The Queen of Hearts is ruling over the tea party this week. I think she might have dismantled Princess Beatrice's fascinator.
Well, I happened to have an extra-large crown left over from last week's party that didn't fit the queen cat, but it certainly fit the Queen of Hearts.
The heart is a Memory Box die cut that I cut out of watercolor paper and used my aquapainter and ink to color. (The red and green is the die.) I decided to play around with the embossing of the background and I didn't want any of it under the heart die cut so it would stand out, so I turned the die over and traced the edges to make a heart pattern the size of the die. Then I cut two card size pieces of lightweight cardboard from a discarded cake mix box and glued them together. I carefully centered the heart pattern in the center and then traced it and cut it out. This made it possible to emboss only the area surrounding the heart.
The first time I tried this I did not use any ink on the embossing folder and while it didn't look bad, it still didn't appear to have enough contrast, so I added ink with a dauber to the area that would be embossed. You can do this by holding the pattern under the folder so you can see the area that doesn't get the ink. Making the sandwich of paper, folder, and plate was a little tricky but I got it done.
In fact, I liked the way that this came out so much that I decided to used the same background - without the heart however - for my first Jingle Belles card this week. Looks as though I got a little heavy handed with the dauber on this one.
We were to make a neutral Christmas card based on the photo below:
Neutrals for Christmas. I really like this.
Truth be told, the card below started out as my Jingle Belle card but I felt the heart was not right for Christmas. I happen to need a birthday card for a friend who is celebrating one of those monumental birthdays and thought this would work out fine for that.
I added the pink ribbon and the sentiment in a pink label and put the panel on a pink base. (Geez, I sure hope she likes pink!)
Stunning cards, love the Christmas card and how you inked the folder.xxx
ReplyDeleteI am speechless ... I love that fabulous inky background and your perfect little wreath ... the clusters of pearls are the perfect finishing touch ... so very glad you joined us at jingle belles.
ReplyDeleteWOW - love them all! They are so classy and elegant!
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love the wreath you created and the card that the wreath sits on!!!!! So beautiful and such an amazing interpretation of the challenge pillows!!!! I'm a sucker for that neutral color combo :)
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful. I LOVE that folder. Your sponging is perfect for adding some depth.. Great cards.
ReplyDeleteAll your cards are beautiful!!! I really love one with the wreath!!
ReplyDeleteAll these creations are fabulous! Wow!!
ReplyDeleteoooh OOOOOH oOoOoOoOhhhh! how much do i ♥LOVE♥ all of these??! (hint: it's a really, REALLLLY lot!!!) i actually even think the 3rd card would've been FAB for jb... but as it turns out, it's also a KNOCK OUT birthday card, so it's win/win!!!
ReplyDeleteas for the wreath one: ♥HUBBA HUBBA♥!!!! love the embossing and the soft distressing of ink and the little pearls and, well... EVERY SINGLE THING about it! you have ROCKED the "neutral noel" in a big, biiiiig way!!! :)