All that Glitters is Gold

Hello all,

Hope you are well!  I have another card to share and it has been less than a week since my last post!!  Well, last night's dishes are still sitting on the counter... but what can you do when inspiration strikes?  Or is it fear as I realized how many cards I still have to make before Christmas and how few weeks there are remaining?  In spite of this self-inflicted pressure, since taking time off from blogging for my surgery, I have been doing quite a bit better at balancing my life out - no more crazy nights of crafting until 3am and no more tired cranky mom the next day.  As for the dishes, they will still be there tomorrow (unfortunately).

I was really inspired by several challenges to make a different card this time.  I know, if you look at my last post, you might counter that it really isn't all that different.  However, this is my first truly monochromatic card and it is the first time I have used shimmering gold paint.  Actually, I'm not really a fan of gold, so it is also one of the few gold cards I have ever made.  Despite it being gold, I am quite pleased with the result:

Some details:

Stamps - I used Angel Tilda (again - I know); I'll try for some more variety on the next one.  The sentiment is from the Hot Off the Press Christmas Stamp and Punch set and has been embossed with gold embossing powder.
Paper - Anna Griffin, Stampin Up vanilla card to make embellishments, Bazzill for the base(I think) and shimmery gold card.
Colouring - The little cutie is coloured with Distress inks (antique linen, scattered straw, frayed burlap and tattered rose) a watercolour pencil for the skin tone and I added Royal Tempera gold paint to the DI for her gown.  Wings were given a lite colour wash and then filled in with Distress Stickles in clear rock candy.
Other - Gold Stickles frame the image.  The die cuts are Spellbinders Parisian Accents and the tag is a Marvy punch which I distressed with antique linen.  Cream flat-backed pearls are from Kaiser.  I dipped into my jewelry making supplies to create my own pins using freshwater pearls and 4mm bicone Swarovsky crystals in lite colorado - so this card will definitely have to be for someone extra special!  The flower is another of my own creations.  I have promised flower tutorials, so for those interested, a how-to follows at the end of this post.

Tilda's close-up - hope the shimmery gold shows on her gown:

And the artsy view:

 This card was inspired by the following challenges:

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - monochromatic
Just Magnolia - bingo (I couldn't decide, so I did 2 lines - embossing, flower, pins and gems distress and pins)
Jingle Belles - Midas touch (only gold, silver, white and cream allowed)
Magnolia-licious Challenge - photo inspiration (I went with the colours in the gold and cream purse)
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - for the gorgeous and easy to use sketch
Magnolia Down Under Challenge - texture
Bah! Humbug! - here come the girls (what girl doesn't love pearls and crystals?)

And now for the flower how-to.  There are a lot of photos, so it may take a while to upload :(

Cut three flowers, one at 2.5 inches and two at 2 inches out of thin cardstock.  I cut my flowers with my Straight from the Nest cricut cartridge out of Stampin Up vanilla card. 

Find the centres and mark them with a dot.  Enhance each petal by cutting it deeper toward the centre marking. 

Mist the flowers with water and when they are damp crumple then into tight little balls.  This gives a nice distressed look. 

Gently uncrumple and lay flat. 

To add colour, press ink pad onto craft mat and mist with a little water.  I used DI antique linen again.  Press flowers into ink; they will naturally become darker in the deepest creases.  Dry slightly with a heat tool and repeat until the desired effect is achieved.  Once you are done applying colour, dry flowers slightly, making sure they are still a bit damp - they should be easy to manipulate, but not so wet that they break apart. 

Shape the largest and one of the smaller flowers gently, turning and curling petals until you are pleased with the result. 

The other small flower will be used to make the centre.  Curl/role one of the petals completely into a tight upside down cone. 

Then continue curling so the other petals wrap around it.  There should be three petals wrapped around - remove the last petal by tearing it off.  Again, gently shape and overlap the petals until you are happy with the final result.  Allow to dry completely (you can use a heat tool for this if you are in a rush. 

Once they are dry, punch a whole in the centre of the smaller flower and apply glue (I used Glossy Accents). 

The centre flower is then slid down into the whole to create the first layer.  Once the glue is dry, snip off about half of the tail that sticks out underneath.

Apply glue to the center of the largest flower and gently press the remainder of that tail into the glue to create the final layer.  Embellish your flower as you please and you are done.

If you are still here, thank you so much for visiting.  Thank you also for taking the time to leave me a comment - I appreciate them all.  Hope you've enjoyed my card and have a great day!

Hugs,

Dawn