Tonight I was in the mood to distress something, and cardstock is generally the best option. I pulled out my SU Kind Thoughts set, and some Vanilla, Soft Sky, and Chocolate Chip cardstock. Usually I start with some kind of plan in mind, but on this card, I just wandered until it felt finished--yes, one of those nights. . .
I started by stamping Tres Chic in Versamark ink on the Soft Sky background, then added the swirls in Close to Cocoa ink. (I like it better than Chocolate Chip because Chocolate Chip seems to have red undertones, while Close to Cocoa seems a bit more neutral.) I distressed the edges with my Antique Linen distress ink, then stamped and cut out a couple of the butterflies and tried then in various positions. Blah. They needed contrast. The problem with adding contrast, however, was that it would cover up my swirls, which I needed to work with the butterflies.
I then remembered having some vanilla scented embossing powder that Cornish Heritage Farms had sent me a long time ago--ahhhh, it smelled delightful and was calorie free! I used the vanilla EP to emboss the Chocolate Chip layer and cut out just a portion of that swirl to place on top of the Soft Sky layer, letting the bottom swirl peek out on all edges. I added some paper piercing around the chocolate chip layer to frame it a bit, then distressed its edges as well. The butterflies looked much better against a dark background. It was free sailing after that--I added couple of pieces of ribbon and my trademark tag (sentiment from PaperTrey Ink's Mixed Messages set). It still seemed to need another touch, so I added layered photo corners and three mini brads. Finally--finished!
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A couple of public service announcements: CPS Sketch 55 is up; I'll show you my take on it later this week. We had a sponsor for Sketch 55, the Embellishment Studio. While I love the look of lace on other people's work, I've never actually tried using it myself. So, now I have! Do you need a way to use your trim remnants? Go see the lovely pieces at the CPS site! New ones will be added a couple of times during the week.
Next, I got my first Ellen Hutson, LLC newsletter last night. If you didn't get one, you'll want to sign up for her newsletter. (If you go to the bottom of this page, you'll see a box to sign up.) It was very educational--one of Ellen's specialties. I'm going to try soldering one of those bookmarks or a piece of jewelry! She provides great step-by-step instructions with pictures. (Most of us read the pictures, right?) And if a cool new project isn't enough to make you go sign up, there was also a coupon at the bottom for a seventeen-hour sale next Monday, March 17. Enjoy!
