Goth Valentine’s Day Card (SQSC21)

My card for this week’s Stampin’ Queens Sketch Challenge (SQSC21) came about because of the focal shape on the card. When I look at these sketches, I try to imagine what the layout reminds me of. That’s how I ended up with the mime trapped in the boxes for SQSC13, and the circle image on SQSC15 made me think of an embroidery hoop, which inspired a vintage look for the card.

Here’s this week’s original sketch:

At first when I looked at it, I couldn’t think of anything, so I printed it out and laid it on my desk so that I could glance at it during the week. I jotted down that it reminded me of an ironing board, and I imagined a summer card where it was a diving board and the buttons were seashells (but I didn’t have the resources to make that). When I turned the image over, I thought about a hanging military ribbon or the felt tab that Girl Scout insignia are often attached to. In a week moment after watching the Maroon Five video for “Moves Like Jagger,” I imagined it as a tongue (and certainly not a card I wanted to make).

None of that really worked for me. I could make such cards, but none of them really grabbed me, and then I glanced at it one more time on Friday and suddenly realized that I had a tombstone and the perfect inspiration for a Halloween sort of card. Admittedly though, I was hardly in the Halloween mood and then my vicious brain whispered, “Make a dark Valentine’s Day card.” So that’s the story behind my twisted version of the card:

Here are the details on what went into the card:

• Background Layer: Basic Black
• Curved Bottom Layer: Square Punch on top of Rounded Corner Square Punch, both in Basic Gray
• Top Background Layer: Square Punch in Going Gray with Nite Owl—Pattern 6 (the criss-cross) across the bottom
• Tombstone: Tag Punch in Perfectly Plum, with default drop shadow, with these decorations:
  • From the Crypt—Batty (twice) in Basic Black (top left and right)
  • From the Crypt—Web bat (top center)
  • Lace Ribbon Border Punch in Basic Black (bottom)
  • From the Crypt—Spidy (five times) above the Lace Ribbon
  • Grosgrain Ribbon and Bow in Basic Black, with default drop shadow
• Skulls (where the buttons are on the original):
  • From the Crypt—Skull in Basic Black
  • Wide Oval Punch in default grayish color (RGB: 225, 225, 224) behind each Skull
  • Extreme Elements—Splatter in Basic Black on either side of each skull to add more shadows
• Sentiment: Typed in Baskerville Old Face, 30 pt, in Basic Black, with default drop shadow