Great Big Birthday Wish

Happy Saturday, everyone! It's been the National Day of Unplugging and for the most part I've stayed off most of social media but not the blogs, I'm already behind in my visiting as it is, lol. Hope you've made fun weekend plans to either go somewhere or stay in and relax, whatever makes you happy!

I rarely get a chance to make Artist Post Cards any more and so when tasked with making a guy card, I perused the challenges for ideas and decided on something Nature-related where I could be a bit artsy and then mount it on a card. I have multiple elephant stamps but this Deep Red stamp is the only realistic one. I colored him with my new Polychromos colored pencils and ran a black ProMarker around him for depth after I fussy cut him. 

 The background is patterned map paper from a DCWV paper pad; in fact, I collaged the paper onto both sides of a 4x6-inch card recycled from junk mail before I remembered the backside wasn't going to show, lol. Since I used Collage Pauge, I think it kept it from warping to do both sides. That and spending the night between sheets of wax paper in my very heavy Botany book.

 Once dry, I temporarily adhered a TCW Mountain View stencil with Pixie Spray and added the terrain with distress inks and blending brushes. Then I masked a big yellow moon and added the sky. I removed the mask and colored the moon with ProMarkers. I took a black graphite pencil and outlined it and the mountains and then took a black Pitt Artist Big Brush pen and drew around the perimeter smudging it with my finger as I went around. I fussy-cut the elephant and then stamped the sentiments on Avery Elle and Lawn Fawn die-cuts.

  

 To make my birthday card, I cut a grey A7 size Stampin Up card base, some DCWV patterned paper to frame the post card focal point. I added the die-cut Wish Big sentiment over the Do Not Disturb die cut and my card front was complete. I was inspired by the repeating circles in the sketch and the photo of Nature in the Fusion challenge.

 Inside, I created a computer-generated sentiment cut with a Spellbinders label die.

I added more DCWV map paper on both sides as mats.

 For the back of the card, more DCWV map paper and a bottom arrangement of leftover scraps and an EK Success siggie stamped on top.

I love this guy. I've had him a couple of years and this is his first ink-up (I used grey ink). He's realistic but also cute. I had tons of fun with the colored pencils and also creating the terrain behind him on map paper, which I think looks pretty cool!

Thanks for visiting and have a great rest of the weekend - wash those hands! ;-)

CHALLENGES:
1.   Fusion Card Challenge: Sketch and/or Nature -- Sketch is shown above. I took inspiration from the circles in the sketch and the overall layout, and in the Nature theme. 
2.   Stamplorations Theme & Photo Prompt Challenge March: Stamps + Nature -- I used rubber stamps (elephant and sentiments on front) and I have a Nature-inspired theme.  

1.   Sunday Postcard Art: Maps -- Am linking the artist postcard before I adhered it to a card base.
2.   The Three Muses: Elephant
3.   613 Avenue Create #231: AG + Opt. Use Colored Pencils -- I've played the option. I colored the elephant with Polychronous pencils and also shaded parts of the map background with them.
4.   2 Crafty Critter Crazies #36: AG with a Critter -- Elephant
5.   Colour Crazy Week 8: AG with Colouring -- I used wax colored pencils on the elephant and distress inks, water color pencils, and ProMarkers on the map background.
6.   The Creative Crafters #25: AG
7.   Outlawz Festive Fridays 3/6-3/19: Birthday Theme
8.   A Vintage Journey: Celebration Time Sixth Birthday -- I'm sharing a mixed media birthday card and congrats on 6 years to AVJ! (MM = stenciling, inks, stamping, pencil, collage)