march meet the maker : day 5 : close up

day 5 : close up

this is such a fun prompt for me because the photos that i normally take of my cards showcase the entire card front. whenever possible though, i like to highlight the small details - usually using up close photos. 

the details that can sometimes get lost in the big picture are my favorite kind to photograph; the shine of sequins, the depth of texture, the flawless blending of ink colors to name a few. 

today's instagram photo [and the supporting photos here] are of all those details mentioned above. i had an idea in my head for what i wanted this card to look like, but it ended up completely different. i had thoughts of using a metal die-cut [still with a rainbow theme] and a sentiment, but apparently i imagined owning a stamp with a sentiment that i don't actually have. 

i decided to start with my bin of new supplies - often things that haven't yet found their forever home - and go from there. i picked out this stencil from altenew and a handful of tim holtz distress inks in seven colors: abandoned coral, picked raspberry, carved pumpkin, mustard seed, twisted citron, peacock feathers and wilted violet. this stamp from neat and tangled was just what i had in mind as a replacement sentiment. 

i began by taping down my stencil and blending the inks. i wanted to have a rainbow effect - [in my head i'm planning on mailing this card around st. patty's day] so i started with purple-red-pink in the upper left corner and ended with aqua in the lower right. 

then i used a sharp black ink to double-stamp the sentiment so it was nice and bold. then, once it was dry, i ran it through an embossing folder that had an all-over pattern of clouds. i liked the idea of a rainbow peeking through. the texture this process added is awesome! the photo below shows the "back side" of the texture so you can truly see it - and the right side shows the sentiment with the texture.

because everything is better with a little glitz, i added a few of these small iridescent sequins across the front of the panel, creating a visual triangle. i used foam tape to lift the entire panel off of the black card base - which matches the sentiment perfectly. 

the inside of the card also has a sentiment - and a white space for writing my message. 

i wasn't sure if the final result was a little bit too much, but after staring at it for a little bit, i think i liked the way that it turned out. the blending worked the way that i wanted it to and the sequins are just right - at least i think so. 

when looking at photos - do you like when the details are captured up close? what's your favorite thing to look for?

if you haven't already, i suggest searching instagram for the hashtag "marchmeetthemaker" - i've discovered an incredible amount of makers and am learning so much about other people's creative processes, it's such an awesome challenge.