Monday, May 19, 2008

Since You Asked* So Nicely...

here is the whole card!! (NOT a platypus!)
Do you love it?? I BET you don't have an ostrich stamp!!! I LOVE ostriches! Am I the only one? Really bizarre animals**, but GREAT LASHES! ;)

Here he's running along (jumping! dare I say, hopping?? "Hoppy birthday!!" get it? use your hoppy greetings with it?***) with my new STAR balloons fluttering behind. How do you like those? There are so many balloon stamps out there but I don't recall every seeing any in the shape of those puffy Mylar ones, I just think they're so festive! (All your little greetings from the previous sets fit in them, of course.) TIP: To give you balloons more dimension, color them darker around the outline, cut them out, put a dimensional on the back in the middle, and then press all the points down as if you're trying to curl them around the dimensional. This really makes them look inflated! :)

This DP paper is from a DCVW pack, all the circles are embossed, very cool, and I pulled my color scheme from that(also used Ruby Red and bashful Blue, plus the matching striped ribbon). I trimmed my new long "shake your tail feathers" greeting down to fit on the big red spot so I didn't have to omit and worry about smudging it.

To give my ostrich some dimension without having to fully commit to all the cutting of paper tole, I stamped out his tail and cut just that, adhering the bottom edge of it with my quickie glue pen and a little piece of the dimensional above that. I left the top free and curved that out a bit with my fingers. Really draws attentions to his tail feathers, just like it says! :) I used my watercolor crayons and Aquapainter for the coloring (make a brown body if you want a female) and outline with with my Pale Aqua Copic.

Okay, that's all for now, you'll have to show up for the release to see any more peeks! Still more images hiding in my set, what will they be??

BTW, have you noticed I've been adding lots more layers to my cards?! I've decided you're worth the time and trouble (thanks, Jessie for inspiring me) :)

Keep voting, polls close tomorrow 5 PM CST! This is SO exciting tallying all the votes, thanks everybody!! I'll have a really special announcement,too, when I announce the winner about our next contest! can't wait! Release party starts in 24 hours 22 minutes!!!! eeeeeeee!!

*Begged. And in a few cases, groveled.
**Let me just say, after studying countless ostrich photos (none of which were looking over their shoulders at me) I determined that ostriches have the world's ugliest feet. Nothing I was drawing looked right. I finally figured out why: they only have two toes. I'm serious, look it up, they are the world's only two-toed bird! I even debated putting shoes on it to cover them up! It was seriously the image I've lost the most sleep over! But in the end, I think he looks like he could go dance Swan Lake :) If two looks wrong, I'm just putting that out there now, trying to get them anatomically correct, just for you! (So if anyone asks what's up with those feet, you can look like such a smarty and bust out that trivia!: )
*** you can also perch it in a perfect little arabesque on the circus pedestal :)

18 comments:

  1. Thanks for the complete sneak peak! He looks like a lot of fun to play with. Love all the extra touches and tips on your card.
    Laurie

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  2. You're right, I don't have an ostrich stamp. Gina K. used to sell one when she sold individual stamps.

    I'm going to have to stock up on dimensionals!

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  3. OK, so I have had many stamps come and go since I began this venture. Can't say I ever owned an ostrich though.... too cute BTW.

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  4. Yay!!! Thank you!! This is wonderful, so adorable that ostrich is and I love that sentiment!! You rock!

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  5. Yeah, I am not above groveling. It worked didn't it! I absolutely LOVE this guy(or gal). How cute is that! I bet NO ONE has an ostrich stamp or at least not many. I have a trip coming up and I am TRYING to save money for it. You are making it very hard! LOL

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  6. Melanie, this is SO cute! Another great release! :-D

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  7. He's as cute as the rest of your critters! You're right - I DON'T have an ostrich stamp....just like I didn't have a giraffe, or a kangaroo, or a hippo, etc etc. (but I do now!) Good job:)

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  8. Hahaha, thanks for showing it, I would never have guessed an ostrich!! :-)

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  9. I knew he was an ostrich but when I snuck a peek, I was at work. Chandler, AZ is near where I live and they have an annual Ostrich Festival...so this is a really cool stamp. (hehe, Chandler also has a Chihauhau festival too)

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  10. Ohhhhh...........yep!!!!! I soooooooooo do not have an Ostrich stamp............YETTTTTTTT!!!!!!! LOL You just KNOW I will by the end of the week!!! :) And look at you go with this two-toed perfect Ostrich just for us!! And the added layers are beautiful!! Can't wait 'til the party.......can't wait 'til the party!!!!!!

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  11. How cute! The little sneak peek made me think of a gold fish...but why would you color it brown? Your balloons are fabulous too btw.

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  12. This is such a cute ostrich! My Bethany was quite pleased that she guessed correctly! I don't know that I could have figured it out! Less than 24 hours til we see the whole set revealed!

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  13. This is so weird. I was looking at the new stamps and wishing for an ostrich stamp.
    Ever since watching Disney's Swiss Family Robinson movie, I thought ostriches were the silliest looking creatures with their long necks, bony knees and fluffy feathers.

    I'd have to made that ostrich pink with extra long eyelashes. ;O)

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  14. OMG!! How cute is this!! I LOVE it! Soooo cant wait...

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  15. how cute! love your card. we are getting lots of mileage out of those dcwv packs, huh? look forward to seeing more of your stuff!

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  16. Oh I feel funny thinking it was a platapus but it was a FUN guess, wasn't it?

    Brenda

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  17. great card good job on the layering

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  18. You are sooo welcome for the layering inspiration!!LOL I love your work, and this is super cute!! Great tip for the balloons, love it!!

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