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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Crushed Chocolate Plums {CD87}

I know I say this every week but...here I go again...this week Riley has a gorgeous color combination for you at The Color Dare!  Chocolate Chip, Concord Crush and Perfect Plum--lovely isn't it?  These rich, luxiurious colors put me in the mind of a non-traditional Christmas card and I knew right away what I wanted to do.  Because Concord Crush is a very intense color, I wanted to toned it down a bit with Perfect Plum on the background panel.  I've used this technique before on this card and I just love the look--especially with the Vintage Wallpaper impressions folder.  Using a brayer, I rolled Concord Crush ink directly onto one side of the plastic impressions folder, going over it a few times for good ink coverage.  I placed a piece of Perfect Plum into the inky folder, ran it through the Big Shot and the results are a two-tone dry embossed effect that is so pretty!  Here's a close-up for you:
For this card, I inked the front of the impressions folder (that's the side with the Stampin' Up logo) which placed the ink on the de-bossed areas.  You could also ink up the back of the folder (the side without the logo) to highlight the raised or embossed areas.  Either way the results are stunning and such a simple way to incorporate two colors into your design! ;-)
With such a bold main panel, I needed to keep the other elements simple so I embossed one of the ornaments from Delightful Decorations in Concord Crush, popped it out with my coordinating ornament punch and layered it over some rich Chocolate Chip striped grosgrain ribbon.  I little adhesive basic pearl added just a touch of elegance to the only sentiment on the front.  
 I kept the inside simple too with another strip of the inked & embossed cardstock.  Seasonal Sentiments was the perfect flourish for the greeting and I overstamped it in Concord Crush on top of a simple medallion from Charming.  I thought the Charming medallion was a good match to the shapes in the Vintage Wallpaper impressions folder and inked in Perfect Plum (and stamped off once) it tied in with the cardstock nicely.  

So there's my clean but elegant (I think!) card for this week's Color Dare...won't you join us?  To get started, check out the fabulous inspiration from the rest of the design team below and then head over to The Color Dare to link up your creation.  We can't wait to see what you do with these colors!

The Design Team:
supplies:
stamps: delightful decorations, charming, seasonal sentiments
ink: concord crush, perfect plum
paper: chocolate chip, concord crush, perfect plum & very vanilla CS
xtras: vintage wallpaper impressions folder; brayer; chocolate chip striped grosgrain ribbon; basic pearls

    11 comments:

    Linda Callahan said...

    You are the queen of combining colors creatively (I am the queen of alliteration :) Your inked-up-embossing-folder technique is fab! (I am also the queen of awkward sentences)

    Marisa said...

    Great technique for these colours. I've got that EF too and just love it. Wonderful use of the wide, striped ribbon too. Great take on this week's colours :)

    Diane - oliver.mdiane@comcast.net said...

    Nance this is just scrumptious! I have no luck with that embossing technique.... guess I need lots of preactice. I really like the simiplicity of this card, yet so elegant. LOVE those pearls. Very, very pretty

    Christina said...

    Okay, you've convinced me that it's time to get a brayer! I LOVE it when you use this technique, because it is always so beautifully done. The twist in the wide ribbon is a sweet detail, too! I hope I'll have time to play with these gorgeous colors!

    jjcreations said...

    What a fantastic card. This technique works wonderfully here! I love this embossing folder anyway - I've used this technique (which I learned from you) a couple of times now! I also love how you've made the wide ribbon really work! Wide ribbon scares me!

    Princess Scrapper Stamper said...

    Nance this is very pretty and what a fun technique with such amazing results, I am going to have to give this a try, tfs!!!

    Glenda J said...

    Beautiful! Love this technique - have to try it more often! Great layout too!

    Lynn Put said...

    This is gorgeous Nance! I love the nontraditional colors for your Christmas card and the brayer/embossing technique looks fantastic!

    Anonymous said...

    Nance - this card is stunning. Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to try this technique!

    Ann Schach said...

    Beautiful color combination...beautiful card! Love the texture! And the inside is gorgeous!

    Anne Marie Hile said...

    Nance, this is absolutely gorgeous! Love that fab brayer technique, I'm SO ready to ink it up and try it myself. Your perfect ribbon with that ornament are simply stunning, too. Amazing holiday card, inside and out! :)