chip off the old block

this week at shopping our stash the challenge is called "chipping away" and the assignment is to use some of that long-neglected chipboard that i just know you have sitting around in various boxes and bags! don't worry, i still have quite a bit, too, especially leftover 6x6 sets; and every time i break into it, i remember how much i love it. but let me show the card (which was commissioned by my aunt for her friends' 50th wedding anniversary!) first and explain it afterwards. please excuse the pics, pretty much every single thing on the card is reflective in some way, making it a serious challenge to photograph. in real life the gold is not as shrill and harsh-looking, i promise; it's actually quite elegant!

(naked chipboard frame by fancy pants: i painted it white and adorned it with bits of a vintage gold foil doily, see photo below; patterned paper: mambi, pink paislee, chatterbox, recollections; florals: prima; brads: my mind's eye; rhinestone flourishes: recollections; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, scotch brand gluestick, scotch tape, sewing machine)

ok, so where's the chipboard? it's the frame, which is approximately 5x5" and was completely unadorned when i started. i painted it white, and glued bits of a vintage gold foil doily on top, to make a sort of filigree effect. it was a bit fussy to do, but i love the way it turned out!

the other "fussy bit" of this card is the heart, for which i hand wove strips of paper into a big enough area from which to trace and cut another chipboard shape. that process looked a bit like this:

not that you need to see it, but by golly it was a production... a fact which is very much not apparent from the finished card (especially to civilians!) so i'm determined to show SOMEONE, lol! :) in case you're wondering, by far the best way to get a finished bit of paper weaving to stay woven is loads of scotch tape on the back before you cut out your shape. of course, the little cut ends will still want to curl up on the front, so after i tacked the woven heart to some ivory cardstock i machine stitched around the edge to hold those babies down. there's also a little bit of lace on the panels beneath the framed heart, which i wrapped around to the back and taped in place. i probably didn't need to sew around the edges, but i think it adds to the overall design, so i did anyway. here's the card again, for reference:

and now i suggest a visit to SOS to view the gorgeous work of my lovely design team mates and start planning your own chipboard-bedecked masterpiece! ciao, darlings! ♥