Variations on a Theme (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I hope that you are enjoying our romantic projects this month, and that we are giving you lots of ideas for those special occasions for which you might need to make cards and gifts.

I have two cards to share with you today using the same stamps, but varying the ideas to give two completely different looks.

For my first card, I stamped and embossed the large lacy border and the small heart image from the Harlequin Rose stamp set, using Versamark and clear embossing powder onto a piece of smooth card, which I had cut slightly smaller than my card blank. I coloured the background using a range of Distress Inks, blending them where they met, to create a graduated background.

I ironed the embossing powder off the card using some cheap copy paper underneath the iron to absorb the embossing powder, (remembering to turn off the steam!). I spritzed the background lightly with some water, to create a slightly mottled effect. I stamped the large 'love' from the Words of Love stamp set and added some cream seam binding before attaching the background to the card blank.

To create my second card, I used the same small heart image, and stamped it randomly onto a scrap piece of black card. This time, I used some sparkly red embossing powder, for maximun impact. I added some red card as a matting layer behind the background before I attached it to a white card blank. I stamped the large 'love' using red ink.

The second card was a very quick card to make, and would make a super Valentine's card for the man in your life, whereas the first card is much more feminine, with the vibrant colours. I hope that I have shown you how versatile these stamps can be. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx