It’s been warmer here in Nova Scotia just lately, but rain and grey skies have replaced our usual vivid blue.  Once again the weather influenced my choice of project and stamp set, but it’s anything but dreary.  So with the ‘wishing you brighter days’ sentiment on the inside of the card, here’s your morning papercrafting inspiration.

THE COLOURS

I began with a piece of Whisper White Card and the umbrella girl image from the Beautiful You Stamp Set.  I stamped the image onto the card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and let it dry for a moment.

Then I reached for some new Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers (well new to me anyway).  I started by colouring the whole of the dress and umbrella with the Light Flirty Flamingo marker.  Then on the umbrella I added layers of Light and Dark Highland Heather.

On the dress I continued to layer Light and Dark Flirty Flamingo to create areas of light and shade.  On her shoes I used just the Dark Flirty Flamingo as it’s too small an area for much else.  Finally I used Light and Dark Petal Pink for her skin.

And that’s where I thought I’d stop.

In the end though I decided to colour a background too.  I started with the Dark Pool Party close to the edges of the image, then blended this with Light Pool Party.  As I worked I added more and more Light Pool Party, moving further from the image.  Eventually I’d created a large coloured background that wasn’t at all unpleasant.

BIG SHOT ACTION

With the image now coloured I decided to cut it out using the Stitched Shapes Framelits.  I used my Big Shot and Magnetic Platform for this with the #4 (largest) of the oval dies in the set.

I wanted the umbrella lady image to be my focal point, but I didn’t want a plain, flat background behind her.  So I thought I’d add a layer of vellum, it would be subtle, but a definite improvement.

Thinking of subtle, inevitably led me to the Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  I know, I must use this on probably every other project I’m designing right now, but I can’t help it, it’s amazing.

I put the piece of vellum inside the embossing folder so the lines would run vertically.  Then I placed the folder directly onto the multipurpose platform with all the tabs open.  Finally I placed a single cutting plate on top and ran it forwards and backwards through the Big Shot.  The result was a beautifully textured piece that would hint at falling rain.

LAYOUT INSPIRATION

For my layout I was inspired by this week’s Paper Players sketch challenge PP411.

I already had a ‘shape’ and all that I needed now was to create the diagonal across the front of the card.

I could have trimmed the vellum or added a shaped layer of card underneath the vellum.  In the end though I chose to wrap a length of Whisper White 5/8″ Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon around the it.  Then using a little Tear and Tape Adhesive I secured the ribbon on the back of the vellum piece.

My die-cut image was then added to the front of the vellum with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

BRIGHTER DAYS

Instead of a full-size card I decided to use a Whisper White Note Card & Envelope.  I folded it along the pre-scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder.

I turned over the assembled vellum layer and added some Tear & Tape Adhesive to the back, just behind the die-cut oval.  Then I could add the vellum to the front of the Note Card leaving the edges of the vellum free.

For the inside of the Note Card I cut a piece of Whisper White Card and used Tuxedo Black ink to stamp the ‘brighter days’ sentiment.  Around the edges I then added a border using the Dark Pool Party Stampin’ Blends marker.  The Light Pool Party marker came next, widening the border a little and blending the colour in towards the centre.  With that done I could fix the layer inside the Note Card with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).

Finally it was time to work on the flap on note card  envelope.  With Dark Pool Party Stampin’ Blends around the outside edge, and Light Pool Party blending in towards the centre, the flap would coordinate beautifully with the rest of the project.

It’s a simple layout with cheerful colours on the front, and a message of hope on the inside.  Just the thing when you’re wishing for brighter days.

I’ve got a lot of use out of the Beautiful You Stamp Set and you can see some of my other projects using this set in these earlier blog posts:

Now For Something Simpler

Beautiful You Meets Letter Board Messages

Final Birthday

No Tulips From Amsterdam

Lighter Evenings

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