May 10, 2013

LIVE WITH PASSION

This card, while looking fairly rich and complicated, is actually quite easy to create.


Because I wanted to get virtually all of the Pleasant Poppies image on a piece of Naturals White card stock, the card itself turned out to be larger than the traditional card -- 4 1/2" x 5 1/2". That extra little quarter inch in width makes me a bit crabby because you can only get one card from an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of card stock. Note: With a width of only 4 1/4", two cards can be cut from one piece of card stock. 

One way to get around this would be to stamp the poppy image on a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of Naturals White card stock, which is a quarter of a sheet of card stock. Distress all four edges. Then adhere this piece to a traditional-sized card base. While this would work well, I wanted the mat to extend beyond the borders of the flower piece, thus giving it more of a framed and finished look.

The Pleasant Poppies are stamped on Naturals White in Black StazOn ink. Then, starting lightly, sponge on four colors in jewel tones. Remember, when doing sponging like this to ALWAYS START OUT LIGHTLY. If the tones are not deep or rich enough, you can always continue to add more and more color. I think a background such as this is most effective when there are lighter and darker areas of color. The contrast makes the finished piece that much more vibrant.

The sentiment is from a retired set, but I thought it went so wonderfully with the dramatic looks of this card. I added one of the poppies -- stamped off first -- to the sentiment area, then used one of the Apothecary Accents Framelits in my Big Shot to cut it out. A bit of sponging around the edges helps draw the entire composition together into a cohesive whole.

Smiles.


24 comments:

  1. Beautiful card and inspiring message.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The background looks gorgeous and gives the line drawing so much character! I really like the distressed edges too :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, beautiful!! ♥ All your cards are great, hats off!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very beautiful... Thank you for sharing :) http://thejoyfulservant.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I LOVE POPPIES!!! I just saw the first blooms today. They always make me smile! Love this one!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Diana! I hate to admit that, as a young child, poppies always gave me the creeps. The centers were so SCARY! I do love them now though. :>)

      Delete
  6. I'm really surprised at how easy this beautiful card is to make! Thank you for sharing this on Fluster's Creative Muster Party!

    Robin
    Fluster Buster

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Robin! Besides easy, it is FUN! And totally unpredictable. :>)

      Delete
  7. Beautiful, love the background!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful! Lovely colors! Thanks for sharing at Submarine Sunday!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Linda
    I'm visiting to say thanks for linking your beautiful card to my weekend blog hop. It's beautiful. I'm now also following you on Bloglovin. Hope you will link up with us weekly.
    Angel

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Angel, for the nice comment and for following me on Bloglovin! I will link up with you weekly! :>)

      Delete
  10. Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing this on The Creative HomeAcre Hop! Hope to see you again today!
    http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/05/the-creative-homeacre-hop-16.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautiful card! Thank you so much for sharing at last week's All My Bloggy Friends :) I can't wait to see what you share this week!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ooo - so pretty!! Thanks for linking up at Romance on a dime!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why, thank you, Betsy! Thanks also for letting me link up. :>)

      Delete