The Card Concept #52

For the Challenge over at The Card Concept this week we were provided with the inspiration image you see on the left.  The paper hat made with paper that has French Script on it immediately inspired me to think of Paris and also the French Quarter in New Orleans. I guess to me, I will always associate the sounds of the French Quarter with Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World". As I sat on the patio of the Cafe Du Monde in 2002 having Cafe Au Lait and Beignets, there was an older gentlemen standing outside the cafe playing a whole medley of Louis Armstrong songs on his trumpet. People dropped cash in his instrument box as they walked by or left the Cafe.

So when I started working on this challenge I naturally pulled out a Tim Holtz Parisian Style Embossing Folder for my background.  I ran a 4.25 x 5.5 inch piece of cream card stock through my die cutting machine then using a Mini Ink Blending Tool, inked up the raised surface very gently with Simon Says Stamp Intense Black and Royal Velvet Ink from Papertrey Ink.  I kept the black only to the outside edges. Since I used the same foam pad, the black mixed gently with the purple to make a grayish purple.  I didn't want it to be bright but rather pretty subdued or aged looking.

I cut three layers of the Avery Elle "Love" die cut, one of each of the Memory Box Treble Clef and Musical Interlude dies and my background panel out of black shimmer card stock.  I took three pieces of sheer black ribbon and knotted them about 1/3 of the way down then adhered them to the backside of the embossed panel.  I added a pearl to the Treble Clef, and bitty bling to the music notes.  For the "Love" die cuts, I glued all three layers together for a thicker embellishment. Once those had dried, I inked it up with Versamark then heat embossed it with Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing Powder.  I stamped the "You" from the Papertrey Ink "Scripted" Stamp Set in Versafine Onyx Black and added clear embossing powder to the top of that.

After I had everything attached to an A2 top folding Card Base made from Stamper's Select White, I decided I wanted to make the "Love" stand out more so I went over it with a coat of Ranger Glossy Accents and left it to dry overnight.  I added a few black opalescent sequins to the upper right hand side to finish it off.

In addition to playing at The Card Concept #52, I'll also be entering this card over at the Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog where "Anything Goes" this week.