Distressed Tiger Lily

Today I'm on a mission to make my last two batches of Raspberry Jelly.  I had set a goal for myself to have all my preserves, that I give for Christmas, done by the end of October ... nothing like being down to the wire! :)

My next goal is to have all my Christmas cards done by the end of November.  I'm getting there ... I only need another half dozen cards.

This morning I spent some time in the art studio making another distressed or vintage-style card.  I love this style and hadn't used it for a while until yesterday.  This is the first time I've cracked open my Wild Wasabi stamp and paper pad.  I made my own background DP with Wild Wasabi cardstock, randomly stamped with the same color ink and the large stamp from the "Bliss" set.  I then sponged the edges and randomly over the cardstock with Always Artichoke to give it an aged look and tone down the brightness of the Wild Wasabi cardstock.  I wanted a pop of color for the card, so added a bright orange Tiger Lily from the Stampin' Up! Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set.  Hope you like.

"Tiger Lily"

Stamps:  Fifth Avenue Floral, Bliss (SU!)

Paper:  Always Artichoke, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White (SU!)

Ink:  Always Artichoke, Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Cajun Craze, VersaMark; Stampin' Write marker Cajun Craze (SU!)

Accessories & Tools:  Black embossing powder, heat tool, Nestabilities Classic Ovals (Spellbinders), Sizzix Square Lattice embossing folder, Sizzlits "Little Leaves" die-cut, sponges, three bronze half-pearls ($1 store), eye-makeup applicator wand (small sponge), adhesives, glue, and dimensionals

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I randomly stamped the large Bliss stamp on the Wild Wasabi cardstock with Wild Wasabi ink.  I sponged Always Artichoke lightly over top of the stamping and also around the edges of the cardstock.

I ran the Nestabilities Ovals die-cuts through my Big Shot to cut out an oval frame from Always Artichoke cardstock.  I sponged Always Artichoke ink around the outside and inside edges of the oval to give it an aged look.

I ran a Nestabilities Oval die-cut through my Big Shot with Whisper White cardstock to cut out an oval to fit in the frame I just cut.  I lightly sponged the oval with Wild Wasabi ink and then ran it through my Big Shot again with the Sizzix Square Lattice embossing folder.  I sponged more Wild Wasabi ink on top, pressing harder to make it darker and highlight the embossing.  I glued the embossed oval in-behind the frame.

I ran the Little Leaves die-cut through my Big Shot three times with Always Artichoke cardstock.  I sponged the edges of the leaves and stem with Always Artichoke ink to give them more depth and also slightly curled the leaves with my fingers.

I stamped the Lily in VersaMark onto Whisper White cardstock and heat embossed in black.  I sponged over the entire lily with Pumpkin Pie ink, but found it didn't give me enough color, so went over it again with Tangerine Tango.  I cut the flower out.  Using a small eye-makeup applicator wand, I lightly sponged down the center of each petal of the lily with Cajun Craze ink to give the flower character.  I used the Cajun Craze Stampin' Write marker to add dots of color to each petal, more towards the center of the flower and less at the tips of the petals.

For assembly, I mounted the stamped and sponged background paper onto a card base of Always Artichoke.  I mounted the oval onto the front of the card, slightly above center to give it more weight, and popping it up with dimensionals to add depth.

I laid the three leaf sprigs with the stem ends all meeting in the middle and glued them together.  I glued the sprigs onto the bottom left-hand side of the oval.  I added the Tiger Lily on top of the sprigs, popping it up with dimensionals to add depth and finished the card by placing three bronze half-pearls in the top right corner.