Hi!

Hey there, folks!  Well, I don't usually do more than one post during a given theme for the Card A Day Blog, but this week is an exception.  I have a second inspiration for you during this 'friendship' week that I hope you will enjoy.  Once again, except for the card base, all my pieces were leftovers/scraps.  Even my central image, a wonderful digital design by Guy Gondron for an internet class I took awhile back on coloring with Copics, was a leftover image just waiting for the right project.  So, since I have used a digi design on this card, I am entering it into the Seasonal Fun Challenge (must use a digital design) at CDAC.  I haven't mentioned this before, but I've been having a real issue with arthritis in my right hand so that I am scarcely able to write, let alone color, for any extended time.  Fortunately, I had colored this image at the time of the class, and here is my card!

When I was browsing through a collection of images I had previously printed out (or even colored), I came upon this cute turtle.  I couldn't help thinking first, how cute he looks peering up at that little ladybug flying by his head, and second, how much he reminded me of a turtle my hubby encountered in our yard one day and brought into the house for us to see.  Of course, we immediately named him;  Bartholomew T. Turtle.  I decided to use a kraft card base to mimic sand, and put Bartholomew in a little grassy area right by the sand.  For the grass I used two different dies (One from Impression-Obsession and the other, I think, from Lifestyle Crafts) to cut my green scraps.  Here is a close shot of the coloring and the grass:

Since I didn't want Bartholomew to look lonely on the card, I decided to put a nice frame around him.  I actually used a test cut that I had saved from an earlier project.  When choosing the colors for the frame, I wanted to highlight the color of the little ladybug.  I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks in "Spiced Marmalade" and "Ripe Persimmon" to add the color to the frame.  Also, I wanted to have some dimension on the card, so I layered the grasses and the frame with foam tape.  Here is an angled pic for you which shows the dimension:

 

Finally, I stamped the simple greeting, and left the inside blank so there is lots of room to write a nice message to a favorite friend.  The stamp came from a set called "Happy Messages" by Stampendous, and was stamped with Versamark "Onyx Black."

If you have some friends you haven't seen or spoken with for awhile, why not put together a few cute cards and write them a 'happy message?'  Everyone loves to open their mailbox to find a lovely greeting card waiting to be enjoyed.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope you're enjoying a wonderful weekend!!

Big HUGS!
CHRISTINE