Monochromatic Medallion

I made this 5-1/2" square card for the Late Night Stampers monochromatic challenge this week. Really, it's not as easy as it sounds!






Here's from a different angle so you can see the clear embossing better:






It came together kinda like this:



1. Stared at my packs of paper, piles of inkpads, boxes and boxes of stamp sets, and wondered for a good half hour what the heck I had gotten myself into.



2. Narrowed it down to something with the Medallion stamp and Rich Razzleberry.



3. Picked out four prints from the Rich Razzleberry Patterns Pack that don't have white in them. (I'm a purist when it comes to monochromaticity.) Had a brilliant idea of using a square of each print to create a larger background to stamp the Medallion on.



4. Changed my mind and picked out one print to stamp the Medallion on.



5. Cut a Rich Razzleberry card base just slightly smaller than 5-1/2" squared (so it would slide into the envelope easier).



6. Used the Eyelet Border punch along the open end of the card.



7. Using the hit-or-miss technique, trimmed a piece of patterned paper to fit in the allotted space on the cardfront.



8. Brayered the Medallion stamp with white craft ink, then sponged Rich Razzleberry onto the stamp. Stamped onto the patterned paper and embossed with clear detail EP.



9. Admired my work, then realized I didn't have a clue what I would do next. (...which is pretty much how all my cards start out, so it doesn't panic me).



10. Sponged some Rich Razzleberry polka-dotted ribbon so that the dots would no longer be glaring white. Added to the left side of the Medallion panel and fiddled with the tie for 10 minutes before throwing a hissy fit and deciding to lay the ribbon flat and just attach a separate bow with a glue dot.



11. Debated if I could pull off using an Ice Circle brad in the center of the Medallion. Decided to go for it. If I had to make the card over, I would opt for a small dyed "Pretties" flower instead. Hindsight is 20/20.



12. Decided I wanted the Medallion panel to not blend into the card base so much, and sponged the base with more Razzleberry to make it darker.



13. Decided I wanted even more contrast, so sponged the edges of the panel with Craft White and Razzleberry ink, then clear embossed it.



14. Finally attached the panel to the card base with some sticky strip. "Ain't no way that panel's going anywhere!"



15. Wished the eyelet border showed better, so put a strip of patterned paper on the inside to back it, then sponged a bit of Craft White and Razzleberry ink for more contrast.



16. Wondered what to do about a sentiment, and finally decided on "Just For You" from Teeny Tiny Wishes stamped onto a bit of Whisper White cardstock sponged lightly with Rich Razzleberry ink. Punched it with a 1-1/4" circle punch, layered it on a 1-3/8" circle of patterned paper, then layered on a Rich Razzleberry Scalloped Circle with pierced scallops. Added a smidge more paper piercing and attached the whole thing to the cardfront with a few Stampin' Dimensionals.



17. Wondered if I was done, but decided the upper right corner needed some paper piercing, too.



18. Took pictures for my blog and the contest entry, then realized I hadn't done anything with the inside. I decided to sponge a bit of Whisper White the size of the front panel and second-generation stamp just a portion of the Medallion on the left.



19. Decided to do the something similar with the envelope, only this time stamping the Medallion on the lower left corner.



20. Figured that life's too short to pull out the camera a second time, especially when it's bedtime, so reminded myself that my readers are intelligent and able to envision what I did with the inside and envelope if I wrote a description.



21. Wondered if anyone actually read every word of this description, lol.



I'm open to feedback on this one. I'll be honest, it's not one of my favorite cards, but I think it's passable. Your thoughts?