Creativity Queue Challenge Day 5

If you are coming here from Daisy Yellow's blog, welcome!  I am the hostess for Day 5 of the Creativity Queue Challenge.  This is a challenge where you are charged to do something creative that you have been meaning and wanting to do.  Anything goes, as long as it is something you have already started (in your head or actually physically).

My challenge:  Create a digital birthday card using parts of my own art.
I had been wanting to make and print out little birthday note cards to have on hand to give out to my students at school when it is their birthday.  I have over 125 students, so it needed to be something small, quick and easy, where I can just write a brief note and sign my name. 

Here are the steps I took.

1.  First I downloaded a background from 100+ New Watercolor Textures

I suppose I could have painted one myself, but I just wanted to find a fun one quickly.

2.  I took an old watercolor painting of mine:

 I combined the two images.  I put this painting on top of the background.


3.  Then I used some downloaded brushes to create a frame. 

4.  Next, I erased some of the inside to make a place to put the text.

5.  Then, I uploaded the jpeg to Picasa.
     When you look at your gallery of photos, click on the one you want.  Then, go to "actions" and then "edit in picnik" where you can add lots of fun effects.

6.  Save it to the computer again.  Finally, I reopened it in Photoshop again and added more star brush effects on the side.  I downloaded the brush effects from one of the web sites I listed above.  Voila!  Done!

Also sharing with My Mojo Monthly.