French Quarter Note Card

The French Quarter Note Card is a versatile stationery design for all francophiles.  The examples below show a thank you card, but you can use Melony Bradley's technique to create any kind of note card covered in elegant fleur de lis designs.

Materials:

• Cardstock
• Watermark Ink
• Fleur de Lis Stamp
• White or Clear Embossing Powder
• Embossing Heat Tool
• DecoArt Americana Acrylics in Tomato Red
• Paintbrush or Foam Brush
• Dixie Cup
• Black Ink
• Black Thread
• Sentiment Stamp (e.g. "with Gratitude" stamp shown)
• Jeweled Embellishment

Instructions:

1. Ink the fleur de lis stamp with watermark ink and stamp it across the card front to create a repeating pattern.
   
   

   
   
   

2. Sprinkle the whole card front with white or clear embossing powder.
   
   
    
3. Pour excess powder back into the container for later use, and emboss the card front with a heat tool.
   
   
    
4. Create a color wash with DecoArt Americana Acrylics in Tomato Red by mixing a small amount with water in a 1:1 ratio. Use a paintbrush or a foam brush to apply color wash to front of card, being careful not to saturate card with wash.
   
   
    
5. Buff your images with a paper towel to completely remove any paint and make them "pop."
   
   
    
6. Ink the rim of a dixie cup with black ink and then stamp several times on the card front.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
7. Stamp the fleur de lis in black ink inside in the center of the stamped circles.
   
   
    
8. Stitch a border around the card front in black thread with a straight stitch.
    
9. Stamp your sentiment in black ink below the black fleur de lis.
    
10. Add a pretty jeweled embellishment to the fleur de lis to finish your card.
    
    

 Note:

Instead of using acrylic paint, you can use ink for the background for a more subtle effect: