A bit of...

..."decadent" play.

Creative Expressions have a whole load of new Phill Martin colours in their product range. We have had the 'Vintage' & 'Graceful' colours, now we have the 'Chic' & 'Decadent' ones.

Yesterday at Pinnacle Crafts was most definitely a Decadent Teal day...

Starting off with some black CS and a stencil/mask (I think this one is Peacock feathers)...

...the two were run through a die cutting machine to create an embossed effect.
Andy had already created a sheet of textured paste in the teal colour...

...this was done because it takes around 24 hours to dry. Once dry, you have a sheet of co-ordinating material (has a vinyl feel) that you can die cut as you wish - not really suitable for very detailed dies but perfect for many flower shapes etc.
With the same texture paste and a spatula...

...the paste was applied to the CS through the stencil/mask.
One of the reasons for running the CS and stencil/mask through a die cutting machine to emboss it is to raise up the design. This helps to keep the stencil/mask in place and also helps to ensure that you don't apply the paste too thickly, otherwise you would be waiting a month of Sundays for it to dry.
Paste duly applied...

 ...unfortunately, as I took the stencil/mask off - I smudged the right-hand side. This is where Andy reminded me that the CS had been cut larger than would be required, so could be trimmed down once dry to tidy it up. Phew...
Back to the sheet of 'vinyl' and there are many dies on the market that create 'pinwheel' or 'quilling' type flowers but we decided to go with the old fashioned method of cutting everything by hand...

 ...four roughly cut circles/blobs about the size of the central ring on a reel of DST. All four cut by hand in a rough spiral and then rolled from the outside;in to create four matching roses.
Also from Creative Expression, there are some lovely sentiment stamps from Phill Martin but this one is from a new collection by John Lockwood...

 ...stamped in Versamark onto the black CS and then dusted with matching Mica powder - sealed with 'Spray & Shine' (Crafters Companion) and then matt & layered.
After trimming the peacock feathers piece of CS and matting & layering...

...some toning ribbon was wrapped over the front before being attached to the card blank.
A double bow and the other prepared pieces were arranged and attached to the card using Pinflair Glue Gel...

...and there you have it - one finished, totally co-ordinated card.

My friend Hilary couldn't make it yesterday as she is away for the weekend but there was a new lady at the class who is fairly new to crafting. It was refreshing seeing how excited she got by the results of the various techniques she tried. Another super day of crafting play with Andy.

If you thought that was the last you would see of the 'Decadent Teal' - WRONG!!!

Pop back tomorrow and you will see what else was created............................................