Hey there. That is my conundrum today. Well, the question really started yesterday. I made a card that I'd been thinking about since I ordered the Painted Lavender stamp set. I was really happy with the outcome of the idea. But the more I looked at it, I felt it needed just a tiny touch of Berry Burst added to really make it stand out. And that's where enough turned into I did too much. Let me show you what I mean.
I should have taken pictures before the tweaking, so you could see it really needed just a bit more color. Instead, I only have the frustrating 'after' pictures.
To make the card, I started by cutting the focal image layers first. These pieces are Basic White cardstock cut with the Deckled Rectangles for the frame. The 3rd largest and 5th largest dies were used. A small bit of washi tape held the dies in place to cut the frame evenly. Another piece of Basic White was cut that measures 4 1/4" x 3". This goes behind the frame and is where the garden scene was stamped.
I love adding a soft color in the background using the Blending Brushes. My plan was to add Balmy Blue and Garden Green for the sky and ground. The colors are darker in the top and bottom and very pale in the center.
The 'grassy looking' stamp was stamped with Garden Green ink across the bottom of the piece. Each time the stamp was inked, I stamped twice to get variations of green.
The tiny stamp with 3 stems of flowers was stamped the same way with Highland Heather then some Gorgeous Grape on top of that. The edges of this piece were trimmed slightly to easily fit behind the frame. The edges were glued to hold in place.
The base of the card is Soft Sea Foam cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half to make a landscape card.
The sentiment is from the new Simply Zinnia set that is an Online Exclusive item. I think the sentiment fit nicely with the images here. It was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink near the bottom of the card front making sure there's plenty of room to add the stamped lavender and frame. Then the layers were added to the card front using Dimensionals.
The Painted Lavender dies have a leaf spray that was the perfect size. It's cut from Garden Green cardstock. I had three little flowers from the set left over already stamped and die-cut from a previous project. They are a mix of Berry Burst and Gorgeous Grape. These were added to the card front with Mini Glue Dots.
The butterflies are from the Painted Lavender set. They were stamped with Daffodil Delight ink with a bit of Basic Black marker added to the bodies. Then they were die-cut with the matching dies. The tiny one was attached with a Mini Glue Dot, but the full butterfly has a Mini Dimensional in the center.
After looking at the finished card, I knew it needed just a few of the flower stems stamped in Berry Burst to match the flowers on the accent stem. This is where I really messed up. Have you noticed my mistakes all along? I should have masked off the frame, but I didn't. It never crossed my mind that I'd mess up the pristine white, but I truly did in grand fashion. I love the added color, but what a mess. I didn't even realize I did it until I was looking at the pictures and adding the copyright tags on the computer. So, I tried to take it all apart to make a new frame and it sort of ripped a little. Oops. So now I have to either sit down and remake most of the card or pitch it.
So, when is enough, enough? Before I added the Berry Burst flowers without masking? Or when I decided to take it apart and fix it? My advice is to NOT do what I did!! 😂😏
Other than my mistakes, I hope you liked this idea. Yes, I will make another card like this sometime because I like the overall idea. But not today. I've got other cards I need to make and get into the mail. Thanks for taking time out of your day to share my tale of woes. Thank goodness I don't always mess up this badly. Hopefully the next card creation will come together without all these problems.
Happy stamping and creating,
Sharon
Yes, the additional color was a wise addition. This looks like a beautiful summer meadow.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Barb. The meadow look is exactly what I had in mind.
DeleteI agree the Berry Burst was needed. But, yeah, mistakes happen, Been there and done that too! Just asking, but can you make similar markings on the frame to make continue it all around? Or even add some brushing on the frame to make it look light, but natural? It would give a different feel to the card with the color in the froame, but as long as it stays pretty light, it probably will look good.
ReplyDeleteHi Connie. That's funny you mentioned adding more of the mistakes to the frame to make it look like I planned it that way. That was my first thought, but wasn't sure if I would mess up the rest of the card, so I tried to dismantle it first. Ah, problems.
DeleteI think Connie has a good idea. There is a landscape artist we see every year at the Ann Arbor art fair who has some tree branches, leaves, etc. leaving the painting and are on the white matte. It's worth trying.
ReplyDeleteYou've convinced me to at least give it a try. We'll see what happens.
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