Freshly Made in Pink, Black and White

Don't let this just before deadline posting mislead you, I found this layout from Freshly Made Sketches intriguing from the get go:

I love the curved line and the fact that the border does not go all the way around.  Of course that break in the border required me to think more carefully about my layers.  The first thing I did was measure, draw and cut a curved template.  In addition to needing one for the pink strip and embossed panel, I found the left panel was bulky enough that I need to trim it down so the embossed panel would lay smoothly (I know, it's kind of an oxymoron when the panel is embossed).  I knew that I wanted to use For Always paper  and planned on using Cotton Candy cardstock for the curve, but once I stamped the butterfly, I decided to use a subtly patterned paper from Lucy to complement the butterfly's texture. 

About that butterfly...  I inked my favorite stamp (from the retired Find Your Style set) with Cotton Candy and then used a sponge dauber to ink the edges with black.  After cutting it out, I sponged on a little more black to intensify the tips.  Of course cutting out the butterfly required amputating it's antennae, so I masked off the body on the stamp, inked the antennae in black and stamped them on the background before I embossed it.  If you want to see some more examples of masking, head on over to Heart 2 Heart Challenges which features masking techniques this week.  As y'all know, I cut sparkle flourishes to fit my needs, which leaves me with all sorts of pits and pieces, so I fit them together along the pink curve to give it some more pop and to compliment the butterfly's sparkle body.

Here is the inside of my card:

 

 

This is the time of year when my garden's needs conflict with my card making, so I was happy to finally be able to play with this sketch last night.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

 

Materials used, all from Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:

Paper:  For Always, Lucy (retired), Black and White Daisy cardstock

Ink: Black, Cotton Candy

Stamps:  Find Your Style (retired)







Embellishments:  Black Sparkles, Black Sparkles Flourishes (trimmings)
Other:  Leafy Branch embossing folder from Cuddlebug