Love Bites & Video Game Friends

For my first card, I created a background with lots of layers, using a bunch of different Lawn Fawn border dies & colored up two of the images from Love Bites with Copic markers.

Since the background is pretty nondescript, I decided I wanted there to be no question about who this set was a parody of, so I went to town with my Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen on the male image--making his skin SUPER sparkly! To finish up, I did some stamp surgery, and stamped the "Hope your Birthday is Dazzling" sentiment in Versafine Onyx Black ink. 

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I struggled a bit with the second card once the image was colored in with Copic markers, but decided the "I love having you in my pack" sentiment was a perfect, powerful compliment for a clean and simple design. I die cut a panel from Kraft cardstock using the second largest die from the Gina Marie Designs Wonky Stitched Rectangles die set, inking the edges with Ground Espresso Distress Ink. Before matting it on a piece of white cardstock, 1/8 inch larger than the die cut panel, I heat embossed the sentiment using Versamark ink and Ranger Fine Detail White Embossing Powder.  

I selected a woodgrain patterned paper from my stash, trimmed it to 4x5.25 inches and adhered it to a medium grey, top folding A2 card base. Then I used Woodware UK 1mm Foam Mounting Tape to pop up the focal panel in the center. Finally, I adhered the colored image using Multi Medium Matte, so he appears to be standing on the sentiment.

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I decided to mix things up a bit for my third card and turn the images on their head a bit by coloring them completely differently. I knew I needed a killer background to sell it, so I used my Copic markers to draw my own on a separate panel of 65# white cardstock, so it wouldn't bleed through to the inside of my card. I added a few accents to the darkened windows with a Sakura White Gelly Roll pen, and a few swipes of my Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen--to really sell the illusion of glass. I, again, performed some stamp surgery, cutting the "My love for you is" sentiment away from the word "undying", which appears on the inside of the card, and stamped it in Versafine Onyx Black ink. 

I adhered the finished background panel to the front of a top folding, landscape A2, white card base & then added the "remix" colored characters.

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For my final card, I used the Arcade Friends stamp set, because I thought it paired perfectly with the new Super Sweet paper pack! I selected a bright orange, top folding A2 card base and two of the patterns from the paper pack. I cut them with the second and third largest dies from the Gina Marie Designs Wonky Stitched Rectangles die set, respectively, and adhered the panels so they, too, were a bit "wonky". I again colored the character and "You're my hero" cookie with Copic markers--but I added some Sakura Souffle pens to the cookie medalion as the sprinkles, to give it some shine. I adhered them both to the card, in a straight (ish) vertical orientation, so the card appears even more wonky, which I thought fit the fun characters.