Be Merry

This is yet another card I did for Splitcoaststampers' Falliday Fest. The challenge was to make a card with an owl. I've had Hero Arts' "Curious Owl" stamp for at least a few years now, and I just get a hoot out of the expression on his face! Did you catch the pun there? :) I thought, since I'm in holiday card mode, it would be fun to put a Santa hat on him. He just has this "Good grief" expression--it seemed like a perfect combination! LOL

I stamped my owl onto a scrap of 140 lb. watercolor paper, with Hero Arts Cup o' Joe ink. I colored him with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up & blend the color. When I finished, I let him dry, then fussy cut him out. I glued him to a red oval I'd cut with a Spellbinders "Classic Ovals SM" die. I also went over his pupils with a black glaze pen, and when that had dried, I added catch lights with a white gel pen, just to make his eyes pop.

I cut strips of patterned paper (from my scrap stash), and adhered them to a red card front, leaving a 1/8" mat on all sides. I stamped my greeting, from My Favorite Things' "Joyous Christmas Sentiments," in Versafine Onyx Black ink onto the dotted patterned paper. I figured, with such bold letters, it would stand out on the patterned paper, especially stamped in black. So I didn't bother adding another layer for the greeting. I then adhered my owl oval in place.

For the Santa hat, I just freehand cut one from red felt. I had to do a bit of fiddling to get the sizing right. I cut a brim from white felt, and glued it to the red with fabric glue. I glued the hat to my card, and added a white pompom, using fabric glue for everything to make sure it would stay stuck. I laid some acrylic blocks on top, to hold it down while the glue dried. After everything had dried for a few hours, I adhered the card front to a white A2 card base. I really love how this turned out, and hopefully whoever gets it will too! :)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday "Anything Goes"
a2z Scrapbooking's October Challenge: "Layer It"
Aud Sentiments: "Cute + a Sentiment"