Your Father Smelt of Elderberries

I got a few new Hero Arts stamps recently, and I decided to play with one of them today. A radical idea, I know! I started out earlier today, did a little, set it aside, came back later and did a little more, until finally I called it finished! Here's the end result, then I'll explain:

Yes, you see purple, my second least-favorite color, just above (gah) pink. When I was looking through my pigment inks, I decided to use Elderberry instead of black. Why do I even have Elderberry? Because when I was perusing the list of Memento Luxe inks, trying to decide what I needed for my first purchase, I saw the color Elderberry and immediately thought of this clip from The Holy Grail.

I think the whole thing is hysterical, but start around 1:30 if you just want to hear the Elderberry reference. So yeah, I bought Elderberry ink because I love the Holy Grail. In my world, this makes total sense.

So I inked the image with Elderberry Luxe ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. Then I taped it down to my board and water colored the background. Yeah, I'm still under the influence of the OCC: Watercolor for Card Makers class.

Once I'd colored the background and let it mostly dry, I realized the error of my ways. I'd colored over all the open circles in the image. Boo. So I pulled my paints back out and went over them with white paint. Several times, and then again. After it dried I did even more white. Then I decided I meant to do that, and stopped.

Once the white paint dried, I added some white enamel dots to a few of the circles. At that point I liked my not-quite-white circles even more. :)

I spent the next half hour embossing a sentiment on some card-stock-weight vellum and trimming it, over and over again until I got one I liked. With loopy letters like this, I find it easier to trim the sentiment strip narrower, stopping at the loopy letters, then hand-cutting the loops so they slop over the edge. I taped the sentiment to the watercolor panel, then popped the whole thing up on foam tape on a purple card base.

So you see, I've managed to learn something from the water color class and incorporate it into a card I'd make without too much stress. What? All that stuff I just whined about (about which I just whined)? Pffth, that's normal for me when I make something. I excel at making pretty trash.

So there you have it: a purple card with Elderberry. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go set up my DVD player and watch The Holy Grail. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Stuff I used: vat of clear embossing powder, miscellaneous off-white water color paper cut down from a pad of the stuff I got from who knows where, SU card-stock-weight vellum, and the following:

InLinkz.com