April Card Chain Challenge and a bit more

Greetings, it seems as if it has been ages since I crafted and blogged.  I made a few things in advance to post while Hubs and I visited family for the Easter holiday.  Our trip went by quickly, even the 8 hour drive to get there and what should have been an 8 hour drive home but ended up being 11 hours by the time we navigated weather and a quick stop on the way home for pizza---who wants to cook after a day in the car?

I made this card around the second week of April, and it was involved.  I decided I wanted to make my own stencil to use with embossing paste.  I had several flower dies that I thought might make good stencils.  I even took a couple of pictures of the process.  1. Stencil material - I used The Crafters Workshop 6x6. 3 sheets included for about $6.00.  2. Tape down dies so they don't move, you will need to run it several times to get clean cuts.  I also used a metal shim in my cuttlebug. 3 & 4. Remove your pieces and keep them all.

I put re-positional adhesive on the backs of the stencils, because they are small and I don't want them to move during use.  The adhesive did not leave any residue on the paper when I pulled them up.

This card was for the Card Chain Challenge over at Society of Stampaholics.  It runs each month with a sign up through mid-month, then the reveal at the end of the month.  You make a card and get a card. It is a fun exchange.  This month I got to send my card to Judy, she has received the card and now I can share it.

I used the colors that Deborah gave us -   (one of many card creation choices) to create a background for my embossing paste and glittered poppies. I also added bits of those colors to the card base, mat, and twine to bring it all together.

The embossed frame around the die cut vellum was created by putting versamark on the underside of my die before I cut the vellum with it. After it was cut, I added the embossing powder and heated it.  I love that look on vellum.

If you are free on Saturday May 3rd at 2 pm Eastern time, I will be hosting a card scramble over at the Hero Arts Flickr group.  You will need to have at least one Hero Arts- Digi Image, Large Stamp, Stencil, or Die Cut to participate. 90 Minutes to make and post your card using the theme I provide at the start. Hope to see you there!  Thanks for stopping by.