Football fan's card

Phew, this is a last of a little run of male cards I'm pleased to say - I always struggle and am much happier making pretty things :)

This card was for a little neighbour's 7th Birthday, yesterday. He's mad about football (aka soccer elsewhere) and follows his Daddy in being an Arsenal supporter:

I used:

- 7" x 5" white card blank, tent style

- slightly smaller black border panel

- made the football by using SU's 'Honeycomb' embossing folder and white card as well as some black card. Snipped a few hexagons from the embossed black card and added them onto the white embossed card before running it through the Cuttlebug with a circular die (one from the Tonic Studio's set I keep banging on about)

- then I cut a couple of strips of Kanban 'Green Grass' patterned card and snipped the top edges to look a bit like blades of grass

- cut a panel of Kanban's 'Blue Sky' patterned card just a bit smaller than the black panel

- stuck one layer of the grass strip about 1" from the bottom of the sky panel, added the football and then added the other grass strip over the bottom part of the football so it went right to the bottom of the sky panel. I know, I possibly wasted some sky precious patterned card but it made the whole thing much more robust

- as usual, I'd left a bit of an overhang when adding the grass strips so trimmed each layer as I went, back to the edge of the sky backing card

- next added the black panel behind the sky, grass and football panel then stuck it onto the card blank front

- all that was left was to add the wording using peel off stickers for ease - some are silver ones coloured with a yellow Peel Off marker pen

- almost came unstuck next, I wanted to add Arsenal's current badge/logo. Found and resized an image and then the printer kept screaming it had a paper jam when I was doing a test print. Called the in-house support team who was also stumped, poking here there and everywhere in the printer with no sign of a paper jam. And, for some reason as we were giving up and ready to try it on another printer I just idly lifted the entire printer up to peek underneath - and there was the jammed piece of paper. Just think, if we'd given up and ordered a new printer - the asses ears would have been waving high here when we discovered the jam as the printer was moved to make way for a new one! Moral of the story? Leave no stone (or printer) unturned :)

- having resolved the printer issue (and having had help from in-house support team to bring the logo to a more true red as by this time I was almost running round the walls here), printed it on matt photo card and trimmed round the shield. That left the white cut edges of the card which I just ran a gold calligraphy pen round before adding said shield to the card with a thin sticky pad - phew

Making that last bit took longer than the rest of the card! And I did giggle - when he first saw the card almost finished Len remarked 'Like it. You're really on the ball kiddo with that one'. Then there was silence before we both cackled at the unintentional pun! Nut case.................who also sends his huge thanks for all your lovely Birthday wishes the other week!

By the way, I did spot this idea for the ball in a few places on line. Another use for that SU embossing folder!

Di
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