Faux Azulejos Tile Card

Yesterday I found a challenge on Splitcoast Stampers that immediately caught my eye. The challenge was based on a tutorial that taught how to make faux titles. Upon seeing the technique, I was reminded of the beautiful tile work of Portugal.

A while back, DH and I were lucky enough to have spent some time in Portugal. What a beautiful and fascinating country. We were based in the capital city Lisbon. The city clings to hill sides that overlook the ocean...much as San Fransisco does. The architecture is a mixture of old and new. In 1755, much of the city was destroyed by an earthquake and subsequent tidal wave. Sections of the city that were high enough on the hills were spared, while the areas near the sea were destroyed.




Throughout the city there are signs of Lisbon's rich history. This picture, The Tower of Belem, was built in 1503. It was the last thing great explorers like Vasco De Gama saw and then their first sight upon returning after a perilous journey of discovery.

Throughout the city, embellishing the the facades of the buildings and even paving the streets are beautiful tiles. The tiles are called Azulejos.

It is from these tiles that I drew my inspiration for yesterday's card.

The technique is simple but a tad time consuming. I sponged a piece of White Daisy card stock with a mixture of Twilight, Moonstruck, Desert Sand and Gray Wool inks. I then stamped my sailboat image (from a soon to be released set called "Summer Breeze) in Moonstruck and colored it with my blending pen. The image was then cut into equal squares with more edge distressing completed on each piece using Moonstruck again. Each "tile" was then coated with Liquid Glass. After it had dried, I re-pieced the image together on a slightly larger piece of Gray Wool card stock. This formed my grout. I mounted the image on mats of Desert Sand and Twilight and proceeded to assemble the card. By the way, the pattern paper is another sneak peak at the Miracle paper packet. I think this card would make a wonderful masculine birthday card, what do you think?

It is so much fun to take inspiration from the things that we have done and seen in our lives. Check back in a few days for more pictures of Lisbon. I used one in a Scrapbook Layout that I will be featuring in my product release post. For Now, Happy Crafting!