Saturday, February 06, 2016

With Love for Valentine's Day


Hi everyone.  I finally got a chance to make a Valentine's Day card for hubby. :)  I used the embossing folder technique to make my background.  I pressed a small amount of Festive Berries distress ink into the middle area of the inside (solid raised design) of my heart embossing folder.  Then I just added two little touches of Aged Mahogany as it's really a dark colour.  I spritzed with water and ended up with a mix of the red, pink and purple colours flowing over my card front.  LOVE IT! :)

The card stock tends to warp a little with this technique, which I embraced and enhanced by tearing all four sides to give it a bit of a grunge look. :)  I added double-sided tape in three small strips to the middle of the back of my card front and stuck it to the card base.  This leaves the sides loose creating dimension without using pop dots.

I didn't want to cover up very much of the background, so simply added two die-cut red sprayed hearts.   A simple stamped sentiment finishes the card. :)


Lots of love-themed challenges right now.  I'm entering this card into:


     







Stamps:  Rosebuds (The Bees Knees)
Paper:  White card base and front (Neenah); Watercolour hearts (Arches 140 lb. cold press)
Ink:  Distress inks:  Festive Berries, Aged Mahogany (Tim Holtz); Black (Memento)
Accessories & Tools:  Happy Heart embossing folder (Sizzix for SU!), water mister, Large Hearts dies (Simon Says)

50 comments:

cm said...

Loll...a stunning card featuring this embossing/inking technique. Tearing the edges of your cardstock is a brilliant way to 'embrace' the warping. Love this!
Hugs~c

Mac Mable said...

This is a really effective technique. Love how you've 'grunged' the edges and yes no need for lots of embellishments, the background takes the glory x

Donna said...

Just beautiful, Loll. Love those extra touches of darker inks showing through. Such a lovely effect. X

Lee-Anne said...

Look at you getting all grungy :) What a great way to handle the warping! Beautiful card...love it!

Kathy Mc said...

Sweet Valentine, Loll. Your torn edges solved your warping issue -very clever!

Vicki Dutcher said...

Awesome torn background -- another beautiful end result :)

nancy littrell said...

Love your heart eb folder stamped background Loll. The colors turned out beautifully. Your grunge torn edges and leaving your edges unattached are genius my friend. Your hearts really pop too. Gord will love it. I just got my heart folder back yesterday from my friend Anna, who had accidently borrowed it for months :-) I was planning on using it today for the same EB Folder stamping technique...we did it again Loll!!! Hugs, Nancy

Betty said...

LOVE IT too!! wonderful colors you created with that technique!

MaryH said...

Love this new technique you are embracing. What a beautiful background it made for the blaze of red hearts. The torn edges added even more texture to the embossing dimension. He will love it too! Well done! TFS & Hugs

Linda said...

Love this technique .... and I love your Valentine's card (I'm sure hubby will too!). Thanks for playing along with the STAMPlorations CAS Challenge xx

SmilynStef said...

Lovin' that inky background and the torn edges are a perfect touch ... so very glad you joined us at Fusion Card Challenge

Susan said...

Love the loose flowing look! What a great idea to tear the edges!

My Card Attic: Hazel said...

What a great card for a masculine Valentine Loll! Love it, and the torn (distressed) front panel is inspired! I hope you're having a great weekend! Hazel xx
My Card Attic

Gramma Sarah said...

Wow...love the torn edges and simple layout. I've been using "spray" on a lot of my valentines when making my backgrounds. May I use the torn edges? Must try anyway. Thanks for another inspiration and lesson. Smiling...

Jenny Colacicco said...

Oh my gosh this technique is awesome I must give it a go!!! The colours running together made such a pretty purple mix too - who knew aged mahogany would do that!! TFS at aaa cards and keep an eye on the challenge after the next one !!! Hint hint :)

Nstiz said...

I love the way you used the warping to your advantage, Loll! That was brilliant! You do get beautiful results with that technique! The design is wonderful for the challenges too! Thank you too, for always listing your supplies! I've shopped often after seeing your cards!

Janet N. said...

Wowza!! This card is amazing...I love it. Great job Loll!

Barb Ghig said...

Firstly, I want to tell you how much I LOVE your new blog header! So creative, and so "You"! I also love that you chose a white b/g ~ So bright and fresh!
This is such a gorgeous card, Loll! Great idea to tear the panel all around, and your embossing folder technique is amazing! Loving your pair of red hearts with your CAS sentiment, too!

Aileen said...

Wow LollI go away for a week and come back to this wonderful new look on your blog. Cant wait to check it all out. Brilliant card, another technique I have never tried and need to do. Came home to a package inthe mail, thank you thank you thank you, cant wait to try it.

sandie said...

Love the distress mix of colours and the grudges edges. Thanks for joining TO and Ink x

Ingrid said...

LOVE it - great way to roll with the punches. Nice texture in the background, such a fun technique. Hubby will love it! :)

sarascloset said...

Simple, yet very effective, and I love the technique you used to create that watery inky background. Adding that bit of Aged Mahogany does give this a hint at grunge!

Thank you for joining our Grungy Love challenge at Anything But Cute. Hugs! Sara Emily DT

Kathyk said...

This is just lovely Loll

Happy Sunday

Kathyk

Canonbury creations said...

Lovely card; Loll, great background. My OH would probably think I hadn't glued it down properly!! ;o)
Val x

shirley-bee said...

Fabulous background, Loll! I love how you embraced the warp by tearing and grunging the edges.

Bonnie said...

I have got to try this technique! The distressed look is perfect for a masculine card! I think it will be a hit!

Toni said...

super fantastic! I love the background and its torn edges. The sprayed hearts almost look like felt or a hand pressed paper. Cool!

Toni

Brenda said...

Wow, love the colors you got with the inks you chose Loll! This card is just beautiful!! The embossing folder is pretty and love the effect you got with the inks, the double hearts are the perfect accent. Great idea about how to deal with the warping, it really does look like it has dimension. Hugs, Brenda

Marcia Hill said...

What a great card for your hubby Loll...I'm sure he'll love it! And I love the technique you used with the embossing folder, and have used it myself quite a few times now since reading your post about it a while back. It's a lot of fun seeing all my embossing folders in a new light now...love it! :0)

Gayatri said...

Stunning background. Very pretty card. Thanks for playing along Simon Says Stamp Have a Heart Challenge!
Gayatri xx

Melissa L. said...

Hi Loll! Saw this at AAA and had to come over and take closer look. OOOOOOO, so pretty! I love it! Love the embossing folder technique you used too. :) Thanks for playing along at AAA Cards.

Melissa L. said...

I like you new header/the look if your blog. Very nice!

lilian said...


lovely card
Lilian

maria f. said...

CASSY - me likey.

Pamellia said...

Wow Loll, I was just so excited to see your thumbnail this morning!! I just love your grungy card. That background is brilliant and I love that you ripped all the edges of that panel for an extra distressed look!! I wouldn't normally associate CAS with grungy but you have really done a wonderful job of creating interest and grunge while still maintaining a crisp card!!

Thank you so much for joining us at Anything But Cute for our 'Grungy Love' challenge, I'm so honoured to have you on board the mixed media train with us! Hugs, Pamellia DT :)

Sillyfilly said...

So pretty. Love this.

Pawsitively Creative said...

What a wonderful clean and grungy card all at the same time! How'd you do that?!? The torn edges with the hint of aged mahogany are splendid! Fantabulous design and the embossing folder is the perfect texture! Awesome sauce!

Thanks for joinin in our "Grungy Love" challenge at Anything But Cute. Hugz. ~Niki DT

Julia Aston said...

Wow - your embossed background came out super Loll! thanks for joining us in the Fusion card challenge with this beauty- you should enter it in the Mixed Media Card Challenge as well - here's the link: http://themixedmediacardchallenge.blogspot.com/2016/02/mmcc-20-red.html

Julia xx

Michelle said...

I love that beautiful background! Gorgeous card! Thanks for joining us at Fusion!

Samra said...

Stunning piece!
Thank you so very kindly for joining our “Grungy Love” challenge at Anything But Cute!
Samra DT
Paper Talk with Samra

Anita in France said...

The torn edges are perfect with the unstructured EF smooshed background, Loll ... what a fantastic contrast with those bold red hearts! Delighted to have you playing along with us at Time Out! Hugs, Anita :)

TK said...

Beautiful, Loll! Love the grunge look, and those beautiful colors!

cm said...

I'm back for a second helping of gazing and admiring at your gorgeous card, and to say: Thank you for sharing this gem in the Inkspirational gallery!
Hugs~c

Cec said...

Love this card. The water colour look with the embossing folder is a technique I want to try. Love the torn edges and those bright red hearts just pop. Thanks for joining us at Anything But Cute.
Hugs!
Cec

Lyndal said...

Just LOVE it Loll! So glad you joined in the fun @ FUSION!

Bobby said...

This is fabulous, Loll. Did you actually emboss as well as use it for inking? I didn't and I like yours so much better.

Loll said...

Didn't actually dry embossed with my big shot. Just inked the inside of my embossing folder, spritzed with water and then pressed a piece of card stock on top. xx

Ceal said...

Fabulous card Loll! love the background and design

Lynn said...

The background on this card is fabulous!Thanks so much for playing with us at Time Out!

Jeanne J. said...

Loll you are still the master! The background is amazing and this card is genius! The distressing is fabulous!