Growing in Unity Day Five

Wow, finally reached the end of the week! Hope you enjoy this last day! Today, the backgrounds are created with ... drum roll, please, ... embossing folders!  One is a 3D Texture Spellbinders (oh, btw, I bought 2, so if someone wants to pay the shipping, they can have my extra) and a Tim Holtz folder.

I started the first card by laying down Evergreen Bough, Gathered Twigs, and Rusty Hinge oxides on my craft mat, one at a time, spritzing with water and dipping the paper into it. I think I might have dried it a little in between colors. I then sprinkled some Primary Elements Ginger on the mat, added water and dipped it again. While the paper was still damp I used the 3D folder. Damp paper allows the fibers to stretch versus tear in a folder. I took a clear embossing ink pad and ran it over the raised layers and used white embossing powder on it. I stamped some more of the colors on my pad and added watercolor to enhance the indented areas. I have to say I was a little concerned picking this folder up at Tuesday Morning.... but, now, I am in love with it!

Next, I stamped a butterfly I received in a Unity grab bag, I think it came from the Butterfly Beauty Kit, using a clear ink again. This time, I sprinkled a copper embossing powder in the middle of the butterfly and a Ranger’s Sage on the outer ends of the wings. It’s not perfectly embossed but that just makes it fit in with the edgy background better. I then used my watercolors to add color to the butterfly. After fussy cutting each component out, as the butterfly image is not whole, I decided I needed to make it stand out more against the beautiful background. So I, again, clear embossed the image this time on vellum using the copper powder. I trimmed the colored image parts down and adhered them onto the vellum, allowing the copper edges to show! I added pen marks on the edges of the wings. I fussy cut the whole butterfly out of the vellum paper. I loved the look, so I mounted that on the embossed paper.

To go with this more mixed media style card, I decided to use a sentiment from the Today is a Lovely Day Kit. This time I embossed the sentiment using a beautiful Seth Apter powder that is teal colored with copper bits in it and added some color to that strip. I added a stenciled border around the plain blue card base with a coppery brown Nuvo paste. To complete the card, I added matching ribbon and and crystals. Hope you like this one... I’m in love with this card right now!

I started the second card using the same color scheme I used Day One. Besides the Prima flowers, I had picked up a beautiful silvery holographic ephemera kit that coordinated with the Prima Flirty Fleur pad. Just love those mint colors. I stamped colors on my mat, again, that I thought would match and after spritzing water picked up the colors on my paper (same as above). This time I sprayed the paper with a silver Brutus Monroe paint. I immediately embossed the paper and painted the raised edges with a silver watercolor from my Gansai Tambi Set.

I then took the couple from the Have and Hold 4/19 KOTM and stamped that with grey archival ink. I carefully watercolored the image using a Daniel Smith swatch set in similar colors (some have a sheen to them). I covered the veil with a light wash of the Art C clear glitter ink and added white pen streaks and dots. Finally, before embossing the sentiment, I created a small powder mixture of black, grey and the sparkly embossing powder I used on the mermaid. It worked perfectly to give the sentiment, from the same KOTM, a soft sparkly dark grey look.

To finish the card, I added a soft sparkle base layer, ephemera, a flower, string, coordinating Prima crystals and die cut silver frames. This card was designed for a special couple’s wedding in October.

Well, today’s my last day and I hope you enjoyed this week. Remember to leave a comment on each day for a chance to win one of the 2 random 25 stamp gifts.