Sweet Friend

 
It's time for the Papertrey Ink blog hop!  I enjoy participating in these, although I did skip a few last year due to lack of mojo.  It seems to have returned in full force, thankfully.  I've been making lots of cards this month and having a great time in my studio!  Here's the challenge:

With Valentine's Day rapidly approaching, it is the perfect time to pull out all of your favorite pink supplies and put them to good use!  Your challenge this month is to create a card only using the color pink with the option to use neutrals (such as white, cream, gray, black or kraft).  With all of the different shades of pink to work with, there are all kinds of creative possibilities!  Keep in mind that your project can be for any occasion, as long as you use pink!  We look forward to seeing your project (and the prettiest inLinkz list EVER!) on the 25th!

Who can pass up the chance to use pink?  Not this girl!  The inspiration photo triggered a few ideas, but I ended up going in a completely different direction.  After a post in the PTI forum reminded me of my very first purchases, I pulled out my Boxes, Bags & Tags stamp set.

I created a pretty background panel using several images from the set.  The pretty frame was stamped in Hibiscus Burst ink, followed by flowers in Sweet Blush ink, and then smaller Raspberry Fizz flowers on top of that.  For the four-petal flowers in between the frames, I used a small flower from Iconic Images in Smokey Shadow ink.  It's a lovely neutral that pairs nicely with all the pinks.

I pulled some wide sheer pink ribbon from my stash, first wrapping a knotted piece around the panel, and then adding a bow separately.  I don't use ribbon often, but this one worked well to add some oomph without covering up my pretty background.

For my sentiment, I stamped another Hibiscus Burst frame, adding some little Smokey Shadow filigree to dress it up and make it stand out more from the background.  The word "sweet" is from the Friendship Jars set, and the word "friend" is selectively stamped from a sentiment in Mixed Messages.  As a last touch, I added a little sparkly rhinestone.  The whole sentiment piece is popped up, again to make it stand out from the background.

The background was glued to a Smokey Shadow mat and then to a Hibiscus Burst card base.  I really love the finished card.  So soft and pretty!  It certainly could be used for Valentine's Day for a friend, but it can also work any time of year just to say thank you or let someone know that you care.

Stamps:  Boxes, Bags & Tags; Mixed Messages; Iconic Images; Friendship Jar (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  White, Hibiscus Burst, Smokey Shadow (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Hibiscus Burst, Sweet Blush, Raspberry Fizz, Smokey Shadow (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  ribbon, rhinestone (Stampin' Up)