Girlie Grunge Cards ~ by GDT Vivian Keh

Hi there, friends! Vivian Keh here with another guest post with Donna Salazar Designs. Today I have a pair of cards that whipped up ever so easily. On both cards , I used Donna's fantastic floral die sets. Have you all snatched them up yet? They make the prettiest blossoms, and any project in which I use them always gets tons of compliments - so feminine, so perfectly girly grunge! Here's my first card, featuring 6 in x 6 in patterned papers from Donna's "Natural Beauty" Collection.

 

For the blossom, using Donna's Carnation Creations die set, I die-cut some dictionary paper from Donna's Mix'd Media Stax 2. I sprayed some Pink Sprinkles SMOOCH Spritz in the center and distressed the petals a bit, affixing the blossom layers to my card with a brad from my stash.

 

One of my very first videos on my youtube channel, contadinak, shares how I create this Gingerbread effect with paper. It's so easy, and adds fun dimension to papercrafted projects. Sometimes, I will cover my entire card front with my Gingerbread effect, tie a small sentiment tag around the very top fold of the card in order to allow the simple repeated patterns of texture to be the primary feature of the card. The soft canvas-like patterns on this patterned paper have just the right amount of subtle texture to make it perfect for this technique.

 

In order to achieve this effect, you simply paper punch strips of your chosen patterned paper, score down the length of each strip, bend along the scoreline, and adhere the strips to your project. It takes a bit of time, but you can easily do this while watching your favorite TV show! For my second card, I used patterned papers from Donna's "Family Jeans" Collection, creating floral embellishments with her gorgeous "Bitty Blossoms" die set.

 

These wrapped flowers are just precious.

 

The leaf dies in the set have holes through which I inked these pretty leaf patterns. The warm beige ink that I used is called "Driftwood," from Donna's Mix'd Media Inx Chox Collection. I used the same ink to distress the edges of all the pieces.

 

These days, i love banners of all shapes and sizes. In my opinion, they give any project a celebratory feeling. In this project, the banner shape provides a soft backdrop for my Bitty Blossoms, and a surface which I can wrap with one of my favorite fibers - organza.

 

Here is a shot of the pair of cards.

 

I hope you enjoyed these easy cards I've shared with you today. For more inspirations from me, please visit me at my blog! -Vivian Keh 

SUPPLIES: Donna Salazar/GCD Studios- "Natural Beauty" 6 in x 6 in patterned papers "Family Jeans" 6 in x 6 in patterned papersMixed Media Stax 2 Dictionary Paper Donna Salazar/ Spellbinders- Carnations Creations Die Set Bitty Blossoms Die Set Donna Salazar/Clearsnap- Pink Sprinkles SMOOCH Spritz Driftwood Mix'd Media Inx Chox Fiskars - paper punch Core'dinations - ColorCore Cardstock Decorative Brad Self-adhesive pearls Twine Organza Staples