Bluebells for Dad!

A little late blogging this card; to be honest I had forgotten that I had made it in between my other projects!
I made this card for my husband on Father's Day. I started with a 7x7 craft card blank from Anne Marie Designs. I have created the main topper using a large square of stamping card and then added layers of ink and stamps. The first layer was added using Pumice Stone and Tumbled Glass Distress Ink lightly across the whole panel. To darken the corners I have added Faded Jeans to the edges. I have then used the 2nd generation of Pumice Stone ink to stamp a script stamp across the whole panel. Using the 3rd generation of ink this time and Versacolour Blue Lagoon ink, I have stamped an Indigoblu flourish randomly across the whole panel as well.

Focusing on the top layers now, I have used the same Indigoblu flourish along the edges of the card, stamped this with Versafine and then heat embossed with gold superfine powder.
The painted bluebells were created with Sheena Douglass' Perfect Partners stamps. I have stamped the leaves with Colorbox Evergreen ink and the flower heads in Versafine Blue Lagoon directly onto the background card. Using inks in the same tones (Bundled Sage and Faded Jeans Distress Ink) this time from a tile, I have 'painted' the bluebell heads and leaves to give the image some substance.
The bluebells at the front of the card have been stamped onto white card and die cut using Sheena's matching Perfect Partners' Dies. I have cut three sets of bluebells and used the same inks as before to colour-in. The sentiment has been cut using Spellbinders Fancy Labels 8 and embossed on the edges with the same gold powder as before. The sentiment itself is from Clarity Stamps.

 

A Wedding Present and Memory Piece

In the same vein and theme as my previous card, I also wanted to make something for my friend which would last a little longer. I used the same colours and set about making something 'arty'!The base shapes are 2 large MDF hearts from Indigoblu which I have based with Indigoblu white Gesso. I have then mixed by own acrylic paint until I achieved a lemony colour. Still not happy with that, (as it looked a little flat) I took a chance and added a layer Daler-Rowney Interference Shimmering Gold. Instant shine and variable tones! Once dry I have used a script stamp to stamp across both hearts horizontally with Colourbox Ochre ink. The script has then been heat embossed with clear powder. At this point I wanted to add another element to the background, but I admit I was stuck as to what and how. I tried using a range of silver/grey inks, but all appeared to dark or too light! In the end, and quite by accident, I had a go with stamping the Indigoblu Small Flourish stamp in Colourbox Charcoal ink straight onto one of the hearts. Thinking it too dark, I went to wipe it off with a baby wipe, but was then in a panic when a grey echo of the stamp remained! Taking a step back, I realised I liked the effect...

Before adding the top layers of decoration, I wanted to add more texture to the heart and make it more 'vintage'.I decided to add some Inka Gold all around the piece as a whole for a distressed and 'non-perfect' look. Next I wanted to weave together some flowers and gems to create a bouquet along one edge. This took quite some time to get right, but I was happy with the final effect. The lemon flowers were easy enough to find, but I had to create the greyer ones by adding light grey ink to ivory flowers. I also decided to make my own decorative pins using coloured beads and crystals just to add a few interesting touches. Once the flowers were mounted I have used strings of Hobby House pearls across both the hearts. On top of this, I have used Spellbinders Ornate Oval dies to cut and mount a picture of the happy couple (taken from social media) and a sentiment that I love from Lavinia stamps at the top. The date was printed from Serif CraftArtist and cut using a Bigz die (Estate). The final touch was a set of charms (wedding themed) hanging from a bow. The ribbon is yellow seam binding from Creative Expressions along with some organza ribbon from my stash. To present the gift I had to make a box, print a name panel and cut 4 corners from a Tattered Lace die. I was worried that my work was a little old-fashioned, but I'm pleased to advise it was liked!

Love is...

This card was made for a friend's wedding. The wedding was to be a clean and simple affair, with lemon and grey as the colours. I have tried to echo that in this card.
The base is an 8x8 scalloped card blank, I have matted and layered with silver/grey card, yellow centura pearl and also white centura pearl. It is difficult to see from the image here, but the sentiment is sat behind the large white embossed layer. To create this effect I have measured the white card top panel, cut the aperture out (Spellbinders Vintage Labels 2) and then embossed the whole panel with an Embossilicious  folder (Regency Swirls). This has been mounted with large decoupage pads onto the lemon layer. I have used the Justrite Grateful Heart Vintage Label 2 Stamp Set to stamp the inside shape and chosen a sentiment from the same set for the centre. All stamped elements were heat embossed with detail powder. I have used the same dies again to cut a border for around the aperture. The flowers have been cut from Sue Wilson's Quilled Blooms set and the bow is from Sue Wilson's Filigree Bow set. I have used the same 3 colours throughout the card, bows and pearls for continuity. The faux stitching has been drawn by hand.