July My Monthly Hero Countdown: Idea #5 + Giveaway!

Good morning! We are back with another countdown post, leading up to the release of the July My Monthly Hero Kit! Release day is Monday, July 2nd at 1pm Eastern/10am Pacific. Join us as we continue to share ideas using both the main kit, as well as the new optional add-on products that will also be available on Monday. Now let's join Jess who is sharing a slightly different take on the main kit!

Okay, so I hope everyone has been enjoying the bright and cheerful countdown cards this weekend because I'm going to take it in a different direction! ;) Ever since I was a kid I've always found carnivals and fairs a little creepy. It didn't help that I read a horror book as a teen that featured a carnival and cemented the idea of a creepy carnival in my head. So when I saw this month's kit I immediately thought about using it to make a creepy carnival/It-themed card! Ha.

I'm pretty sure I can count on one hand the number of times I've intentionally set out to create a sepia or vintage-themed card. However when I saw the kit I immediately thought about the scene in the movie It (the original 1980s made-for-tv movie) where the kids are looking at a book with old photographs and there's carnival music playing and suddenly the photograph comes to life and the creepy clown pops up. There wasn't a clown stamp in the kit but I figured the red balloon was a pretty iconic image from that movie so I used it instead!

To start I blended Soft Brown ink around the edges of a piece of watercolor paper. Then I blended Cup O' Joe ink around the corners and edges to add a little darker shading. I deliberately kept the shading a little uneven to give it more of a natural look. I also added a little Gold ink to the edges.

Next I stamped the carousel with intense black ink and masked it with a post-it note. Then I stamped the park silhouette stamp across the panel with intense black ink. I removed the post-it mask and added a little shading with brown colored pencils. I also stamped the balloon and colored it with colored pencils. Then I stamped the sentiment with versamark and heat-embossed it with gold embossing powder. Finally I added a little nuvo crystal glaze to the balloon to a little extra shine. I definitely went in a horror movie-themed direction with my card but you could also use this technique to create a simple vintage look (without the evil clown)! ;)

Win a kit before you can buy it! Just leave a comment on this (and every) Countdown to Creativity post! We'll randomly draw one lucky winner from all the comments left across all the countdown posts, and announce the winner first thing Monday morning, July 2nd, before the kit launches at 1pm Eastern. The more you comment, the more chances to win!

Have a fabulous day and good luck!