Harlequin Style

I sat down to make my first Valentine's Day Card today and I was so happy with the technique I used that I immediately had to do it again.  I've never sent too many Valentines but I definitely want to send some to those grandkids and to some of my girlfriends this year.

Papertrey Ink has several dies that they call Cover Plates.  Once the die is cut, it measures exactly 4.25 x 5.5 inches which is the standard A2 size.  These can make quick work of making a card.  A lot of the time, I use inexpensive card blanks from Hobby Lobby which I don't mind if I'm not having to stamp on it, but they measure 4 x 5.5 so if I want to use a Cover Plate, then I have to use my more expensive card stock for the note card.  Since I use the largest Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle on 85% of my cards, that normally fits.  When it doesn't, I just pull out a sheet of my good white card stock and carry on.  I have a few varieties right now; Bazzill Marshmallow, Stampin' Up Whisper White, and my newest addition is from Papertrey Ink and is called Stamper's Select.  It is a very nice 110# paper that has an ultra smooth surface that takes ink very well. At .15 cents a sheet, it is hard to beat.  I keep true A2/Invitation Sized Envelopes in Ivory and White for when I use this nicer and slightly larger card size since the others don't fit.

I cut the Harlequin Cover Plate from a larger scrap of card stock that I keep nearby for just such an occasion.  I wouldn't want to use a flimsy card stock for this, but the kind I normally use is 80# and fine for this.  Using a bit of temporary adhesive, I laid the die cut over a piece of Canson Bristol Watercolor Paper and treated it like it was a stencil.  Using a Mini Ink Blending Tool, I started lightly adding color in the beginning and then added in more color in a somewhat random pattern. The first time I peeked under the stencil to make sure it was working correctly, I loved how it looked with the Ombre in many of the openings and full color in others but the outlines staying nice and white.  I stopped inking up that panel and went to get another so that I could try to ink it up the same "random" way.  By doing this, I could pop several of the diamonds up on foam adhesive for a super cool 3D look. I love how it turned out.  While you could never get two inked exactly the same, they were similar enough to take the pieces from one and attach it to the other.  Anywhere there is a heavy shadow around the diamonds, that has been popped up on dimensional adhesive.

I glued four of the "Love" die cuts, one on top of the other and a fun foam heart behind the heart cutout so it would pop out slightly from the rest of the word.  A few gold glitter hearts cut from Simon Says Stamp Mini Hearts Die, a little Wink of Stella Clear Shimmer Pen and a thick coat of Glossy Accents over the top of the heart finishes off this card.

This turned out to be a really great way to stretch my dies even farther. The "Love" die came from Papertrey Ink as did the Harlequin Cover Plate.  I find their dies to be excellent quality and a good value for the price.  I don't have very many, but I am super happy with all of the ones I do have. The ink I used is SU! Melon Mambo which I think must be one of my favorites as I reach for it over and over again.  Pink and Purple are definitely my two favorite colors although I love many colors. Here's a close up of the layers:

I hope you like this card as much as I did.  With the bold graphics, I'm trying to figure out what color I could do for my husband's Valentine Card this year.  I've got a couple of ideas so when I make it, I'll be back to share it with you. Thanks for stopping by today and if you'd care to leave a comment, I really appreciate them!

The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge this week is "Stencil It" and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is "Ombre".  I'll be entering this card in both categories. *Ü*