At the Spring Retreat Jane taught an excellent technique class on Metal Effects which involved two different techniques; embossing and relief. This card uses the Embossing technique to create a beautiful background.
To create the Metal Embossed background you cover your piece of paper (regular A4 printer paper cut to size) with strips of Aluminium tape. Then pass the paper and tape through a Big Shot or similar with an embossing folder. The result is a very shiney embossed image. To create the darker antique look apply acrylic paint and then immediately remove it with kitchen roll or baby wipes. The wipes will take off more paint and leave you with a shinier effect whereas the kitchen roll will give you a duller effect similar to that shown above.
To finish the card I punched the heart out and stamped the greeting with Staz On. I added a tiny bit of paint to the outer edges for definition but left the heart and greeting mainly still silver to make it stand out.
I mounted the whole lot onto a kraft card base.
I hope you enjoyed this card and this glimpse at how simple but effective this technique really is.