Enhance Your Focal

So often when I get ready to post a card, I discover that I wish I had done something different with it!  Today is no exception.  At the end of this post, I'll tell you what I WISH I'd done! :)

Anyway, today's card is an example of how small changes can make a significant difference.  Compare the card above with this previous version of it:

While the difference is more dramatic in person, I think you can probably see that the top one looks more finished.  There are two differences.  The first and most visible in the pictures is the addition of the ribbon bow.  So often I find a bit of ribbon can make a HUGE difference in a card!  Second is the flowers.  I wasn't happy with them, so stamped them again on white cardstock - and did NOT color them in the way I had done here.  Then I put them on top of these with foam squares.  These two things add quite a bit of dimension to the card and make it SO much better.

The card itself is embossed with an M-Bossabilities folder (Spellbinders) and then a piece of glitter cardstock (cut from my Cheery Lynn lattice die) was added.  I got the shape for the focal by tracing the outline of a die from my Spellbinders Fair Isle Pendants Set. I then hand-drew a second line just in a bit from the first (stay tuned for a tip on doing that).  The stamps were from K&Company (sentiment) and Hot Off the Press (flowers).

Here's the tip I promised:  If you're not sure about your ability to draw that line in from the edge of the focal, use an erasable pen!  I've recently gotten several sets of the FriXion Pens by Pilot.  (I ordered mine from Staples on-line and picked them up at my local Staples store to save on shipping costs).  They really do erase pretty well - just don't press hard when writing, they can't erase the indentations you might make in the paper! They come in an assortment of pretty colors - one of which is pink as you see here. You can get them in .5mm and .7mm tips.  I use them a lot when I'm going to hand-write something on a card - just in case I don't get it centered the way I want it or make some other mistake.  Anyway, after getting my line the way I wanted it on the focal, I went over it with a sparkly gel pen to bump up the bling factor. :)

Now for what I WISH I had done.  I would like to see more of the dark pink around the focal in some way.  I'm thinking a couple inch strip of it running horizontally across the center of the card. Or perhaps a larger oval behind the diamond.  Maybe a narrow strip running horizontally across the card near the top of the diamond to anchor it?  I hadn't done any of these because I really like the way the diamond shape fits so nicely into the lattice shape, so perhaps the narrow strip would be the best.  Hmmm, still thinking about it.  What do YOU think????