Just to say...Thank You to a Special Friend!

My lovely bridesmaids took me on a wonderful Hen Weekend to a Spa set on a pretty lake area in Cirencester at the end of June. We had such a fantastic time, relaxing, drinking and being merry! They cooked up some real treats for me that made the weekend so special - a lovely photo album of me from a baby (some embarrassing photos there!!) until I met Scott, then some great photos of me and Scott after we met until this point now! And there was the Mr & Mrs game, where they asked Scott loads of questions about him and about me, and recorded his answers on a DVD, then saw how I scored against his answers (we actually did scarily well) but it was all so much fun and so special. I know a lot of effort went in to making the weekend a success, and it was worth every minute!

So I had to thank these lovely ladies, and what better than to thank them with a handmade card?!?

For this, I used a new technique I read about on Mel Stampz blogspot, using crayons with the Cuttlebug embossing folders. Good old crayons - I'd not used these since I was a kid! So basically, I ran some white card through the bug, using the Floral Fantasy folder. I then rubbed over the card (still in the folder to support the raised embossing) using a white crayon. I then washed over the whole card in a black dye ink wash, fairly strong, as it dries a lot less dark than when you first apply it. I then waited for this to dry. You can force dry it with a heat tool, but I found this didn't come out so well, so PATIENCE is needed!!

I then did a similar thing using black card for the strip across, adding some faux stitching using a piercing tool and a white gel pen. I also doodled around the floral embossed pattern to give it a bit more pop, but you could use a white wash after the crayoning if you wish. For the top strip, I used white card and simply washed it with the black dye ink wash that I'd used for the embossed main panel. I then stamped and white embossed the sentiment and put the card together. However, I would recommend stamping the sentiment before adding the faux stitching as the gel pen will also attract the embossing powder and it can get a little fiddly/messy.

I added some gem accents, and a bit of sparkly glitter to give it a bit more oomph, then stuck a white insert in to write my gushing thanks and praise...

My intention is to upload a video on this technique. I have done it, I just need to edit it, and as this is the first one I've ever done, there is a lot of trial and error, but I will get it done soon!