It's Here! it's Here! Caardvarks "Get Published" challenge (and wedding bouquet card pictorial)

Have you been counting down to Caardvarks
"Get Published" challenge with us?
Well, it's here!!!

But ooops, I'm later than usual today; sorry peeps. I uploaded all the pics, realized they were edited but they weren't watermarked & had to re-upload them... Any other bloggers find Blogger veryslow to upload? Any solutions to that?

Anywho, with out further blah-blah, the card...

The Caardvarks Get Published challenge theme is
"Make your best Wedding card."

So, I gave it my best...
(edited to add: as part of the Caardvarks design team, not an entry) :o)
...and made a white on a 5 inch x 5 inch
white shabby chic card with a bridal bouquet on it...

Variations: This style of 3D thingy might also make a nice framed shadow box element...or maybe a gift topper...on a decorated hat box or to jazz up a store bought gift bag, perhaps? ..OR I've got the perfect idea! An Easter hat, teeheehee.

"Just how are you going to put that in an Envelope???" I'm not. LOL. I wasn't worried about lots of dimension, since most people usually give the card when they attend the wedding, and in that situation you could get away with no envelope (I mean they know who it's for, right?) This puppy is obviously not going to fit in an envelope well (unless...you made the box type of envelope--with raised sides, of course. Hmmm note to self: make box envelope template.)

To mail it, I would put it in a small box, cushioned with tissue paper.

1...Caardvarks Challenge with Scrapbook Trends Card Magazine!
2...Cheap Tricks for blog-surfing or online viewing
3...how to make this wedding bouquet card

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The challenge is to make your very best wedding card

Hope you can play along with this challenge, or
just check out the wedding eye-candy! :o)

(Hope you're the one to get published! I've never been "officially
published" and think it'd be a blast!)

This nifty challenge is sponsored by:

Scrapbook Trends
CARDS Magazine

Wanna check 'em out?
You can subscribe to Scrapbook Trends publications here.
And visit Paige here, on the Scrapbook Trends CARDS Blog!

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(for blog-surfing or online viewing)

You can click on these pictorial photos to enlarge them
& then just hit the back button in your browser, to come back to this post.

Hot-key/ tech tricks: If you want a photo to open in a new tab/window instead of having to find your place after clicking back, just right click and choose open link in a new tab/window (works in Mozilla, anyhow & also works for links...)

Either way you choose to view the photos, you can zoom the enlarged photo in or out with a scroll style mouse by holding control & scrolling up & down. :o)

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...make a wedding bouquet card:

• GCD Studios Paris Nights collection (#473 Paris Market)
• Flowers from Fred She Said's Flowering Hearts Doodledallion Digi Set
• Vellum, Clear & Pearlized embossing powder, heat gun, stylus
  
• YG-91 Putty Copic Marker,
  
• Three For You flower punch, corner rounder punch
  
• Paper piercer, needle, silver thread
  
• Pearl seed beads & silver bugle beads
• Silver edged white satin ribbon & White organza ;o)
• May Arts white leaves ribbon, & crochet ribbon (cut)
  
• Double-sided tape, Tombow Monomulti, Foam Tape
• Vintage: rhinestone button, Onion skin paper, & pearls
  
• River Rock/Dark Cream & Dark Grey cardstock, Silver Zigpainty pen
• Crochet flowers made by the sweetest Bam Bam in the world (my Grandma)

Step 1) Make a beaded background circle:

1A) Cut a circle of GCD Paris Nights patterned paper (#473 Paris Market) This circle is 4-1/8" in diameter.

1B) Pierce holes around the edge with a paper piercer. (I can't gush enough about this makingmemories Paper piercer; after trying quite a few different peircers, it has no equal in my book. It makes the nicest fine holes & fits in the Tim Holtz ruler for perfect placement--even has a needle holder & threader in the end. Smart, huh?)

1C) Stitch on beads. (I used silver thread & pearl seed beads alternated with lovely silver bugle beads. Bugle beads make it go faster, since they take up more room, and thus you need less...)

Step 2) Edge with silver zigpainty pen, for definition.

Step 3) Stitch on thin ribbon to make an asymmetrical bow. Just loop & lay it down and stitch through the paper--adhering thread ends at the back of the paper with double-sided tape. No need to be perfect since most of it will be covered.

You could glue the bow if you prefer, of course; I used glue to temporarily hold the bow & sewed it. I just trust stitching to hold better & find it gives much more control over the bow shaping.



Step 4) Stitch on May Arts white ribbon leaves (again, you could glue...)



Step 5) Stitch on crochet flowers (Thank you my sweet talented Bam Bam! LOVE you soooooooh much!!! OXOXO)



Step 6) Sew pearls in the center of the crochet flowers. These are just from an old necklace I got a thrift shop (I think it may have been broken when I bought it.)



Step 7) Make large pointy-petaled embossed paper flowers & stitch them on, adding pearl bead (these paper flowers are from Fred She Said's Flowering Hearts Doodledallion Digi Set (posting all the details for that tomorrow)



Step 8) Make small white embossed vellum flowers & stitch them on also with pearl beads.



Step 9) Create the rough crochet trim & mat:

A) Cut crochet lace in half down the middle with nice sharp scissors
B) Adhere to the back of the circle. (double-sided tape to hold it temporarily while I made sure it was even)
Stick that on another larger circle of cardstock (River Rock) & (I added tombow at this point for a better hold)
C) roughly cut the mat, making slits for a make a wide fringe
D) Ruffle it with your fingers to distress it.



Step 10) Cut another piece of GCD Paris Nights patterned paper (4-1/2" square) & lay a piece of vintage onion skin paper over it. Trace with a paper piercer (on top of something soft like fun foam) to get a torn but straight edge (or use a ruler & tear it.)



Step 11) Glue the onion skin to the patterned paper & pierce and stitch it with silver thread.



Step 12) Add a bow at the top (This one was made using white Organza ribbon & a vintage rhinestone button.)

Adhere the stitched onion-skin papered mat to a 5x5 inch
River Rock cardstock card (with rounded corners)
&
adhere the bouquet circle with foam tape for dimension:

(These are click-able blogger photos)

...and th-th-th-th-that's all folks...

Thank You so much for taking time to check this out, & thanks ever so much for the love yesterday. You ROCK!

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P.S. Tomorrow, all the details on making the flowers...

Punch guides for digital flower centers
(using Photoshop/other software)

Both sizes of paper flowers used on this card are made with that digital set from Fred She Said I mentioned. Tomorrow, I have a tutorial to share with you on how I made a punch template in photoshop (to be able add evenly-spaced centers) and some yadda yadda about stamping & embossing and shaping the punched flowers.)