Thank You!

I loved the Funky Hand freebie backing paper that Anice designed for this month's Get Funky! Thank You! challenge as soon as I saw it in mid-December. I had intended to get going on my card straightaway … but find myself (probably not for the last time) posting my entry with not much more than 24 hours to go to the deadline. I'd like to attribute the delay to great creative processes but the truth is that a firm idea of how I wanted my card to look only came to me yesterday. Happily, this was one of those occasions when the transition from design concept to realisation was smooth, speedy and straightforward. The basis of the card has come out looking much as I saw it in my mind … and the finishing touches that can only happen in the actual making process all worked well (IMHO, at least).

My first printing of the backing paper produced a very poor facsimile of the digital original with dull insipid colours … but once I'd replaced the yellow cartridge on my printer (clearly, one can to too far in trying to use the very last dregs. To be fair, the warning's been there for at least two months), all the gorgeous vibrancy was revealed. Having cut out the tiles for the eight letters of "Thank You", I am left with enough on the single sheet to make at least three more cards. I inked the edges of each tile with a very faded black chalk ink and, finding that I very much liked the combination of pastel and black, went on to freehand doodle on them all with a very fine black pen. I cut backing tags from scraps of co-ordinating pearlescent cardstock and ink edged them as well. I used my lovely lime green Crop-A-Dile (one of my favourite craft tools) to punch little holes and secure a pastel eyelet in each. I tried to be as random as possible with the colour combinations of tiles, tags and eyelets.

I have thought for a while that Funky Hand papers would go really well with Kraft cards and the shabby chic style that was developing seemed to provide the ideal opportunity to try out the combination. To attach the letter tags to the card, I used short lengths of fine waxed black cotton cord, secured with little layered flowers punched from the same pearlescent card, leaving the ends loose to add to the casual style. Ink edging the flowers and their centres was somewhat fiddly and time-consuming, but without it they looked too "clean" alongside the ink edged letter tiles and tags. I found rolling them over the surface of the pad to be effective, although it was also good at getting ink on my fingers, face and the cat. Never mind, it washed off me pretty easily and the cat didn't seem to mind the taste of ink as she attended to herself. I used 1 mm foam pads for the flowers, which gave the tags a chance to move a little. I had intended to use the letter tags on their own, and originally arranged the "You" on the right side of the card. I quite liked the effect, but it looked a little stark, which didn't seem in keeping with the sentiment, so I made a few extra flowers - and, of course, got inky all over again in the process. Surely, the best crafting is the messiest? The extra flowers were grouped and mounted on a combination of 1 mm and 2 mm foam pads on either side of the centred "You".

I usually have someone in mind when I make a card, even for a challenge, but didn't on this occasion. I'm hoping, however, with a birthday coming up in just a few days, that I might be able to use it very soon … So, first card and challenge of 2012 most enjoyably completed; here's to plenty more.