Look Maw...No Stamps!

My sister-in-law asked for a special card for her friend's daughter who is getting married in October. We perused the portfolio of photos the couple had taken with a professional photographer and chose a beautiful picture of them that featured the couple slightly out of focus in the background, but their clasped hands as the focal point in the foreground. To me, this photo clearly illustrated the joining of two souls to become one and I immediately thought of the poem Two Doves to use inside the card. Wow, I had selected the main image and even a verse for the inside of the card...I was on a roll! (By the way, all of their photos were gorgeous!)

When it came time to actually make the card, that was a different story. This was an absolute first for me. No rubber stamps were harmed (or inked) during the making of this card. There are no stamped images featured here as I didn't want the wonderful photo of the engaged couple to have to compete with any other elements on the card. Hopefully, the paper and the embellishments I chose to use, enhance the photo and do not detract from it. That was my goal anyway, only you, the viewer know whether I was successful ;-) Be gentle with your criticism...LOL!

The most agonizing part of making this card was cutting into that lovely photo! Ohhhh...the guilt!! I only had one and there was no room to make a mistake. It's not like I could substitute a magazine cutout of Brad and Angelina from the Enquirer. I'm sure someone would notice! LOL!! After about 30 minutes of hemming and hawing I finally stuck that puppy in the CuttleBug and sent her through, all the while holding my breath!! Phew...everything worked out ok :) I let out a huge sigh of relief. The rest of the details are fairly self-explanatory. The papers are from the Windsor collection by SEI. I added a few paper flowers, some pearls, a touch of ribbon, and one carefully chosen decorative brad, and that was that :)