Retirement - a New Beginning - Mixed Media Card Challenge

A friend at work asked me to make a personalized retirement card for a woman in her department. I wanted it to be bright and cheerful. (I was totally inspired by my friend Loll's card here.)  Here's the card that I made.  It's an over sized card so lots of people can sign it.  I simply folded an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of card stock in half for the card base.

For the background, I first sponged over the panel with Ranger Distress Wild Honey Ink.  Then I laid the Dot Fade Stencil by Tim Holtz over the sponging and spritzed over the stencil with water.  I removed the stencil and dried the panel with my heat tool.  It left a great water spot look

I stamped the cone flower and stem onto watercolor paper, colored them with Ranger Distress Markers and went over the colors with a water brush.  I dried them with a heat tool and brushed over the flower head with a clear glitter Wink of Stella. (it's really sparkly IRL!) I fussy cut them and adhered  them on the panel with foam dots, curling up the petals a bit.  I stamped the sentiment on a white rectangle and MARIE on a piece punched with a circle punch.  To finish it off I added three sequins, adhered the panel to a piece of Shimmer Gold paper and then to the card base.

This card fits the January Mixed Media Card Challenge - 

I used stencils with water, watercoloring and stampings as my mixed media.

Retirement is a new beginning! and I used sequins!

Just a reminder you have until January 25th to enter the Mixed Media Card Challenge - check it out here!

Stamps:  Simple Alphabet - PTI, Happy Retirement - American Art Stamp, Tim Holtz Flower Garden.
Paper:  Watercolor paper,  White, Vintage Cream and Shimmer Sampler - PTI.
Ink:  Archival Jet Black, True Black- PTI, Wild Honey Ranger Distress
Accessories:  Dot Fade Stencil - Tim Holtz, mini mister - Ranger, foam dots, Clear Glitter Wink of Stella, Ranger Distress Markers - Brushed Corduroy, Peeled Paint, Spiced Marmelade, Spun Sugar, Lemonade Blend Sequins - Avery Elle, 1" circle punch - EK Success, waterbrush pen.