The Wedding Season is Fast Approaching

Yes, even with all of the snow, the wedding season is fast approaching.  For 2014 alone, we've received five 'save the date' cards.  And my oldest nephew proposed to his girlfriend just a week ago, but I think that wedding won't be until 2015.  Whew!

So, I've been invited to a bridal shower in mid-March, with a 'high tea' theme.  I wanted to create a card with a Victorian feel, and found the perfect image among my Valentine's stamps.

The two cherubs with the heart is an older stamp by Personal Stamp Exchange (PSX).  But I think what makes this card beautiful is the coloring, and I wanted to explain how this was done.

Prismacolor pencils are among my favorites coloring tools.  I started with a basic kit of 24 pencils, then added about a dozen more colors to allow for depth and shading.

For instance, the cherubs are colored with two pencils, Light Peach (PC927) and Peach (PC939). But I want you to focus on the small rose, below.  I started with Orange (PC918) in the center.

Then I added Poppy Red (PC922) to the petals closest to the center.

The outer petals are colored with Crimson Red (PC924).

Although I use a small, circular motion to color in the design, you can see the pencil lines.  To smooth this away, blend and brighten the colors, I use a product called Gamsol and paper stubs. Gamsol is odorless mineral spirits.  It drys quickly and doesn't mar the cardstock.  It blends the waxy color of the pencils and blurs the lines.  Gamsol generally is available at art supply stores, but the little bottle, below, is packaged by Inky Antics (www.inkyantics.com).  Paper stubs are also available from their website or at art supply stores.

Can you see the difference between the roses before and after using Gamsol to blend the colors? It softens the pencil edges, but makes the colors brighter at the same time.

I finished coloring the entire image and added a little sparkle to the cherubs' wings with a Gelly Roll clear star pen.  Onto a pink 5" x 7" card, I mounted a piece of fuchsia paper, then cut an oval from a pattern paper.  I mounted the image behind the oval frame and adhered it to the card.  Vellum was the perfect paper for the 'Love' stamp, so the design could be seen through it.  I added a self-adhesive metallic heart to the greeting for a bit of dimension.

The couple lives in California, but the shower is in Pennsylvania, so it was recommended that we give gift cards for their registry stores instead of a package that will have to be shipped.

At the last rubber stamp show I went to, Endless Creations (www.shopec.com) had a set of 'gift card' stamps.  These little coin envelopes were in my stash, and they are the perfect size for a gift card (2 1/4" x 3 1/2").  I used Stampin' Up Baroque Burgundy ink and a little cherub to customize the envelope.  I'll enclose it in my card for the shower.  

Now I need to set aside some time to make the wedding cards for the upcoming nuptials!
At least I'm think about spring!