to color and use in a variety of ways. Mama Elephant even has numerous sentiment sets with small greetings perfectly sized for use with the Little Agenda images in addition to dies with matching sizing. So join in as we delve a little into the endless ways to use these fun items.

To see my full tutorial, click the video below!

Smarter Stamp and Die Cutting

The Little Agenda stamp sets all have coordinating dies available. I love die cutting, mainly because I like die cut images, but I genuinely do not enjoy fussy cutting. The dies for the Little Agenda sets come (as many die sets do) attached all together. I do not trim these apart. I prefer to mass stamp and die cut which is much easier than trying to continually match up dies with stamped images. There are so many similar sized images in these sets, it can be a bit time consuming.

Here’s how to create your own stamp guide – perfectly matched to your dies!

First, take the “sheet” of dies and die cut them onto a panel of heavy cardstock. Set aside all the blank die cuts, you can stamp them later. What you need now is the negative space – keep track of which side is up.

Next, place negative space over another card stock panel which has already been placed inside a stamping platform (I recommend a Misti for this). Then, take individual stamps and place them into their corresponding die cut spot. This will take a little bit of time, and a bit of trial and error. Luckily for me, I enjoy puzzles so this task was right up my alley. Ensure you center each stamp within its area, the more accurate with this the better the end results will be.

Once all stamps are positioned, transfer all stamps to lid and remove the negative space panel. Ink and stamp images. To check positioning, place negative space over stamped panel. If needed, replace both panels to Misti and reposition any stamps requiring it. Stamp again to verify alignment.

You now have a stamp guide to use which perfectly aligned with your dies. For future use, just place your guide in your Misti, position stamps above images, then stamp onto card stock.

After creating guides, I stamped a couple panels of each which I colored using Copic Markers. After panels were colored, all I had to do was align corresponding dies and run through my die cutting machine.

Card Assembly

In addition to die cutting colored images, three sets of each grid background is cut. Using liquid glue to adhere three layers of a background helps give dimension to the element. Adhere each grid to an A2 card base.

Determine die cut and stamped sentiment positioning before actual stamping and gluing. Use foam adhesive to pop up die cuts for added dimension.

For added interest, using an embellishment such as Trinity Stamps Rainbow Sherbet candy confetti can help draw the eye across the card, or highlight specific areas. A light spritz of Shimmer Spray can also add a bit of sparkle, without the overabundance of glitter.

Overall, these little critter cards are fun and the colored images are detailed enough to keep the recipient engaged. The white background prevents the card from becoming too busy, and the light embellishments adds just enough flair without becoming gaudy.

These Little Agenda images are so fun, and my mind is already working on how I am going to use them next! See below for a full list of supplies (and links) and if you are looking for more inspiration using Mama Elephant stamps, see my post on a Birthday Shaker Card.