Hi Randall,
It looks OK to me. The only thing that may be a little off is the border proportion. The right side would look a bit better if it were wider.  
 
Blessing~
Audrey

I think I have finally figured some of this out.  I bought some more of my own cards and the ones with the type of colors that the stones you have below the dog, they are not coming out really clearly, especially if they are at all dark to begin with.   Keep it light and high contrast, I advise.
 
Hope that helps.

Holy Sh**!  How technically perfect do we have to get on our cards!  
 
The border I was thinking too, but did that on purpose so I could pull the thinking balloon outside of the frame and have the card balanced as a whole.  Plus I like offset borders sometimes if they are done professionally.  Matting and framing a picture we do that for effect although you should have some continutity.   It's even on the right and bottom and then the left is even with the top.  That is if it doesn't go to Target to get printed as it fit within the GCU trim lines.  
 
You're right Ramelle that bulldogs rarely use serifs.  
 
Thanks guys for the tidbits so far!

A second glance ... sorry, if the dog was sitting in mess or looking at a mess with your caption, then perhaps that would better communicate and connect with the inner verse? Like I said, I am guessing here, I don't see anything with the design. Just the connection with the outer and inner texts.

Did GCU give a reason it was on "hold"?  They seem to be much 'fussier' this year on technical aspects.  It's a shame because the wait time is so long.  That is one reason I only post the really "safe and sure" cards here.  My pug one was declined, but is selling like hot-cakes on Zazzle.  Go figure.

I don't see any problems with your card, I think it is clever and well done.     Rosie Cards

It's great Randall,I understand all your reasoning...perhaps post it on Zazzle!
Cheers Mary.

Hi Randall,  
My only thought was that the photo cropping is quite close to the dog's face and he is looking out of frame.  it does not let the "reader" connect with the dog.  It gives the dog a disinterested look, as opposed to an I'm sorry look.
 
That's just my thoughts.
 
Stephanie

Thank you guys!  
 
No Doreen, actually I have a high opinion of you, I think people misinterpret what I say a lot as I'm usually quite blunt.  You know photography and especially after the shot editing.
 
Personally I like the offset box, but if several of you think it makes the overall composition of the card look unbalanced, then you probably are right.  I do know what you are saying about the lighting and of course this was shot outside at a car show with bright light overhead.  Didn't think the reviewers would be that critical.  After all it is going to be a 4X6 image when printed but if it's that noticeable I'll work on it a bit more.
 
I'll go to work with a mask as you suggest Doreen and see if I can find a smooth edged bubble or draw one in.  This should be a great little learning project.  See what I can do to improve this design from so-so to superb.  
 
Dang reviewers are so picky now!
 
I only hope they don't decline these and give me a chance to improve the image if that's all it is as I submitted six different versions of this design.  Cross my fingers!
 
Best always, Randy

Hey Randall,
 
The border and bubble issues are certainly a big improvement.  I don't see much difference in the lighting issues.  Just to be able to let you see what I'm talking about, I did a screen print of your card and balanced the tonal range to help you visualize what I see.  When I did that, the whites on the head and bridge are completely washed . . . in other words, there is no detail to recover, so you have to figure out how to fix that or try another photograph.
 
What I did is simply paint on both some deeper values and then since there is no recovery, there is no texture, so I painted on some light texture to the top of the head.  Then as I mentioned above, used another layer to paint some light on the darker portions of the face to help balance the lighting.
 
I darkened the ground and more of the dog, again painting with a masked layer and then cloned over the sun spot on the ground by the front paws. What I think you will now see is how much that dog face pops out at the viewer.  There are no more washed out areas and the eye no longer wanders away from the subject.
 
Keep in mind I did this in a matter of minutes, so it was not done with a lot of care, but I wanted you to see what is possible and see it the way I see it.  Now, of course I can not give you any guarantee that the image I modified would be accepted, I can only say from a professional photographer's standpoint the technical errors from capture have been corrected.
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34356472@N04/6967181283/in/photostream/lightbox/

Quote from Donna_137698 on Mar 9^th, 2012, 3:17pm:

 
Hi Donna - I'm a Photoshop CS-5 user and that does break the bank unless you can buy upgrades like I did.  However, a new version of elements would probably allow you to do this since all I've done is apply a mask to a Levels or Curves layer and painted with a brush light or shadow only in the parts I wanted the adjustment.  The same technique was used to blend in a texture over the washed out parts.
 
I've heard great things about the later versions of Elements.  It's affordable, usually under $100 and I'm sure it would be a great stepping stone for you.  Of course GIMP is free and I'm told does pretty much every thing Photoshop does, but I've never had the need to use it so I can't give any advice in that arena.

Quote from Donna_137698 on Mar 9^th, 2012, 3:40pm:

 
Donna, I may be mistaken, but somewhere, I believe I read that you are a teacher.  If that's correct, you should be able to use an educational discount to buy photo editing software.  Most software companies will offer special 'student' packages, that might not have every bell and whistle, but certainly enough that it should help you out.
 
 
Penny

Quote from Donna_137698 on Mar 9^th, 2012, 3:57pm:

 
Donna,
When I homeschooled my kids, we purchased educationally priced items from Academic Superstore (I've always had great experiences with them).
 
Here's a link to the Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium at their site: http://www.academicsuperstore.com/products/Adobe/Creative+Suite+Design+Premium/1 525607
 
And their requirements for Teachers, Faculty, Staff:
 
One of the following:
*Link to your faculty web page
*Faculty ID
*Letter of Employment on school letterhead
*Pay Stub (cross out confidential information)
 
Cindy

thanks again folks for all the info...
 
Doreen, I have a Windows 7 64 bit custom built PC with quad core processor (hoping to save up to go to something even higher at some point - yeah, I'm turning techno geek!!).  I requested a "monster machine" from the gent who built it making sure he completely understood my needs for a machine that will handle graphics programs and the like for my photography and digital "art" endeavors.  
 
I'll certainly check in with him before ordering any software to confirm compatibility.

nice knowing his family too - his mom will tan his 41 year old hide if he doesn't follow through  

Thank you Catherine!  Your's and a couple others here suggestions on the border were good ideas. Unfortunately I cropped in too close to Baxter when I took this, so I'm working with the parameters that you see here to fit it to a 5X7 format.  I need the border to keep the design within the trim and margin lines.  Baxter doesn't belong to me.  His owners brought him out to one of the car shows that I shoot at to sell a couple of puppies he sired so chances of seeing him again and having another chance for a shot are out.  
 
Well I worked on it some more as Doreen offered some excellent suggestions.  Unfortunately, I'm not as familiar with the post image tools as she is, but here is what I came up with.
 
 http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/apology-im-sorry-cards/animals-pets/dogs/eng lish-bull-dog-eeewww-boy-911171?aid=140313  
 
I think the lighting on the rocks came out ok as they are now fairly even.  I had some trouble trying to get rid of the wash out on the top of the head.  Doreen warned me that I didn't have much to work with there and she was right.  I was able to bring out some detaill on the hairs, but to me looks  a bit grey on the top of the head.  Doreen did an example for me and did a much better job, but I'm thinking if the reviewers are that sticklish, I should just give up entirely on this greeting card stuff.      
After all these images are being printed at 5X7 or less if you are adding borders or incorporating other designs around the main image.
 
Thank you Doreen again for your help and the same to all the rest of you!  
 
Best always, Randy

although I totally agree with your reasoning, Doreen, I'm nervous about my inability in not recognizing such issues off the bat.  I know this will come with experience, but it's sometimes overwhelming and sometimes I think it's overkill.  Maybe it's just my being naive ...

Cute card. I think it could use a little levels and vibrance adjustment to make the dog's colors pop.
 
Best
Violet

Thank you, Peggy!
 
These people came out to the charity car show I do once a month on Los Coches and old Hy 80 and had brought tow puppies with they were trying to sell along with both parents.  I wish I had time for a dog as I fell in love with Baxter here and would have loved to have one of his pups.
 
I just had five of the cards that I improved on approved and waiting on a sixth which I referred to someone being '29 still' and the reviewer considered it an age specific card which should go into age specific category.  It's not an age specific card as it was only a joke about being 29 for as long as one could get away with it, so I reworded the inner verse, sent an email to the reviewer and am awaiting their response.
 
Good news though as five were approved!
 
Hope all is going well with you and your shows.  We are so close, I'm surprised I haven't run into you around yet.  We're bound to get together at something coming up one of these days!  
 
Thanks for checking and for the suggestions.  I didn't even notice the white spots on his back, just a tan spot on the top of his precious wrinkled head which I left alone.  
 
Best always,  Randy