Faux Cloisonne'

I have to confess, I'm not much of a technique challenge junkie. For me, a technique can too often hijack my whole design process, and then basic design principles -- composition, color, balance -- take a back seat or get dropped altogether in the name of the almighty technique.

For that reason, I tend to pass on most technique challenges. Late last night, though, I took a peek at this week's SCS technique challenge -- faux cloisonne. It looked interesting, I tried it, and I was able to whip out a card with it in record time. Pretty cool.

Basically, what you do is stamp an open image onto a magazine photo and then gold emboss that image. I stamped the cross over a stone fireplace from a home decor magazine. The SCS gallery has lots of projects where the image is much larger, so you can get a better idea of the possibilities with this technique.

I was a little heavy handed with my stamping (I still struggle to get the right touch with the photopolymer stamps), so some of the swirly details of the cross turned into gold blobs ... I'm looking for another magazine image with similar colors so I can re-do that cross. In the meantime, sorry!

Stamps: Everyday Blessings (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Stamper's Select White (Papertrey), dp ("Chocolate Small Leaf" by Sandy Lion and "Bronze Jewel Metallic" by The Paper Company, Shimmery White (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: 'textile' cuttlebug embossing folder (Provo Craft); gold embossing powder, gold cord, dimensionals (Stampin' Up)
Size: 5" square