Friday, February 17, 2012

Spring Greetings!

Today is the day: the Waltzingmouse Blog Party! And the theme this month is Spring!

I knew I wanted to use my Spring Baskets set from Waltzingmouse Stamps to create a card, and especially the sentiment "Glorious Spring Wishes." I also wanted to create a sort of window box with the pretty flowers spilling out of it. I liked the polka dot frame in the Very Vintage Labels No. 18 set for my window. And when I see polka dots, I immediately think stripes to pair with them. (Mary Engelbreit can't be the only one having all that fun.)


As I had already coloured my flowers with Copics, I discovered I had no striped paper that coordinated with the colours I used. I did have some black and white DP, however, so out came the Copics to customize the stripes. (Note to self: always choose the DP first to inform your colour choices!)



I cut the stripes out with a scalloped border Spellbinders die. I then embossed some lime green cardstock in my Cuttlebug to scatter flowers across the surface. Here is how bright that lime green was:

I then painted Picket Fence Crackle Paint over top and allowed to dry. This toned down the lime considerably. I swiped Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters Distress Inks across the crackled surface to highlight the texture. 


I hope you can see the texture in the photo above. I really like the vintage aged look of this background next to the bold stripes and polk dots. I also distressed my striped border a bit with Antique Linen and the same green Distress Inks. Below is a close up of the Jolee's Swarovski heat set crystal gem I added to the border. These are so beautiful and sparkle in real life.


And here's the finished card. Hope it is spring where you are, and if not, trust that it soon will be! Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check out all the Spring cards on the Waltzingmouse Stamps blog here.


34 comments:

Unknown said...

Stunning! Love all of the details - the crackle, the paper you colored... all commencing into a marvelous creation! Thanks for sharing it :)

Deborah Frings said...

Wow! I absolutely adore all shade of green and yellow - this is brilliant. Love the crackle finish and the pretty flowers. Love it!

Karen M said...

What a lot of work and effort has gone into this card with beautiful results. I love the polkadot frame too...gorgeous! Kx

Lynn Mercurio said...

There is so much I love about this card, I don't know where to start. Awesome creativity to create your own color scheme by shading your patterned paper, and that lovely crackle technique is wonderful. Of course, your over-spill of flowers from your window is genius. Love this!!!

Julia Aston said...

My goodness Charmaine - what dedication to color in all those lines - but well worth it to coordinate with everything on this lovely card!

Tara Cardwell said...

I'm definately going to borrow your idea for copic colouring DP when I have non to match. The whole card is just stunning!!!

Joyce said...

What a pretty card. I love that crackle texture you made.

Cassie_lu said...

know that is a great card. I really like how you customized everything and the crackle looks amazing.

~ Ali Robertson ~ said...

Fab creation, and great colouring too :O)

Ali x

Karin Ã…kesdotter said...

Your card couldn't be any more spring - Beautiful spring card! LOVE your choice of colors and beautiful design! Have a wonderful week-end, hugs, Karin

Kelly S. said...

Oh Charmaine, we are like blog sisters today! I used those sweet blossoms and the same sentiment, too!! I just love them in yellow tucked in that dotted frame! The patterned paper choices highlight them beautifully!! Awesome card!!

LaurieJ said...

Wow, Charmaine, this is really lovely! The embossed/crackled paper that you created is fabulous, as is your framed flowers.

Super Jen said...

Yikes that looks like a lot of work, but totally worth the effort. Gorgeous!

Kim Heggins said...

What a work of art! So beautiful and loved how you colored the stripes, just so nice.

Meredith MacRitchie said...

It looks great!! I think it was a good thing that you ended up having to colour your striped paper - it pulls it all together wonderfully!

Unknown said...

Charmaine, this is GLORIOUS! I love all of your details, and tat copic stripe paper is a terrific idea!! and I LOVE the crackle!! Thank you so much for playing along with us at WMS!!!

Kary said...

Hi Charmaine, from British Columbia ;) (BC is such a beautiful place!) I LOVE your card!! Love the spring flowers and colours and so much texture & dimension. Great job!!

Deirdre said...

Love how you created the patterned paper - neat idea. Thanks for sharing. Beautiful card.

Renee said...

LOVE it!!
And I have to tell "self" things all the time but I think you can forget your note to self...
that paper turned out perfect!!
Love everything about this...
the coloring...
those flowers...
everything!
Just gorgeous! :)

JJ Bolton said...

This card just makes me smile! The colors and the happy flowers, wow! Thanks for the info on how you did the background (love to learn new techniques)!

Tosha Leyendekker said...

Love your coordinating stripes!! And the crackled bg really makes your lovely flowers pop!! What a beauty!!

Pauline said...

This is gorgeous Charmaine, love the crackled element, and the custom coloured paper, super card!

Marybeth said...

Wow, this is gorgeous and all that work that went into coloring the stripes is just beautiful! Love the spring flowers too!

rudlis said...

This is absolutely fabulous!
It's a beautiful colours combination. Thanks for visiting my blog and your kind words.

Mona Pendleton said...

Beautiful card Charmaine! Love the sweet flowers and the stunning black&white label! Thanks for joining along with WMS :)

Cassi said...

what a brilliant way to use your copics. the crackle paint is great touch too. i love all the green on this card.

Helen Berry said...

Wow, Spring has definitely Sprung - this is terrific! Such bold, zingy colours - a great idea to use your Copics to create your own paper. Perfect Spring card.

Sharron said...

OMG, what an utterly FANTASTIC card! Love how you created the background paper--the crackle paint creates such a great look! And the Copic-colored stripes introduce so many fabulous colors. It all works perfectly with your bouquet of flowers!!

Anne said...

Well how clever to stripe your own paper! Great card
Anne
x

Purrfect Paper Creations said...

Wow, what a beautiful card! I loved reading how you personalized the paper--just awesome!

Chris

Jen Cuthbertson said...

I love how you customized that paper, Charmaine, and that window of flowers is so springy! Great job!

anya said...

Saw this in your Gallery, Charmaine. Love it!

Robin said...

A bit late going around after the WMS Blog Party but still really enjoying all the fab inspiration... thanks for sharing!!!!
Robin

Nancy said...

OMGosh, such a clever thing to do with your copics and the stiped paper! I love it :)