An ATC using Tseuneko Ink, Chalks, and Pearl-ex

I did this ATC for my stamp club get together shortly after the Chalkboard technique for February tag.  The theme for swap was cats. I really liked the simplicity of using the Moonlight White Tsuneko ink on black cardstock and then dusting a dry color over it to get whatever color you like to show up against a black background!  If you try just stamping a nonopaque ink onto black, you will see that it just won't show up at all and even some opaque colors don't show up well on black.

I cut black cardstock into 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 inch rectangles because I wanted to diecut them and mount on 2 1/2 x 3 1/4 inch purple cardstock to get the ATC size.  Next I stamped a portion of the block pattern from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Grunge Cirque cling set in Moonlight white.  Using a brush, I dusted some green chalk from a chalk watercolor set over the ink. I let it dry for a minute or two and then rubbed over the image with a piece of flannel just to pick up extra dust and burnish the color down slightly. Using that same method and letting it dry between each step, I stamped the cat (Inkadinkado clear stamps Cat set) in Moonlight White. I used Pearl-ex this time in blue to dust over cat.  I stamped the "You're Purrfect" from a Studio G clear stamp set and then used a gold Pearl-ex to color that.

I then sent the rectangular cardstock through a Cuttlebug and diecut the shape and embossed the edge. Because there was an embossed edge involved, I did not want to diecut first as that might leave a void area where the ink from the image does not completely contact the paper.

My resulting image is a combination of matte (chalk watercolor), and shimmery (Pearl-ex powder) which I think adds some interest to the card.

The little flower decoration is actually three stacked flowers from a jar of Recollections Floral Embellishments. I glued two large flowers and one small one for center.  The center rhinestone is a mini-rhinestone that comes from a nail art pack you can find in almost any drugstore by the nail polishes.  Those little rhinestones are just the right size to add some bling to an ATC.

Thanks for looking at my blog and comments are always appreciated!