Oh, Alice! CHAPTER 30: Hey there, Nice Stems...

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"Just as Alice said this, she noticed that one of the trees had a door leading right into it. `That's very curious!' she thought. `But everything's curious today. I think I may as well go in at once.' And in she went.
Once more she found herself in the long hall, and close to the little glass table. `Now, I'll manage better this time,' she said to herself, and began by taking the little golden key, and unlocking the door that led into the garden.
Then she went to work nibbling at the mushroom (she had kept a piece of it in her pocked) till she was about a foot high: then she walked down the little passage: and THEN--she found herself at last in the beautiful garden, among the bright flower-beds and the cool fountains..."

Hello out there! It's a lovely day here in Wonderland and Oh, Alice! is celebrating the summer with a nature theme today! Well, TREES and FLOWERS to be more exact! We scored a GREAT sketch sponsored by PAGEMAPS today that is just perfect for today's theme.

I did a pretty literal interpretation of the sketch on my card. I couldn't find an illustration of the door in the tree, but when I think of trees in Wonderland, I think of the Cheshire Cat sitting in the tree! So that's where I started! I printed out the illustration with my black and white laser onto color laser printer paper and colored it with Copic markers, highlighting the cat's smile and eyes with a white gel pen.  At the same time I was setting up the illustration on the computer, I also typeset the words of the conversation Alice is having with the Cheshire Cat to use on the bottom layer of the sketch. I colored that with Copics as well.

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For my other two layers, I cut out the shapes and ran them through an embossing folder. The edges and some of the raised area were sponged with Distress Inks, as was the card base. Each layer was adhered with foam mounting tape to give it some depth.  I used a little fingertip sponge dauber to add some white clouds. As an afterthought, I remembered I needed an embellishment on the left and I did not want to use a bird. Instead, I ran a strip of adhesive from the top of the card to the top of the second layer and stuck down a ribbon, making loose pleats. Then, as I stitched the pleats down, I centered the loose ribbon of each pleat, thus creating little box pleats. I really like how the ribbon turned out! The only problem was that the embossed mustard colored layer was really overwhelming the whole card especially in person; it was the first thing that your eye was drawn to when you looked at the card. In real life it is more golden than orange as it appears here.

To break up the mustard layer, and to add more stems in keeping with today's challenge, I punched branch and foliage shapes from various greens and added some leaf veins with Copic markers. I also punched some butterflies from dictionary paper I had adhered to card stock, and edge the butterflies with an orange marker.

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I really like how the punched leaves help to break up the intensity of the embossed mustard layer and act as a bridge between the forground quote and the background dotted hill, so adding a lot of depth. Because they don't introduce any new colors they help to reinforce the color scheme. I'm pretty happy with it now, but I know some may like the simpler version better. Which version do you prefer?

Take a look at what the Design Team did with this amazing sketch:

• Andi
• Jessica (our MAD HATTER)
• Erin
• Gloria
• Jen
• Ky
• Lynne (me!)
• Margie
• Peggy
• Randi
• Sammi
• Sara
• Suzi
• Tasha
• And Emma, our Dormouse!
• Plus Kellie, our September Guest Designer

Now, there's no time limit for you to play along this week, but be sure to link your project on Oh, Alice! so we can come share some love! Enjoy a wonderfully wacky Wonderland week!!

Please leave me a comment and let me know which version of my card appeals to you more! Can't wait to hear your opinions!

Stamps: Free digi from Lenny's Alice in Wonderland site.
Paper: Stampin' Up! - Mellow Moss, More Mustard, Cool Caribbean; HP - Color laser printer paper; Dictionary paper scrap; Georgia Pacific - White card stock.
Ink: Copic - Sketch markers, black Multiliner; Ranger Distress Ink - Broken China, Peeled Paint, Marmalade; White gel pen; Colorbox - white pigment inkpad.
Miscellaneous: Ribbon
Tools: Martha Stewart Crafts - Three Butterfly punch, Foliage punch, Branch punch; Cuttlebug - Swiss Dots embossing folder; Stampin' Up! - Square Lattice embossing folder; Glue Stick; Sewing Machine; Foam mounting tape; Ranger - Inkssential Blending Tool and foam squares; Tsukeniko - fingertip sponge dauber.