Papertrey Ink July 2016 Blog Hop

I am so excited to be part of the Papertrey Ink July 2016 Blog Hop again this month.  I really look forward to these every month and this month is no exception. The image on the left is our inspiration image for this month. My favorite pieces in this room are the chair and the rug on the floor.  I also love the poppies in the pillow. There is something so classic about the Quatrefoil pattern and the chair is a classic also. Initially I attempted to make a "wallpaper" background for my card by drawing a similar pattern to the wallpaper in gold sparkly ink, by hand, using a T-Ruler over an Aqua Mist ink blended background.  While I decided not to use that, it was actually pretty cool so I'm saving it for another time.  I know I'm not the only one who keeps parts & pieces for a later date...*Ü*.  

Using the colors and objects that really caught my eye in the photo, I put my card together.  I started with a piece of Aqua Mist Cardstock and a piece of gold foiled cardstock (I use Gold Poster Board from Hobby Lobby).  Using the Cover Plate: Quatrefoil Die with an embossing sandwich I ran the Aqua Mist Paper through. This leaves a deep impression in your cardstock and makes lining it up with the layer cut from gold foiled cardstock very easy.  I trim about 1/16th inch off of the each side of the cardstock afterwards so it will be slightly smaller than the die cut and I won't have any edges peeking out.  I put a dot of adhesive (Ranger Multi Medium Matte) every half inch or so all the way around the outside of the die cut.  It doesn't ever seem necessary to do it on any of the inside lines. 

Just FYI - I have tried a couple of caps on my Multi Medium, but I love this ScraPerfect No Clog Writing Tip and have one on both of my bottles of Multi Medium Matte.  I also just ordered the same tip for my Glossy Accents as it doesn't want to come out of the fine tip applicator tip I currently have on it.  The little bottle with the fine tip from Quilled Creations doesn't hold up under frequent use so for the same price, I really like this one.  Plus, with the needle cap, it doesn't get clogged.  

I had stamped the Poppy image from Botanical Blocks III in Versamark on Canson Bristol Watercolor Paper and heat set it using Simon Says Stamp Antique Gold Embossing Powder for one of the projects I did for Stamp-A-Faire 2016 yesterday.  An extra is handy when you are on a deadline so this was the one I hadn't used. With the bright Poppy on the pillow, it was the perfect image for this challenge.  I used Ink Cubes and Reinkers from Papertrey Ink to "paint". One very small drop on top of an acrylic block with a spritz of water mixed in works very well. If you only have the ink pad or ink cube, just smoosh it onto an acrylic block and pick the color up from there.  My preferred method is to use a water brush but you can also use a paintbrush with a bit of water. I used Berry Sorbet Reinker for the Poppy, Aqua Mist Ink Cube for the background and Stormy Sea Ink Cube for the leaves.  I gave the petals on the Poppy a liberal dose of Clear Wink of Stella Shimmer Pen.

When I started assembling my card, I did my test run (you know — without adhesive) and thought that in this case I needed to also mat the bloom with the gold cardstock or it got lost on the background.  This was just the right thing to frame my element. I also cut a piece of Fun Foam to go behind the floral element. The sentiment is a favorite from Altenew's Beautiful Day that I already had stamped and was one of the parts & pieces sitting in my Vintage Jadeite Bowl that I refer to from time to time.  

I really hope you all enjoy today's card and find a bit of inspiration to create one of your own.  In the words of Neil Gaimon, "Make Good Art".  I hope you'll come back soon!