Fintastic Birthday Fishes!

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by.

Just popping in to share another fishy birthday card. This one is for a friend's son for his fifth birthday.

I started by stamping some of the fishes and the crab from Lawn Fawn Fintastic Friends onto some watercolour paper using Antique Linen Distress Ink. I then used Zig Clean colour real brush pens to colour them in. I then painted the background using distress ink, very carefully going around the fishes to avoid the paint bleeding. You can see the background better in the photo below.

Next I stamped some more of the fishes using the same ink and coloured them in the same way as before. I then die cut them using the coordinating dies. However, I then decided that I didn't like the white border around the fishes, as it contrasted too much with the background, so I carefully coloured the border in with a Zig Clean Colour Real Brush pen.

To make the shaker, I used the We R Memory Keepers Fuse Tool to make a pocket, leaving a gap at one end. I filled the pocket with the die cut fishes, some Pretty Pink Posh 4mm sequins in Aquamarine, Sea Breeze and Sparkling Clear, along with some glass seed beads. I then used the Fuse to seal the pocket.

I created a frame for the shaker by trimming some white card to 4" by 5 1/4" and used the largest die from Lil Inker Designs Stitched Mats: Ovals to cut a window in the centre. I then used some strong tape to adhere the shaker pocket onto the back of the frame and mounted this onto an Avery Elle A2 Notecard.

It was at this point that I realised I hadn't left room for a sentiment!! Oops! (Is it just me that does that?) Mama Elephant Mini Tags and Messages to the rescue! I stamped the 'Happy Birthday' onto some pale blue card stock using Hero Arts Silver Shadow Ink and die cut it using one of the mini tag dies. I attached it using some silver thread.

As you can see below, using the Fuse Tool to create the shaker reduces the bulk compared to using foam tape or fun foam.

Hope you like it!