A Little Change Up

Hi All! So a few weeks ago, I decided to take Close To My Heart's Blossom Card Workshop and see if I could do a masculine version using the Jackson paper packet and Colonial White card bases. (If you want to see the original workshop in action, you can check out my blog post here.)

So let's take a look:

For this card, I used the Workshop's cutting guide and layout exactly as it was written. I changed the ink colors to Glacier, Barn Red, and Goldrush Exclusive Inks on all of the cards, but kept the Black Archival Ink because it really delivers a wonderfully crisp image. (You could use Cocoa Exclusive Ink for the sentiments if you prefer.) I also kept the Glacier Extra Thick Twine, but substituted a little sailor's knot for the bow that the Workshop calls for. Finally, I used Gold Sequins to replace the white of the original card, and used Cocoa Exclusive Ink to ink around the edges of the layers for a little more of a distressed look. (I repeated this technique on all of the cards in this set.)

Here are a couple of close-ups of the details:

And here is a look at the two cards together:

And now for the second card: 

This card took a little more creative thinking simply because the larger panel in the original Workshop has a whimsical flower image stamped on it. I didn't want to do that image on a masculine card, so I took the components of the flower (except for the stem) and created an abstract bit of interest. I also cut the Kraft cardstock layer a 1/8 of an inch shorter in height and width so that a bit of the Colonial White base would show through. The rest of the card is made to the specifications of the Workshop.

Here's a look at a couple of close-ups:

And here it is with the original (you'll notice I cut the Kraft cardstock layer smaller in the original too):

Now for the third card:

I have to confess, the more I look at this card, the more I think I would change the background paper. The striped pattern on the left is the back side of the triangle paper. I think, in the future, I will switch the patterns, making the stripes the overall background and the triangles the accent. I think you could see the stamping better and it would just make for a lighter card. I still like this one, though. If you use the darker background as I did, you will definitely need to use the Black Archival ink for the sentiments, Cocoa ink would get lost on this side of the paper. I would also cut the background layer an 1/8 of an inch smaller, just because it's easier to layer on the base. 

I made a few layout changes on this one (as you'll see). I brought the accent grouping in from the edge about half an inch, switched the side of the twine placement, and added the sequins to the art layer instead of the background layer.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

And here it is with the original:

And there you have it: One workshop, two very different looks. Now THAT'S versatility! I hope you enjoyed it and are inspired to play with you own Workshops On The Go and see what new looks you can come up with by just doing a little ink and paper change up.