Garden Collage

Continuing on the same thoughts with regard to New Year's Resolutions, do you make them? I don't. I never keep them so why set myself up for a fall if I firmly resolve to do something like lose 50 pounds on January 1st and by January 3rd I'm eating an entire bag of M&M's?

But lest you think I'm a person without goals, that isn't true either. Have you heard about the new Morgan Freeman / Jack Nicholson movie called "The Bucket List"? That is what I prefer to do...make a list of things I want to do before I kick the bucket. Hopefully I'll have plenty of time to achieve my bucket list but then, that is part of the fun.

So, you ask, what does a bucket list, hollywood movies and cardmaking have to do with today's card? Well, one of my things on my bucket list is to use all of my stamps. WHAT? I have stamps I've not used? You betcha I do! Hopefully I will remedy that though. So this year I'm going through all of my Stampin' UP! stamp sets that I just HAD TO buy and then never used.

This stamp is from a set called "Garden Collage." I have another card in the making that I'll post later from this stamp set too.

To make this card I stamped the image on watercolor paper with versafine sepia ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. I emboss only to keep the ink from running when I'm watercoloring. I tend to use a lot of water on my brush and work and rework colors so the embossed image is important. I used Tombow markers direct to paper, layering colors and then blend with brush and water.

To the butterfly I added Waterfall Stickles and then once they were dry I put clear dimensional glaze on top of the wings to give them not only a 3-D effect, but also it makes them look more translucent like an actual butterfly.

The background paper is Bo Bunny. I stamped over the subtle daisy pattern on the paper with the Stampin' UP French Script stamp. I punched photo corners and then stitched away on my sewing machine: first the mats to the designer paper and then the photo corners. I wanted a leather bound feel to this so I put some burnished brass eyelets on the photo corners.

Now I love using ribbon but even though I have plenty of ribbon in my stash to match this image, ribbon just didn't seem right. I started to add jute, but wasn't satisfied with the look. Then my big bag of raffia called me. VOILA! My card was complete.

There, not in a nutshell but rather a long epic description is the creative process for making a simple card. Hmmmm...perhaps I should make a resolution...I should resolve to simplify. Oh well, despite the time it took to make the card I thoroughly enjoyed each step. Isn't that the important thing? I think so.

Thanks for stopping by!