Tuesday 8 October 2013

Ikesworld Challenge - Awareness

Hello, blog friends, thank you for visiting.

  The more observant among you may have noticed that this blog is sporting a rather natty new DT badge, for the Ikesworld Chalenge Blog.  Ike, who designs excellent digital stamps has recruited two teams for a three-month tour of duty and I am honoured to be a member.

The theme for this month is "Awareness".  October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and many of us will know someone who has suffered from this awful disease.  Through continuing research, the outlook for many sufferers these days is more hopeful provided the diagnosis is early enough, but too many women still die too young.

The digi is available for free from Ike for the duration of the challenge.  I coloured it digitally (I used Photoshop) and printed it onto inkjet acetate and backed it with Centura Pearl card.  This time I took care to keep it away from the cat, who has a thing about licking plastic - the last time I left a printed piece lying around she washed it for me...

I embossed another bit of Centura Pearl using the "Tied Together"  Couture Creations folder, cut the aperture with a Go Kreate die and painted it with acrylic paint in a pale pink.  Once it was dry I went over it with a wash of pale pink with a bit of pastel green mixed in.  While it was drying, I coloured some copy paper by spraying it with water then splatting (technical term) Distress Stains all over it, spraying mica spritzers onto it and then scrunching it up into a ball while still wet and then opening it out VERY carefully to dry.  I did one in pinks and one in greens.

By now the embossed card was dry (with a bit of help from the heat gun) so I drybrushed it in white to accentuate the highlights and gave it a couple of coats of Klear floor polish -  now known as Pledge Multi-surface wax.  This gives it a lovely satin sheen.  I threw a bit of mica powder into the top coat as while I was at it.   (One of these days some bright craft product manufacturer is going to wake up to how useful this stuff is, call it a posh name and sell it in small bottles at £5.99 a throw.  Fortunately, nobody has so far!)

Back to the coloured paper now, I finished off the drying process by ironing the paper and then die-cut multiple layers of my favourite flower and foliage Spellbinders dies (I folded the paper twice and the dies coped very well with the layers of paper).  While I was at it, I cut four ornate corner pieces (Marianne's dies) out of glitter paper.  I made the flowers by my favourite method.

After that it was just a matter of assembling the whole thing.

If you haven't already done so, why not hop over to Ike's World and see what my teamies have created - and  how about joining in? If you use the free digi or another of Ike's images you're in with a chance of winning a $15 prize certificate, which can't be  bad!  

Also entering this in 
 Designed To Color- Use a Die
Tuesday Throwdown - Awareness
Crafty hugs,

Keren

6 comments:

Kaylee Snyder said...

This is so pretty. I love the oval frame you used and the embossing is gorgeous. So glad to be on the DT with you.

ike said...

FANTASTIC - this is really very beautiful and I love the embossed frame. Wonderful work and such a pleasure to have you on my Team :-D
Hugz
IKE xxxxxxxxx

Ellis said...

Stunning card you made with the Awareness image! Great details too!
Hugs, Elenor

Decosse's Dynamite Doodles said...

Such a beautiful job Keren. Love the subtle colouring, the embossing and cool floral cluster. Great job with your first official DT entry.

Lisa D., fellow teammie

p.s. are you aware that none of the writing (except for the links) is visible on your blog posts. Not sure what you are seeing on your end but from my end the writing is invisible. It is only by taking my mouse and highlighting the empty spaces that I am able to read your text. Just thought you should know.

Beverly said...

Hello Keren,

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your description of the project. I am going to have to get some Pledge wax!

Good luck in our challenge,
Bev Cole aka Artsystamper.com
Tuesday Throwdown DT A

Sarah said...

Lovely card! I wish I could see it in person. I really like the idea of the image printed on the acetate! Thanks for joining us a Tuesday Throwdown!