Paper-Paisleys Art Adventures: Best Fishes and Wishes

Happy Saturday post #2! Wrote the previous one up late last night and did not get it finished and posted until early this morning. I have another fisherman birthday card to share today.

I usually am pretty literal and anal about following a sketch closely, but every so often like here I decided to just be inspired by the sketch, to use the elements to fit how my card best looks. So, try to imagine this sketch sideways as I've rotated it here, but with the heart not exactly in the center but a little more over to the left like it is in the original. Given where the fish are positioned, this is the only way I felt my sentiment banner and fishing line looked good. At any rate, I really was very inspired by the sketch!

Supplies Used:

Chatterbox Bazzill card stock

140# cold press watercolor paper

Card stock scraps from stash for card back

A Colorful Life stencil 6x6 Primitive Fish

Spellbinders 6x6 Matting Basics B dies

Lawn Fawn Bannerific die

Memory Box Ornament Hooks die

MFT Making Waves die

Stamps: Lawn Fawn, CC Designs, Heidi Swapp, My Sentiments Exactly

Inks: Brilliance, Memento, Distress (Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Twisted Citron, Rusty Hinge)

Hero Arts white EP

Sakura black Gold Shadow gel pen

I taped my paper down with green painter's tape. I sponged the Distress Inks through the stencil onto the watercolor paper, beginning with the Twisted Citron on the fish, then Rusty Hinge here and there on the fish, streaking it a bit into and across the Citron and not waiting for it to dry first. Then, sponging the Tumbled Glass through the water portion of the stencil, followed by here and there on the water with the Broken China. I really love how it turned out! It was so easy, too. I used a finger sponge dauber to apply my inks. I love how my Matting Basics die embossed a little lip around the edge of the watercolor paper.

I was pretty stumped by how to include the line element of the sketch (I did not want to cover up any of those fishes!) until I remembered I had these Christmas tree ornament hooks dies. Hey, artistic license and they are fish hooks! hahaha Well, it looks close enough for me, and my hubby says they do make some that look like this. I used my Sakura black Gold Shadow gel pen to draw my fishing line.