Hi there. I have had a go at the embossing and water-colouring again. I am still inspired from Laura Bassen and her Altenew class…..

This time, I took inspiration from the current challenge at The Card Concept. I used the pinks and yellows for the flowers, the stripes for the background, but I did that in blue – as you see – to tie in some of the blue you can see in the picture. I thought the pink flower was enough pink,  – for me, anyway.

The background is using the Concord and 9th ‘Stripe Builder’ stamp. this is a large square stamp – hence the card being square. I have used this in the past, and it is notoriously difficult to stamp a solid image from, especially without using a stamping tool. So, knowing this, I used it on a piece of card with Ranger Perfect Medium, not really taking great care to stamp it properly, and heat embossed in clear. I then added one of the narrower wavy lines in the middle of each large stripe.

I wanted a distressed stripey background and I think I achieved that look.

I then took some Gansai Tambi light blue and – using the Tim Holtz mat again(!) – brushed the blue over the background. Again, I wasn’t too careful, and I knew the embossing would resist, but because the embossing wasn’t solid, I got some of the blue in the stripes too. A plan and coming together is the phrase in my mind at the moment.

The flowers are Altenew ‘Gardenias‘ from the stamp  and die bundle of the same name, and inked using Altnew inks. They were glued to the background with 3D glue – again allowing positioning – and the leaves slotted underneath.

Three pink sequins, and again taking a hint and tip from the class video, I slid them slightly under the flowers. The phrase is also Altenew, and in a dramatic black to highlight how delicate and pretty the rest of the card is – I think!

I also didn’t worry about leaves hanging over, as I can make my own envelopes to fit anyway. I have made cards in the past where this happens, and it just means another day sitting and getting the envelopes together, or even boxes in some instances.

I may move away from the embossed and water-coloured backgrounds tomorrow….depending on what the classes show to me today!

Challenges I shall be entering:

The Card Concept – inspiration photo

Allsorts Challenge – spring flowers (or showers)

Time Out Challenges – Spring