CARD# HPJ-2014-43: Love Story

It took me some time to complete this card, but I am happy with the result. I have to warn you though of the number of photos I added on the post. The card is a zfold. There are several panels I had to decorate so there were a couple of parts that I had to photograph.



The card measures 5" x 6.25" when closed.

I made use of their anniversary date as an embellishment.

One of my high school friends had asked me a few months back to make a card for her boyfriend for their seventh anniversary. Wow. Seven years. I didn't even know that she was in a relationship for that long. I wish them many more years together.

What she wanted was to incorporate her message into the design of the card. She told me at that time that she will be writing a poem. I already pictured out the poem on a nice die cut in front of the card. But when she finally gave the details last week, I was surprised to find that the poem she mentioned was 20 verses long with four lines each. Whoa. What now? That definitely chucks the old idea. I searched my mind for some ideas as to the fold and layout I could use to accommodate the message as well as three photos and came upon zfold. I modified the measurements by making the flaps the same size.

I was left thinking on how to divide the poem and the photos. I have decided beforehand to take out the last two verses for the fourth panel at the back. It was fitting because those two verses contained the anniversary greeting. That last panel was like the end part of the message.

On the other hand, she said that her boyfriend is a simple guy so a simple card would do. When asked about any particular color or colors she named black and white. I wanted to know if vintage was alright and it was. Thinking along the line of simple, I decided against employing a variety of embellishments and just focusing on the words and the patterned papers.

As I have mentioned above, the original idea was to print the poem on a cardstock and cut it with a die to decorate the front of the card. Since it was no longer feasible with the whole poem, I thought of using the same idea for the title. The card was vintage-themed so I used vintage fonts. I looked for free fonts online. You will find the fonts' names and the links where I got them below.
1. Bergamot Ornaments
2. Thirsty Script
3. Carnivalee Freakshow
4. Coventry Garden
5. Old Retro Labels

I used Special Elite for the verses.

As you can see, the verses are long and they would not fit into the pockets nicely. What I did was divide them into two--one having five lines and the other four lines--I punched holes on them to be able to join the two parts with jute twine. For that, the bottom cardstock could be folded to the back of the top cardstock. They no longer peek out from the top.

I inked the edges to maintain the vintage look.

I blurred parts of the photos of the couple (using an online photo editor) so you won't see all of them well. I actually edited the colors using the available filters at Befunky. I can't remember the exact number, but I mostly used Tintype.

Using my forefinger, I applied gesso around the edges of the photo. Again, the embellishments need to be minimal. I only added a tag with a handwritten sentiment on it and two self-adhesive crystals.

 Here is the view of the last panel. It is the one at the back of Panel 3 which contained the boyfriend's photo and the 'Happy Anniversary' sentiment.

I adhered a red patterned paper to complement the other elements of the final panel. I can't say the last two verses, but they summed up the giver's sentiments and love for her special someone. Thus, the red and the hearts.

This is what the back looks like when spread out. 

I made a bag out of wax paper that would fit the card and closed it with a length of twine. I went to the bus terminal to meet my friend who was to arrive from our province. We chatted for some time while waiting for the person who will pick her up to appear. She checked the card out and loved it. I am glad she liked it.

That was that. I hope to make more projects that would hold so much meaning for the receivers that they would treasure them always.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful day!

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Orange A3 Poster Paper, Rives Black Board Paper Tradition, Bevania Splendorgel Ivory Board Paper, kraft paper, Graphic 45 Typography and Couture Collections, Downloaded Fonts,Printed Photos Edited Using befunky.com, Eno Greeting Wood Embellishments and Label Plate, self-adhesive pearls and crystals, jute twine, ColorBox Cat's Eye Pigment Ink Pad Antique Pewter, Uni-ball Signo Broad White Pigment Ink Pen, Marie's Gesso, hole punch, HP Deskjet Printer, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Thirty-Five, Shapeabilities Fancy Framed Tags One, Cuttlebug Machine V2