Sailor Seal Wishes {HB} SFYTT

This week our SFYTT has been sponsored by The Greeting Farm. They have some absolutely adorable images and I was smitten by Sailor Seal. Isn't he just the cutest? I knew that this image would come in handy for many occasions. Since he is juggling cupcakes, I thought I should create a birthday card. Emma has already said that it should be for Rowan's first birthday, but since I added pink ric-rac, it might end up being my sweet little neices first birthday card.

Since this particular image is digital, I resized it in my photo editing software, printed it and then got to work coloring him using copic and prismacolor markers. I went through my paper stash and couldn't find what I was looking for until I went to the really, really old stash and found this paper from a company that I am not sure even exists anymore. I loved the red and white polka dot paper since it coordinates perfectly with his little scarf. The striped paper had all of the colors that I wanted to incorporate into the cupcakes, so I got to work. I should let you know that I didn't actually start coloring my image until I picked my paper. I have mentioned that before, but I do that because I always want my image to be cohesive with the paper. I don't want the paper to seem like an afterthought.

I wanted to add some extra detail and dimension to the focal image, so I ended up adding some glitter to the cupcake tops and some crystal effects to the seal. I love how real seals look so shiny so I wanted to mimic that effect on my image. You can't really tell in the photos, though. I added some ric-rac, ribbon and buttons. The birthday sentiment is from a retired SU! set called "Circle of Friendship" and is one of my all-time faves! I stamped it twice; once onto the striped paper and once onto blue paper. I punched it out and layered it using dimensionals inbetween each layer.

As you can see from the sketch, I flipped mine today. My image worked much better with it switched. I can't wait to see what the other gals have been up to and which images they chose to work with.
Jen Del Muro and Ashley
Amy Rohl
Susan Liles
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O' Brien,
Jenn Diercks,
Amber Hight
Megan Lock
Sony Christoph
Jodi Collins
CAROLE
Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. Rockwell has his first official Football game of the season! I always get so nervous! Anyway, wish him luck! Also, little Rowan turned 7 months yesterday. He is just the cutest thing. I Love him so much!