Inspired By...Welcome {With love and thanks}

Welcome to this week's Inspired By Challenge!  I have to admit that I was secretly thrilled to see this week's inspiration photo because I have been dying to use this new Hanging Florals stamp set again. I also paired it with the newly released Pretty Frames 2 die that I am head-over-heels in love with!

I think it's quite obvious that I took this challenge pretty literal, but I'll explain some of my design choices as I go along in today's post!

To begin today's card, I used the Hanging Florals die set to die cut both the main floral image as well as the bow at the top. I actually die cut two of the main piece because the paper that I grabbed seemed lighter weight than usual, so I wanted to double it up.

Once that was done, I stamped the images using black ink and then colored everything using alcohol markers. I set the die cut pieces aside and got to work on the background.

I paired the Pretty Frames 2 die with an embossing mat to dry emboss the frames rather than die cut it. I really like the texture that it gives the background and that was what I was hoping to achieve for today's design. The woodgrain pattern on the inspiration photo is just lovely, so I chose to do a pattern of my own by dry embossing the frame. I also die cut the center portion of the frame so that I could use it to stamp the sentiment and give the card added dimension.

One it was embossed, I added some ink blending around the edges using Scattered Straw Distress Oxide ink.  I also added some ink splatters using the same ink, making sure that I added it on the center piece as well.

The "love" die cut is from the Essentials: Classic Words die set. I die cut it three times and glued them together using Scrappy Glue. I also added some ink blending to this as well to give it some definition.

 Once I had all of the card elements made, I adhered the blended panel to an A2 top folding card using foam squares. The center panel is adhered using foam squares as well, with the "love" word adhered using liquid glue. The hanging floral image is attached using a double thickness of foam squares so that it would float above the center panel. The bow is also attached using foam squares.

I added some Essentials: Crystal Mix in pink to the flowers and the bow. I also added a trio of sparkling clear sequins around the sentiment. The entire card is spritzed with Shimmer Spray for some sparkle and shine!

I had so much fun creating today's card! I hope you'll get a chance to join us this week! Thanks for fluttering by!

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