I wanted to incorporate this darling photo (from last December) into a Mother's Day card for my daughter-in-law, and thought perhaps she might want to set it on her desk at work. So I decided to create an easel style card that would stand up properly without sagging over time.
The kids' clothes in the photo were a bit too "Christmas-y" for Mother's Day though, so I changed the photo to B & W using Photoshop Elements. (MyDigitalStudio also has a B & W option, but because that program's strength lies primarily in layout, rather than photo retouching, I prefer the multiple options in P.E. for retouch work.) Then, once the retouching was done I brought the photo into MDS and changed it's shape to a circle. Love that one-click option!
The background polka dots came from Elements DSP digital download package, over which I placed a layer of nearly-but-not-quite transparent grey to soften the contrast of the original sharp black and white of the DSP. This made the kids' faces pop, rather than getting lost against the louder background.
The "Happy Mother's Day" is from the All Holidays digital download package, and I layered a Tangerine Tango version of it over an identically-sized white layer…. offset by just a couple pixels to give a suggestion of depth. "2014" (from Midnight Cheer Ensemble digital download) was color-matched to a sample pixel from the photo, as was the mat around the photo.
Since I had created this entire element in a custom size (3-7/8" x 3-7/8") I was able to print it actual size onto photo paper and then trim exactly along the edge to prepare it for mounting onto my "card".
To make the card base, I cut a 4" x 8" piece of Tangerine Tango cardstock, and scored & folded it in the middle (at 4")…. then attached the photo to that.
I cut another piece of the same CS and scored and folded it accordian style.
Finally, I adhered the accordian piece to the lower edge of the inside of the "card", cut edges pointing upwards (the reverse of the photo of the accordian piece). My message went on the back (in white gel pen), and then the whole thing popped into a custom-made envelope (created with the fabulous Envelope Punch Board)!
I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day. As for myself, I was very blessed! 🙂
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