Mixed Media Valentine with Lots of Metal

Hi, Friends......

I am here with a mixed media valentine today.  I had this background leftover from last year along with some miscellaneous broken jewelry pieces from a thrift store grab bag.  I never was quite satisfied with any design ideas I had for it, so it all sat in a zippy sandwich bag awaiting another Valentine's Day and perhaps a zap of inspiration to strike my brain!  :)

The background was a piece of rose colored cardstock with punched hearts from scraps glued on. Then it was dry embossed with my Darice - Ranunculus folder. 

I totally adore how this folder makes a rose-like impression. I sponged it with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo to bring out the texture.

The glue attaching the old salvaged jewelry pieces is still wet here and looks white.

Next I glued on these old pieces of cheap broken jewelry. Much of the finish was worn off and they were rather ugly, but I knew how to fix that! :)

I went wild smooshing Versamark over the entire thing and heat embossed with some fine detail gold powder....so as not to obscure the fine textures of the chain.  Oh, yesssssss!!!  LOVE!!

Not only did the heat embossing shine up the chain and mismatched hoop earring, but it gave a nice gilded look to the rest of the paper, too.

Next I glued on an adorable pair of owls.  My daughter (who makes and sells jewelry) gave me this broken charm, thinking I might be able to use it.  Why, yes, I certainly can!  Thank you!  :)  

I glued the broken pieces back together on the card and heat embossed again with gold powder to cement them on.  I love that heat embossing can be used as glue!  The owls and the chain are very firmly attached to the card now.

I misted over the entire thing with Clearsnap Smooch Spritz in Pomegranate to give a "rose gold" look and wiped off the excess with a baby wipe. I don't know if you can tell from the photos that this one is a bit redder than the one before. I also dabbed on some Faber-Castell Glass Bead Glitter Gel here and there. It looks blue-green in the photo.

Next I prepared a diagonal area for adhering a ribbon across this very lumpy, bumpy, uneven surface.  I put marks on the edge where my ribbon borders would be and used a ruler to keep my adhesive foam squares inside the boundary lines.  By using the tiny foam squares, I could place them strategically around the chains and embossed ridges.

Next I attached a scrap of brown cardstock over the foam squares.  As you can see, this still isn't completely level, but it gives my ribbon a solid platform on which to lie down.  Otherwise it would be very wavy.

And here is my finished card.......

I have the light angled on this so you can see the bright shiny gold.  Yum!!

I put a shimmery gold Serendipity - Love die cut over the black velvet ribbon. I'm not sure what you call the red thing. (I don't have the package anymore, but it came with the flat-backed gem I used for the body of my spider in my Halloween project.) I mounted it all on a black card base. Do you like it????  I love how it turned out.

I really had a great time playing and experimenting around with all these techniques and supplies.  One of my crafty goals this year is to make more mixed media pieces.  I think I will ask my wonderful local thrift store to save me any broken jewelry that they would otherwise discard because this project was way fun to make!!!

Thank you for stopping by.  Your visits and your kind comments mean so much to me!!!  

<3

Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Design Memory Craft Take the Challenge with Mou February - Hearts 
2. Serendipity Stamps Challenge #52 - Anything Goes
3. A Colorful Journey February Challenge - Show Some Neglected Art Supplies Some Love
4. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Have a Heart
5. Eclectic Ellapu - Love Actually
6. Southern Ridge Trading Company February Challenge - Anything Love
7. Country View Challenges February - Make Your Own Background
8. 4 Crafty Chicks Challenge #284 - Love
9. Pixie's Snippets Playground Week 215 - Use Snippets

10. Amusing Challenge - Anything Goes

11. Moving Along With The Times Challenge #13 - Things with Wings