Party Cat

When my mom first saw the "Bosko" image from Jane's Doodles, she fell in love. I think it's just the expression on his face. So, even though it's meant to be a Halloween image, I try to use him on her birthday card that her "grandkits" (our cats) give her each year! :)

I started with Sketch #SC576 from Splitcoaststampers.com. I like this clean & simple design, which allows for a sizeable image in the focal panel, with plenty of room for a greeting (if desired) underneath. I first opened "Bosko" in Photoshop (it is no longer available as a digi image), and sized him on a blank "canvas." I cut a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper, & printed the image on that. Then I colored him with my Inktense pencils & a damp brush, to look like our cat Barney. Rather than the witch's hat, I drew on spots and colored it like a party hat. For a finishing touch, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the hat.

For the background panel, I cut a piece of yellow cardstock. I stamped a greeting from "The Party" from Winnie & Walter at the bottom with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I also stamped one of the streamer images from the same set in Hero Arts Butter Bar ink, just to give a bit of interest but still keep it subtle. I used another stamp from "The Party" with Hero Arts Lime Green & Orange Soda inks to dress up the background of my focal panel.

I cut a strip of patterned paper from my scrap stash, and a 1/8" strip of "screaming green" cardstock. To assemble my card, I adhered the orange paper & green strip to my yellow panel, adhered my focal panel in place, mounted the whole thing on a white A2 card base, and rounded 2 corners with my 1/2" Corner Chomper. Hopefully my mom will get a kick out of this!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Aud Sentiments Challenge #164 : "Fall Colors & a Sentiment"
Pile It On Challenge #117: "Autumn Colors/Theme"