Bokeh Anniversary

Hi everybody.  I have made this anniversary card using this fun technique and one which I haven't used on a card for a very long time.  I was reminded of it by the Group of Seven Cardmakers who have this as their technique this month so I thought I must give it another go.  I have had a really heavy cold and it has left me feeling rather tired and out of sorts and I haven't been feeling like making a card, but needs must as I have an imminent family anniversary.  

I decided to give it a bit of a twist and instead of circles thought I would use hearts as this is an anniversary card, and I started by ink blending the piece of white card using Distress Inks in Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon and Candied Apple and I dried it well with my heat tool before starting the bokeh.  I cut a mask using three sizes of heart from a set by Sweet Dixie and I started with the largest using the only white ink I have which is Brilliance Moonlight White which is a pearlescent type white and probably not the best one for this technique as I found out as I went along.  I started by laying down five of the largest size heart and although the ink was dry, the ink blending tool..the Tim Holtz round one not a brush, lifted the ink a bit and the white became rather discoloured, especially in the areas with yellow.  I carried on using the middle size size heart mask and I could not seem too get any more depth of white  and it was all looking the same with no variation to give depth and distance.  I finished with the small heart and then tried giving some a second coat of ink but it didn't make much difference.  I cut the background to about 51/4" and then I decided to cut two hearts out from the piece for an eclipse look, and  I cut an extra couple of layers of hearts for dimension.  I think my brain is a bit befuddled at the moment and I have to say the way I cut the overlapping hearts was not quite what I intended and instead of one whole and one with a split, it ended up with both cut into..a little annoyed muttering ensued at this point..lol, and I then finished with a gold embossed sentiment cut with a sentiment plate, and I heat embossed using WOW Gold Metallic Rich Embossing Powder.  

I think I need a much brighter denser white ink to make a better job of this, and maybe it would have been better to make a smooshed background as possibly the ink would not have moved and mixed with the white pigment ink to make rather a dirty look of the bokeh, and I think maybe I got carried away with the bokeh not leaving enough of the colour in the background.  Anyhow although not as successful as I would have wished, it is a nice bright and happy anniversary card.

Thank you for joining me here today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Stencil Fun Challenge - June '24 Anything Goes/Optional: Birthdays.
Heart's Quest Celebrations of Love Challenges - No. 6 June '24 Eng'ments, Weddings and Annivs. 
Make My Monday Challenge  - No. 227 'B' is for... mine is Bokeh technique.
 
I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. which is a challenge she has set herself but has said that anyone can join in if they wish.  This week is June Week 1: I = Inks/Colour Mediums.