Grazie

Hello, friends! All day today, I thought it was Tuesday. For a few months, I was so used to posting almost every day and now that I'm only posting every two or three days, it feels so weird! That's still quite often but it feels like forever to me. :) Since my son has made a habit of not napping lately, I don't have a lot of time to craft except at night, which I don't enjoy, but I guess I'll have to get used to it. So, since I'm supposed to be crafting now, I'm going to make this a short post so I can get back to 'sublicating' (making cards to submit for publication).

One of my husband's co-workers just got back from a business trip to Italia and brought back two more Italian books for my son's Barbapapà collection (Barbapapà su Marte e L'inverno dei Barbapapà). We spent all day reading them over and over! This card falls into the masculine projects category of the Hero Arts April Contest. I used the International Skyline as the main image and Typewriter Letters to spell 'grazie' (pronounced grat'-zee-ay) which means 'thank you' in Italian. My first time using the Basic Grey Wander Collection was when I got a card picked up for publication in Paper Crafts' Go-To-Sketches, Volume 2. Come to think of it, I used the International Skyline on that card, too! It makes a great pairing, don't you think? ;)

The skyline isn't stamped in its original composition. I purposely stamped it twice directly on to the patterned paper and cut it so that the CN Tower (Toronto) is first and then the sentiment (where I wanted it to sit) spans between the two Italian monuments (Roma e Pisa). I cut out a couple of strips that reminded me of cobbles or tiles and added a dark green background. It looked like it was missing something so I drew in some faux stitching. It still didn't look right so I punched some circles and wrapped them around the edges. I finished by sponging the edges of the kraft card base. Before I discovered distress inks, I always wondered why anyone would want to do that but now that I have a couple, I'm developing an addiction. I almost have to stop myself from doing it on every card I make, especially since I love kraft so much. LOL

It's been a while since I mentioned anything about my blogoversary giveaways so I thought I'd reveal another one today. This MFT Button Quartet die will be going to one of my lucky readers! If you leave a comment during the month of April and are a follower of my blog, you might win this die!! So much for that short post, eh?

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury kraft cardstock; Basic Grey Wander Collection; Hero Arts International Skyline & Typewriter Letters; Memories Black ink; Tim Holtz Antique Linen & Walnut Stain Distress Inks; Ranger Blending Tool; Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen; EK Success 3/4" circle punch