Golden Wings of Friendship

I recently made some cards using the Wings of Friendship Set (this is one of the beautiful new hostess sets in the 2009-2010 Idea Book and Catalog!)  The bird image in this stamp is so beautiful, and reminded me of an image on one of my favorite t-shirts.  So, that was the inspiration for the first card I made:

 The bird and flowers were embossed in gold on textured Very Vanilla cardstock.  (I love the way the embossing looks on the textured cardstock -- almost like linen.)  After embossing, I sponged on some So Saffron and then Pale Plum and Rich Razzleberry inks.  This piece is layered on Rich Razzleberry card stock and a Pale Plum card stock base.  Then, added a piece of Apricot Appeal that had been punched with the Eyelet Border punch for trim.  The greeting was stamped on Very Vanilla with Rich Razzleberry (also sponged around the edges after punching with the Scallop Oval punch).  I finished it off with an Apricot Appeal grosgrain bow tucked behind the greeting.

After making the first card, I decided to experiment with some other color combinations on some other images I had embossed. The next combination I tried was sponging Regal Rose, Rose Red, and Melon Mambo inks.

Here's the first card I made with this piece.  Originally, I decided to keep this card kind of simple.  I layered the main image onto a piece of brushed gold cardstock, and then onto the Soft Suede card base.  For the final touch, I added a Chocolate Chip grosgrain bow.

However, the more I looked at it, the more it seemed that the bow was just too big for the card.   So, here is what I came up with instead:

For this card, I again used the Eyelet border punch, this time with the brushed gold card stock.  I layered a small strip of Soft Suede on top of that piece.  Then, dyed a small silk flower from the Pretties Kit (sponged on some Regal Rose and Melon Mambo), added a pink circle rhinestone from the Fire Rhinestones, and viola.  Much happier with how this looks!

Still have a few more embossed pieces to color . . . will have to try some more color combinations!  Any suggestions?

- Michelle