Playing with ink

I'm having a tough time making Christmas cards.  That was always a joint effort with my late husband.  It's so hard to make them alone.  However, they have to be made early for Operation Write Home.  They need to be mailed overseas and then our heroes write personal messages and mail them back to family and friends.

This embossing folder by SU/Sizzix has always reminded me of poinsettias, so I stamped a poinsettia for the image.  This Posh Impressions stamp is very solid rubber, so I coated it with red ink.  After it was stamped and cut out with a Nestie, I used a gold pen to put dots in the center.

I also patted Rocket Red Brilliance ink onto the embossed flowers.  The sentiment ribbon is very narrow, so I put a gold transparent ribbon under it for width.  I decided to use red layers under everything.  I punched the edges of the layer under the ribbon with an EK Success edger punch.

This card is very similar, but I stamped the poinsettia with Versamark ink and added gold embossing powder.   I used Gold Brilliance ink to pat onto the embossed flowers.  I'll have to work on this idea and perhaps try more variations.

My heart just isn't ready for Christmas this year.