Bonjour!

Today I created a card for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge to "Use Patterned Papers" and for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge to "Add Some Shimmer". It is rare that one card will work for both challenges but this week it will.

This is a side folding 3.75 inch wide x 9.25 inch tall card made from Rustic White Cardstock which fits into a #10 envelope; a custom card size I created to fit my need for the project I did today.  I have no idea if folks make this size, but probably not.  It is fun and a little bit different for a change.

Several months ago I had purchased this Spellbinders Eiffel Tower Die but when it came, it was too big to use on most of the cards I make which are the standard A2 size.  I love how it looks although you are not able to see it very well in my photographs. If you click to follow the link, you will get the idea I think. The die cuts are embossed as well as cut. Since the Simon Wednesday Challenge is to "add some shimmer", I used my Essential Glue Pad and dusted the whole thing with some Ebony Glitter from Recollections.  That is the first time I have used the Essential Glue Pad but I remembered to only put a little bit of glue on it — just enough to swipe the die cuts with it. If you have one of these, don't forget to keep the little plastic cover or your glue pad will dry out way faster than normal.  I remembered Jennifer McGuire demonstrating this on her blog once.

The Eiffel Tower Die was made to be 3-Dimensional.  The only thing I can think of to equate this to is that the side seams of the top piece that are the "curvy", have been clipped on your "seam". If you know how to sew your own clothing, this will make sense but if not, I can't really figure out another way to explain this so once again, a picture is worth a thousand words. I attached the top piece to the bottom piece with thin 3D foam and then attached to the card base with regular thickness foam squares. I cut those in half to accommodate the thinner areas if I need to. The printed paper is one I bought last year that was called "Paris Girl".  I don't use much patterned paper but I did buy a few sheets of this at the time because I liked it so much.  The whole background panel is misted with Tsukineko Sheer Sparkle Shimmer Spritz and the edges were ink blended using Lovely Lady Ink from Papertrey.  It seems to be about my favorite pink although Hibiscus Burst is quite lovely as well. I could have used Pale Peony, but it hadn't arrived quite yet. *Ü*

The sentiment I used here was stamped on a Rustic White stitched rectangle (made by using my die creatively), one letter at a time with the Concord & 9th Sophisticated Script in both upper and lower case. The "r" on the end isn't quite right, but it's okay.  I stamped each letter using Versafine Onyx Black and then sprinkled Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing Powder over it and heat set it. Since Versafine is a pigment ink, it stays wet long enough to sprinkle the embossing powder on it, but I do each letter as I stamp it in case I get pulled away for some reason.  Since I am not using my MISTI for this, I feel better doing it this way.

To finish up my card, I assembled everything using either foam squares or Scor-Tape and put a few black iridescent sequins on it with Ranger Multi Medium Matte.  I'm putting a few pictures on here today so you can see the detail a little better I hope.

I'm planning to send this to a French Canadian friend just for fun.  I think you might be able to see a bit of the glitter on these last two photographs.

There's not a lot of technique involved here. I just wanted to send something fun. I hope you all have a great week. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. It means the world to me when you take time to leave a comment.