Missing You ...

  
Hello friends!  Is it snowing where you are?  It's a blizzard here in Michigan!  No school tomorrow and I'll be working from home.  The kids are thrilled and I must admit, so am I.  Looking forward to PJ's, blankets, and a warm fire ... with a cup of hot cocoa in the afternoon.

While visiting some of my favorite blogs this week, I discovered a couple challenges that I just couldn't pass up.  From my previous post, you know that the fabulous design team at Just Us Girls is celebrating hand-made flowers this week.  Swoon ... my favorite little embellishment to create!  I made one with Very Vanilla cardstock for today's post.  You can see my tutorial here.  The second challenge is one of colors.  This image is our inspiration over at The Play Date Cafe.  Isn't the lilac color wonderful?!

I began my card with Very Vanilla cardstock and layered on Basic Black along with a black/vanilla print from my scrap drawer.  To add interest, a zig zag stitch runs up the left side and balances well with the beautiful lace on the right.  Yep, once again ... thank you Shirley!  Some felt trimmed with pinking shears and a couple printed papers sewn on dressed up my die cut centerpiece.

I added hand cut leaves from some rough brown fabric I have and the handmade flower as mentioned above.  Please do click on the image so you can see the shimmer a glimmer mist gave to my little flower.  The oh so sweet greeting is stamped in Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink and comes from Three Little Words stamp set.  It's just darling!

I dyed the seam binding with two re-inkers.  Beginning with a very watered down Perfect Plum Classic Ink - I ended up with a ribbon that was too "rosey" in color.  So I spritzed it with a coating of Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink and that gave me the mottled lilac look I wanted.  With a black button tied on with Linen Thread and a single Pearl Jewel embellishment ... I was done. 

I hope you found some inspiration here today.  I enjoyed making this for you.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

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A Splash of Yellow

 
Hello friends.  My daughter and I made a list of all the fun "stuff" we want to do over the next two weeks.  There's a new vintage clothing store in town that we have to visit.  Getting our nails done before Christmas is a must.  A trip to Pier One for some last minute stocking stuffers.  A stop at Borders (they have the BEST hot chocolate ever).  Brendan and my husband are going to build a bookcase - the perfect project for my two Boy Scouts.  The list goes on and on ... we're so excited to have this time together!

Today's post was inspired by two challenges.  The Waltzing Mouse has an adorable sketch this week (of course they always do).  And The Play Date Cafe put together a stunning color combination.

Black and white with a splash of color is very difficult for me to get my head around.  I love the look of classic black and white together and the punch of bright color is amazing.  Perhaps the strength of the colors scares me a little since I am one for doing the softer shabby look.  So ... I have to face my fears!  I started with gathering black and white print papers from my scrap drawer.  Following the sketch, I layed out the patterns on Basic Black Cardstock (the base is Whisper White Cardstock).  I added some beautiful white lace to soften the unfinished edges.

The bird is chipboard (Mix & Match On Board) covered in two different yellow prints from the Sunny Garden Designer Series Paper collection.  The wing was covered in Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and the eye is a Black Flourish Jewel.  The crown is die cut and I added Basic Rhinestone Jewels (you'll see a couple more on the tag too).  My yellow ribbon is embellished with Black Raven Lace and a button.  The Jewelry Tag Punch is the perfect size for my sweet little sentiment.

Whew, that was tough but I'm pleased with the results!  Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day!

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A splash of burgundy



Something about the combination of black and white speaks elegance.  Add a splash of burgundy and you have something glorious.  The fabulous Design Team at The Play Date Cafe know all about it.  Their challenge for this week is just that ... a color combination inspired by this wonderful photo of columbine.

Add in a pattern, like damask as described by Moxie Fab World (the inspiration here is something you must see) and you have a vintage card for the Holidays.

The card base is Bravo Burgundy cardstock layered with Whisper White.  The photo is at an angle so that you could see the color clearly.  Only two classic ink pads were used - Bravo Burgundy (tag) and of course Basic Black.  I layered on various scraps of black and white Designer Series Papers - some edged with our Eyelet Border Punch or our Scallop Edge Border Punch.  The outside edges were brushed with Frost White Shimmer Paint to add a bit of soft reflection.  The stamp set is pure vintage (the theme for this weeks challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show).  This silhoutte is just one of the stamps that I adore in this set ... and there is so much more.  It's called Welcome Christmas. 

The bow is pure and simple.  A length of Black Satin tied around a scrap of Black and White Striped Grosgrain.  As you can tell  ... I save any little piece of this fabulous ribbon.  The sweet little tag is punch out with our Jewelry Tag Punch and is actually just a piece of the sentiment found in A Wish for Peace stamp set.  I encourage you to look at your greetings and sentiments ... there is lots of potential with this little punch.  Tied on with white string and embellished with stick pins, buttons, and Black Flourish Designer Jewels - my card is complete.

I hope you enjoyed today's visit...thank you for stopping by!


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HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!  May all the Peace, Love, and Joy of the new year be yours in 2010!

I just can't get enough of this Night and Day Designer Series Paper.  It's available in our current Holiday Mini Catalog but that offer expires on January 4th.  Click on the link to the left and order an extra pack today ... don't miss this wonderful paper!  Black and white is a classic.  Use it with Real Red for Valentines Day, or add some Pumpkin Pie/Only Orange for Halloween, and alone it is PERFECT for a wedding.

On this card I paired it with Rose Red.  The Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon is tied with our Basic Grey Corduroy Button and some black hemp.  The thin rings were made with 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" punches.  Wonderful for making a 1/8" ring!  I used Dimensionals to raise the white/ribbon piece and the scalloped circle greeting.  I know it doesn't say HAPPY NEW YEAR (and would you believe that I don't have a stamp for that!?) but it does express my heartfelt wishes for you.

Here's a quick peek at the inside.  I sent the Whisper White cardstock through the machine only until I got some dot texture on one end and then backed it out.  Adding the designer paper matted on Basic Black cardstock defines the space to the right where you add your thoughts.

I hope you like it!  : )






You will want to visit again later.  Look at all my new toys!  YIPPEE!  Yes, all this and much more is available to you starting January 5th.  Click on the Occasions catalog at the left and start your Wish List!

Super Sketch Sunday

I'm back with my second installment of Super Sketch Sunday.  It is still Sunday, isn't it?

This sketch is the layout we used yesterday at Stamp Camp.  You can see it's fairly simple in design with an element down in the lower right corner. 

In my project I was able to incorporate something I had not done in quite a while...embossing!  It is so fun to watch the powder melt into a glossy image I don't know why I don't do it more often!  The ship I used is from our Beware Pirates stamp set.  I embossed the image on our super cool Night & Day Specialty Paper.  This black and white paper is fantastic.  I've used it for Halloween, masculine themes, and it's elegant enough for weddings too.  However, it is only available for a limited time in our Holiday Mini Catalog so don't miss out!

Oh, and the wide striped ribbon ... LOVE  IT!  It's perfect for large square cards like this one.  (5.25" x 5.25" by the way).  The ribbon comes in Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, and Basic Black.  It's so soft and easy to tie.  I didn't want a bow on this card since it was to be masculine so I just tied a loop instead. 

Black brads across the top add the "hard detail" to the card.  Something every project needs.

So, what do you think?