Happy Birthday Card

My mom commissioned a birthday/family get together invitation.  I decided to hit all of the latest Pinterest obsessions in one fantastically yummy card. Did I do it? Watercolor (check), metals (check), sequins (check), arrows (nope), burlap (nope), Mason Jars (nope), Fitbit (ok, now you are just being mean).  I hit the obsessions that I adore-the SHINY things mixed with the gorgeous simplicity of watercolor..... and the card looks great- so call it Mission Accomplished.

There are so many options when it comes to achieving a watercolor look. Everything from watercolor paints to Twinkling H2Os to water soluble crayons to Distress Inks can all be used with a large amount of water (on watercolor paper) to achieve that translucent, washed out look of watercolor.  FOr this card I used my friend the Distress Ink....and not just ANY Distress Ink but the 2015 Distress colors that I haven't played with so much yet. 

To add Metal to the card I used a metallic embossing powder on my image.  It is incredible how different the image looks when embossed with a metallic powder vs. black.  The metallic powder gives it a much softer look which goes so well with the watercolor on this card.  I used my new favorite metal ...Ranger's Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder. 

Last but not least, the sequins.  Oh, the sequins. One of the best things to come of the sequin craze and the shaker card craze is the sequin mixes that are for sale. One of my favorite sequin alchemists is Lucy's Cards. In fact, I am in love with EVERYTHING Lucy's Cards sells and bought a bunch of her mixes.

Her mixes contain a great variety of textures.  She includes sequins in several sizes and includes flat and cupped sequins.  She adds seed beads and those little stars you can see in the photo above which have so much reflection it is crazy. Such a tiny little nugget of goodness adds a lot to a project.

This is how I store my small beads and sequins. I LOVE the Craft Mates organizers because each individual compartment locks shut. That means you can open one compartment and turn over the entire strip to shake out the contents AND it means no massive oil spills of your entire collection of sequins. You have to push the tab on the end in to slide the locking mechanism before you can pop the lid open.  I have never had a lid open accidentally. 

Lucy's Cards ships from England. If you would rather get individual colors or want something faster, Pretty Pink Posh makes beautiful sequins .
I stamped the birthday hat from Tim Holtz Birthday Blueprints stamp set using Versamark Ink and Ranger's Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder.  I chose the new 2015 colors of Distress. I could have used Distress Markers but I decided to use the ink pad simply because I was got a softer look. To use Distress Ink pads, simply press the pad directly onto a craft mat or other shiny surface. This will leave a square of ink behind. To use they ink, simply pick up small amounts on the end of a Ranger Water Brush.  

To color my image I used the following Distress Inks:
Hat: Fossilized Amber and Abandoned Coral  O
Flag and label: Broken China
Die Cut Cabinet Card:Concord Grape (I watercolored the bottom of the stamp area, then edged the entire card with the same ink).
Background: Mermaid Lagoon (Using an Ink Blending Tool)

The finished card is slightly smaller than 6x6. I inked the background entirely using Mermaid Lagoon and an Ink Blending Tool.  Then I added water droplets to the Distress using Tim's new Distress Spray Bottle.  I LOVE the effect of water on Distress.  Once it was dry I using Gold Encore Pigment Ink I stamped the "Cracks" background stamp from Tim's Cracks and Specks.  Once everything was dry again,  I used Heidi Swapp ColorShine in gold to flick gold goodness everywhere.

I die cut the stamped image using Tim Holtz Alterations Cabinet Card die.  The cabinet card is attached using foam tape to give the card some added dimension. It is very hard to see on the photos but I did cover over the hat using Zig Wink of Stella in clear to give it the shimmer a birthday hat deserves.  Finally, the gorgeous scattered sequins and bits and bobs are glued on using Ranger Multi Medium Mat.



Happy Birthday,
danee

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