Gesso to the rescue!

Michael's was having their "Lowest Price of the Season" sale, so I stopped there yesterday so I could buy more things that I didn't need. I bought some beads, which I did "need", but I also bought some paper pads. K& Co has amazing heavy paper that is printed on both sides, and at 40% off, it came to about 16 cents a sheet - it was just too good to pass up.

I had to use it right away, and this ribbon I bought yesterday (I bought 8 spools of ribbon at 50 cents a spool) seemed to go with. The sketch is from Techno Stamper:

It all came together pretty easily, until I accidentally smeared some ink on the flower. I thought I would add a distress inked edge, and it just kept getting darker and too saturated for the papers underneath. I thought a layer of gesso would soften it a bit, and it smudged the ink around artfully, and then I remembered the Pearlized Gesso technique, but I thought I would morph it a little with glitter instead of Pearl Ex. It doesn't show in the scan, but it's a very glamorous card.

The stamp is from one of my favorite sets, Cherish from Close to My Heart. Too bad it is retired.