LOTV Wedding Couple Vintage Card & A Box Envelope

Morning folks and a very happy 4th July to all my US readers.

DH came home from work on Friday and said "I need a really nice card made by next weekend!" Normally it wouldn't have been a problem, but I have soooo many cards and projects on the go this month that squeezing one more in seemed like an impossibility. However, I have to say I have done very little this weekend except craft, to the extent where I had the luxury of spending the whole of yesterday just making this card and envelope. Yep that's right my DH has run the ship for the entire weekend so that I could craft :)

Anyway, I didn't have any wedding images in my stash and for some reason totally overlooked any digi ones that I did have (doh!!), so I called on my friend again to pinch another of her Lily of the Valley images. Now I'm going to make a confession here and will be probably be stoned for saying it.....but.......... I haven't bought any LOTV images (other than a sentiments set) and the ones I do own were gifts that are currently uninked, I didn't think I liked them as they were a bit too cutesy for me. However that's all changed now - I had heaps of fun colouring this pair in and do you know what? I actually really like my card! Something I've not been able to say for months!! I hope you like it too - any feedback on what I could've done to improve it will be gratefully received :)

The image has been coloured with Promarkers. I've used Stickles to highlight the bride's dress, Gypsophila and tips of the petals on the roses. The shoes and ribbons have been given a bit of shine and dimension with Glossy Accents. I've distressed the papers using my thumbnail (it gives it a softer finish than using scissors or a distressing tool) and then inked the edges with Tea Dye Distress Ink. The papers were then pricked with my pokey tool and hand stitched with embroidery thread.  Yes it took ages, yes I could've used my Sew Easy or the sewing machine, but the Sew Easy gives way too big stitches and I also didn't want a completely uniform look, so hand stitching it was!!

The doilies were cut using my Marianne Creatables (I got this die when it was first released before Christmas and am ashamed to say I've never used it, but now I have I love it and will be using it again). I used the circle part of the die to cut the message circles inside (please note I haven't made a mess of the left hand message, I'vejust  blurred out the hand written message to protect the couples privacy). I also used my Tim Holtz Alerations Ornate On The Edge Die which again has sat in my stash for ages unused.

The foliage has been cut from white card using the new Spellbinders Foliage Die and then coloured with Promarkers. The flowers were white Prima Eline's which I've coloured with Promarkers and then added faux pearls from the Viva Pearl Pen. The seam binding has again been coloured with Promarkers and the bow has been fastened with a pearl brad (I don't know why, but my photo makes the ribbon look as if it has strange texture, when infact it is just standard seam binding).

The Box Envelope was made using this tutorial on the lovely Paola's blog. I altered the measurements slightly to fit my project and decorated it to match the card. Unfortunately I didn't have anymore of the K & Co glitter paper to match the card, so I used another co-ordinating sheet from the same range.

I really hope that the happy couple like my card and that they have a long and happy marriage.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire xx


Tools
Sizzix Big Shot
Spellbinders Shapeabilities Foliage Die
Marianne Creatables Doily Die
Tim Holtz Orntate Die
Pokey Tool

Materials
Image - Wedding Couple from LOTV
Sentiment - Anita's
Ticket Sentiment - Caz @ A Load of Old Bloglocks
Papers - K&Co, Prima - Botanicals
Promarkers - Pear Green, Oatmeal, Soft Peach, Tea Green, Cool Aqua, Sun kissed Pink, Satin, Dusky Pink, Blush, Sandstone, Primrose, Burnt Sienna, Cool Grey 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Distress Ink - Tea Dye
Stickles - Star Dust
Glossy Accents
Viva Pearl Pen
Seam Binding - Crafty Ribbons
Embroidery Thread
Prima E-line flowers
Crystal stems

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Paper Sundaes - Stitching
Dream Valley Challenges - Ribbons
Craft Your Days Away - Vintage
Card & Scrap - Punches/Dies
LOTV - Celebrate 
I ♥ ProMarkers - Flowers
Deep Ocean Challenge - Flowers
Craft Your Passion - Anything goes