Inspired by... Mel

I am excited to announce that this week's featured artist is a gal whose cards always catch my eye in the Penny Circle flickr gallery.... it's Mel G!  Just take a look at her inspiration card for today and you'll see exactly what I mean:

Gorgeous; right?  That background is absolutely 100% breathtaking! I can't get enough of the rich colors and layers. 

Here's my take:

I began by repeatedly stamping Penny Black 40-012 Irises with VersaFine black ink and embossing with clear powder on watercolor paper.  Next I pressed Distress Ink (Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade, and Black Soot) pads directly onto the paper.  I spritzed heavily with water to blend the colors.  Once dry, I inked all edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink using the ink blending tool and a foam pad and also stamped Penny Black 1999L Letter Background with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  To create the card base, I inked Tiara White cardstock (pressing the ink pad directly to the paper and swiping it across multiple times) with Spiced Marmalade and Fired Brick Distress Ink.  Then I added pierced holes using the Tim Holtz Ruler, a thumb tack, and the Sew Easy Piercing Mat.  After piercing I inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink, highlighting the pierced holes.  The teal accents and butterflies were punched from Penny Black Mix and Match cardstock.  Finally, I embossed Tiara White cardstock with the Sizzix Gridlock embossing folder and inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  Gems and a Candi dot were added to the butterflies.

Thanks so much for popping by!
Be sure to stop by the Mementos blog today for a fun project from Lisa to use up all paper scraps.
Here's a peek:

http://www.ilovemementos.blogspot.com/

See ya tomorrow with another FAB card from Mel!

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