I love Simon Says Stamp's Be Kind stamp set from its beautiful leafy images to the heartfelt sentiments. I send out cards monthly and amongst all the recipients, my family and friends receive one each and every month. When I design cards, I keep my loved ones at the forefront of my thoughts. Today's card will go to a long time friend and former colleague. Although we are now long distance friends, our connection is strong. It is the kind of enduring friendship that in spite of seeing each other only a couple of times a year, we pick up right where we left off ... as if we were visiting just the other day!
The Background
I began with a piece of Bristol Smooth card stock sized 4 1/4" by 5 ½". Three strips of 1/4" washi tape were used to mask stripes on the left hand side of the card. The panel was ink blended with Distress Oxide inks Evergreen Bough, Seedless Preserves and Spiced Marmalade. To soften the colour blend, the entire panel was inked with Iced Spruce, a soft grey green (One of my favourites!). The panel was trimmed to 4" by 5 1/4". When trimming the width, I removed the thin white edge on the left side. This panel was mounted on matte gold card stock measuring 4 1/8" by 5 3/8" before it was adhered to an A2 sized card base.
The Elements
I ink smooshed Bristol Smooth card stock (it can withstand some water) with the same inks used for the background. I like to apply the inks one at a time to get an even distribution of the colours. The sprig of eucalyptus leaves from Simon Says Stamp's Be Kind was stamped with Versamark ink three times and embossed with gold. I then sparingly sprinkled more embossing powder on the leaves and heated the underside of the card stock until the powder melted. This technique creates a pretty spattering of gold! The sprigs of leaves were fussy cut and layered vertically together. Foam squares were used to create dimension when they were adhered to the panel.
The Sentiment
'Kind Friend' from Be Kind was lined up first on the panel and stamped with Versafine Black Onyx ink before stamping 'to a'. 'Love', from Simon Says Stamp's Hey Love, was die cut from both black foam and matte gold card stock, stacked and adhered to the panel. The card was embellished with Nuvo Crystal Drops Mustard Gold.