Colleen's Thursday Throwdown

I'm infamous for studying stamping techniques, reading about stamping techniques, looking at stamping techniques, etc but I rarely ever use many of them because I get intimidated and also because I feel like I don't have a lot of time. Come on, I pride myself on the quick card :-) sort of like it's my justification for stamping. I can always tell dh "see, I can make a card faster than going out and buying one and it's *handmade* so it's even better"

Colleen over at Distinctive Touches challenged us to use one of the techniques she had showcased over at her blog. We could use any technique as long as it was truly new to use. I've been wanting to try Faux Mother of Pearl for awhile now. I've had a new and unopened bottle of Lumiere for a few years now and broke the seal yesterday. I decided to go ahead and prep a whole sheet of 8 1/2 by 11 glossy cardstock so you'll be seeing more of this technique from me. I cannot believe how easy peasy it was and how much I love this card! The card base is Black Textured cs from SU. I'm loving it!!!! I only got the neutral pack but will definitely be getting more in other colors. I love how it makes a seemingly simple card even more elegant. The focal image is from Summer by the Sea. I love this set but don't use it that often, however when I do use it, I tend to use this image. I stamped her in Palette Hybrid Noir after I'd brayered my Lumiered piece with Soft Sky. I matted this on Soft Sky and Basic Grey which were perfectly layered with my Perfect Layers tool to get a 1/16 inch mat. After I layered it on the grey, I realized that I had forgotten to trim one of the edge of the Soft Sky--whooops! That's what I get for trying to make a card in between other things--you know, stamp an image, fold some laundry, mat an image, help a kid in the bathroom, clean a stamp, throw some more laundry in. . .and so on! So, I trimmed it carefully but couldn't get it to be too neat so I distressed that edge with the edge of my fingernail. I'm glad that I made that mistake because I think it makes it a little better. I tied some Soft Sky double stitched ribbon around the card and then mounted the image on dimensionals. Finally, I stamped the sentiment from Warm Words in White Craft and I'm done! Now, who can I send this card to?

Thanks for the challenge, Colleen!