Sending Hugs for Sunday Stamps

Hello friends and welcome back!  It's time for a new challenge and Sunday Stamps.  This week we have a beautiful color board to inspire you.  I ended up using 4 of the 5 colors (red, dark red/burgandy, kraft/tan, and ivory/cream).

Sunday Stamps

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme this week so "Make Your Own Background".

Initially when I looked at our color board, I wasn't thinking Valentine's Day but when I sat down to create, I was inspired by a stencil and a cover die to go that direction.

Starting with a panel of Neenah Desert Storm, I ink blended white pigment ink through a heart stencil to make the background.  Next, I took a piece of Bristol and ink blended Barn Door and Aged Mahogany to get an ombre effect of dark and medium red.  When the ink dried both panels were die cut with the Chunky Heart Panel cover die.  The craft panel was adhered directly to a white card base, then the red hearts popped up in the die cut openings with foam tape.

Then I had the brilliant idea to use a shimmer pen to paint all the hearts.  Unfortunately it reactivated the red inks way more than I anticipated, so they no longer had a smooth blend.  What I should have done was spray the inked panel with shimmer spray before die cutting.  Hindsight is always so helpful, right? 

By this time I was highly invested in making the card, so instead of it ending up in the waste bin, I made the hearts shiny by covering all of them with Glossy Accents. I am so glad I did, because I think it really made the hearts just POP!  I let the hearts dry overnight and the following day the word "Hugs" was cut 3x from Ivory card stock and once from red foil, layered and adhered to the Ivory shadow.  I added foam tape in between the hearts and adhered the die cut and the "sending" black sentiment strip.  Finally I added a bit of bling with the clear sequins.

Thanks for visiting, I appreciate it sooo much!  I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy.  Have a great week ahead and please be sure to join us for our new color challenge!

Stef

Stamps: None

Paper:  Neenah Solar White and Desert Storm, Red Foil (Memory Box), Koh-I-Noor Bristol, Ivory and Thinking of You Sentiment Strips (Simon Says Stamp)

Ink:  Unicorn White (Hero Arts), Barn Door and Aged Mahogany Distress

Other:  Hugs Dies and Chunky Hearts Panel cover die (SSS), Drifting Hearts stencil (Memory Box), Sparkling Clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Glossy Accents (Ranger)