A Bushy Tailed "Thanks"

With Gary retiring recently...and receiving gifts 

from friends and family... 

it seems like he has been needing lots of thank you cards...

So, lately, I've been adding to my stash of Thank You cards often.

This past week, Gary needed one more Than You card.

This time...the card would be created for friends...

However...this card would be sent to a family whose husband 

has a long standing war with the squirrels on their property.

So...to keep the smiles coming...

and to poke some fun at our friend who has a genuine disdain for squirrels... 

I created a Thank You card with a squirrel image.

Truth be told...
I bought the PhotoPlay Campfire/lakeside stamp set a longggg time ago
because I liked the squirrel stamp
and..

and I knew that sooner or later I'd be creating a squirrel card of some sort 

for our friend who is a self professed dis-liker of squirrels. 

For today's card...I used the squirrel stamp and pine sprig stamp 

from the PhotoPlay stamp set
I colored the image with Studio 71 Alcohol Markers.
I used a stitched die to die cut the image...
and I chose a print and card stock colors that went well with the colored image.
The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn's Big Scripty Words stamp set.
I finished the card with a little bit of raw twine, as an embellishment.

and...
This is what I wound up with...

The pine sprig image is a nice addition to this very CAS card, I think...
adding  little bit of color to the white background.
I masked the squirrel before stamping the pine sprigs around him
to create the look of him sitting on a bed of pine sprigs.
When the image piece was complete

I used a double stitched die to die cut it

and positioned it on the card front with a large piece of fun foam.
The (very affordable) Studio 71 Alcohol Markers were perfect 

for coloring this little image...

and are very easy to work with.
I originally bought them to add some inexpensive blending options 

and to expand color palette options to my Copic collection....

but I am finding that the Studio 71 Markers work nicely on their own.

This bushy tailed little guy was sent on his way to our friends...

in hopes that in addition to Gary conveying his Thanks for their retirement gift...

that our friends would smile...as they opened up the envelope
and found a squirrel on their Thank You card!
We will never stop teasing our friend Jimmy about his dislike of squirrels..

and his one-man-campaign to make his property a squirrel-free-zone.
This thank you card could not be sent to a more ideal person and his family!

Thanks for visiting today my friends...

have a wonderful Holiday weekend!
Michelle.