Milwaukee swap # 1

I'm making 3 swap cards to take to Milwaukee for a really small SCS swap (only 6 people).  The nice thing about only making 6 is that I can put a little more effort into them and use stuff I couldn't use on a larger number of cards.

This card started out totally different and evolved as I worked on it.  The one thing that stayed the same was the color combo.  I wanted to use the eggplant rickrack again, and my friend Sarah suggested Sage Shadow and Elegant Eggplant.  The card base is Sage Shadow stamped with Sanded in the same color.  I tied on Whisper White satin ribbon with the rickrack.  The focal image is from Eastern Blooms.  I used watercolor crayons with the direct-to-stamp method.  I colored directly on the stamp then misted it with water before stamping.  (The Whisper White piece is 2 1/2 X 3 1/2.)

You may be wondering what that layer is underneath the focal image.  It's a 3 X 4 piece of Bride specialty paper sponged with Elegant Eggplant ink.  The shiny pattern resists the ink!  Isn't that cool?  You can brayer it too, but I like how the sponging turned out.  I did it a couple of times to get the amount of color I wanted.

FYI:  There is a new set of specialty paper in the Summer Mini (starts May 1) that works just like the Bride paper.  I can't wait to get it!

Happy stamping and Happy Easter!