This is a story of how I was really excited about a new stamp I purchased, but the project didn't turn out as good as I had wished it to be. Feeling challenged I tried a new approach and ended up with a finished product I felt particularly proud of.
I already had a nice Christmas tree stamp I used last year, but it was so convoluted with details within the tree, it was a bit hard to really appreciate the image as a whole.
This year I found a new stamp at Michaels, (www.michaels.com), by Hero Arts called Branch and Flourish.
I'm always drawn to images with flourishs, curly tails and soft swirls. In this case, the voids in the curls made a perfect home for embellishments, such as jewels and pearls.
When creating a stamped image on watercolor paper, I use to find a nice matching or complementing colored pen/marker and finish the edges. This would give a nice finished edge to the image, but it was also very easy to make a mistake. One colored edge could be too thin or too thick, and in trying to fix the errant edge(s) could lend itself to possible more errors.
Surfing many a scrapbooking web galleries, I discovered a new idea. Instead of using a pen or marker, use chalk! Chalk adds a nice softness to the image, and in the process, it's not meant to create perfect matched edging.
I swirled the cotton ball over the chalk pallet, then transferring the chalk from the cotton ball onto the edges of the stamped image, in a similar swirl fashion.
I was really impressed with the finished product.
Once done, I created the final product you see below.
The problem: I wasn't excited over with the final product. It was too simple. There was just no punch.
I was deflated. I felt I could create better than this.
So, back to my portfolio, and web galleries.
From the web galleries I found the following layout idea:
I was fortunate and found a nice charcoal glitter paper with teal flecks in it. Using it as one of three mats is a nice way to add a little sparkle without being overwhelming.
Years ago I watched an interior decorating show in which the host explained the color black gives foundation and anchors a room. I find that to be a very true statement in any type of decorating. It's amazing how black can make a color "pop", or lend elegance to the design or finish product. Therefore, the anchor color for this card is black. I think it really made the teal color pop.
Below, you can see the interior of both cards.
I have to say, I'm proud of these two cards. I think I achieved the "punch" I was looking for with these two cards.
No comments:
Post a Comment