Southern Girls Challenge - Show Me a Secret

Hello!!

This weeks Southern Girls Challenge is Show Me A Secret and we are sponsored this fortnight by Delicious Doodles and The Paper Shelter, now the challenge is live, but the girls have a few issues with posting the challenge at the moment due to internet connection issues in NZ, but they thought to announce the challenge while they are trying to get on line to do the challenge post proper so you can get cracking with making your cards...

Onto my card... Hmmm, from first impressions the secret is pretty well hidden!! Keep reading and all will be revealed!!

I used Steampunk Fairy from Delicious Doodles, I wanted to colour her simply, but wanted to distress the the card using a variety of techniques.  The cog flourish in the corners was a complete nightmare as I had the bright idea (at the time!) to stamp the image then to carry it over onto the central panel.  It seemed like a good idea to emboss it with bronze embossing powder too - I like the effect but it was also quite stressful getting there!!  I then got busy with my collection of distress inks, blending and spritzing until I was happy and then over stamped with a variety of stamps.

 I wanted to give her wings the look as if they were once all sparkly, but that some of the sparkle has worn off over time.  I did this randomly streaking a glue pen over the wings, shaking over some Hunkydory bronze glitter, shaking off the excess then buffing off anything loose with a cloth.  I've never tried this before but I really like the effect!

 

As always, I coloured my image with Copics, then added gold pen to the wings, her earrings, and the armlet.  I squirted some gold stickles onto a scrap of paper, then painted it onto the gold parts so it catches the light, but isn't too obviously blingy.  I don't think I've explained that well, so hope it makes sense!

OK, so the secret is a panel behind the main image,  I printed this off on the computer then cut it out with a nestie, distressed it and the panel  - by this time my fingers resembled those of either a career criminal or someone with a 100-a-day habit! - and stamped all over with another stamp from my collection, twisting and turning to give a bit of depth.

I decorated the inside in a similar way, but added butterflies which I gilded with gilding flakes, each time I do a distressed card I think they get better, and I can certainly see how it can become addictive!!

  Supplies: Main Image - Steampunk Fairy- Delicious Doodles

Supplimentary stamps - Inkadinkadoo, Stampendous, Indigo Blue, Crafty Individuals, PTI
Mediums: Copics, Distress Inks, Gilding Flakes, Kanban
Other - Glitter, Embossing Powder, Stickles, Ribbon, Flitter Glu, Versamark

Oh, and cos it's me and I like ribbon, the hidden panel is tied up with a big bronze bow!!

That's it from me today, hope you like my cad!

Before I go, please may I enter these challenges
Flutterby Wednesdays - Open Challenge
Everybody Art Challenge - Monochrome
Ribbon Carousel Challenge - Anything Goes
Creative Mondays - Anything Goes
Truly Madly Crafty Challenge - Ribbon and Bling
2 Sisters - Anything Goes
Do You Stack Up - Things with Wings

Thanks for stopping by

Sue xx