Spotlight on Sponging

I made this simple one layer card using the sponging technique I found at a tutorial located here.  I used baja breeze for the base color and then midnight muse for the darker color.  The flower is also stamped in midnight muse with the new Stampin' Up! foam pads - it leaves such a crisp image!  I left the middle without much sponging to allow for a lighter area. Placing two large sticky notes on each side of the sponging area provides the crisp clean edge lines.  This photo also demonstrates my first attempt with my homemade photo light box.  I was thinking of purchasing one, but the cost ($50-100) and the questionable reviews of the products left me wondering if there was a more cost effective way.  So, I found the following tutorial and made my own:  Make your own inexpensive photo light tent.  I spent about $10 for the cost of supplies, and most of the cost went toward the light bulbs.

Of course, the photo does not yet fulfill my expectations.  I used my cheap digital camera to take this photo, as my more expensive SLR camera fell onto the concrete out of my hands and now does not work.  I have ordered a new camera and am anxiously awaiting its arrival so I can see if the cards have a crisper image and to check the photo light box for adequacy.