Guest Designing for AAA Birthday Game 18: Photo Inspiration

 Good Monday morning to you! Hope this finds you well. A few weeks back, my Catch of the Day birthday card won at AAA Birthday Challenge and I was asked to guest design for a future challenge which is now! 

CARD DEETS:

Papers: Springhill Digital card stock, Bazzill Textured card stock base and bottom mat, SEI Couture Collection patterned papers

Images: Beccy's Place digital stamps Pumpkins and Sunflowers and Champagne set; Gecko Galz image from Happy New Years collage sheet

Stamps: My Favorite Things Spirited Sentiments set

Dies: Spellbinders Nested Lacey Squares and 6x6 Card Creator Matting Basics; Lawn Fawn Everyday Sentiment Banners and Extra Sentiment Banners

Other: Versamark and printer ink, white embossing powder, sheer polka dot ribbon, enamel dots and yellow fleur de lis brad from my Black Hole of Stash

AAA Birthday Challenge is a monthly theme-oriented "game" where you enter birthday cards only. Here are the RULES to play:

I've been playing there a while and it's quite a pleasant place. For their current October Game #18, the theme is Photo Inspiration and here is the photo:

What inspired me from this sketch were: the grapes (my Champagne and Cheers references in the images and sentiments), the sunflowers, pumpkins, pink flowers (there are some in my focal image), and the colors yellow, green, pink, purple and especially the blue in the corn which caught my eye immediately. 

Taken all together, the inspirational elements I chose gave my imagination wings to fly to my final creation, which looks nothing like the photo. You don't have to even be inspired by that much: the wicker horn of plenty is fine, or one of the colors. Whatever floats your boat, it just needs to be "anchored" in the photo somewhere.

I used one of the current sketches at Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2, #191. I was 100% faithful to it except for the dots on both sides at top. With my addition of the pumpkins and champagne images, the design looked more balanced to me if I chose to sprinkle my enamel dots as I did. Otherwise, complete fidelity! My card size is 6x6.

On a curious note, I used a collage sheet image of a New Year's Eve toast, yet I looked very thoroughly at it and saw no reason it could not be an Autumn birthday toast instead, and I really love the image so I used it. I added the pumpkins and sunflowers as Autumn references.  As much as I love the traditional brown/orange/yellow color pattern of Autumn we see most often, I confess that I love the non-traditional colors as well. I've noticed this year that I've been adding more blues and purples to my cards of this theme, for example.

So come play at AAA Birthday! It's fun! I hope you enjoyed seeing my art and thanks so much for visiting to see what I've made and I hope you have a most excellent first full week of October! Be Well and Safe! XXO

MY CHALLENGE PLAYLIST:

1.  Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2 #191  --  sketch is shown above

2.  Beccy's Place October Challenge: AAG with a Beccy's image -- I did play the optional twist, albeit loosely. I took the yellow and green colors and the stripes on my bottom paper mat are like train tracks. I've listed above in my post the Beccy's images I have used.

3.  Outlawz Tuesday Color Challenge 9/22-10/5: Photo Inspiration -- the birthday balloons suggest a birthday and I also inspired by the colors, most of which I used, except for the hot pink.  

4.  Time Out Challenge #171 -- I have champagne and people toasting with it.

5.  Classic Design October Challenge #10: AAG  

6.  Gecko Galz Customer Blog Challenge October: Happy Haunting -- the focal image is from the GG Happy New Year collage sheet

7.  The Crafters Cafe #252: AG

8.  613 Avenue Create October: AAG -- I did not play the option this time.