With Love at Christmas

Welcome! It's time for another color challenge at Color My Heart Color Dare. This challenge is biweekly and runs through Thursday evening, December 14, 2023. As you can see from the color board below, the required colors are shades of blue, pink, and purple, with black, white, neutrals, and metallics being free. You must use all three of the required colors. I used the three colors and added silver holographic paper to my design.

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Using watercolor paper, I began by embossing a design. Water was spritzed onto the paper and run through the embossing machine. Recently I discovered a product called mica stain. This product is sprayed onto paper and produces a soft shine. Having no purple mica stain, the pink and blue colors were sprayed onto the embossed watercolor paper allowing them to blend and produce purple. After letting it dry for about an hour the drying process was completed with a heat tool, taking care not to scorch the paper. Next, and this is optional, the embossed paper was inserted back into the embossing folder and run through a second time. I just wanted a better impression since this was not a 3-D folder.

Using a pad of silver metallic ink, I lightly swiped the embossed piece. This is optional but I liked the result. The finished panel was trimmed to card size, saving the scraps. The embossed design was backed with a panel of silver holographic paper, and more of the silver holographic paper was placed for the sentiment. Using a cut-away scrap, I die-cut the word "hugs". Although it is cut from the background paper, it looks different in the photo. From deep blue/purple cardstock, a shadow for the "hugs" was die-cut. Onto another piece of that cardstock, a small sentiment was heat embossed with silver embossing powder. The die-cut word and embossed sentiment were adhered to the holographic strip. 

The finished design was adhered to a card base in a raspberry-colored pearlescent finish and five silver pearl stickers were added. The inside of the card was lined with a panel of white cardstock, stamped with a sentiment, and decorated with a few scraps of holographic paper and background scraps. Plenty of score tape was used when adhering elements to the shiny paper.

I like the results but shiny and sparkly elements do not always photograph well. Since this is the first time I have tried this technique, other ideas popped into my head as I created my card so I am eager to experiment. 

Be sure to visit the Color Dare Blog and try our color challenge. You need not use the exact colors as long as they are a near match to what you see on the color board.

I just discovered a challenge that I plan on doing in the future so I am adding my card to If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #187. Their theme is to use silver or gold and ends on December 31, 2023.

I also decided to play along with the challenge at Use Your Stuff #480. Their theme is Shine Bright and ends on December 9, 2023.

Thank you for viewing my blog. I appreciate your comments and questions.

Melanie

Materials

Stamps: Honey Bee "Heart Be Light" (front and inside of card)

Inks: Stampin' Up Orchid Oasis (inside of card), Delicata Metallic (silver); Tim Holtz Mica Stain (Snow Flurries/blue & Cocktail Party/pink); Versamark

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White & Orchid Oasis & off-brand of Mulberry Pink Pearlescent

Paper: Strathmore watercolor paper & Scrapbook.com Holographic paper pad

Die: Altenew "Hello & Hugs"

Embossing Folder: Spellbinders

Misc.: Wow super fine embossing powder (Metallic Silver); Honey Bee Pearl Stickers; CTMH thin foam tape; score tape