For the Lovely Bride

I recently attended my niece's lovely outdoor summer wedding. Living a day's drive away meant I was not able to be involved in all the wedding planning and pre-nuptial fun, including a wedding shower. I wanted to send her something in those days ahead of the Big Day that let her know I was thinking about her; hence this card.

 

The dress image and sentiment are from the Waltzingmouse Stamp set You're Lovely. It was surprising how much this dress looks like the one my niece wore July 14! The floral oval is a die cut made with a Spellbinders metal die. I sponged and stencilled Distress Ink to provide some peach-toned shading.

In the close-up above, I am hoping you can see the detail I added to the gown. I doodled swirls all over the dress with a clear glitter pen to create a shimmery texture to the "fabric." 

The designer paper is from DCWV's Coral Couture line and the flowers have a subtle shimmer, as well.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope your summer is filled with lovely events and cherished memories like mine!

Gessoed Christmas Bird

I struggle with pastel colours. I admire them and enjoy looking at others' works that are soft and pretty, but there is something in my brain that just keeps reaching for deeply pigmented hues. Consequently, I don't have much in the way of pastel papers in my stash. I do have gesso, though, and when I want to go pastel, I find it tones down my more garish printed papers quite nicely.

For this Christmas card, I coated sheet music and some printed scrapbook paper with white gesso and let dry. Then I rubbed on some Distress Inks, trying to use lighter shades to keep to the pastel end of the spectrum. (I was not kidding about the struggle!) The sentiment is from Waltzingmouse Stamps. This is my entry in the Sparkle Creations Weekly Christmas Card Challenge.