Feeling Trapped? Let Me Help You Out! (SQSC13)

This week’s Stampin’ Queens Sketch Challenge (SQSC13) puts the emphasis on a series of rectangles. Because it’s such a simple design, I decided that the inner-most rectangle was going to have to be a special image to make this card work. Here’s the original sketch:

I looked at all the example cards for inspiration, but nothing struck me. I started thinking about the design itself, asking myself, “What goes in boxes? What can you do with the notion of boxes?” At first the answers weren’t all that helpful: the dog (we call his cage/crate, his box), presents, food (e.g., cake mix), and crayons. Nothing was quite right, and then I thought of a mime! A mime trapped in a box! Here’s my version of the card:

The inside sentiment is “Let me help you out!” I’m thinking of it as a sort of “Thinking of You” card for someone who has been stuck at home for one reason or another—sick family member, bad weather, tending to children, and so forth. Inside the card, I’d tuck tickets to a movie or a local event and a voucher for free babysitting. Perfect!

My sisters and brother were all in the high school mime troupe, so I am well-schooled in the ways of mimes. They followed the practice of mimes like Marcel Marceau who wore black and white clothes (sometimes with gray) and with a touch of red. So that was the inspiration for my colors: Basic Black, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla (Whisper White looked too stark), and Sahara Sand with a Real Red ribbon.

I didn’t have a photo of a family member that worked, so I found my photo on Flickr. It’s cropped a bit to make it fit the card. The photo credit goes to trapped in a box! by Cryptonaut, on Flickr.