Eiffel Tower Tea Set Card

I’ve got to admit, I’ve been holding out on you guys. I often post my cards to Instagram and forget to post them here. Sometimes I don’t even remember to take a photo of them with my good camera and all I have is an iPhone pic! So this summer, I am resolved to find all the cards I’ve made in the last while, about 6 months I think and post them all! We shall see how long this particular resolution lasts!

This card was for the spring Coffee Lovers Bloghop. The Eiffel Tower is by Hero Arts, (I’m so used to Instagram that I almost typed #heroarts!) which I airbrushed in tan to get as close to the colour of the real tower as possible. Did you know that it is painted in an ombre of tan? But metallic tan of course. To save time, I die cut the tea pot and cup (dies by Poppy Stamps) with coaster board so I wouldn’t have to layer so many die cuts. Just snag a few every time you go out to a restaurant or bar! Most die cutters will get through it in just a couple of passes with a shim.

The background is text paper from PTI but it looked too plain so I airbrushed some of the colours from the patterned paper on it. At the bottom I added a fabric doily; sadly most of it was covered by the flowers.  I finished the card with some crystals, silk and paper flowers along with some die cut flourishes.

I wonder if some of you are curious as to why so few of my cards are my usual shabby chic style. There are a couple of reasons. First, many of the stamps I get in my Hero Arts and Simon Says Stamp kits don’t lend themselves to shabby designs. I wish I was like Melissa Philips and I could make a shabby card out of nearly any stamp set! But alas, I lack that particular talent. Also, I’ve been trying to sell my cards and the over-the-top shabby ones I love to make don’t sell very well. I will always be a shabby and elegant designer at heart but I have been enjoying making some cards that aren’t as ornate and girlie. Oh, I guess there is another reason. I’ve been colouring a lot and not finishing those cards! Especially since I’ve participated in the last couple of Kathy Rascoosin’s 30 day colouring challenges. That’s another goal of mine, to turn those coloured panels and backgrounds into cards!

Enjoy, Rebecca