Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Lament for Soft Sky (& Gesso cardstock Embellishments are Strong)


Lament for Soft Sky:
First things first, I know I'll love the new S.U. in colours, but how--oh how!--will I ever survive without Soft Sky!???! I still feel the same way about Cool Caribbean (which is why i still use it whenever I want, like here--I'm bad!) Anywho, if you love Soft Sky (or another in colour) you know how I feel & can join me in asking WHY!!!!???!!! lol. [This moment of Mel-odrama was brought to you by a slight fever and a severe obsession with anything remotely turquoisey.]



So, rant over...about the card. It's an accessories & a style C.A.S.E.

The Accessories:

These flowers are cased from Erin K. I never would have thought to make little primas with this Natural Beauty set. Erin doubles them up too and they are SO cute in pink! I've stamped these flowers on brayered gesso cardstock so they'd be strong enough to hold the button sewn on without ripping. (It also meant I could emboss the Blue Bayou classic ink.)

The Style:

I love the soft distressed french shabby chic look that my super-talented SBS2 Sis Michele has mastered, so I thought I'd give casing it a whirl. I distressed the paper edges, used buttons, & I sewed the paper by...

1) ...matting it so it was sturdy
2) ...piercing where I wanted to stitch
3) ...threading my needle with embroidery thread
4) ...pulling the thread through from the back to the front
5) ...securing the end with some double-sided tape & sewing

here's the back view of the stitching:


Cardstock:
Main card, soft sky, Mats: Cool Caribbean & Kraft c.s., Designer Series Notebook Paper


This homemade patterned paper was made with gesso cardstock, embossing, & markers. The stamp is a paisley (large design category) from Above the Mark (56005 I). There's a tutorial for this faux watercolour paper here.


The letters
are also painted with gesso:


The letters
were from my sweet & tallented SBS2 sis Becky. After I gesso'ed them, I stamped them with the Friend by Definition background stamp (in Blue Bayou ink) & embossed them with clear embossing powder. I used double-sided tape to adhere the letters , and I also tied 'em on with embroidery thread. The gems were added to the holes that I punched out of the Notebook designer series paper (glued on with Crystal Effects.)


May your day be filled with Craftiness! :0)




P.S. There are more gesso techniques indexed here. If you haven't seen them already, it may be worth a peek. (Gesso cardstock makes SU & Tombow markers embossable even!) :0)

P.P.S. Thanks so much for your well-wishes; it's nothing serious just feeling really tired & blah

25 comments:

Deb Neerman said...

WoWzA Ms. Mel, this card is awesome!!! Love the colors ... I really like the depth you've created. Yummy!

Feel better, rest, fluids, chocolate, okeedokee?!?

~Hugaliciousness!!!

Anonymous said...

Great card. I love how you do flowers--all of them. I may even have this set.

Anonymous said...

PS. Rest and feel better soon.

Janine said...

Beautiful Mel!! I know I love that blue too.

K Hutchinson said...

MEL MEL MEL- this is just stunning! I love how you did the flowers!

Anonymous said...

You are amazing! Your brain is just in creative mode all the time and the uniqueness of your creativity abounds!
Keep bringing us these wonderful goodies!
You are just... simply...amazing!
Marilyn

Joani McDonald said...

All your creations are a-mel-azing to me :)

And to hand stitch ~ I'd not have the patience...
You are my most favorite blog!!!
Hugs,
Joani

Anonymous said...

i have had arthritis so bad all day from an open window ...don't get old mel..love the card ..soooo much work..could you please try and email me i think my email is buggered love ma p.s. phone too thanks

Erin said...

Mel,
First of all thanks for the mention and link! :)

I LOVE this card. I'm going to tell you all the details that I love about it now, list style like you do:

1. I love anything remotely turquoise-ie too.
2. Love office themed stuffs.
3. love this square/squareish size
4. TOTALLY love how you stitched the letters on. I'm gonna CASE the HECK out of that deetail.
5. I LOVE the the gesso is over text. I mean I LOVE that. sooooo many layers of lovely.

Hey Mel! Can I feature you on the Inspirational Crafts blog? http://inspirationalcraftblogs.blogspot.com/?? You can email me at serinone@yahoo.com to tell me. I hope so, if there is anyone left who doesn't know you rock it's my job to tell them.

Tonniece said...

Another stunner Mel.

But you are suposed to be in bed, RIGHT?

Kathi said...

Wow. This card is truly stunning. I love everything about it. Now I need to actually use the gesso I bought several months ago!

P.S. Thanks for your kind comment on my blog. I saw it today for the first time.

Maria said...

Oooh Mel! I love this card! I love the subtle colors of your card and the prima flowers! So pretty! I have a tendency to use "over the top" bright colors and I wish I could mellow out a bit! LOL!

I still have my Cool Caribbean cardstock...I use it sparingly because I don't want to run out! I know what you mean about the SU in colors...I'm going to be sad to see the current in colors go. Whaaaaa! I love all the colors including Soft Sky. I guess I gotta stock up before they go bye, bye!!

I created a project using Gesso. . .inspired by you, of course. I'll post it on my blog once I complete my card. Your work are so inspiring!

Maria

Maria said...

Oh, gosh. . .I looked at the flowers on your card again and just realized they're not primas. They look so good I actually thought they were primas!!

Annapurna said...

I love every little detail on this card. But most of all the gessoed, embossed, water colored background you created. I C.A.S.D it without the gesso part, but haven't used it on anything yet. I am yet to pick up my glossy card stock from my SU demo (she is on vacation) and gesso too.

Pamela Smerker said...

OMG how did I ever miss your blog. Your stuff totally rocks!!! Putting you on my list NOW!!!
Thanks for stopping by my place and for the sweet comments.
hugs,
pam

Donna Coffman said...

Mel,
I am so glad I am not the only obsessive person.
I still whine about the wintergreen paper they took away and I know I'm going to be crying even more when all of my ginger blossom paper is gone.
Wah!!!! I feel your pain.
Donna

Angie Tieman said...

Oh, this is sooo lovely! The soft feel and the print on the letters, it's absolutely fabulous!

Kim Etherington said...

I'm going to miss the soft sky too! I like how soft this card is and love the gesso pp you made. Can't wait to see you tomorrow night!

*jean* said...

very cool technique and love the effect! thanks for visiting my blog and I'm psyched about the new challenge site, YKYR!!! Yeah!! I also have a monthly blog if you'd like to check it out!

Teri said...

I love this card! You put so much time into your projects to make them so out of this world! Thanks for sharing all your wonderful tips & techniques. Hope you get some rest so you can feel better :)

Anonymous said...

Love this card!! Hope you are feeling better. I have been looking for you today.

trudelmj said...

Very nice, Mel, as always!

Jodi said...

I love the bling on this card and the color combinations used!! Great card, love it!! =)

Risa said...

Your card is stunning Mel, I love it and the embossing and colors rock!!!!

Michelle Pearson said...

Thanks for the kind words and links to my blog Mel...your card is stunning! I love that color scheme!