Happy botday! ("magic" card)

Happy Thursday!  Today I'm sharing a card I made for the Hero Arts May 2012 contest.  There are three categories for the contest: 1) theme (birthday), 2) interactive cards (any theme), and 3) color challenge (any theme).  I chose to combine two and make an interactive birthday card.  I had the perfect recipient in mind - my friend's daughter, Emma, who was turning 8.  She loves crafting with us and had even asked for a handmade birthday card.  I decided to use the Hero Arts Robot Trio stamp set and to make Emma a "magic card".  I used a combination of this tutorial and this tutorial.  Basically, a "magic card" has an image that appears black and white, then when you pull a tab, the image "magically" becomes colored.  Sounds confusing, right?  Well, lemme just show you what I'm talking about with this paper yummy:

Here is the card "closed".  The cute little robot is black and white. See that little pull tab at the top?

When you pull that tab, the image starts to emerge "magically" colored!:

Continue pulling, and he continues to be colored all the way.  He even has a special message for the birthday girl, or should I say "botday" girl? (Sentiment was created using Hero Arts Fanciful Swirl Alphabet)

Here's the cute guy all colored in:

And here's the whole card, fully extended:

The card also opens just like a regular card, so I could write my own special message to Emma.  I wasn't there when she opened it, but she told me she loved it.  This card took a little while to make, but was a lot of fun.  I will definitely try this technique again!  How about you?  The Hero Arts contest runs through the end of the month, so you still have plenty of time to enter!

I'm also playing along here:

A Blog Named Hero Challenge #4: Dust 'em off

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge #169: Alphabet letter (use 3 elements beginning with the same letter.  I used R: robot, ribbon, rectangle dies)

Ooh-la-la Creations Challenge #105: Ribbon or twine (or both)-  I used both

The Pink Elephant TPE148: Polka Dots & Stripes

Truly Scrumptious Challenge #80: Anything Goes

Supplies: cardstock: Core'dinations (berry), Georgia Pacific (white); patterned papers: Echo Park (aqua stripe, cupcake, pink houndstooth frame), My Mind's Eye (yellow dot); acetate: Recollections; stamps: Hero Arts; inks: Tsukineko (Versafine Onyx black, Staz-On Jet Black), Close To My Heart (Hollyhock); embossing powder: Hampton Art; markers: Prismacolor; star dust pen: Sakura; white gel pen: Uniball; rectangle/scalloped rectangle dies: Nestabilities by Spellbinders; scalloped circle punch (for pull tab): Martha Stewart; eyelet: American Crafts; ribbon: Michael's; baker's twine: Divine Twine