The other day I showed you a gift wrapped present for a friend’s 40th birthday.   Today I’m going to show you the card I made him.    This friend is a big Brisbane Lions fan – so of course my little man decided that he needed to have a lion card made in Brisbane Lions colours.     A creative challenge for someone who has no idea about AFL!

First step in the creative process:  Google to see what the Brisbane Lions logo looks like!

Second: figure out the Brisbane Lions colours.   I went with Pacific Point, Crushed Curry and Cajun Craze from Stampin’ Up!

Third: figure out how to make a lion card!!  I was inspired by this card by Terry Blais.   This is my version:

Here’s how I made the lion:

Step 1:  punch 2 flowers from the Blossom Punch in Cajun Craze.  Then punch out 3 petals from the Blossom Punch in Crushed Curry.   The Cajun Craze pieces will be the mane and the Crushed Curry will be the lion’s paws.

Step 2: punching pieces for the face.   I used a 1 3/4″ circle for the face and 2 x 3/4 inch circles for the cheeks.   I cut the eyes and nose using the Owl builder punch.

Step 3: assembling the lion!!    I stuck the 2 Cajun Craze pieces together using dimensionals so the second layer of the mane had some height.  I then stuck the 1 3/4 circle on top and stuck on the pieces for the face.  I added goggley eyes for a bit of extra cuteness.  You could also use black eye centres from the owl punch, or even just draw black dots with a pen.

Step 4: adding the lions paws.   I cut the centre petal out of the Crushed Curry Blossom Punch piece like this:

This worked well as 2 lion paws.

Here is the finished lion:

I used a sponge dipped in Cajun Craze ink to dab around the paws and face for a little extra colour.   A black pen for the whiskers and freckles and I was done.

I matted a Happy Birthday greeting in Cajun Craze on a Crushed Curry background and put it on an angle so it looked like the lion was holding a sign with its paws.

I think the birthday boy thought it was very cute (even though not exactly your traditional 40th birthday card!)

Thanks for reading

Caro