Sending Hugs

This is my second card for the sketch challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs' blog. Like my first card, I followed the sketch pretty literally:

For this card I decided to do no coloring whatsoever. I chose the "Sweet William" stamp set from ODBD (no longer available) for my focal image. I stamped all 3 sizes of the flowers in Hero Arts Bubble Gum ink onto white cardstock, then inked over them with Spun Sugar Distress ink, just to soften the look a bit. I fussy cut them out, and curled the edges of the 2 smaller blossoms a bit, just to give some lift to the overall flower. After I determined how to line up the die cuts so they were centered one on top of another, I punched a hole through the center of each with my Crop-a-Dile II Big Bite. I glued them together, just in the centers, so I could set the eyelet more easily. (In hindsight, it probably would have been easier just to glue them together, THEN punch the hole. Oh well!) Once the glue had set up, I used my Crop-a-Dile II to set a small green eyelet in the center. At that point, I decided the top & middle sections needed a bit more support for the curling, so I cut tiny pieces of foam tape, and used my tweezers to stick them under the petals. I actually had a harder time pulling off the release paper with my tweezers, since the tape kept coming off the cardstock with it! Finally, I prevailed, and my flower was finished. :)

To mat the flower, I decided I wanted a doily. I don't have any ready made ones that are small enough, so I used the "Delicate Doily" die from Lifestyle Crafts (no longer available) to cut one from green cardstock. To add just a bit more shading & "life" to it, I inked around the outer portion with Lucky Clover Distress ink. I then glued the flower to the center of my doily with matte Perfect Paper Adhesive.

I found a piece of neutral script patterned paper in my scrap stash, and cut it down to go behind my flower and doily. I matted that with tan cardstock, and glued the doily to it. I also found a piece of pink polka dot paper in my scrap stash (I believe it's by Recollections), which I cut down to 4x5.25". I adhered my focal panel to it, centered & towards the top.

At this point, I realized I hadn't planned where to put a greeting. Granted, I could have left my card greeting-less, but I was determined to have something. So I found a small "Sending Hugs" stamp in Hero Arts' "Acts of Kindness" set. I used an old Hot off the Press "Slide Mount Mania" template to trace a mini tag shape, then cut it out with my scissors. I poked the hole with my paper piercer, and stamped my greeting in Versafine Vintage Sepia ink.

I cut a piece of light pink satin ribbon just long enough to wrap the ends around my polka dot panel. I adhered the ends to the back with my ATG tape runner, and then took another piece of ribbon & tied it around the piece running across the panel. I threaded some baker's twine from Queen & Company through the hole in my greeting tag, and tied that around my ribbon. Finally, I tied my ribbon into a bow, catching the baker's twine in it. I tied my twine into a bow as well, and snipped the ends off it & my ribbon. I used a mini glue dot under the tag, just to adhere it to my panel so it wouldn't flop behind the ribbon.

To finish my card, I matted my panel with more tan cardstock, and adhered that to a white A2 card base. I will send this card to Darlene at Live Love Cards, to pass along to someone served by Meals on Wheels. Just a little note inside to encourage them & brighten their day a little! If you are interested, you can find out what cards she is accepting for Meals on Wheels, The Birthday Party Project, and Foster Kids Charity at the Live Love Cards site.

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"