This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!
Hi friends! I recently watched a video on Instagram showcasing an ancient enameling technique in which the artisan bent copper strips to create an incredibly ornate design on a porcelain vase, then crushed colorful enamel into powder and carefully placed it inside each element of the pattern, firing the finished product to melt the enamel and create an exquisite enameled vase! I found the finished product enchanting, and so I decided to try to recreate it with my cardmaking products, adding some watercoloring and die cutting into the mix. Let’s get started with the details!
*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*
I began by running an A2 panel of Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Cardstock through my die cutting machine using the new Floral Bunches Embossing Folder. I then used Speckled Egg, Broken China, Worn Lipstick Distress Ink Cubes to do some watercoloring on this pretty floral background, tapping the color out on my glass mat and picking up the diluted color with my damp paintbrush. I always forget how fun it is to watercolor with my Distress Inks… I need to do it more often! I used Broken China to create a hazy blue background, then used Speckled Egg for the foliage and Worn Lipstick for the blooms, creating a colorful floral background. To take it to the next level, I used a gold acrylic paint pen around the edges of the embossed images. It’s so hard to photograph the shine, but it’s amazing in real life!
To add to the detailed background, I die cut the Chelsea Butterfly from pearlescent white cardstock and the details from teal mirror cardstock, coordinating with the lovely teal watercolored background. I also die cut the new Giggle Hello die from pearlescent gold and vellum cardstocks, layering the two together with liquid adhesive. To complement the simple hello greeting, I used the fabulous new Banner Greetings product suite, which includes stamps, stencils, and coordinating dies! I heat embossed the sentiment using Iridescent Gold embossing powder, then blended Speckled Egg ink with the stencils to add some extra dimension and color to the image, finally cutting it out with the coordinating die.
Before adhering my die cuts and sentiment pieces, I decided to add one final die cut element, cutting the foliage from the Dainty Floral Vine from pearlescent gold cardstock and the blooms from Spellbinders Dahlia cardstock. I adhered the die cuts in a cluster on the patterned card front using a combination of liquid and foam adhesive, creating lots of dimension and layers on this card. Finally, I added a few Gold Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for one last sparkling touch!
Well, that’s all for my projects today! It’s amazing how inspiration can strike from the most random videos that pop up in your social media feed, right? I’m so glad that I saw that video about the enameled vase, not only because it inspired this card, but it showed me that art can be timeless and a worthwhile skill to hone! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!
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