Inspired by a RAK from Girlgeek101

After I had admired girlgeek101's gallery at SCS, she sent me a RAK that included a number of her fabulous cards, a few blank cards, some mat board tiles, and a roll of yummy white satin-and-sheer ribbon. It was a box full of goodness, and it totally made my month! Thanks, girlgeek!

This card stood out as particularly beautiful. Notice how perfectly the rich colors blend (harder to do than it looks!) and the way her brilliantly colorful tile pops off the black swiss-dot embossed background. The butterfly stickers bring together all the background colors perfectly and add even more dimension. Happy sigh.



Since girlgeek101 had included some tiles in her RAK, I decided to try to duplicate her card. I have a nice selection of the LuminArte iridescent watercolors but have not done much with them at all...certainly not enough to use them as skillfully as girlgeek did. Still, even though my card lacks the intense glow of the original, I'm pretty pleased at my first effort.



My watercolor background isn't as nicely blended as that of the original, especially between the blue and orange. Notice how asymmetrical hers is, compared to mine...seriously, I tried to get the lovely, dynamic curves of blending she got, but mine came out all horizontal, static bands. Hmm. Must practice more. Since my background didn't have the movement and smoothness of hers, I decided to use a single, larger stamp that gave some asymmetry to the design and three butterflies to harmonize the whole thing and to cover up some spots that needed to be covered.

My colors didn't pop off the black as well as girlgeek's, so I used an idea from another of her RAK cards and outlined my tile with a gold pen. That really helped my paler colors stand out more.

Since I had nothing even close to the puffy butterfly stickers, I opted for some iridescent cardstock from Marco's Paper and Martha Stewart punches. The gold and orange cardstocks didn't look good at all, but the blue at least matched my background, even if it does look a tad flat. Some orange bling helped integrate the background and the butterflies a bit.

The result of my effort is nowhere near as satisfying as girlgeek's original, but I couldn't care less. First of all, I have her lovely card on my inspiration board to enjoy. Second, for two days, I played, really played, in my craft room doing things I don't normally do. Watercolor blending? Four colors on one card? Black, textured card base? So what if it's not perfect? It was FUN. And that, my friends, is what this hobby ought to be all about.

So here's my Friday challenge to you: use something you're not good at or don't use often to make a card. AND HAVE FUN!

Remember that today is Good Friday, the day of the Crucifixion. Given the fact that I spent Palm Sunday driving a rental van through wind and rain and clouds, Easter has sort of ambushed me this year. For Christian believers, Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection are the basis of faith, and they should be foremost in our thoughts all year long, not just in Holy Week. In the words of Charles Wesley,

Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!

Happy Easter, everyone.