19 January 2011

Valentines Heart Punch Card and Busy Patterns Technique

Helloooo.....been such a long time between posts as I am in the throes of "re-organizing"!   Gosh where does all the stuff that clutters every spot come from? Anyways - I think its a good idea to use January as 'the' month to de-clutter esp. here in the wintery North.  Not much fun outside anyways, right?

But there is fun in our craft corners - and I tried a little technique with this card, so I'm here to share!

 I received a card in the summer which embodied a colourful personality - and it really made me feel great, all sun-shiny and happy!

Upon close inspection, the card involved no less than 3 patterns of cardstock. Very busy and different patterns!  Layered together as a "strip" or band against a soothing backdrop of a solid colour. The focal point - a 3D flower sat on top, slightly off-center. And all made sense together! WONDERFUL!

So: busy patterns layered together, soothing backdrop and a dimensional focal point! Voila!

Now I tried it, here it is - my Valentine's Card for a friend ( can't say who cuz they haven't received it yet!)



Colourful Patterned Band
As you can see, I made my strip from 3 patterns!  I chose the patterns from a co-ordinating collection, but as long as they share something in common in colours, you should be good!  

Combining Patterns is easy if you follow a few guidelines:
      - try 3 similar patterns - for example, all florals or all dots; 
      - or a 'combo' of one or two similar motifs (ex: flowers) with a graphic element (i.e. plaid); 
      - vary the sizes (tiny print, medium print and large print),

....I used a large plaid, with 2 floral motifs [ one a small print and the other a mostly larger print].  But they all shared  similar colours!  

Soothing Backdrop
My background is a soft pink framed with a bit of vanilla - and I have added texture {Stampin' Up's Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder] by running the cardstock through my Big Shot - but over-all, its pretty much a large dose of a soothing backdrop to support the busier elements in front. 

Focal Point
I punched out 3 hearts in a glittered cardstock - and embellished them with buttons.  I love adding buttons - for such a small investment, they add a lot of 'punch' - lol! 


One problem emerged - my card was 'front heavy' and in danger of falling forward on its face!  To counter-balance this, I added a layer of cardstock to the back as well, and an embellishment. This weighed the problem out, as you can see here....

back of card

So there you have it - I think it turned out swell and the reaction from my daughter was great when she saw it! Unfortunately the picture doesn't do justice to the lovely colours - but I believed I achieved that zipitty-do-dah look I was after!   

TRY IT YOURSELF - its great to use up lovely bits of left-over cardstock! 

Thanks for swinging by!

STAMPIN' UP! SUPPLIES -  Heart Punch, cardstock in 'Pretty in Pink', Textured Embossing Folder 'Elegant Bouquet', 'Rose Red' Classic Ink Pad & Marker, sponge. 


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