At the Cross

Spring has arrived here in the midwest and Easter dawns tomorrow. It is promised to be a glorious day for such an early Spring celebration.

This card features the Taylored Expressions "At the Cross 3" die and "Walking on Sunshine" embossing folder. The cross is framed by the Poppystamps "Grand Gothic Window" cut from Simon Says Stamp White Woodgrain paper. The assembled window was adhered to Neenah Solar White cardstock misted with Perfect Pearls and water. This layer was then adhered to Sea Glass Metallic cardstock. As I was taking photographs, I kept thinking the card needed a little something more, so a Moonshine sequin was added to the cross center and I was finally satisfied with this very small addition. 

The cross was temporarily adhered with Post It removeable tape to the front of an acetate sheet cut slightly larger than the window opening. I colored the back of the acetate with various colors of Sharpies and then permanently adhered the cross to the front of the acetate, leaving the edges of the cross unglued. The acetate was then adhered behind the window frame, being careful to allow the arms of the cross to extend over the frame. An additional bottom section of the window was cut with the woodgrain horizontal and the Paper Smooches "Easter Blessings" sentiment was embossed with Princess Gold embossing powder. This powder has become my favorite when I am using gold - it is a true subtle gold, unlike others I've used that are very metallic or brassy in appearance. The extra ledge was adhered with dimensional adhesive. The assembled cross and window was then added to the card front with more dimensional adhesive over the embossed layer to provide dimension for the sun's rays.

These photos show the stained glass effect created when the sun shines through the transparency, as well as the shimmer created by the perfect pearls along with the metallic cardstock.

The next card is very much like the other two in my previous post. I had stamped and embossed three panels with the Impression Obsession stamp, "Running" just in case I needed them. I keep wanting to call this stamp, "Dancing" because that's how I think of the girl. I liked the resulting inked panels with the Simon Says Stamp inks - Audrey Blue, Sea Glass, and Mint, so I decided to turn each of them into a card. The other two were inked on Neenah Solar White cardstock; this one was done on Archivers Watercolor paper. The inks rubbed on a bit differently; I like the dimension the watercolor paper provided as well as the antique, distressed result of the gold embossing. 

The sentiment is the same as the one above. I used the Memory Box "Kensington Border" for the butterflies in the previous two designs. This time I cut the entire border from Simon Says Stamp heavy vellum. I left an extra wide left margin and scored it before adhering the margin behind the inked panel, bending it to the front of the card. A couple of tiny pieces of glue dots were slipped in to the border to keep it in place. The gold thread was wound along the edge of the panel to provide the illusion of the vertical members of a cross, proclaiming the Easter message of dancing in the glory of the risen Christ.

I pray Easter is a beautiful day for each of you, spent in whatever way most meaningful to you.

May your spirit dance!

Materials Used:

Cross Card:

Paper: Neenah Solar White; The Paper Company - Metallic Cover "Sea Glass"

          SSS White Woodgrain

Stamps: Paper Smooches "Easter Blessings"

Dies: Poppystamps "Grand Gothic Window"; Taylored Expressions "At the Cross 3"

Other: Versamark Ink; Princess Gold Embossing Powder; Taylored Expressions "Walking on Sunshine"

           Embossing Folder; Acetate; Sharpies; Perfect Pearls; SSS Moonshine Sequin

Girl Dancing Card:

Paper: Neenah Solar White (card base); Archivers Watercolor Paper; SSS Vellum

Stamps: Impression Obsession "Running"; Paper Smooches "Easter Blessings"

Dies: Memory Box "Kensington Border"

Other: Ink - SSS Audrey Blue, Sea Glass, Mint; Versamark: Princess Gold Embossing Powder; 

          DMC Soft Gold Thread