love

Love You More

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

You know when you plan, prepare and get all ready?  And then suddenly everything gets in the way and it seems your work was in vain?  That was this morning.  However, I am trying to get it sorted out and keep my commitment to myself and have fun doing it.  How do you do that? Just keep smiling and pushing forward.  Twelve hours later, here is the blog project I had all ready.  Technology isn’t always my friend, but I want it to be.

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I gave myself a challenge to create seven projects from my leftover workshop project kits.  The goal is to use the materials provided and make it look different than the original.  This one was hard to reinvent because of the designer series paper.  Kind of had to stick to the pear thing, but I still managed a bit of a twist.  The stamping is definitely different as well as this fun and funky burlap ribbon.  I like it, but it is kind of hard to work with.

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This project was relatively simple, and even more lovely.   Creating something new out of something old can be very rewarding.  Cleaning up my desk has actually been kind of fun. Enjoy the next several days as I share more of my tidying up.

Hope you had a creative day!  Mind was more frustrating than creative, but still satisfying.

Moana

Blooms & Wishes Gone Wild

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Using a stamp set different than intended can lead to some lovely results.  The main image here is a flower base and the sentiment does come from the same set.  However, when you change it up some, and maybe create a silly creature instead, that same sentiment remains tender, but also very silly.  That kind of sums me up I guess.

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The background took some time, and I nearly tossed it when I was sure it was wrecked. Since I make myself walk away sometimes and return with a new perspective, I kept on. The colors came together nicely and I wish I could repeat it.  Sadly, I think this will be a one of a kind for sure.

The flower creature was stamped in black, leaving plenty of room for those little legs. He got a heavy brushing with gold wink of stella and a couple of google eyes.  I tried a mouth, kind of, but let it go.  It will just have to remain a mystery.

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The inside got some echo stamping with a smaller flower from the same set and that was all it needed. What an adorable card if I do say so myself, and I do.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Sending Love and Lots of Hugs!

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This little trickster made me so cranky last Friday.  I had this vision, I was pretty sure I could make it work, I hated my water coloring but loved the stamping.  I do dislike wasting, so I set it aside and decided to come back to fix it later.  I love the fix, a lot.  I am looking forward to making this kind of fixed mistake again.  With better water coloring of course.

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A simple shaker card is what I had in mind.  I stamped these little monsters three times.  I even used my stamp-a-ma-jig for oh so tidy placement.  Then I did what I thought would be a quick water color moment.  It turned out too quick and I thought sloppy.  No problem, put a layer of velum cardstock up on some foam adhesive strips and make a fun shaker card. I was so unhappy with the painting that I just walked away.  I couldn’t see through my error.  Saturday night helped me through though.

I had the thought that the foam strips would look like a white border, and they did kind of, but I didn’t like how that looked. So I ran some glue around the edges, placed some guilding flakes on the glue and brushed them in place.  That covered that problem quite well.  I punched out plenty of hearts using the hearts border punch, adorable of course. Added in some glitter, which really wanted out the corners I might add.

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I was going to leave it with the ribbon and be happy, but I wasn’t.  It needed a sentiment, but I was already committed to the velum and didn’t want to hide the opaqued monsters. What to do? I found this adorable tag die in the window box thinlits die set, grabbed a tiny sweet sentiment from the sealed with love stamp set and attached it with some silver metallic thread. Then the basic rhinestones finished it off.  Phew!  Several days of work on that one, that was supposed to be a quick project.  Right.  Either way, now I have a fun way to put all of these products to use and send out the love!

Have a creative day!

Moana

You’ve Got This

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

A simple floral card really speaks to me.  Like so often happens, I had started in a different direction with this project, but it took its own way.  I love how it turned out, but I don’t know if I can make it happen like this again.

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The background stamp came from the same set as the flower and sentiment, You’ve Got This. It is supposed to look a little more water colored, or even just painted.  Well, I believe my water color paper acted a bit more like a resist than intended.  I thought about spritzing it to have the color spread more, but decided to leave it until it was time to color the flower.

The flower and sentiment were both stamped with versamark ink and embossed with copper embossing powder.  With the flower I forgot to use a static resist tool and it was very obvious.  I cleaned it up as well as I could without destroying the image, but it still showed my mess.  The sentiment, I remembered and it is super clean.  I did water color the background of the sentiment, but very lightly.

I painted the flower with sweet sugarplum, blushing bride and old olive.  It turned out really lovely.  The odd messy dots of extra embossing really add to it.  That is what I meant by trying to re-create it somehow.  Accidents aren’t always easy to control a second time.

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Either way, it turned out quite lovely.  A sweet inspirational card is wonderful to make, but even better to give away.

Have a creative day!

Moana

You’re My Person

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Doesn’t this guy just make you smile?  I really can’t get enough of him.  My current favorites are directly between this fuzzy monster and the fluffy headed chicken from the set Hey Chick.  For all of the elegant floral creations I surround myself in, when I need a smile I go directly to whimsy.  And I guess the odd kind.  Works for me!

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This was actually made for my husband for Valentine’s Day.  I spent plenty of time here for sure.  I masked off the rounded tummy outline on the stamp and stamped him in the lower portion of the paper.  The frame is 8 x 10, so you can see how much larger this is than my traditional greeting card pieces.  I wanted to create the radiating feeling of love and almost a heart image.  Not bad if you ask me.  But, I couldn’t leave it too smooth, so I moved into distressing the inks further with a water brush for those cool water lines and additional droplets of water all over the place.  This was not intended to be super in line and perfect, very loose indeed.

Hope you have a creative day!

Moana

We Might as Well Dance

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

When things get crazy it always helps me to have a creative outlet. I think the theme of my projects this last weeks speaks volumes.  Good thing I have a way to share that really brings me joy as well as peace.  Just yummy.

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This is my kind of card.  Lots of layers, a bit of interest, a touch of water color and a lovely sentiment.  Not to mention wonderful designer series paper as a background. This one has to be a workshop project for sure.  So great!

The layers were simple and all of the corners rounded. I even found tag framelits that would also carry the rounded corner.  The card base was cut normally measuring 4 1/4 x 11″, scored at 5 1/2″.  There is an additional score to fold the front back on itself perfectly in half.  That half folded front became the base for the decorative front to be place.  A little different, but not too much.

The water color pencils don’t come in all of the classic ink colors just yet, but the colors I chose match really well.  I used bermuda bay, daffodil delight, pacific point and calypso coral.  It worked out fantastic.  Light coloring and even lighter water coloring with the aqua painter.

To complete it I wrapped some of this years Sale-a-bration free ribbon.  Metallic ribbon often is a bit stiff and not fun to work with.  Not this, I love how soft and pliable it is. I would love it if this became a regular product carried in the annual catalog.  Fingers crossed!

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Truly a wonderful project today.  I couldn’t be more pleased, hope you enjoyed and better yet, try one out for yourself!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Everything Will Be OK

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Where did yesterday go?  Well, just about everywhere, and it was a good kind of crazy.  I did create this little duo for yesterday, but really didn’t have time to sit down and share it. Oh well, it will work for today as well.

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I had begun with a totally different card in mind, totally.  It wasn’t working, so here we are. The designer series paper was the only original idea that stayed put, so that became my focus.  The urban underground set is so cool.  I used one side for the card and the other to decorate the matching bag.

The stamp duo is from a free Sale-a-bration set called Designer Tee.  It actually has ten stamps, cool!  The problem came when I decided on the stamps actually.  They were too small to be by themselves and the paper wouldn’t lend my go to floral options.  It took longer for me to get it together.  But it got there!

I love embossing folders, but sometimes I forget myself.  When embossing velum card stock I use a lower tab on my big shot base, but forgot.  It embossed so deep there were some actual tears along part of the pattern.  They got put to work in making the tag look a bit more creative. I will have to remember that.

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I also do love to use one half of a sentiment on the card while placing the other on a gift bag. It really makes for a nice gift.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Every Heart Needs

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Gift sets are so great! A bit better than this paper series, but not by much.  I usually am not the kind of person that wants realistic photo paper prints, but this set has my attention. The way the lace is folded really looks dimensional here, even if my photos don’t capture it well.  It is lovely.

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I used one 12 x 12 sheet for this set.  The first cut was to give me a sheet 4 x 12, then a second cut at 5 1/4″ for the card front.  I used the remaining piece to trim out the decorative layers.  The larger section left, measuring at 8 x 12, was scored to create the matching bag. Put that pretty paper to work, otherwise you are left with a bunch of paper that you love and cannot bear to part with.  I know it is hard, but how pretty is this set?

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The doilies are so lovely.  They are very vanilla on one side and whisper white on the other. So versatile, and made from paper that can be worked with a bit.  As you can tell, I sponged these two and gave them a proper crinkle.  A doily doesn’t lay flat after all.

The sentiments came from two different sets and I went against my usual on this one.  I stamped and fussy cut.  I really love a die cut or punch to take care of that, but it had to be done.  Both projects were finished off with this elegant vanilla satin ribbon.  And yes, it is that smooth and delicious to the touch.  I love beautiful ribbon.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Hello Love

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

If you know me well, you know I absolutely adore tiny things.  This little number took longer to finish because I was having so much fun playing with the tiny elements.  Seriously, they are so adorable!

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The card base was done in flirty flamingo along with the card front matte, the die cut envelopes and the coordinating ribbon.  The tiny little cards were cut in blushing bride surrounding tiny precious stamps stamped in the same color.  I added a second stamp to two of the tiny cards in flirty flamingo as well as accent stamping and sponging .  The heart stamping on the card front was done in pink pirouette with the main sentiment in flirty flamingo.

I wasn’t sure if this was too much of a card to do for my workshop ladies, but it is was so much fun we just might need to.  I can’t wait!  I almost forgot the edge of the card.  All of the die cutting done on this card came from the same set of framelits.  This edge of dimensional hearts is so fantastic.  It totally works for Valentine’s Day, but I can see wedding cards and then some going on here.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Blooms & Wishes

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This stamp set sat in the annual catalog and teased me often.  I would try to pass by it saying that I surely did not need yet another floral stamp set.  Well, I broke down and bought it.  So very glad I did.  What a beautiful watercolor piece, right?  Great stamps make all of the difference.

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I chose a few spring colors to work with, focusing on daffodil delight.  With all of the rainy, cloudy days we have had I wanted something bright and cheery. Mission accomplished for sure!  I stamped the large flowers from the set in different colors, stamping off as I went along.  The centers were all daffodil delight and more of an idea than a detailed center.  I sponged more yellow ink all around the flowers filling in most of the white areas before moving on to spritzing with water.  It was just a matter of managing the water spritzing to allow some ink movement, but not blurring too much.  It didn’t take long before I was satisfied.  A quick drying moment or two with my heat tool and it was ready for the sentiment.

That was stamped on a strip of velum cardstock and then wrapped around the bottom of the card front.  I used a lovely mint macaron satin ribbon to accent the bottom and layered it up with dimensionals.  Such a lovely spring card.  Of course I had to stamp a bit inside with a few yellow daisy images and one for the back too.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

So In Love With You

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

It isn’t very often I purchase an entire suite of products, but this time I just couldn’t resist. Honestly, I have never purchase a whole set.  There is always an item or two that just don’t suit me, but not this time.  There is also a framelit set that coordinates that is just as beautiful as the rest.  So wonderful.

I made this card for a demonstrator event I was able to attend today.  Which is why I am just sharing this tonight when I managed a few moments to myself.  The rest of the cards I was able to make sure are beautiful.  We all focused on product from the spring catalog and boy did we have fun doing it.

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This card is actually quite simple.  It has a lot of layers, which I love, but no new technique to speak of.  Simple elegance is sometimes all you need.  Each time I think I have the focus of the card it changes.  All of it works so well together, hence a suite of product.  Take a little time and put some of your favorites together, you might just be surprised.

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I hope you had a creative day, I sure did!

Moana

Fear Not My Friend…

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

When I am wanting to convey more emotion in a card, I go directly to water coloring.  The softness it creates is perfect.  And with this card, I literally poured my heart into it.

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I wanted more space to work with so I created a larger card than normal.  This one measures 5″ x 6.5″.  Big, but not too big.  I also created my inside writing panel at the same time.  This card wasn’t going to just get a blank insert, or even a nicely stamped one. Besides, I love writing on water color paper, so very satisfying.

I stamped my floral image and sentiment first so I could control the strength of color where they were.  Then I brushed the papers with clean water to allow plenty of color movement. I kept the background light and tried to keep mixing to a minimum.  The colors I choose don’t always blend nicely, but that doesn’t stop me.  I dried, distressed a bit, and dried until I was happy.

I painted the flowers with strong color, allowed them to dry clean.  Then worked them over properly.  This included adding, dobbing, and adding color on the flower petals for a bit.  I centered the flowers with a strong yellow, but kept the color from the edge of the flower center.  Then I hit that area with a water spritzer and watched the flower bloom all over again.  The color moved nicely and then was dobbed some more.  Gold wink of stella was brushed into the petals and blended with water again.  The overall effect was lovely.

A special card for a very special friend.  She is far more brave than I can imagine.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Love You More

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Smudges and all, I love this card.  Leave it to me to use a stamp set that is filled with two step fruit images to use the flowers instead.  Like I said, I love flowers.  The fruits are great though, and I do plan on making fun projects with them too.  I actually used an old kit from nearly a year ago.  I love putting old kits to use.

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The prior kit had patterned paper in these colors, but has been retired, so I thought I would make my own.  Making background images is so much fun to me.  It takes me back to the roots of my stamping, using quality tools for endless creativity.  This stamp set is made for just that thing.  You will be seeing it a lot I think.

The flowers were stamped first in calypso coral and then outlined with the coordinating stamp.  They match, but don’t have to be exact.  It goes with the artsy look it is designed with.  Works even better for me.  And the sentiment, how perfect is that.  I opted to center the flowers with large basic rhinestones instead of the stamped center.  Either would have been nice, but I wanted sparkle.  A finishing touch of solid bakers twine with a sweet bow. It actually came together pretty quick, it helps to have leftover kits to work with.  That makes me fuss less when I have last minute class cancellations because I know I will put the pre-cut kits to good use eventually.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

L is for Love

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Current product is always fun and often a bit too exciting.  How about something that isn’t brand new, but new to you?  I was given a few stamp sets from my daughter-in-love and I couldn’t have been more pleased.  We did some stamping together and she just might have gotten the bug.  How fun!

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These stamp sets are over a decade old, but just adorable.  The word set is fantastic.  I don’t know how I missed these because they are just what I would have purchased.  Well, they are mine now and I didn’t even have to hunt them down on eBay or something.  Retired product can be found all around online, but isn’t always priced reasonable.  If you find something you love in a current catalog, you should just get it.  Like I need another flower stamp set.  I don’t think I will ever stop buying floral stamps.

I brushed the background with ink until I got good coverage and then blotted a bit with a paper towel.  Then I used the largest floral stamp and put them all over the front overlapping generously.  I stamped ‘love’ on another piece of paper, trimmed it and placed it over a wrap of cotton ribbon, also retired.  Just because product gets retired doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful.  It just means I can’t sell it because of availability.  No big deal there.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

I’m Here For You

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Don’t you just love these two?  I am not one to fall for whimsy stamps, especially cutsie animal ones.  But these guys got me.  The whole set is that way and I have used it so much. It is only a host set, so you can’t just buy it, but need to host a workshop to get to it. Totally worth it though.  Who doesn’t love a fun creative workshop though, right?

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I was actually able to put to use an old workshop kit for this project.  It was a sympathy card with a totally different look, but it worked great for this one too.  I sometimes put leftover workshop kits back into my supplies, but sometimes I just keep those kits separate.  They have come in handy more than once, so I keep a small stash on hand.

Simple stamping and light sponging across the embossed folders was really all there was here.  I did run the linen thread across a bone folder to help get the kinks out and give the ends a curl as well.  I didn’t paint or sponge these two, amazing for me really, but I managed.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Love…

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Okay, a little time off is nice, but that wasn’t my intention here.  Life took a busy turn and I am trying to get back on track.  I am out of town trying to enjoy time with my son and his new bride, help my oldest daughter with wedding plans, and manage a little bit of business as well.  I would like to say I am on vacation, but a bit too busy for that.  No fussing, just enjoy the love through it all.

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This simple card was made from an extra kit from a workshop last weekend.  Simple layers, this is all about those layers.  I wouldn’t have paired this particular embossing folder with items outside of nautical items, but I loved how it looked.  I made a large set of cards to blog ahead with and had the intention of sharing them with my new daughter in love.  She is adorable.  Living in a university town there are plenty of weddings to attend, so that is the job of this particular card.  They actually have three to go to in the next month or so.  Busy.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Wishing You Brighter Days…

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Some days can be filled more struggles than others and it can be difficult to find the bright spots.  Being creative each day certainly does bring a lovely balance into my life.  It allows me to grow, share kindness and even teach a few people along the way.  Very nice indeed.

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I tried a different product.  If I am honest, I have had it on my shelf for some time, but hesitated to use it.  I typically am Stampin’Up! exclusive, but was given a gift from my oldest daughter.  Some Ranger distress inks.  So, they are very lovely to water color with. Luckily I have a few to play with, otherwise I might be tempted to get into those.  They react differently than the inks I work with.

These umbrellas though, how adorable!  I have seen images like these for so long, often with the one umbrella being red.  Flirty flamingo works nicely here as a nice contrast to the black.  I created six black umbrellas and a fancy one for the front.  The basic rhinestones come in a few sizes as well as three strings that are connected by adhesive.  One string was just long enough to travel along the bottom of the umbrella leaving two left over that I placed on the top.  The umbrella framelits have so many fun options to make one creative look after another.  It was kind of tricky to choose, but I managed.

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I layered these guys around for a while before I committed to their positioning.  The back ones were adhered directly to the water color paper with the front umbrellas being raised up on dimensionals.  What a lovely card to share with someone needing a little lift.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Comfort & Healing to You…

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

There are so many talented people out there that love to share their projects like I do. Sometimes one will come along that I not only enjoy, but have to give it a try.  This project is a mix of a couple of different ideas with my own twist.  I do love how it turned out.

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One of the projects I studied had the card base smooth, which was lovely, and no extra layers, just the circle tag.  The other had the same layers I used with a different embossing folder, but I didn’t want to use that one.  I decided on the brick wall folder, but thought it still looked a bit plain.  After it got a good sponging and distressing I was much happier.  I even sponged the die cut piece because it just didn’t match the rest.  A healthy dose of basic pearls finished everything off.

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The inside of a card almost always gets a whisper white or very vanilla piece, but I went with the card front color of so saffron like another example showed.  The color is light enough to be written and stamped on equally well.  A very nice touch.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Beautiful Banners

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Well, I certainly got distracted today.  Here it is nearly evening and I forgot I had this half way done.  Suppose I could finish it after all.  I was tempted to just skip today and save this for tomorrow, but let’s just share it.

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This project was all about the foil designer acetate that came out in this years catalog.  Not until I gave in to use it did I discover it was gold foil on one side and silver foil on the other. I was pretty darn pleased if I say so myself.  I do think I will try this project again with silver, because I do think I prefer blue and silver after all.  But this certainly is lovely.

I used four different banner thinlits and two of the banner stamps.  The layering was simple, just a little patience while I sorted out the positioning.  Both the silver and gold encore inks are so beautiful stamped on dark card stock.  I do tend to prefer the look of embossing powder when it comes to metallic ink, but it did just fine.  Such a beautiful sentiment.

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I started with the small banner cut in gold foil, but it was too smooth and shiny so I put it through the same embossing folder I used for the background paper.  And, it tied it together as well.

Such a lovely day of distractions, hope you had one too!

Moana

Marriage is a Journey

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

Time for something wonderful, like a wedding.  A white on white card with this much sparkle says wedding like nothing else.  It almost feels like a wedding gown.  So lovely.

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The entire card was made from one sheet of heavy weight card stock, plus a piece of dazzeling diamond glimmer paper.  That stuff is so fantastic to work with, but I am a bit stingy sometimes.  This time, I put it to really good use.

The layers were simple, with just a 1/8″ border added along to each one.  I used the center of the glimmer paper to die cut the floral images I used to decorate the front and the inside. Since it was covered by the other layers, you can’t even see the holes.  Great use of paper.  I also stamped and die cut my sentiment from another layer of the white card stock that was covered as well.  Even with a card this glamorous you can still be practical.

I stamped the card front with versa mark ink, sprinkled with heat n stick powder and heated until it was ready to receive something more.  It was actually pretty by itself, but I did cover the freshly sticky flowers with iridescent ice powder and then heated again.  You can see how beautiful it looks.  Capturing sparkle on camera can be tricky, but not with this technique.  It is that much more in person, really beautiful.

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Isn’t this sentiment set just so adorable for a wedding card?  I am looking forward to my 26th anniversary next month with my best friend, just fantastic!

Have a creative day!

Moana