Dearly Beloved

Whenever I have been naughty, my wife always starts by saying "You know what you've done don't you?" to which I almost always reply " What now my beloved?" in the vain hope that one little endearment will help to calm the waters.

I'm not that naughty really, just minor day-to-day irritants like forgetting to fill the water filter jug or forgetting to pick up milk or..... it's usually forgetting something or other!..... MEN!!!

 This week I'm going to make her birthday card (21 again!) and I thought I would use some of the new dies/folders from Lori Whitlock and Prima listed below.

• Sizzix Originals Die - Flourish, Beautiful by Lori Whitlock (659714)
• Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Sweet Dots & Florals Set by Lori Whitlock (659726)
• Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 11PK - Ornate Labels by Lori Whitlock (659711)
• Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Couquette by Prima Marketing (659701)

I started by cutting a 10 x 12 cm rectangle of ivory card and die-cutting a flourish from the same card. I used the flourish as a template and traced around the edge on the base of the rectangle with a pencil before trimming around the pencil line and rounding off the upper corners with a suitable punch.

I embossed the floral pattern onto the card and gently inked over the embossed image using the Weathered Wood Distress Ink pad applied with a blending tool followed by the Shabby Shutters ink pad. I also applied a little Mustard Seed ink which is a very strong yellow so use with caution, it adds a little freshness where needed. I used the same colours on the flourish.

 Remember the beginning of the blog? well this is where the 'Beloved' part comes in. I measured the tab die from the Ornate Labels set and created the word 'Beloved' on my PC before printing onto ivory card. Next I cropped the word with the die and die-cut the ornate label from gold card which I then distressed with a sanding pad. I also cut the label background onto which I matted the ornate label followed by the die-cut phrase. This is a seriously useful set of dies and I urge you to check them out. 

For the finishing touch I wanted to add a pretty little flower and who better to design such a set of dies but Prima. This is one of five different flowers in the same set and they are a die-cut essential in my opinion. I inked the edges of the petals using the same inks as before and set about applying a little texture and dimension to the petals using my trusty tool kit by Susan Tierney-Cockburn. I added a Crystal to the centre as the finishing touch and......

.....Here's the finished card.

I had so much fun I decided to make another one using the same elements but changing the colours slightly. I also used a different ornate label and flower, both from the same sets though.

And here they are together, now all I've got to do is choose which one I think she will like..... and then give her the other one as I'm bound to get it wrong!!!