In love with smooch spritz and strong women – sneak preview

Hi everyone.  Happy Monday night.

Big shout out to all of you who left comments yesterday and shared a little love.  You know how much I appreciate it – and, based on the emails I get – you all appreciate it 🙂

If you are interested in making the card that I shared with you last night that I got from Adelle – you can link to last night's post.  I updated it with the a link to the splitcoaststampers technique post so that you can see how it's done!  Next Sunday, I'll be showing you a fabulous birthday card I got from Beverly.

So… you might remember I spent a little time in my stamping space yesterday… well tonight's card was one of the cards I made – sitting on my very padded, very comfortable new chair I might tell you!  Yesterday, Lou and I checked out some cupboards at Ikea (on-line), cos I'm thinking it's about time I got better organized.  Lou made me a great cabinet about 3 years ago, but I seem to have outgrown that now.  I'm sure none of you have the same problem :-)  So, we are hoping to go and buy a couple of new cupboards, with glass doors.  That way I can keep all my goodies from prying little paws!

Tonight's card features one of the stamp sets that is on special this month Flower Fancy.  I bought this set on special.  It's 20% off the regular price and I love things that are on special!  AND… a sneak preview

I used the stamping411 sketch challenge for this card.  I loved the sketch, it was very unusual and I have two sneak previews for you on this card.  SMOOCH SPRITZ and FAVORITE THOUGHTS.  Two of my favorite things from the new Summer Mini.  Most of you will have discerned by now that I am a fairly strong, independent woman – thank you, Mom!  I saw this set of sentiments in the Summer mini and it was absolutely the must have set for me.  I know it is one that I will use – and use often. 

If you will all indulge me in a little story…. I'm dedicating this to my very beloved mother-in-law.  On one of the early dates with my first husband, his car broke down.  Consequently, we had to go to his parents to pick up a car to borrow.  Now… mmm.. I wasn't quite 20 and not at all ready to meet HIS PARENTS!  I mean, seriously.  Anyway, we had no option, the car puttered to his parent's house and out we got.  We were greeted by his father – who was just the most delightful, charming, wonderful man.  My boyfriend went off to the garage to collect a spare car and left me talking to his father.  Well, out comes mother – all business, I might add.  She came striding across the lawn – with father trying to introduce me.  He got through the introductions, she looked me up and down – not once, but THREE times and asked where her son was. Yep, she didn't even say hello, or acknowledge my existence!  Well, not the most auspicious start to a relationship I can tell you.  We laughed about that many times in the next two decades!

Di, was a strong, beautiful, well-brought up woman who had a secure belief in herself, her family and her role in society.  She was intelligent, quick witted and was, so we discovered, quite the party girl in her very early days.  Stories are that she danced the Charleston on the table at a very twee dinner party one night:-)  I loved her a great deal and miss her very much.  Well, as you can imagine, I saw this sentiment and it immediately reminded me of her.  "well-behaved women seldom make history." 

So… a great saying, for a great sketch – for a truly wonderful woman!  I dedicate this to all my strong, female readers 🙂

This card also pays homage to some of the wonderful colors that are staying in the new color renovation, and colors I haven't mixed together before.

Here's a closeup of the flower and the smooch spritz

Card stock:  Elegant Eggplant (I'm suddenly in love with this color!), So Saffron and Old Olive matting.  Focal image was stamped on Whisper White.

Stamp sets:  Flower Fancy and Favorite Thoughts (sentiment)

Accessores:  Vellum paper (used for the flowers and leaves), So Saffron striped ribbon, Smooch Spritz

Inks:  Old Olive, Orchid Opulence and So Saffron markers for the flowers and leaves.  Elegant Eggplant classic ink for the sentiment

I started by cutting my Elegant Eggplant to an A2 size.  I used the Smooch Spritz to color the eggplant paper.  (I'll be posting a tutorial on this later this week… there are some techniques I learned whilst using this that I want to share with you). 

The spritz gives that gorgeous golden speckled color to the paper.

I then stamped the image in Black StazOn onto the Whisper White card stock and colored it using Orchide Opulence for the flowers and Old Olive for the leaves.  I then repeated that onto Vellum.  I used my stylus to stretch the vellum and then colored the back of the vellum with the same colors I had used for the main image.  You know that I have been using this technique for a couple of months now – just with a whole image.  This time I took it down to it's individual components – the leaves and the flowers.

I cut around the vellum flowers and leaves and adhered them to the central image.  This gives a really soft, but two dimensional look to the flowers and leaves.

I stamped the sentiment onto the So Saffron matt with Elegant Eggplant.

I wrapped and tied a piece of the So Saffron striped grosgrain ribbon to hide the point where the Whisper White and Old Olive papers meet the So Saffron.

I was really happy with it, and, in fact, used the Smooth Spritz sprays a couple more times on cards I made yesterday.

I hope you like the card.  I was really pleased with it.  It really does look fabulous in person with the spritz on the background and then the clean focal image.  The So Saffron is great with Elegant Eggplant.  It's a yellow that compliments and doesn't overpower.

Have a fabulous Tuesday everyone.  I hope you get to spend lots of time doing the things you love with those you love the most.  Me… well…. I'm still working and still trying to get the taxes finished.  I'm now at September. ….. It was only when I was doing the taxes that I realized how many countries Lou had visited in the last year.  I ended up doing entries for Euros, Dollars, Singapore Dollars, Hong Kong Dollars, Australian Dollars, British Pounds, Malaysian Ringitt, Chinese Yuan, South African Rand an
d heavens knows what else.  Then I had to do all the conversions based on the individual dates.  So, no wonder it's taking me so long :-)  Almost done :-)  Then I can get back to important things – like stamping!

Big Hugs

Jaydee