Spaceman

Today I have a birthday card to show you.  I made it for a special 4 year old little boy and I thought he might like an interactive card. I used the Space Explorer set from MFT.  I started by making the background on Strathmore watercolor paper.  I smooched some Distress inks onto my craft mat, sprayed a little water on then dropped the watercolor paper on and moved it around, then I dried it.  I wasn't thrilled with the results because it was way too light.  Next I put some Worn Lipstick, Broken China and Faded Jeans Oxide inks on my craft mat, spritzed a little water and dragged the paper around through it.  After I dried it, I still wasn't happy because it was still too light.  Next I took Ranger blending tools and sponged on Blueprint Sketch, Wilted Violet, Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot Distress inks.  I was a lot happier with the darkness but felt it still needed something so I got out my Denim Adirondack Color Wash spray and spritzed it a couple of times...bam...it finally looked like what I had in mind!  I watered down some white acrylic paint and splattered it on to look like stars and my background was done!

Next I took two circle dies that cut two circles about 3/8" apart, taped them together with Post-it Tape and cut a channel out of the background for the interactive part.  I stamped the astronaut, 2 planets, a bunch of stars and the little space ship and colored them with Copics.  

To assemble my card, I attached the space sky background and center circle to a folded Night of Navy card with extra thick foam tape.  I punched out a 1/2" circle of Night of Navy and glued a Spin & Slide Disc (MFT) to it.  I then glued that onto a washer and put it into the channel.  I glued the little space ship onto the disc so it would slide freely around the channel.  The weight of the washer made it move much more easily on it's own. 

I finished the card off by gluing the astronaut onto the center circle, and the planets and stars around the edges.  I loved the sentiment from the Space Explorer set!  It was perfect for the inside of my card.  I added a "Happy Birthday" from the Ocean Pals set from MFT.  I hope little Oliver has fun with my card.  

Thanks for visiting.  Keep stamping!!

Janet

Interactive Anniversary Card

This is a card that I made recently for friends who were celebrating their 50th anniversary.  Kathy and I were talking about another anniversary card that I was working on and she said, "You should make it so the prince and princess move towards each other."  I decided then and there what to make for her anniversary card!  The prince and princess come from an MFT stamp set called Magical Dragons and I used the coordinating dies to cut them out.  It was a little tricky because they are both facing the same way and I needed them to face each other.  I stamped the prince onto waxed paper and then pressed the waxed paper onto white card stock and got a pretty clear reversed image.  I colored him with Copics and then used a fine black permanent marker to make the outline more solid. I stamped his sword onto mirror card stock and glued it on to give him a little shine.  Next I colored the princess.  I added some shine to her dress with a glimmer pen and added a jewel to her crown.  The castle is from a retired Stampin' Up Set called Dreams and Dragons.  It is my favorite castle!!  I checked and it's available on EBay!

The fun thing about this card is that the prince and princess can move closer and closer together until they are standing side by side!  I have to give my friend credit for the idea, but I adore it!  I started by stamping and coloring the castle, grass, rocks and little flowers.  Next I cut a slot using a ruler and Exacto knife.  MFT has some dies that would make this step a lot easier.  I didn't have them then, but I have them now!  They are called Surf & Turf Die-namics.  They also have little Slider Elements to use on the back of shapes that allow them to move easily on the card.  I did have these and I used them!   

Once the slot was finished, I placed the prince where I wanted him, flipped the card over and glued a slider element onto him within the slot opening.  I did the same for the princess.  Then I put a lot of foam tape around the outer edges and along the slot of the piece and stuck it onto the base card.  Last of all I glued the piece that I'd removed for the slot back into place to make the castle look whole.  

It is really fun to play with this card and to move the prince and princess toward and away from each other!  I finished the card off with some clouds from MFT and the greeting which comes from a set of stamps and dies from Papertrey Ink called Swoosh Stamp Set.

I will definitely be making more interactive slider cards!  They are really easy and fun!!

Thanks for visiting! Happy New Year!!
Janet