CTMH Faux Grid Fish Birthday Card with directions CTMH Happy Birthday CTMH World's Best Dad

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish! This is the card I made for my fish-crazy 11 year old son's birthday. Spencer really liked it - anything with a fish on it is sure to be a hit!

Close up of the liquid glass on the fish and sentiments. It was a cloudy day so the shiny fish didn't show up too great on film but they're awesome in person!




Basic directions:

1. Cut your cardstock in even inches (5x7 shown here or 4x5)
2. Mark off a 1" grid LIGHTLY in pencil
3. Stamp image with some or all crossing a line.
4. Use a black marker to go over the grid lines (but not through the image)
5. Erase extra pencil lines inside the stamped image.
6. Color images in (I used CTMH watercolor pencils)
7. Color in some squares in contrasting colors saving an area for a sentiment.
8. I used a blending pen to smooth out the squares.
9. Apply liquid glass to the fish images and sentiment (the sentiment is pop dotted on the black base)

For Spencer's birthday surprise we went to see Ice Age 3 tonight. It was better than I expected (I usually trust Ebert's reviews on most movies so I was willing to pay the money to see it in the theater). The kids got a kick out of it and we all laughed at several parts. Afterwards we went out for Chinese at Got Rice - one of our new family traditions for birthdays (about 2 years now we've been going for everyone's b'day). Then home for some presents and cake. Spencer said it was the best day of his life and he had lots of fun. I'm so proud of the young man he is growing into - he is kind, sharing, loving, smart, witty, full of life, joyful, stand up for others and has a strong sense of fairness. I know I'm kind of biased but I basically think he rocks! I'm so glad God gave him to me and I look forward to seeing him grow on life's journey.
Materials Used (all CTMH):

• Cardstock: White Daisy, Black, Orange
• Stamps: World's Best Dad (SOTM), Happy Birthday
• Ink Colors: Black, Star Spangle Blue, Black Marker
• Other: Watercolor Pencils, Blending Pen, Liquid Glass, Pop dots

This card was inspired by one I saw while surfing the net but I didn't log where it came from! I know it wasn't CTMH but can't remember where I saw this technique. If its your design let me know so I can give you credit!