Inspiration: Festive Friday #52 (Glitter + Mask + Bright Colors + Sequins) + Paper Craft Crew Card Sketch #369
I'm so happy with how this card turned out, especially since it's a little different from my usual style, while still being me. It took a long time to finish, mostly because I was watching videos on my laptop and getting distracted, but I think once I decided what my layout was going to be. I did use the Paper Craft Crew sketch, but I rearranged the elements on it to make it vertical. You can still see the layered strips on the edge and the rectangle piece with a stripe underneath (the yellow washi tape) and the stripe over it (in this case, the sentiment, which I fit on two lines).
The initial point of inspiration was spotting the word "mask" in the Festive Friday list. I've purchased the Masquerade dies from Tim Holtz last fall and hadn't had yet the chance to use them, mostly because they were purchased after Halloween. I was curious to see how I could make them work on a paper doll for a project other than Halloween. Since the challenge list was calling for bright colours, I picked patterned paper from the Abandoned paper pad, which I love because it is more colorful than what the Tim Holtz line usually offers.
This is the first time I ever use a paper doll. I discovered those when I took a distress project class at my local store last year and I really liked their look and feel in person, with the thick, glossy cardstock, so I finally purchased a pack at the same time as the Masquerade dies to try them out. I went through the whole stack (there's a LOT in there!), placed a couple aside and I finally decided I really liked the guy leaning on something and that I'd put his feet up on the rectangle from the sketch. I pulled out my Distress crayons to color the flower on his lapel and his buttons. I don't have a wide array of colors - I mostly purchased metallics and neutrals, but I do have two colors I received for free with an order and they happened to match the papers (Peacock Feathers and Carved Pumpkin)! Probably because I was using so many Tim Holtz products, I figured I should add some mixed medium in there somewhere, so I got out my stencils to pick one. When I saw the half-starburst in the mini stencils #38 pack, I knew it would look really cool behind my character. I also had not used this one in the pack yet.
Looking through my pastes, I realized that the Izink texture pastes I have were the right colours to go with the paper, especially the Cactus one (green). That being said, I've purchased three beautiful shades of pearly paste from Aladine when they were on sale at a local crafts store and it turns out that while the color is beautiful, the texture is a little too liquidy and tends to run underneath stencils, which does not give the sharp edges you would normally expect from such a product. This time around, I figured I could use it my Stampin' Up! texture paste (which is white) and add the izink paste to it to color it. This way, I get the color I like AND the texture I like. Gave it a try - five star results! When I have to make my own mix, though, I never know how much product I need. I know not to make too much but I also know I don't want to run out, so in this instance, I had enough to do the star on the card, then I quickly did the envelope as well, and I had so much leftover, I quickly picked another stencil I had close by and added a star swirl to the rest of my patterned paper used for the purple block on the card. Because I was doing stars, I thought it'd look great if I added glitter, so I was trying to get some out fast to sprinkle on the paste before it dried and then I remembered I have the glitter duster! Quickly located it and sprinkled the glitter that was in it, which is fine champagne glitter (purchased from Stampin' Up! many, many catalogues ago), then I quickly ran to the sink to wash my tools and stencils before they became too crusty.
I finished off the card with two layered pieces of washi and a metal button. I also stapled the purple rectangle and added a teal sequin. For the sentiment, I thought it might be fun to pull something from the Snarky Small Talk stickers. Looked at options and when I spotted "I have absolutely no desire to fit in," I knew I had a winner. The second I added the sentiment, I also immediately knew who I want to send this card to.
Since I had done my envelope to match, I thought it should have its own paper doll, so I went looking for a small one, and I dressed him up with a orange glitter mask as well. Because I had pulled out the sequins for the card, I started adding some to the starburst and I think it totally made the envelope! I love when my envelope stands on its own and is as cool as the card itself. I've gotten a lot of compliments on my envelopes over the year, and people who have received my cards have admitted they are already getting excited just looking at the envelope itself. (So if you're wondering if it's worth putting time into them, the answer would be, yes.)
I didn't have a clear vision of where I was going with this card when I started it, but I love where I landed. This makes for a great masculine card.
Supplies
Cardstock: Fresh Fig, Pistachio Pudding, Pumpkin Pie Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Abandoned (Tim Holtz for idea-ology)
Dies: Wonky Stitched Rectangles Die-namics (My Favorite Things);
Masquerade (Tim Holtz for Sizzix)
Accessories: Carved Pumpkin, Peacock Feathers Distress Crayons (Ranger);
Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Stapler, SAB 2020 Sequins, Texture Paste, Washi Tape (Stampin' Up!);
A2 Anthracite Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com); Cactus Izink Pearly Texture Paste (Aladine);
Button (unknown); Needlepoint Floss (DMC); Mini Stencil Set 38 (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymours);
Snarky Small Talk Stickers (Tim Holtz for idea-ology)
Cindy-This is such a unique and detailed card! Amazing! Thanks for joining us at Festive Friday.
Posted by: Beth McCullough | February 11, 2020 at 22:58