Today I interrupt my planned schedule (not that I really had one mind you) to bring you a card I made to remember the passing of our gracious Queen, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
I was born in England and even though we moved all over the globe before settling in Canada when I was 7, I still feel very much attached to Britain. It was with a very heavy heart that I heard of the passing of our Queen last week. This morning I watched as her mortal remains were carried up the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, from Holyrood Palace to St Giles Cathedral. King Charles III and his siblings walking solemnly behind. It was incredibly moving.
I lived in Edinburgh for almost 2 years when I was in my mid-twenties and am very familiar with Royal Mile. My flat was not that far from Holyrood Palace and the Royal Mile was my stomping ground. I would regularly walk for hours all over the city. I loved exploring all the cobbled streets of Old Town, and hiking Arthur’s Seat to see the city spread out around me. Seeing the crowds lining those same streets and filling each flat and shop window along the way made me wish I was there again.
Instead I put my feelings into making a card because that’s what I do!
Here’s a look at my process.
I looked up the Union Flag to make sure I was recreating it exactly. It’s simple enough to say that the flag is red and white on blue but … it’s a compilation of three different crosses. One is the Scottish Saltire which is a white diagonal cross on a blue background. The next is the English St George’s Cross which is a red cross on a white background. The third (and possible least well known) is the St. Patrick’s Saltire of Northern Ireland which is a red diagonal cross on a white background.
Looking at my Distress Oxide Inks, I determined that Prize Ribbon and Festive Berries were the best matches to the blue and red in the flag, and the white would come from my card stock.
I started with an A2 card blank (4.25″ x 5.5″) and used a combination of Best Ever Craft Tape and some washi tape from my stash to mask off the bits that needed to stay white (at least initially). Then I applied my Prize Ribbon to the white parts.
By the way, I used the back of my Silhouette cutting mat so I could line up my tape exactly in the middle.
It looks a mess but wait until the tape comes off ..
Just that little bit of ink really helps give you an idea of where we are going.
Next step is the red which required a lot of very finicky taping.
The 1/4″ Best Ever Craft Tape really came in handy for this step. I did have to cut the tape in the middle. I’d originally put full horizontal strips across the card which I needed to trim at the end. As you’ll see, it made the middle section a bit wobbly but I made it work.
Also, a small brush or mini blender would have worked better than my normal blending tool because some of the sections were quite narrow. I ended up using just the edge of the blending foam.
With the addition of the red, the Union Flag image is complete. All I needed to do was carefully pull up all the tape. And here you see the finished flag.
I think this turned out amazing! For comparison, here is an actual Union Flag image.
Not too shabby if I do say so myself.
To make the finished card, I ran the whole thing through a die that added the stitched detail around the edge. Then I stamped and die cut the middle embellishment. I wanted gold as an accent to represent royalty. Then when I went looking for sentiments, this ‘thank you’ one jumped out. I for one feel a deep sense of gratitude to Her Majesty for her many years of devoted service.
Next Monday is Her Majesty’s funeral which may or may not be a holiday here in Canada so there may or may not be a Make it Monday post. We will take it day by day as we all come together to honour, grieve and celebrate a life well lived.
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