Pastel Background into cards

I made this background the other day for a photo challenge because it was too cold to go outside and take a horizon photograph.

This is the first time I have used chalk pastels in recent years.  I quite enjoyed it.  They blend beautifully.

This piece was a half sheet measuring 5.5 inches T by 8.5 inches Wide.  I did have to spray it with fixative to ensure the pastels did not rub off.

I made 2 cards with this background.

For the one on the right I cut the background to 4.00 x 5.25 inches and adhered it to a white card with double sided tape.

I then cut a tree with the Sizzix Pine Tree small from black card stock and adhered it to the pastel layer with quick dry adhesive.

I applied a bit of pastel to the piece of brown card stock.  I ripped the top edge and trimmed it to the bottom of the background layer.  Before adhering it I crunched it up to give it texture to represent a rough and rock foreground.  It was adhered with double sided tape.

On this card and chose to you the background in the other orientation which makes it an abstract.

I cut the greeting in black with the Memory Box Thanks thinlit which adhered to strip of vellum. This was then adhered to the background with black eyelets inserted with my Crop a Dile.

I added the exclamation point by hand cutting it and adhering it with quick dry adhesive.

These are going to my sisters!

Map Hello

I started with a map I purchased at the ReUse Centre. I selected a blue card which coordinated with it well.  Check this post of the process of creating the distress map paper. Once I distressed the map paper I glued it to the card front with a glue stick and pressed it down with my hands lightly trying to keep some of the texture I had added.  I selected some coordinating card stock in a warm amber color and cut that to the right width.  I ripped the top and bottom layer to add to the texture of the card.  With the card on the left I used 2 pieces to make it tall enough and I did not want the join to show so eventually decided to cover it with a strip cut off the map piece.  Happy with that. 

The greeting was cut with the Sizzix Hello Phrase die in dark grey, light grey and a light blue to coordinate with the colors in the map.  These were adhered together offset a just little, the light grey one up and the dark grey one down from the central light blue one. I put the dark grey at the bottom, the blue at the top with the medium grey in the middle of the stack. The stacked greeting was then adhered to the card front over the amber colored strip of card stock. 

I am submitting to the following challenges:

Daring Card Makers - Talking Texture 

City Crafters Challenges - Mood Board
Stampin Celebration - Inspiration Photo












I'm sending these cards off to 2 of my friends in my monthly card exchange group.

How To: Distressing Map

I cut the map piece to the right size before I crunched it into a little ball as part of the process of distressing it.  Once it was sufficiently wrinkled I opened it up and flattened it with my hands. I rubbed it with an ink pad to highlight the high areas.  Some of the edges had tears as part of the crunching process which added to the overall effect. I used a glue stick to adhere it to the card front which allowed me to just press it down with out flattening any more keeping the texture.