Hello, Beautiful

The "Stay Centered" challenge for "Hope You Can Cling To" is all about using just the center of your card front for your image and/or greeting. I used Our Daily Bread Designs' "Poppy Single" stamp, along with a greeting from Simon Says Stamp's "Summer Garden" for my card.

I first cut a panel of Strathmore Mixed Media paper to 4.25x5.5". I die cut an oval from the center using the smallest of Spellbinders' "Grand Ovals" dies, then embossed it with the "Berry Swirls" embossing folder by Sizzix. I then traced the oval onto another panel of Mixed Media paper, also cut to A2 size, as a guide for my stamping.

I ended up having to cut the greeting stamp in two to make it work for my design. After laying my stamps out on my panel, I stamped the poppy with my MISTI. I made sure to have the stem extend slightly outside the oval, to ground it. I then repositioned my greeting stamps, and stamped them, also using my MISTI, to get perfect placement. I used Versafine Onyx Black ink for my stamping, and heat embossed with Recollections Clear Detail embossing powder.

I used my Inktense pencils to color the poppy. I had found photos online of pink poppies, so I used those as reference. Once I had colored the flower, I was ready to assemble my card. I applied foam tape liberally to the back of my embossed panel, and after erasing my pencil line on my image panel, I adhered the frame in place. Finally, I mounted the card front to a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Our Daily Bread Designs "Double Embossing" (heat & dry)
Live Love Cards October challenge: "White Space"