For Mother's Day this year, I made a Groovi card for my mum, with an inky background. I had the idea for the February Clarity Groovi challenge, which had the theme Flower Power (same as the stamps and stencils Clarity Challenge) but didn't come close to getting it made last month. I only just had it done for Mothers Day - it required a first class stamp to get there in time!
I started with the nested squares, and embossed the corners of the largest square, to define my space. I then used smaller squares to make those corners into squares and rectangles, and filled in a series of different sized and shaped rectangles between them. This created a variety of spaces for me to work in.
Then the fun bit - filling in! I started by deciding which way up I wanted the grid I'd created, and where to put the words. I then added these using the alphabet on the universal framer plate. Then it was time for the flowers! I used a whole range of plates and borders for this - the henna border, the poinsettia plate, Jayne's humming birds plate among them. I used the wishing well plate - the roof patterns went into a couple of smaller spaces.
I also used the piercing grids to emboss some simple patterns.
This is the finished line work.
Time to add colour - I used my Faber Castell polychromos, from the back.
I'm not sure if it would have been better to stick to fewer colours - but I don't have many pencils so would have been limited to only using three or four!
The next step was to cut out - and I decided to go for the picot cutting. I tried using the straight grid to pierce through, but didn't get on with it, so used the two needle tool. I'm not sure I shouldn't have persevered!
The picot cutting is a bit uneven - I'm out of practice! The angle seemed to make a big difference, where I could hold the parchment below the cut line I found it easier than in the indents, where it was harder to hold the parchment flat. More practice and experimentation required, again!
Time to make a background - on much more comfortable ground for me!
I put some distress ink onto my blending mat - chipped sapphire, dusty concord and a bit of picked raspberry. Spritzed with water, then pressed some stencil card into it. The picked raspberry really stood out!
It was lighter than I wanted for the background, I needed the white embossed lines to stand out, so I repeated with just the blue and purple inks. This filled in the gaps and intensified the colour nicely. (The photo bleaches it a little.)
Using chipped sapphire and the bouquet outline stamp, I over stamped selectively round the edge. I don't want too much fussy detail behind the parchment, but do want the interest in the gaps around the outside of the parchment.
To mount, I used tiny pieces of super sticky tape under the coloured areas of the parchment, then attached the background to a 6x6 card base with a tape pen.
I can't claim to be a parcher, I don't have the skills, and it's not a priority right now to learn them. But I do like being able to produce pieces like this, using the crisp white line art, adding colour, and making a co-ordinating background. And dabbling in a bit of cutting!
This month's Clarity Challenge is All About the Girls. So I decided to make my entry my mum's Mother's Day card. She loved it, which is the main thing, but let's hope the Clarity guys do too.
The card is in two main parts, the foreground and background, and I flitted between the two, working on one as the other dried.
The foreground is parchment, using the Groovi system, but I also stamped on it.
I started with the lettering, from the Groovi plate mate, then stamped the house martin (the February Clarity New Design Club stamp) in permanent black on the front of the parchment.
While that dried, I started the background. I used Clarity stencil card, and added distress inks with a blending tool. The colours I used are dusty concord, mustard seed, spiced marmalade and seedless preserves.
It looks a bit like a bad bruise, but I have faith it'll work out!
Coming back to the card the next day, I add a border to the parchment using the nested squares - I've not had these long, but they're very useful.
I start to add white work, gently embossing from the back, to the house martin.
I also colour in the letters with a sharpie.
The white work is something else to leave and come back to, gradually building up from grey to white.
Meanwhile, in the background… I add some detail with stencils. I used the harlequin and Jo's bubbles stencils, with the same distress inks. I can't believe I nearly didn't get Jo's bubbles when it was in the sale at the start of the year, it's proven to be so useful already.
Back with the parchment, once I'm happy with the white work I turn to the border, to add a bit of interest. I settle on the deckle border from the border plate (I don't have the deckle nested plate).
Time for some colouring in. I used a navy, purple and turquoise sharpie for the house martin, and purple for the outside of the border.
The final step is to cut it out. I don't have my piercing plates yet, so I used a pair of curvy cut scissors to cut just outside the border.
The background needs its final layer - I use one of the shepherd's purse stamps in dusty concord around the outside. I didn't take a picture of this for some reason, you can see it on the finished card though.
As always, the question is how to mount the parchment. As I didn't colour in the border completely, I can't add tape behind it. So instead, I make another section of background, using the same colours and the blending tool.
I use a corner punch to make two slots, and mount the parchment in this. I use a small piece of tape behind the bird to help secure it.
This piece is then mounted with foam tape onto the main background. This is mounted onto an A4 card base, which I cut down to the right size.
I'm pleased with how rich and warm this looks - parchment can be soft and understated, it mutes the colours, but then again it's all about how you use it. I've not tried stamping on it before, but it adds another dimension. I'm constantly amazed at how versatile the Groovi system and parchment is proving to be.
I'm also chuffed to get an entry in well before the deadline - think that's a first!
Like Mother, like daughter - here's Bethany's first card, made for Mother's day, or "día de la Madre", at our Lingotastic Spanish class yesterday. I love the colours, and the balanced composition. She's discovered glitter already, I'll have her embossing and gilding before you know it!
