In All Things

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Hi Blog Friends! I hope, wherever you are, you are staying warm this weekend. Brrrr! It's cold here! Of course, I'm cold when it drops below 70 degrees, so what do I know. ;)

I thought by now, I'd have at least two cards to share with you, but it took me the entire day to make this one, and looking at it now, it seems like it should have been the easiest card I've ever made! It took me forever to figure out which dp I wanted to use, then just as long to decide what I wanted to do in the center panel. I think actually making the card took 30 minutes--the rest was deciding what to make. I'm really pleased with how it turned out, though, so I guess all the thinking time I put into it was worth it.



The sketch I used is the February 2012 Viva la Verve Week 1 sketch, and I followed the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday 155 theme of "Fly Away With Me," using a bird image and elements.


The two outer panels are cut from a piece of Webster's Pages dp, and the center panel is a piece of solid tan cs, which I stamped with a burlap background stamp, then a few times with a peacock feather stamp. The sentiment is from a Flourishes stamp set called Life Lines.

I had been eyeing this feather tutorial for awhile in Pinterest, and finally decided today was the day to actually make it. Wow, was it ever easy to make. I think it took me all of 5 minutes, and I was able to use the dictionary page with "bird" on it, plus it had a diagram of a bird, too! There is a template for the feather in the tutorial, but I just "winged" it and drew mine freehand. :) I sponged Distress Inks very lightly on it, just to have it match the dp's a little better, and it's popped up with foam dots along the "quill." If you make one of these feathers, a word of caution: Karen says, in her tutorial, that the feather is fragile. Well, guess what? It is! You have to be very careful manipulating it in any way or it will tear. When I mail it, I intend to wrap it in tissue paper and put it in a bubble envelope!

I added pearls to the outer panels, but still felt like the card needed something, so I put Stickles on the peacock's tail. It seemed garish at first, but once it dried, it was just perfect.


Okay, there isn't a single heart, or cupid, or anything else remotely related to Valentine's Day on this card, but after stamping the peacock feather with Versamark on the inside of the card, I decided to make it a Valentine's card anyway. I mean, who says a Valentine card has to be all red and white and gushy, right?

So that's my card for today. If you've got any floral wire lying around, get some newspaper or book pages and give that feather a try. I plan to make several more for future crafting projects! It's fun!!!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a spectacular day!

~Hugs,
 
Stamps: Life Lines (Flourishes); Gem Stone Birds (Inkadinkadoo); Happy Valentine's Day (Craftsmart); Burlap background (Stamp Camp)
Paper: Hollywood Vogue (Webster's Pages); dictionary pages
Ink: Distress Ink; Memento, Versamark
Accessories: Pearls, Stickles; floral wire; foam dots; sewing thread
Size: 8" x 3.75"
Thanks for visiting my blog!
To have Ink Up delivered to your inbox,
subscribe in the box at the top right of the page.

6 comments :

Anonymous said...

Oh my! This is so beautiful! That feather is amazing as is the peacock. Such a pretty take on the sketch!

Marie said...

A truly inspirational card, Cheryl. Love how the feather ties all three panels together. The peacock looks fantastic.

Carla S. said...

This is stunning, Cheryl! I love the papers and all the amazing details you added! The feather is beautiful! A really wonderful card!

Gerry said...

Beautiful card! I love the feather. This might not be a "traditional" but I think it's a great masculine Valentine

Sue Lelli said...

Cheryl, LOVE the stickles on the peacock's tail and LOVE the stamping on the feather! This card is GORGEOUS!!!

Unknown said...

This is super fabulous Cheryl!! Love the feather and design! Thank you for playing along at the FTTC!