Take Us to Your Cake

The theme for the Lawn Fawnatics Challenge #33 is "Fun Folds." I used a center-step card template from Hot off the Press to create the base for my birthday card.

After I cut & scored/folded the card base, I worked on the main panel. The template has separate pieces to trace for the middle panel & bottom strip. But I wanted one continuous piece. It took a lot of measuring & marking, but I finally got my watercolor paper cut to size--the first time, without having to cut another piece! :)

This card by Laura Sterckx inspired my background. I liked how she masked the bottom of her focal area to create a "planet" area. I used Simon Says Stamp's "A2 Curved Edge" die to cut a mask for my card front from masking paper. I wasn't thinking, though, so I didn't leave enough above the curve to mask off the sky when I inked the ground. So I stuck 2 full-sticky Post It notes together, so they covered the width of my panel, and traced the curve from the masking paper onto that. I then cut it with my scissors to create my "sky" mask--problem solved!

I applied the "ground" mask to my panel, and inked the sky area with Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, & Wild Honey Distress inks. I applied the colors just kind of randomly, not going for any specific pattern. After I finished that, I applied Black Soot Distress ink over the whole sky, until the colors underneath just barely showed through. I diluted white acrylic craft paint with a bit of water, & used a small paintbrush to splatter my panel with that to create stars. After the sky portion dried, I lined my sticky-note mask up with the curve of the lower mask, removed the ground mask, and inked the bottom of the panel with Crushed Olive Distress ink, followed by Peeled Paint. I heat embossed my greeting, from Lawn Fawn's "Beam Me Up" stamp set (which I also used for my images) in white embossing powder, then set the panel aside.

I stamped several images in Versafine Onyx Black ink onto scraps of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper. I used my Tombow markers to color them in, adding shading with a damp paintbrush to most of the images. For the "beam" piece, I stamped onto vellum with Versamark ink, & heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. I die cut all the images with the coordinating dies.

To adhere my images, I used mostly liquid glue. I did run my beam piece through my Xyron Sticker Maker, to apply a solid coat of adhesive to the back, so I didn't have to mess with hiding my adhesive. I stuck that down first, making sure there was enough room for the spaceship to go above it. To create a slight "glass" look to the top of the larger spaceship, I used its die to cut a scrap of vellum. I glued that behind the top of the spaceship, hiding my adhesive behind the ship & its alien pilot. I then glued down the rest of my images. I adhered the cake & presents last, making it look like they were being "beamed up" into the spaceship. I also added googly eyes to the 2 larger aliens.

I didn't want my background panel to be matted just with the white card base. So I cut a slightly larger piece of navy cardstock, and adhered the watercolor paper panel to that. For the side panels, I decided to continue the galaxy background look. I repeated the process I'd used for the sky on those. I matted them with navy as well, and adhered them to the card base to finish my card. It did end up taking me a few hours to make this card, but I think a lot of that was figuring out how to cut the main panel, since I deviated from the template. I still think it was worth it in the end, though!

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: "Make Your Own Background"
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: "Wild Things" (What could be wilder than aliens???)
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"