CCC # 27 and wedding update

My youngest daughter is getting married on April 1.  I am making her invitations.  For the last week or two I have been finalizing the design and ordering supplies.  I decided to create the background for the invitations myself.  I came by that decision quite by accident.


I will be back to edit this post . . . gotta get the CCC challenge posted.  There is a tie between this week's challenge, well at least my project for the challenge and the wedding stuff I have been working on.


For challenge 27 Linda at StudioL3 has us turn to page 60 in our Compendium of Curiosities book for Distress Misting Masks.  I created my own mask using "leftovers" from some flowers I made using "tattered florals" die.  I carefully cut around the edge to create the mask.   

So here's my challenge project:

(Please note, the color is MUCH better in person than in this photo.  I will try to get a better picture).

I will be back later to finish this post.

I'm baaccccccccccccck! (and I "talked" a lot! lol)

Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I made the decision to make the background quite by accident.  The original plan had the invitation printed on vellum then embossed. (Did you know if you print on vellum using an inkjet printer and you cover it with embossing powder as soon as it comes out of the printer, then heat with a heat gun you get embossed printing?  It looks fabulous!)  

I made a prototype of the invitation but didn't have any light blue vellum, so I printed the invite on plain copy paper and proceeded with the rest of the invite.  I didn't like the plain white paper so I took a blending tool and added a bit of tumbled glass to make it easier to "pretend" it was light blue vellum.  I went to my favorite store (Stampers' Corner [SC]) to show them the prototype and see if they could get what I was looking for.  They brought out the catalogs of specialty  paper.  I liked the light blue vellum, but couldn't find another blue to go with it.  (The wedding colors are light blue and white.) Amber & Brenda (two of the awesome ladies who work at SC) and I were throwing out ideas when one of them said they liked the background the way it was with the tumbled glass, the other quickly agreed.  I thought about it, then we tried matching the background paper I had created to other blues!  EUREKA! We found the right accent blue!  

All I can say is THANK YOU to everyone at SC, especially Amber for all her patience in working with me to get the invitation supplies and all the times I changed my mind (and there were lots of changes).  I am sure she was VERY glad when I finally went in to pay because then I couldn't change my mind, well I guess I could, it'd just cost me.  

 Sorry, I digressed a bit from the background.  Here is a peek at the background.  I used a blending tool with "tumbled glass" distress ink then spritzed with Perfect Pearl Mist in Perfect Pearl.

Here's a close-up you can kinda see the Perfect Pearl Mist.

The only reason I am mentioned the background for the wedding invites in this post is because my project for week 27 started with a sheet just like the one above.  

I was in the mood for flowers and thought this would make a great background and I had a "few" laying around.  Maybe it was the cold foggy day were were experiencing and I wanted to counteract it or maybe it was because I am looking forward to my first trip EVER to Hawaii next month but I wanted something bright.  First  I went with Mustard Seed Distress Ink and Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls.

But that wasn't quite what I was looking for.  So then I tried blending some Spiced  Marmalade and Rusty Hinge Distress ink into the background then spritzed with some Fade Jeans Distress Ink and True Blue Sparkle Perfect Pearls.  Ahhh, much better (and they really do look much better in person than these photos).  I manged to get the backgrounds completed on Thursday or Friday.

I have some vintage style Hawaiian stamps I wanted use, but alas they are in a safe place so I had to come up with plan B.  Yesterday I devised plan B - incorporate the flowers I used as masks into the card.  I inked the flowers a bit more and set them aside to dry.  Then I got involved in wedding stuff and didn't get back to them.

Today (Sunday) SJ came over to help with the invites.  I needed some more paper for the background so we started the day with a field trip. . .only we were there an hour before SC opened.  Luckily  I live VERY close to the SC.  Today we worked on the RSVP and some background paper.  The RSVPs were prined so we just had to cut them to size and emboss a custom design on each one.  I had an idea for a stamp and the WONDERFUL, AWESOME Kate from KS Designs created the digital image, then SC sent the design off and yesterday I received a rubber stamp!    (My daughter LOVES elephants and the wedding theme is "enchanted jungle".)

Isn't the stamp adorable?

The color of the printed info on the wedding stationary is very similar to Faded Jeans Distress Ink.  I had planned to use FJ but had not tested to see which embossing powder I would use with it.  So SJ & I tried 3 different ep with FJ, but it wasn't embossing "right".  We tried Tumble Glass, Broken China, Chipped Sapphire and Stormy Sky but the Distress Ink did not seem to be "holding" any of the embossing powder.  Then I tried Staz-on Ultra Marine, that held the ep, but was really dark and from a distance looked almost black.   Another field trip.  (Like I said, it's a good thing SC is soooo close to my house! lol).   Carol helped us and then Nellie helped us and after much conferring we decided to try Staz-on Hydrangea Blue.  We got home and gave it a try and it was PERFECT.  

I was quite surprised that the Distress Inks were not working as I usually use Distress Ink when I emboss.  The only thing we could come up with is somehow the Perfect Pearl Mist "interfered" with the ink and it being able to hold the embossing powders.  Have you ever had a problem with Distress Ink not holding embossing powder?

Guess I've rambled enough for one post, so I will say bye for now.  I wish a FABULOUS week and hope you get time to do what you want!

Linda