Happy Day

The current challenge at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge blog is "Happy Birthday." So I decided to take a short break from Father's Day cards and make a few birthday cards, also to send to Operation Write Home. I based the design for my card on this sketch by OWH:

I did stay pretty true to the sketch, though I made a couple of alterations.

For the focal image, I used the cupcake from the "Birthday Blueprint" set by Tim Holtz. The greeting is from another set, though I don't know the manufacturer. I stamped the cupcake on watercolor paper with Archival Jet Black ink. After that dried, I colored the image with Inktense pencils, blending the color with my Ranger water brush.

For the background, I chose a sheet of patterned paper from the "Take Note" 6x6" paper pad by Doodlebug Design. I used a polka-dot pattern from the same pad, matting it on black paper to make it pop a little more, for the middle layer. I sponged Black Soot Distress Ink around the edges of the focal point panel, to give it some more definition without having to mat it. Then I adhered the 2 panels to the background paper, angling the focal point panel slightly, as in the sketch.

I stamped the greeting in black on white cardstock, then cut it with a Spellbinders Classic Ovals die. I inked the edges of that with Black Soot as well, and glued it to the card front. Finally, I adhered the front to a standard A2-size card base made from 110# white cardstock.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Happy Birthday"
Simon Says Stamp's Monday "The One with Lots of Rules"

*Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps 2013 BIRTHDAY BLUEPRINT CMS153	*Derwent 72 INKTENSE COLORED PENCILS Watercolor	*Ranger Archival Ink Pad JET BLACK AIP31468	*Tim Holtz DISTRESS INK PAD BLACK SOOT Ranger
*S4-110 Spellbinders Nestabilities CLASSIC OVAL LARGE

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