Awesome and grateful

For this card, I drew inspiration from three challenges: Less is More's colour challenge #301: purple and gold; The Paper Players' theme challenge PP320 'Count your Blessings - Thankful' and Stamp, Ink, Paper's theme challenge 'Grateful'. 

I have just received Stampin' Up's new Stitched Shapes Framelits, and was pleased when the oval shape worked with the Pretty Paisleys embossing folder. I can see many happy hours fiddling around with the stitched shapes ahead!

Here's the inside: 

Made using:

Paper: Stampin Up Very Vanilla, Gold foil and Petals and Paisleys DSP

Stamps: Paisleys and Posies, Grateful Bunch

Other: Stampin' Up Stitched Shapes Framelits, Pretty Paisleys Embossing Folder

Thanks with gold

This week's CAS(E) This Sketch (#191) demanded careful consideration (well, I suppose most challenges do, but this one definitely stretched my brain. I'd been using rich colours for previous cards, so decided to stick with those. The reds are very much my mum's colours - in her youth, she had striking black hair to her waist (then, in my youth, in an ornate behive!) and so has always suited these regal colours. So here's one for you, Mum - thanks for everything!

I brushed the edges of each square in gold, so that they were a little separated from the last - and also lightened the sponging as they got smaller. 

Because I'd kept the squares symmetrical (I get all twitchy when things are uneven!) I decided to place the sentiment in the middle as well, rather than on the side as in the original sketch:

Made using:
Paper: Stampin' Up Very Vanilla, Blackberry Bliss and gold foil
Ink: Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry, Rose Red, Blackberry Bliss
Other: Stampin' Up Petite Petals stamp and punch, Thoughtful Banners stamp and punch, gold embossing powder and Versamark watermark,