BLENDED POINSETTIA

I have a lovely set from a few years back that has as its main image a truly lovely poinsettia. It is done in line work, so just screams out for any of a number of techniques, many of which I've used on it in the past.

However, with the advent of our stupendous Stampin' Blends, using them is how I chose to finish the flower for this card this time.

The flower and leaves turned out quite striking after attacking them with red and green Stampin' Blends. I had stamped it in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, followed by the Blends on Whisper White cardstock. I tried to get the poinsettia as saturated as I could to try to mimic the beauty of the real flower.

After the color was added, I fussy cut the flower. 

At this point, I wasn't quite sure how to proceed. I knew I wanted the poinsettia to be the undisputed star of my creation. But, not knowing what I was going to do with it, I let the cut out flower lie amidst the mess that is my Creation Station for quite some time.

Eventually I came back to it and decided to put forth a concerted effort to use it in some way. I decided that the perfect background for this traditional Christmas flower would be some sheet music. I had a piece of printed vellum from a loooong time ago which featured music in gold. 

I adhered the piece of vellum to a metallic gold card base just on the two sides. But, as everyone knows, it is difficult to adhere vellum to another surface without any sign of the adhesive showing. I opted to alleviate that problem by adding strips of the same gold cardstock over where it was adhered to the card base. It gave a nice finishing touch, as well as disguising where my adhesive was.

I wanted a little bit of a sentiment on the card, but I didn't want it to overpower the poinsettia at all. The way I did that was to use a tiny "peace" stamp, stamped in VersaMark on a scrap of the vellum I used in the card, covered it with gold embossing powder, and heat set it to emboss. I trimmed the vellum very close to the letters and mounted it fairly unobtrusively alongside the flower.

The card is perfectly flat, making it perfect to stick in an envelope and mail off to someone. However, it is still residing on my computer desk, and I have a feeling that is where it will remain.

I would just like to point out to you, if you aren't already aware, that Stampin' Up! is holding its annual Year-End Closeout. Some of the retiring products are discounted, others are simply being discontinued. You can access all the information about this promotion HERE. Please, if you feel inclined, mention my name as your demonstrator if placing an order. I'd appreciate it!

Hope your preparations for the upcoming Holiday activities, no matter what you celebrate, are going splendidly. Take care.

Blended 

Smiles.