Reading Bear

Today's card was made for my mother to give to a friend of hers who is retiring.  They both worked at the library together, hence the reading bear.

The card is 5 1/2"x4 1/4."  I used white card stock for the base, then cut a black mat at 5 3/8"x4 1/8," and a pink polka dot mat at 5 1/4"x4."  The next black mat is 3 3/4"x3 1/4" and the white mat is 3 5/8"x3 1/8."  The white layer is embossed with an embossing folder, from The Paper Studio, called Stripes.  I put a strip, cut into a banner, of grey polka dot paper behind the smaller layers.

The book is from "Everyday Paper Dolls."  It is cut at 2.667."  It can be found on page 67 of the handbook, the accessories 1 feature.  I cut it twice, once in white, then again in the blue patterned paper.  I trimmed the blue piece to be the cover and layered it over the white, which are the pages.

The bear is a Peachy Keen Stamp, from the January 2013 Stamp of the Month Kit.  I stamped it on grey polka dot paper and cut it out.  I added some whites to the eyes then covered them and the nose with glossy accents.  I adhered the paws to the outsides of the book, then adhered the head behind it to look like the bear is reading.  The center of the book is adhered with foam tape for a little added dimension.  I left the card blank, mostly because I don't have a stamp for "happy retirement."  I figure my mother can add her own sentiment to the inside.

I made this for the following challenges:

Fantabulous Cricut: sketch

Peachy Keen: photo inspiration (I loved the different patterns and drew from a couple of the colors)