My Favorite Card Ever ... with a Surprise : )

I've been holding onto this card for quite awhile. Do you have a card that you have completely fallen in love with and wanted to wait until exactly the right moment to post it? This is mine. I'm bringing it out for the Moxie Fab Trendy Star Power Challenge that ends today. Yep, I waited until the last day possible, because I still kinda wanted to hold onto it : )

 It's a window into the cosmos.

The cosmos (btw, I distinctly remember watching this series by Carl Sagan with my Dad since I rarely was allowed to watch TV, and can't believe that it aired in 1980!) is made from spraying vellum with ink (October Afternoon Carbon Copy) and then a couple shots of Heidi Swapp Gold Color Shine. I don't use sprays too often, but when you want a variegated effect like this there really is no substitute. I did this over a large area of vellum and then moved the card's window around until I got the best-looking area.

The stars are from a white gel pen. I actually pulled up a star map and used that as a loose guide on where to make my dots. I figured if I tried to do random dots they would look too evenly spaced. The frame is drawn with a ruler and a gel pen.

So I told you there was a surprise, right?

When you hold it up to the light,

the Big Dipper is revealed!!

I was so excited when this turned out. It was on my window ledge for probably a month : ) Holding it up to the light reminds me of when I first saw the Big Dipper as a kid. I had been so confused on where it was for a whole summer, and then when you finally identify it, you can never NOT see it. I remember feeling accomplished, and a little more like a grown-up : )

To get this effect, I added a second layer of vellum behind the front panel that I sprayed with Carbon Copy and hole punched the Big Dipper constellation. Both layers of vellum are secured between the two black card bases. Since this is a flat card without a fold to allow the light to show through, I needed a way for it to stand. There's a "Brochure or Photo Holder" image at Silhouette that I used to make the stand, which also folds flat when not in use.

Thanks so much for looking!

-Kelly