Divine Details...

Hello all!

Today I thought I'd share with you my anniversary card I made for my DH - we have been married for 8 years now! I thought this card was a good opportunity to share my 'process' of making a card (if you can call it that) as that is the theme of this month's Project Parade over at the Verve Blog. I get quite a few 'how did you do that?' or 'where do you get your ideas?' questions at the workshops I do, so this might help explain a bit of that!

Firstly, I always start with either a sketch or a stamp set in mind. If I start with a sketch, I will then find a stamp set or image to fit the sketch. If I start with a stamp set in mind, I'll then try to find a sketch to fit. As you can see, sketched are REALLY important in my 'process' lol! There are oodles of sketches out there - on SCS, Mojo Monday, etc. etc. In fact, there are so many that I can't possibly do them all! In this card I used a sketch that was part of the SCS fan club challenges. I wanted to use this image so I chose this sketch to fit it.

Next, I choose my colour combo - this will either be based on DSP (which I do a LOT!) or a colour combo I've seen either on a challenge, or someone else's creations (I case other people's ideas an awful lot!!). I then try to colour my image to fit my colour combo (in this card I actually coloured the image first, then took the colours from there).

If you know me at all, you'll know that I LOVE to colour!! I have lots of different methods: SU's watercolour wonder crayons, markers, inkpads together with blender pens or aquabrushes are great. I also love coloured pencils (my personal fave are Prismacolors from the US). In this card I have used copic markers. These are an alcohol-based marker that are brilliant for blending. I love using copics when colouring any images that involve animals or people, as their skin/fur colours are excellent. In this particular card, once I had coloured my images, I 'defaced' them a little... lol! The boy bunny was given a mask (drawn in using an SU black marker and coloured with signo white gel pen) because my hubby is MAD about The Phantom of the Opera (don't ask...!) and the girl bunny (me!!) was labelled a rubber stamper (no need for explanation there...lol!).

One of my 'divine details' that I use on pretty much every card I make is dimension. There is something about 3D that makes a card look extra special. In this case, I layered up the image (called Paper Tole in the US, or Decoupage in the UK). I stamped it 3 times and cut different parts out to pop up using dimensionals. The image was cut out with Nestabilities (a tool I just can't live without in the crafting world!). I find that adding a layer behind the main image makes it stand out more - nestabilities are great for this.

Another little detail I will share is something I heard at an SU training event I went to last year. I was already doing this in my card making but had never heard it described this well: Just remember BLT! No... not Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato (we're not making a sandwich here!!) - it stands for Background, Layers and Texture. In my card I stamped the square panels in the background using the same colour ink as the cardstock (Creamy Caramel) to acheive a subtle tone-on-tone effect. I then sponged around the edge of each one using the same ink to get a distressed feel. I added faux stitching (still haven't figured out how to use my sewing machine!!) using a paper piercing tool and a black SU marker. I then added texture by running each panel through the Cuttlebug using an embossing folder. This adds a subtle effect but really adds something to the card.

Finally, I personalised the card by stamping out some letters using my mini SU alphabet set and punching each letter out with a 1/4" circle punch. I find this much easier to do than trying to line each letter up next to each other!

Phew... That was a long ramble! For those who have read all this... well done and thank you! Hopefully it has helped in some way in your own creative journey...

Here's my recipe:
Stamps: Verve (Bunny Duet, Father Figure), Stampin Up (mini alphabet), There She Goes (Happy Day)
Ink: Versafine black, Creamy Caramel
Paper: White, Creamy Caramel, Basic Black, Red card blank
Accessories: Cuttlebug embossing folder, copic markers, 1/4" circle punch, paper piercing tool, black marker, white signo gel pen, nestabilities

Thanks for stopping by... happy stamping!

x Amy x