how to make a photographer HATE YOU

ask them to get you a really good shot of something like this:

(hambly transparency; ki lace cardstock; heidi swapp ghost butterflies & fuzzy rub-ons; martha stewart butterfly punch; doodlebug sparkly cardstock; prima tiny florals; mambi gems; bazzill ink; k&co velvet alphas; basic grey rub-ons; other: foam tape, handmade lace paper, flower pics from a magazine)

yeah.

a card made from a transparency is ALL reflections and shiny bits.

kind of makes you long for three small sugar-fuelled nieces running around at top speed for relative ease of getting a good image, doesn't it?!

but i don't think i could fit said pint-sized pipsqueaks into an envelope for my sister-in-law kath's birthday, so i'm going with the shiny-sparkly-butterfly card afterall. and you will just have to trust me that it looked EVEN BETTER in real life!

if you are wondering about the mechanics of making such a card, lemme just tell you that the lace cardstock IS NOT there for decoration...although fortunately, it *is* quite decorative...but no, it is there to provide a place to stick the bits of foam tape on which the butterflies are perched! the rhinestones ON the butterflies are serving a similar purpose by hiding said adhesive from the other side. the little paper butterfly INSIDE the card is there to give us a place to sign our names! basically, i'd say that construction of a transparency card is approximately 25% design...and 75% engineering... (which is waaaaaay more than i am really qualified for, to be truthful!) ...but pays off with gratifyingly dramatic results!