Paper-Pieced Pop-Art Penguins for the Paper Players

The Paper Players are hosting a theme challenge for us this week.  The theme is “Wildlife.”  Stampin’ Up! has a lot of great sets that feature wildlife – Wetlands, Horse Frontier, Walk on the Wild Side.  I don’t own any of them – I guess I don’t really have a huge stash of nature-themed stamp sets.  But I DO have Zoo Review.  Here’s my card:Zoo Review, Happy Day, Stampin' Up!, Brian King, PP170

And here’s the Paper Players badge from Jaydee’s fun challenge: 

Tips, Tricks and Reminders

  • Outside the box.  I know the challenge is “wildlife,” and I know that probably means I should create a beautiful, true-to-form naturescape.  That’s not really in my wheelhouse, so I decided to go pop-art on these penguins.  These colors (Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana and Pumpkin Pie) are “out of season” this time of year, but these penguins are the coolest birds on the block (of ice).  This card stands out in the flood of Christmas and Thanksgiving cards this time of year.
  • Inspiration.  This abstract arrangement of penguins was inspired (obviously) by pop-art artist Andy Warhol.  Remember his paintings of Marilyn Monroe?  In Andy Warhol fashion, I chose bright colors and cool patterns to showcase the friendly ice birds.
  • Paper Piecing.  As you can see from the card above, I stamped the penguin on Designer Series Paper Stack pages and then again on coordinating card stock and snipped away at all the little pieces.  I originally set out to crop pieces from the patterned paper, but that was WAY TOO busy.  Cropping the stamped images on card stock worked well.  I only used four colors of paper and switched out the colors for each square.  NOTE:  each of the four colors is showcased on each of the three shapes AND the body of the penguin coordinates with the base of each.  Here’s my scratch paper sketch where I tried to decide which colors to use.sketching my colors for a card layout, Brian King

Stamp Sets:  Zoo Review, Happy Day  Papers:  Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Designer Series Paper Stacks  Inks:  Basic Black  Accessories:  Stampin’ Dimensionals

This card front is 7-3/4″ x 4-1/4″.  It was easy to make an envelope with Designer Series Paper Stack paper and my Envelope Punch Board.Zoo Review, Happy Day, Stampin' Up!, Brian King, PP170

Thank you for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

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30 Comments

  1. Wow, love your Andy Warhol style penguins and that is some serious fussy cutting going on there! Super fun card and great take on the challenge. Have a great day, Brian!

  2. Laurie Burns Gachewicz

    What a bright and FUN card to wake up to on a Monday morning Brian!!! TFS!!! Your take on this challenge is one in a million!!! I predict it will steal the show!!!! Your innovation and originality are AMAZING!!! 🙂

    • I completely agree with you Laurie! I can see this standing out amongst a sea of red/white/green, silver/gold, and shades of blue cards. How fun and cheery! And it’s penguins!! Who doesn’t love penguins?!! Especially when they look like they want to dance on the page!

  3. Brian, I echo the card is a show stopper. Do you always sketch your layout.before you start?

    • Thanks, Michelle. I don’t always sketch my layouts – sometimes I just create the card as I go. In this case, I needed to be very careful to balance the colors, so I sketched out the pieces and assigned the colors ahead of time. 🙂

  4. Oh goodness!!! I totally second the comments so far and I’m sure the ones that follow mine will all say the same!! I also have this awesome stamp set Brian but I can honestly say I never thought of coloring this cute penguins at all, let alone in such bright colors!!! What a fantastic HAPPY card my dear, it’s truly a great take on those famous Warhole paintings of Marilyn Monroe only this are super cute. This card could be a fantastic and fun masculine card for someone having a birthday in the Winter time. Ok, another winner for my file!

  5. WOW!! That is an amazing card! I absolutely love it! Such a refreshing change from the norm and your snipping is amazing! 🙂

    • Fran Roxby Bisaillon

      OMG you’ve changed him over to the “Fussy cutter Association” EEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK!!

      Brian that is such a cool card… so different.. You ROCK!!
      (PS Can’t I move YET? *stomps foot* I wanna be in GA)

  6. Great card, Brian! So bright and fun

  7. Love the card for so many reasons. The colors and layout are so me. I always try to make sure my colors are even in each square, etc. Love all the comments above too. Thanks a bunch. 🙂

  8. Oui vey Brian – I opened your email and had to send Ken flying to get my sun glasses. So I instantly went from “cranky non awake” to “joyful what a fun way to start the day!” Thanks so much. I’m so not a morning person but I think if I could get up to such beautifully bright and cheerful cards every day maybe I could become a morning person. Hmmm, perhaps I should duplicate your color combo around my computer? Love the card Brian and your work, as always, is impeccable!

  9. In response to Stampwithtaylor, you are absolutely right, this little penguins are dancing on this screen. Just look closely, they have HAPPY FEET!!!!!
    Still drooling with this card Brian. Every day, I look forward to opening your post and I always, always leave it to the last because I love creating some anticipation and you have never, ever disappointed me and you never will.

  10. I LOVE it. Receiving this would certainly give me a happy day!!

  11. Wow! You turned “Wildlife” into pop art! Amazing. That is really crafty and genius, Brian. I never would have imagined such a happy group of penguins!

  12. Absolutely better than the “bomb”! The color balance is sheer perfection. This card is a “show stopper” for sure, Brian.

  13. I do love how your brain works………..get ready to be cased!!!

  14. What a cheery, gorgeous, happy, clever card! Thanks for putting a smile on my face x

  15. I never got your post today, I even checked in my spam folder. I was wondering what was up because even when you were in the hospital and in a hurricane you managed to post. I’m glad everything is ok. I like your take on Andy Warhol. I did a Google image search on Endless Wishes and your lovely card with the Betsy’s Blossoms poinsettia showed up.

  16. Brian, you so nailed the Warhol with this card. It’s fabulous and definitely takes me back.

  17. Just started following your blog and am so impressed! Nice job!

  18. Oh, Brian, I totally flipped over this card. It is A MAY ZING!! Way to brighten our day!

  19. Brian, I am speechless! And trust me… that is VERY unusual! This card is to DIE for! Please hang on a second, while I pick myself up off the floor! Wait! One more second, while I shout from my Arizona roof top how amazing you are! Snipping and color champion! (she says as she shakes her head in utter amazement!). wow! just WOW!

  20. Before I saw your inspiration, I thought Warhol! Love the card Brian

  21. Me too! Thought Warhol instantly. Beautiful balance of colors. I never really even noticed that set before, but I LIKE the naturey landscapy thing. This certainly would bring my style (with my stamps) into a different direction….hmmmmm. Consider yourself an INSPIRATION!!!

  22. So creative, as always 🙂 When I grow up, I wanna be a stamper like you! Thanks for joining us at The Paper Players!

  23. Absolutely fabulous, Brian! I love the Warhol-inspiration and the fantastic mix of cols and pattern. Thank you for joining us this week at the Paper Players!

  24. I love paper piecing; this is fantastic!!!

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