Send a Smile 4 Kids Encouragement Cards

I have a baggie on my scrap desk full of leftover pieces from other projects. The other day, I decided to pull out a couple of those pieces and make 2 cards for Send a Smile 4 Kids. I used the same sketch, and just changed the elements & colors to make one a masculine card and the other feminine.

I used Operation Write Home's Sketch #230 for both cards:

Since I had stars, I substituted those for the large circle, and chose not to do a layer under the smaller circle, since the stamps I was using were larger than 1.5" already, and I didn't have room for an additional layer.

I had made some foiled stars several weeks ago, when I first saw Jennifer McGuire demonstrating foiling with a laminator. This gold one had never made it onto a project, though. I also had the blue star-patterned one left over from this card. So I glued the smaller blue one on the foiled star, and used that for my main element. I cut a strip of patterned paper from Graphic45's "Good ol' Sport" 6x6" pad to 2.25x5". I also embossed a panel of kraft cardstock with the "A2 Tiny Stars" embossing folder by The Paper Studio.

For the greeting, I chose one from Simon Says Stamp's "Blocked Greetings" set. I stamped it with Hero Arts Green Hills ink on a piece of tan cardstock. I had to stamp it 3 times to get a solid coverage, so I was glad to have my MISTI! I cut around the greeting, leaving a narrow border, and inked the edges with Tea Dye Distress ink. I also highlighted the letters with a white gel pen.

To assemble the card, I adhered the patterned paper strip to the kraft cardstock panel. I glued the star down, and popped the greeting up with foam tape. To echo the blue in the smaller star, I matted the panel with blue cardstock. I trimmed off the overhanging part of the layered star, and mounted the finished card front to a white A2 card base.

I got the inspiration for the greeting on my second card from this card by Sarah Moerman. I used Simon Says Stamp's "All Boy" stamp set. I stamped the shoes on a scrap of Strathmore Mixed Media Paper, with Ranger Archival Watering Can ink. I colored them with Inktense pencils in Cherry & Neutral Grey, and used a damp paintbrush to blend out the colors and add highlighting. After I finished the coloring, I went over the shoelace eyelets with a white gel pen, to clean them up a little, and went over the pink areas with my clear Wink of Stella pen. Finally, I put the paper back in my MISTI, and overstamped the image, to redefine the outlines. Then I die cut it with a Lifestyle Crafts "Nesting Scallops" die.

For the greeting, I used the "dude" stamp from "All Boy," as Sarah had done. I began by stamping the final "e" on another piece of Mixed Media Paper, then penciled in the two t's. Finally I stamped the "Dude" part. I started the stamping with the "e" by using Watering Can ink, but decided that was too light. So I ended up tracing over that with a black fine point pen, and stamped "dude" with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I traced over the two t's with the same black pen, then colored the letters in with a Cherry Inktense pencil, blending the color with my paintbrush. Underneath that I stamped the "You're a Winner" greeting from the same set, and then stamped the star-and-dot border, also from "All Boy," using Versafine for both. I inked over the panel with a little Hickory Smoke Distress ink, to "grunge" it up a bit.

I made my pink background panel 4x5.5". I needed the extra length (as opposed to having the mat at each side) to fit the "dudette" beside the large star element. I adhered my stamped panel to the background, then glued down the star and scalloped circle. I adhered two 1/2" wide black strips to the front of my white A2 card base, and mounted the front panel on top. And that finished this card!

I'm entering my first card in Virginia's View Challenge #18: "Geometric."