Wish

I am still making cards for the Bugaboo Stamps 5th Birthday Celebration challenge series. The theme for Day 3 is a photo challenge. They posted this photo, and the idea is to make a card inspired by it:

I must admit, my first reaction to this particular photo was a bit negative. I had a bad "circus experience" when I was little, and have hated clowns ever since! But I tried to look past the clown on the cake, and see the potential in the rest of the photo. LOL This is the card I came up with:

I used Bugaboo's "Make It Snappy - Happy Birthday" digital image for the focal point. The image comes with 2 versions: one with the greeting, and one without. I ended up messing up (more on that later), and so cut off the greeting panel & outer frame entirely!

I began by sizing the image to fit on an A2 card front. I printed it on white cardstock, and colored it with colored pencils, using Gamsol to blend the colors. I have finally discovered, with Gamsol, if you want a lighter part on a colored area, it is better to leave that area uncolored. Then just pull in the color with your Gamsol-soaked paper stump from the surrounding area. So that is how I got a smooth blend on the cake sections & balloon.

After I finished coloring, I applied Glossy Accents to the balloon, candle flame, and stars. I set that aside for about an hour to dry. This is where I messed up. Never assume, just because the Glossy Accents has become clear, that it is totally dry. And never place your thumb on it to see if it's dry! I ended up having to scrape off some of the not-yet-dry Glossy Accents from the balloon with the head of a T-pin, wait for the rest to dry, and apply more to the scraped area. In the process, I accidentally got Glossy Accents where I didn't want it. So I left it to dry overnight, and hoped the card-making Brownies would come and fix it for me! They didn't, though, so I ended up fussy cutting the image from the frame. I die cut a panel of teal blue cardstock with the scalloped frame from Mama Elephant's "Femme Frames" die set, and glued the image piece onto that.

For the greeting, I used one from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Birthday Bash" clear stamp set. I stamped it with Memento Nautical Blue dye ink directly on the die cut panel. I felt it needed a little more oomph, so I accented it with a white gel pen, and colored in the candle flame with orange & yellow gel pens.

To finish the card, I sponged Salty Ocean Distress ink around the edges of the scalloped panel, and adhered it to a piece of peach cardstock. Finally, I adhered the completed card front to a white card base. I will be sending this card to Operation Write Home, for a hero overseas to wish a loved one back home happy birthday!