Tuesday, April 17, 2012

New Beginnings

It's the monthly Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Party, and the theme is New Beginnings. How lovely for April, don't you agree? I decided to make a wedding card.

Rhinestones are clear and sparkly in real life!
I started with this pair of cameos from the Cameo To Go set, stamped in Mango Madness Versamagic Chalk Ink on blue matte coated cardstock. I surrounded them with a label border from the Rescue Remedies set. (I cut away the sentiment from the inside of the stamp to leave the border. That's one of the nice things about excellent quality photopolymer stamps like those from Waltzingmouse - you can cut them apart and not worry about them tearing.) I cut this couple out with a Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four die, and created a mango mat (cream cardstock rubbed with the same chalk ink) with the next size up.

Finished card 5.5 X 7 inches.
The background for this card was made by pouncing the mango chalk ink over the flat (unraised) side of an embossing folder, then running cream cardstock through my Cuttlebug. This impressed the ink on the lower level of the cardstock and left the relief (raised) areas free of ink. There is probably some clever name for this technique, but I can't think of it right now!

Besides the gratuitous bling of the rhinestone flourish, the other feature of this card is the "reverse rosette" placed in an oval window in the lower half of the background. I got this brainwave in the middle of the night and took time off work this morning just so I could try and execute it!

I glued three of the smallest strips from Tim Holtz's Mini Rosettes die set into one huge Slinky-like oval. Using the tip I shared in this post, I corralled the Slinky in a Creative Memories oval cutting template (thick acrylic) to arrange it to my liking.
Inside oval template.
Here's an angle shot of the reverse rosette peeking out around the edge of the oval background. I added a slim melon oval (cardstock coloured with the same ink) to set it off.
Compact Sentiments set, embossed mango ink.
This reverse rosette made the bottom of the card quite thick, so to balance the depth of the upper portion of the card, I stacked two layers of foam tape and affixed to the underside, which matched the rosette depth perfectly. This card will not be mailed so I won't be getting dirty looks from the postmistress!

Just a parting shot of the lower half of the card featuring a greeting from the Compact Sentiments set. Sure, I might have got a similar effect using ruffled lace instead of pleated paper for the frame, but I enjoyed the challenge of trying this out and seeing if I could make it work! Thanks for sticking with me this long. Now head over to the blog party and see what other New Beginnings are being celebrated!
Framed reverse rosette.

14 comments:

Anne-Elise said...

Beautiful card Charmaine! What a great idea!! Love your background and the beautiful gems!!

Pauline said...

This is fabulous Charmaine! I love the ruffled paper underneathe the aperture, it adds so much interest!
Great colour scheme, and GASP you cut a stamp up?! Oh my goodness, you're braver than me!

Kelly S. said...

That rosette under the frame is a BRLLIANT idea, Charmaine! Ooo, can't wait to try that one day! What an awesome layout, too. Love the gem flourish leading up to the happy couple. What bright and fun colors, too!

Super Jen said...

Loving that yellow.

Cathy Weber said...

Wow. Wow. Wow. Did I say Wow enough? Do you get that I love what you have done here Charmaine? My brain is spinning trying to figure how you came up with all these great elements. That rosette idea is so great! It looks so complicated on the card, but your pics explained it perfectly. Really great card, so creative.

Cassi said...

love your framed sentiment -- beautiful!

Tosha Leyendekker said...

Love the depth you've created with the rosette and frame!! So clever, creative and fabulous!! And the textured bg is fantastic!! What a beauty!!

Jeanne J. said...

Wow! So many details here - what a beautiful creation! Glad to see the tutorial showing how you created this beautiful effect.

Renee said...

What a stunning background...
just gorgeous!!
And love the rosette around the sentiment...
beautiful! :)

Kary said...

What a pretty card, Charmaine!! The sentiment piece looks awesome! Thanks for the inspiration ;)

Unknown said...

Charmaine there are 3 different things on this card that I am going to shamelessly steal!!! lol, you are a font of fabby ideas and I love to see your techniques!! this is a stunner, an heirloom card if ever I saw one and I am even very nearly recovered from reading that you cut up a stamp!!! LOL!!! cracking card Charmaine, you aced it!! Thank you so much for playing along with us at WMS!!

Claire said...

Love the way you've done that rosette Charmaine - looks fantastic! I think I'd prefer this to ruffled lace - beautiful card!

Mona Pendleton said...

So pretty Charmaine! Love the cameos paired with all the texture! Love the fan fold border!

Clare said...

Fabulous techniques used on your card!! Just stunning! I love the inset fan border, I'll have to try that one! Love the results!