Heartfelt Freedom on the Emerald Creek Dares Blog

We're kicking off a new monthly challenge on the Emerald Creek Dares blog today. It's all about Heartfelt Freedom and Festivities as we remember those who have fallen for us, Thanksgiving in the U.S. and the start of creating Christmas cards and gifts. To start our "Heartfelt Freedom and Festivities" month long challenge, the design team has created some wonderful projects using the heartfelt freedom theme. For my piece, I created a "Fearless" card for all of those who have fallen, those who have fought for our country and those who are still fighting for our country. 

To start, you'll want to blend Black Soot Distress Ink onto a piece cut at 4" x 5 1/4" of  100lb White Cardstock. Once your happy with the how much black ink you have on your cardstock, dry your piece with a heat tool. 

Once your piece of cardstock has dried, run your Ranger Ink Emboss It dauber along the edges. With the ink on the edges, sprinkle Fine Midnight Black Embossing Powder along the edges. Tap off the excess and emboss with a heat tool. Find an object that is circler and will fit on the card front, lightly trace around the circle.

Punch out 28 pine branches using Tim Holtz's Pine Punch - Large and 100lb White Cardstock. Apply Ranger Ink Emboss it Ink to a pine branch, sprinkle Topiary Green Embossing Powder overtop of the pine branch and tap off the excess powder. Emboss with your heat tool. Continue the previous two steps until all the pine branches are embossed. 

Apply Ranger Ink Emboss it ink to the single flower stamp from Nicole Wright's Falling Blossom stamp set and stamp onto a piece of scrap 100lb white cardstock. Continue apply emboss it ink to the flower stamp and stamping onto the white cardstock until you have 8 flowers. Sprinkle Candy Crimson Red Embossing Powder overtop of the flower. Tap off the excess powder and emboss with a heat tool.

Using a Ranger Ink Emboss it pen, colour the inside of each of the flowers in, except for the centres. Sprinkle Candy Crimson Embossing Powder and tap off the excess embossing powder. Emboss with a heat tool. To finish the centres of the now poppies, using the emboss it pen, colour the middle. Sprinkle Fine Midnight Black Embossing Powder to the middle of the flowers and tap off the excess. Emboss with your heat tool. Once the centres have dried, fussy cut the poppies out. With the poppies cut out, ink around the edges of them using Black Soot Distress Ink and a blending tool.

Using the Ranger Ink Emboss It pen, trace the Cross stamp and stamp onto a scrap piece of 100lb White Cardstock. Sprinkle Fine Midnight Black Embossing Powder overtop of the cross and tap off the excess powder. Emboss with your heat tool. Once the cross has cooled, cut it out. 

With all the elements now finished, it's time for adhering the elements together. Start by adhering a layer of pine branches around the circle you traced out. Once you've done a complete circle, start again by adhering the next layer of pine branches slightly off from the first set. Continue adhering the pine branches around the circle until you've ran out, then you know you have enough branches on your wreath.

Adhere 7 of your poppies around your wreath as desired.

Using Foam squares adhere the cross image to the middle of the wreath. When I adhered mine, I tried to get some of the branches to lay near it.

Cut a piece of dark red core'dinations paper that measures 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  Edge distress the edges and then ink them using Black Soot Distress Ink. Adhere your card front to the red piece of cardstock.

To finish the card front, adhere a Three Star Metal Band, mid way up the cross. Remember to cut the eyelets off on either side.  Run a piece of black ribbon through the Fearless Charm and adhere the Fearless charm at the bottom of the card front. 

Here's the card with all the elements together.

Products Used From Emerald Creek:

- Fine Midnight Black Embossing Powder

- Candy Crimson Red Embossing Powder

- Topiary Green Embossing Powder

- Cross

- Fearless Buckle Charm

- Three Star Metal Band

- 100lb White Cardstock

Other Products Used:

- Tim Holtz for Ranger Ink: Distress Ink - Black Soot

- Ranger Ink: Emboss It Pen and Dauber

- Tim Holtz for Sizzix: Pine Punch - Large

- Tim Holtz for Core'dinations: Dark Red

- Hug a Bug Seam Binding Ribbon: Black

- Misc: Heat Tool and Black Cardstock

Make sure that you go and check out the rest of the Emerald Creek Dares Design Team taking part in this challenge as they have all created fantastic pieces for this week's challenge:

Jess

Deb

Cassandra

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my Fearless Card. Don't forget  to enter your project into our Emerald Creek Dares Challenge for your chance to win a $50.00 gift certificate for the Emerald Creek Store!

- Katelyn