Spring Aconites Card

Evening All,

Well, it's rained all day here, hardly let up at all, so not much sign of the spring sunshine we are all hankering after. However, the yellow aconites, from an original watercolour by the artist Elizabeth Davies, in this card remind us that spring is on its way.

While I was tidying the drawer that holds all the envelopes & card bases   - and there's a lot of in that drawer - I came across this long forgotten card base. It's ancient ... bought back when I did cross stitch for a project that was never completed. In fact, never got started ... my eyesight just got too bad to be bothered. Anyway, I almost threw it out, but then thought the spray of aconites at the bottom were too pretty for that, so I pondered as to what to do with it and this is the result.

You'd hardly believe it but there are gold highlights, made using gilding flakes. I tried every which way to get the gold to show up on the photograph and eventually had to lay it down under the Ottlite to get anything near the look of it.

Not perfect, but you can just about see the gold on the cage and around the aconite spray.

I found some pretty paper that, once trimmed and edge-punched, blended well for the inside ...

... and the back.

Almost everything in this card has most definitely risen from the ashes of my stash: the stamp had its first inking even though I've had it since last year, the ProMarkers got the first airing in many a month, the gilding flakes date back almost a year, the patterned paper is from September 2010 magazine. Even the ink pads, edge punch and the ribbon have been around forever :) That being the case this card qualifies for Di's Snippet Challenge.

Materials I used:

The very old cream card base with oval aperture.
Piece of leftover paper - mine was from Romantique 6x6 paper pad from Prima and chosen because the colour was fairly neutral.
Patterned Paper - The Nancy Watt Collection, Owls and Swirls pack - free with Making Cards
Ink pads - Memento, Rich Cocoa for stamping, Tim Holtz Distress Inks, Scattered Straw and Vintage Photo.
Stamp - Crafty Individuals, CI-320
ProMarkers - Pastel Yellow, Buttercup, Pear Green, Marsh Green, Sandstone
Quickie Glue pen and Creative Expressions Sunshine Gilding Flakes
Martha Stewart edge punch - the name is long forgotten but it is my one and only much treasured MS punch :)
Ribbon and gems from stash.


I'm also going to submit this card to the following:

Waste Not Wednesdays - #8  - as it is the first outing for this stamp.
Allsorts Challenge - Week 142 - anything goes
Crafts and Me Challenge 72 - shades of spring

And of course it merits the following:

Yes, I watched Tim Holtz on QVC TV for an hour or so yesterday and did not succumb to temptation ... true, I sat on my hands all the while, but even Tim's persuasive chat did not make me break my pledge to use it up! However, I was sorely tempted when I saw some of Anna Griffins stunning papers in a later programme - I may have to take the pledge not to watch QVC TV on craft days :)

I'm off to the dentist for a check-up tomorrow ... I'd rather give birth if truth be known but there's no getting out of it.

On a happier note I'll be back with my Handy Hippo Thursday share tomorrow too ... much more pleasant ... so see you then.

Happy Crafting,