Happy Birthday Fishes~

My younger brother's birthday celebration is this weekend, he's younger than me by a couple of years, but having a hard time with it this year. I thought, in the spirit of wanting to be younger, I would make him a fun card instead of the "man" cards we strive to make for the men in our lives.

I knew I wanted to use Ocean Friends (Kim Hughes for CHF) paired with the Cosmo Snorkel line, so that was my starting point. After I took the kids to school I pulled out the stamps and papers and got to "work." "Play" is more like it! What started as a square card evolved into a rectangular 4.5" x 6.25" card, it just worked best with the images I had stamped. Speaking of the images, I channeled Kim's way of stamping her images in different colors and overlapping them; I've admired that look for some time, but never have tried it. Let's just say, I'll be using this stamping technique more often; no masking or coloring is required, yet it creates such a fun look! Thanks Kim for all of your inspiration!! After the image panel was stamped and the new base cut, I putzed around with a layout. I decided to take Riley for her morning walk to clear my head so I could think more clearly. When I got back, this layout/tag is what resulted in clearing the fog during our walk.

A staggered layer, orange twill, brads, button and a sentiment flag round out the card.

V.~

Supplies~
Stamps: Ocean Fun, Quirkly Alpha (retired), Tag, You're It (Kim Hughes) for CHF
Ink: Memento by Tsukineko-Pear Tart, Summer Sky, Bahama Blue, Tangelo, Grape Jelly, Lady Bug and Desert Sand
Paper: SU! Soft Sky, Tango Tangerine, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White
Patterned Paper: Current from the Snorkel line by Cosmo Cricket
Other: Orange Twill (Taylored Expressions), Aqua Mini Brads (StarlitStudio), Green button, Distressing tool, dauber, Dimensional foam