Flower Power

Hubby and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary this week, and this is the card I made him. He likes bright, vibrant colours (and thinks a lot of my cards are too dull or washed out) so this was my response!

I was originally going to make this for the February Clarity challenge, which had the theme of Flower Power, but didn't get there in time!

I started with a shaving foam background. I used worn lipstick, mustard seed, barn door and a bit of bundled sage distress reinkers. This was the first print, so had the full impact of the colours. (I did lots more, some with stencils, so the stash is well topped up!)

On scraps of card, I stamped the silhouette from the butterfly and petals Clarity stamp set. I tried different distress inks - worn lipstick, picked raspberry, spiced marmalade, mustard seed and wild honey.

I decided to go with the picked raspberry and spiced marmalade, so stamped multiple of these.

I then added two of the pattern stamps, in black versafine, and cut them out.

I played with arranging them into flowers, and decided I needed a few more, as well as some leaves.

I didn't have the green I wanted for the leaves, so used mustard seed with second generation mowed lawn over the top. It gives more texture, too.

I arranged them onto the background, attached with small foam pads. The flower centres are the swirl from the centre of the swirly petal, stamped over mustard seed distress ink and cut out. The stems I drew on with a medium permanent marker.

I tore round the edges of the background to reduce it down to size (for an 8x8 card blank), and inked the torn edges with ripe persimmon. I stamped the happy anniversary stamp, again in versafine.

To highlight the words, I used a pink pen on one side and a white pen on the other.

For a mount, I used a pink sheet, and dragged the picked raspberry ink around the edge to brighten it. (I thought this would be a short cut to an intense colour, but I think a white card with the ink would have been brighter.)

I edged the pink card with a black sharpie, but it looked a bit flat. So I got out the white gesso, and a grid stamp from the Sheena Douglass distress stamp set. I stamped randomly in the gesso, and applied dots with my small groovi tool.

I used the same grid stamp on the insert and envelope (in mustard seed distress ink), along with the petal stamps in the picked raspberry and spiced marmalade.

To construct the card, I used foam tape between all the layers - I'm not going to have to post it, after all!

I do love the zesty brightness of this card. The random, shaving foam background is very happy making, and I like the simple, doodle style - flower power indeed!

Feeling Autumnal

This is a card I made back in October, when the trees were turning red and we were having glorious warm autumnal days. It was for my parents' wedding anniversary, so didn't need to be blogged for a deadline - hence the delay in posting it here! I did send them the original on time.

I was thinking about stencils as that was the theme for the ClarityStamp challenge for the month. So I got out the abstract squares Clarity stencil.

I inked all over it with yellow, orange and red pigment inks. I did this over a sheet of stencil card, so I got this gorgeous waste, which I can use in another project.

I then taped the inky stencil to another sheet of card and ran it through the Grand Calibur to transfer the ink. I didn't remember to get a photo at this stage!

I blended antique linen distress ink through the stencil into the squares, leaving one big square white. I then stamped leaves in the same autumnal colours as I'd used for the frame, in a cascade across the card.

Turning to the empty square, I masked it off and added a yellow "sky" and orange hills, then stamped a bird image sitting on the frame, in walnut stain distress ink. This is from a hobby art stamp, birds on a wire; I just used one of the birds and masked the wire.

I used vintage photo distress ink as a paint to colour it in.

At this point I realised I should have started with the bird and masked it, as the frame is going through its tail. And the pigment ink doesn't lift off with water. I ended up using a white pen to go over the tail, then repainted the lines in. I think I got away with it!

Looks fine from this distance!

Next for the sentiment banner. I blended antique linen onto a piece of card, then stamped in red using an alphabet stamp set I got at my local arts and crafts shop.

Then I realised the card was't wide enough and had to do it again along the length!

I cut the sentiment into a banner shape, and edged it with vintage photo ink. I mounted it across the corner on foam pads.

I finished it off with a brown frame and card base, and a few gems on the top corner.

A warm autumnal card, although with different colours this could be adapted for any season - add a red chest and you've got a Christmas robin!