As usual there was a new PPA challenge announced on Thursday and happily it was a colour one. I find those much easier although the colours chosen caused me some angst. I am not fond of brown; it just doesn’t seem like a happy colour. Hence it took me until Friday evening to create my card! So although it’s Valentine’s Day today, I’m not posting a Valentine’s Day card. I’m not ignoring the day though, my brother and I will be hosting our usual singles Valentine’s Day dinner for our local friends (as long as the weather is kind). Happy Valentine’s Day to all!

I’ve seen a lot of cards done with the bokeh technique lately and I thought I’d give it a try. Bokeh, according to wikipedia is “the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light” and thus the final out of focus circles are usually done in white. I decided to be different. I know, what a surprise.

I used my aquapainter to thoroughly wet a quarter sheet of water colour paper and then added crumb cake and soft suede, also with the aquapainter. After waiting a couple of hours for it to dry, I used a sponge dauber to add circles of real red. My template was created using the acetate sheet from a photopolymer stamp set and the three smallest circle framelits. The acetate sheet was available because I have followed what I’ve seen a number of people do and I stick the stamps directly onto the case. The printed acetate sheet for each stamp set is stuck on the other side to help with placement and make it obvious if there’s a stamp still out on my desk.

I then cut out the thanks from the Stampin’ Up! Hello You framelit set in real red. The water colour paper is matted in soft suede (use strong glue and ensure you get to the edges) and glued to a base of crumb cake.

And here’s the banner that inspired this card: