Double Focal

Today's card is made in a very similar manner to the one I showed yesterday.  It essentially has two focals - one on the belly band, and one inside the card.  For information on basic construction for this card, refer to the instructions here. The patterned paper is from A Colorbok Paper Pack and the stamps from a set called "Faith Greetings Clear Stamps" from TPC Studio.

The focal on the band is a shape cut from the patterned paper. I stamped the sentiment on it with embossing ink and then heat embossed it with fine black powder.  My first attempt wasn't dark enough to suit me, so I went over top of it with an embossing pen and tried again. This time it stood out nicely.

This is what it looks like with the band removed.  I put a 3/4" wide ribbon on the folded corners like I did last time, but this time I added a black vine-shaped ribbon on top.  I was really happy to use the vine ribbon as it came in a set with other vine ribbons and I hadn't thought I'd be able to figure out a use for the black! I also cut 1/4" strips of black cardstock and adhered to the edges as you see in the picture.

When you open the card, this is what you see:

I love the stamped patterns around the edges. I can't tell you who made those stamps, because I got them second-hand without packaging.

Here's a closeup of the center:

It looks like I matted the patterned paper on a black piece of cardstock, but I didn't think of the black until the patterned paper was already glued in place.  So, I just added 1/4" strips like I did on the front.  The focal is a flower cut from the patterned paper and colored with pearlescent chalks before being attached with a "wobbles" fastener (a fastener with a plastic spring inside).  It's fun to see it wobbling around when you open the card.  The sentiment is stamped on a die-cut (Spellbinder's Resplendent Rectangles die) with clear embossing ink and then embossed with fine black powder. I then ran the embossing ink pad around the edges of the die-cut and embossed that in black as well.

I like this stamp set - it's got some really nice encouraging sentiments. I figure this card will be a perfect pick-me-up for a friend who's in a 12-step program.