A card of firsts

Sh! Can you keep a secret? I don't usually like to blog my cards before I've given them. That seems to be an unwritten rule here in Blogland. But I won't be giving this one for a couple of weeks and, because it is the beginning of a little journey, I didn't want to post it out of sync.

It is a card of firsts. It is the first time I've used my Cuttlebug and the first time I've used Stampbord.

I tried to practice stamping my gypsy girl on card before risking the Stampbord. Over my shoulder I could hear Glenda Waterworth whispering, "Allow yourself to waste two pieces." But this escaped the bin, probably because I was so cautious with it. I'd planned to colour the image but it is not very big and I was worried about losing definition so I just shaded her skin very lightly and coloured the rose red.

If I was making it again I'd trim the embossed panel more. It seemed a crime to cut any of it away! The grosgrain looks blue in the photo but is actually purple with white organza behind it.

Risky colour combination?

Half term this week and at last some time to get all my crafting stuff out of the cupboards. The kitchen has disappeared under piles of paper, inks and tools. I'd really love a craft room. Or even just a stretch of worktop that didn't need clearing everytime I have to get the tea ready. I've had lots of new goodies recently but it's taken a while to get warmed up. Crafters' block I suppose. But I've come up with this today.

I started with the black and red stamped images and couldn't decide what colour card to put them on. I finally decided on this pale gold pearlescent card. I wasn't at all sure about the colour but since I put everything together the card's really grown on me. What I'm particularly pleased with is the Versacolor Topaz ink on the gold card.

While I'm on a roll I might see what other stamps I have that will work with this combination. I'm glad I got several sheets in this colour. My local craft warehouse (Pear Tree Yard in Sandiacre) sells the most amazing range of papers (an amazing range of all crafting materials really) at such great prices that I can afford to throw caution to the wind.

Main image and background stamps are from Elusive images Wild Meadow. Greeting by WS Designs.