A Basket Full of Wishes!

I love the weekly challenges on the Color Throwdown, but always seem to be out of the one of the colors. It's no different this week, but I decided to finally attempt a challenge. I manged to get done just in time! Here's my DEEsign:

I love the color palette this week:


The DEEtails:

1. I'm still out of Chocolate Chip card stock (I just ordered some!), so I knew I had to be creative with my use of brown. I loved the idea of a basket, so I "wove" one out of 1" Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon! No basket weaving experience needed, although I have taken classes before! I just cut short strips of ribbon, used bit of adhesive sheet on the back and did a quick over-under with each strip, tucking the ends under. Then I adhered the entire basket onto an Old Olive card.
2. Hope you aren't tired of flower cards. I can't help it! I like them so much! I used some large pink flowers that I had in my stash along with some small pink Prima flowers doubled. I poked brown brads through each flower. The number of flowers was determined by how many brown brads I had... I used them all up!

3. I arranged the flowers in the basket, then added some Old Olive leaves that I punched using my bird punch (my favorite)!

4. I stamped the sentiment from my Basket Full of Fun set with Chocolate Chip ink on Pretty in Pink card stock. I cut it out and used my Corner Rounder punch at each corner.

5. I adhered the sentiment tag to the basket and added a tiny pink bow using some ribbon from my stash. Too cute!

Hope you like it!

Color Queen!

I just got my first badge! I was crowned Color Queen for last week's Wow Flowers card. This is so exciting!

Here's my newest DEEsign:

This week's ColorQ Challenge is so cute! I just love these blocks!

Here are the DEEtails:

1. I'm actually out of Regal Rose, so I used Pretty in Pink instead, along with Regal Rose and Apricot Appeal flowers. I started out by punching out scallop flowers in all three colors. I also punched 1 1/4" circles.

2. I inked the Birthday stamp from my Circle of Friendship set with each of the three colors and stamped it on the matching card stock. I punched each stamped image with my 1" circle.

3. I layered the circles onto the scallop circle to make three flowers.

4. I punched the wing from my bird punch to make Glorious Green leaves. I mounted the flowers and leaves onto 2" Green Galore squares.

5. Finally, I layered the squares onto more Glorious Green and Melon Mambo paper and adhered it to a Green Galore card.

Hope you like it!

Hello There Birdie!

I love birds (and green!), so I had to play along with this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge:


Here's my DEEsign (I was totally inspired by the colors and rug in the top right photo and the birdcage in the bottom left photo):

And the DEEtails:

1. Making the birdcage was not easy! I used 24 gauge jewelry wire and created the birdcage by hand. I used 3 metal brads to help hold it in place at the top and sides. It's a little hard to tell in the photo, but the cage is 3-dimensional, as in, the wires are curved out so there's a little space inside for the birdie. After looking at the photo, I think it could use a little handle thing at the top... perhaps I'll add it later. For now, my fingers hurt too much!

2. I stamped the bird from my Wings of Friendship hostess set (love it!) with VersaMark on Kiwi Kiss paper and embossed him. The I mounted him so he's 3-dimensional inside his cage. Sorry, he didn't photograph very well...

3. Then I stamped the Hello there! sentiment from my Cheep Talk set. I used a 1" and 1 1/2" circle punch around the text instead of cutting it out, so I have a nice arc there. I used 3-dimensional mounts again.

4. I mounted my Going Gray square onto a piece of Kiwi Kiss card stock, which I then placed on my Basic Gray card. I love this color combination!

5. And of course, I had to have some distressed and crumpled flowers! I sure crumpled the heck out of these, punched out of 1", 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" circles and secured together with a metal snap.

Hope you like it!

Finally!

I finally finished my card for this week's Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger Challenge! Here's the inspiration photo:

Here's my DEEsign:

DEEtails:

1. I really liked the curves in the wood frame around the mirror and wanted to incorporate it in my card without letting it be overbearing. I decided to use my Stampin' Up! Top Note die and some Kraft card stock.

2. I immediately knew that I wanted to use this cute yellow gingham ribbon that I had in my stash. I tied it in a bow and added a bit of red with a grosgrain ribbon right under it. I had a hard time getting this bow to be just the right size to balance the card... I'm still not sure if I'm completely sold!

3. I found that the American Crafts Metropolitan had a flourish paper that complimented my Real Red card stock perfectly. I punched 3 paper scallop circles and 2 more card stock scallop circles, crumpled them up a bit, and layered them to create the flower.

4. I added a yellow button from my stash for the center of my flower and "stitched" with skinny strips of Real Red card stock. I added some greenery with some Old Olive card stock and my Stampin' Up Little Leaves sizzlits die.

5. To complete the look, I mounted the Top Note onto a Naturals White card stock mat, backed by a Real Red card.

Thankful Peacock

I just love the fact that all the inspiration pieces from Everything but the Kitchen Sink are so simple. The current challenge is based off the side of a day bed:

Here's my DEEsign:

The DEEtails:

1. I actually stamped the peacock from my Very Thankful set for another project. I liked how the size turned out and decided to use it for this layout instead. I used Brilliant Blue, Taken with Teal and Glorious Green Stampin' Write Markers to ink him with a Glorious Green vine and Real Red flowers.

2. I stamped the peacock on Naturals White card stock, but I didn't think he was vibrant enough, so I actually colored him in by hand. I added Creamy Caramel on his feathers in this process.

3. I trimmed him down to a 2" square, then mounted him onto a 2 1/8" square of Bermuda Bay card stock.

4. For the background, I used opposite color squares - 2" Bermuda Bay squares mounted on 2 1/8" Naturals White squares.

5. I stamped the sentiment part of the stamp separately on a piece of Bermuda Bay card stock and used it to add some dimension to the card.

Hope you like it!

Wow Flowers

Check out the fun, bright colors in this week's ColorQ Challenge:

Here's my Deesign:

Here are the DEEtails:

1. I started off by stamping the circle Happy Birthday stamp from my Wow Flowers set in each of the challenge colors. I punched each one out with my 1" circle punch.

2. Then I punched 1 1/4" circles out of matching cardstocks for layering. I also punched 1/4" circles for the centers of the flowers.

3. I used 3-dimensional squares to layer the circles randomly, at either the centers, the flowers or the backing pieces. I adhered them to the card in a simple 3 x 3 pattern.

4. For the center circle, I stamped the flower from my Always stamp set, added a 1/4" Yoyo Yellow circle in the center, and used a 3-dimensional square to mount it to a 1 1/4" circle.

5. I finished off the card by adding a red ribbon and bow that matched the Real Red card stock perfectly.

Featured Stamper and Another Color Dare!

I'm so excited to be named this week's Featured Stamper at The Color Dare blog for my Ikea pillow inspired card!

This week features another great color combination - Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum, Tempting Turquoise & Basic Black:

Here's my DEEsign:

And the DEEtails:

1. As soon as I saw this cute dress, I knew I wanted make a Criss Cross Card. I pulled out the fun colors and got to work. I started off by cutting a sheet of Tempting Turquoise in half, lengthwise, then scoring each piece at 5 1/2". Then, I cut a diagonal off of each piece and glued these together to make a nice trapezoid shape.

2. Next I trimmed my edges with a scalloped strip of Rich Razzleberry. Then I glued my triangle flaps down.

3. I worked on creating my flower next. I cut circles out of my Rich Razzleberry and Pale Plum card stocks in 1 1/2", 1 1/4" and 1" sizes. I distressed the edges, crumpled them up, then layered them. I topped the flower with a thistle colored button from my stash, tied with a needlepoint floss bow. Then I glued the flower to the corner of the outer card with a couple of Basic Black branches punched out with my bird punch (my favorite!)

4. I finished off the outer card with a sentiment from my Basket Full of Fun stamp set.

5. To make my inner card, I simply cut a 5 1/4" x 3 3/4" Rich Razzleberry rectangle and layered a 4 3/4" x 3 1/4" Pale Plum rectangle. I found a cute polka dot ribbon ribbon in my stash that matched and stuck it on with a black brad. I hate when brad metal shows through the back, so I only punched the brad through the front of the ribbon. The back of the brad is covered with the other side of the ribbon piece.

Hope you like it!

Trigger Target

Great news! I was picked as a Trigger Target on Moxie Fab World for my Pinked DEEsign!

I'll be posting my DEEsign for this week's inspiration photo soon. The problem is that I already think the card that is featured is absolutely perfect and is probably how I would have interpreted the inspiration photograph! I'll have to get my creative juices flowing... Be back soon!

A Little More Sunshine

The inspiration image and colors in this week's Curtain Call Color Challenge are too gorgeous to resist:


Here's my DEEsign:


And the DEEtails:

1. I think this is the first time I'm not really using the inspiration image to help create the look of this card. My original card was meant to imitate the look of the ruffly flowery purse on the left, but the look just wasn't quite right. So instead, I decided to do this card. I hope you like it!

2.I started off with a More Mustard card and a small piece of So Saffron layered on Going Gray, then Very Vanilla card stock.

3. I inked the cute bird cage image from my Happy Moments stamp set with Going Gray and More Mustard Stampin' Write Markers.

4. Then I took a tiny piece of skinny brown Offray ribbon (the kind you get at the craft store 2 spools for $1) and attached it to the top of the bird cage. I covered the ends of the ribbon with a rhinestone to bring in a bit of that sparkle from the inspiration image.

5. I added a ruffle to the edge by taking a piece of 1" Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon about 2 times the length of the card stock. I pulled both ends of the white stitching on one side of the ribbon until I got a nice even ruffle, the length of my card stock. Then I adhered the ribbon to the back of my card stock. Since the ribbon adds some bulk to the back of the card stock, I added some 3-dimensional mounting squares to even it out.

A Little Bit of Sunshine

Here's another fabulous Clean & Simple Fall-To Layout:

And here's my DEEsign:

The DEEtails:

1. I chose a simple color palette for this card - So Saffron and Going Gray. I love these colors together. It kind of reminds me of the sun peeking out after a storm. :)

2. I punched a simple scallop flower out of So Saffron card stock and layered it over an American Crafts gray ribbon that I got from the dollar bin at a local craft store.

3. I love the details on the butterfly from my Great Friend stamp set. I used VersaMark and clear embossing powder to help make it stand out. I bent the wings a tiny bit, then glued a flower button from the Button Latte Designer Buttons set tied with a bit of yellow DMC needlepoint floss.

4. I stamped a sentiment from my Trendy Trees set in Basic Gray ink at the bottom of the card.

5. So Clean & Simple!

Color Dare

I love the colors in this week's Color Dare - Crushed Curry, Kiwi Kiss, Brilliant Blue, and Kraft. Check out these fun pillows from Crate and Barrel:

Here's my DEEsign:

And the DEEtails:

1. I love Kraft cards, so of course I wanted the base to be all Kraft.

2. I started off by cutting 1 1/2" squares out of the challenge colors. I totally made a mistake making this card and didn't realize it until everything was glued down! I used Old Olive instead of Kiwi Kiss. Oops!

3. Then I used my Cuttlebug and the SU! Little Leaves Sizzlits Die and cut out 3 sets of leaves on Naturals White card stock. I used my Therm O Web Adhesive sheets to help glue these down randomly onto the colorful squares. Then I trimmed away the excess from the leaves and rubbed my Adhesive Remover gently over the leaves to remove away any excess stickiness. Then I matted the squares onto some Naturals White card stock cut 1/8" larger.

4. I glued the three squared down onto a Kraft rectangle mat, centered onto the card. I have this neat ruler thing that helps with centering. It's basically a ruler that measures from 6 to 0, then back to 6. Does that make sense? I can't remember where I got it, but I find it quite handy.

5. The final touch is a simple Happy Birthday stamp from my A Little Birthday Cheer set.

Birthday Flowers

Here's another fun challenge from Embellish Magazine:


And here's my DEEsign:

DEEtails:

1. I can't believe it, but I ran out of Chocolate Chip card stock! So I used Soft Suede, which I think looks more like a flower pot color anyway. I adhered the flower pot to a Not Quite Navy card. I stamped the birthday sentiment from my Heard from the Heart stamp set on the rim of the pot and used some thicker glue dots to raise it off the page a tiny bit.

2. I cut out various circles (1" and 1 1/4") and scallop circles out of Melon Mambo, Not Quite Navy and Naturals White card stock, then crinkled and layered them to create flowers.

3. I found some green buttons in my stash and some matching DMC needlepoint floss to thread them. I glued these in the centers of the flowers. Then I arranged the flowers in the pot with 3-dimensional adhesive squares.

4. Can you tell that I love my bird punch? I used it again! This time, Garden Green card stock made the branch pieces perfect for ferny foliage and a the wings as leaves, which I stuffed into my arrangement.

5. I originally made 6 flowers to go in my pot, but they didn't quite fit. I wanted to make the birthday theme a bit more prominent, so I took the flower apart and stamped the 1" circle with the Happy Birthday circle stamp from my Wow Flowers stamp set. I reassembled the flower and adhered it to the bottom of the page.

So Exciting!

I made it on the Stamping 411 Stampers Showcase! I'm so excited (I actually squealed when I saw this!). So I'm back to play in the Color Inspiration Challenge:

Here's my DEEsign:

And the DEEtails:

1. I hardly ever make a white card, but I wanted to incorporate the crisp white sheets from the inspiration image. I used Naturals White (I like it because it is a nice, thick card stock and has a nice soft look to it). I started off with a Brocade Blue base stamped with VersaMarked flourishes from my Wings of Friendship set.

2. I inked the "Happiness" part of a sentiment from my Heard from the Heart set with Brocade Blue on the bottom of the card.

3. I used the same leafy flourish stamp on the So Saffron mat with Certainly Celery ink. (It's hard to see, but there is actually part of the flourish stamped underneath the bow.) I also used my Scallop Trim punch to add a bit of frill to the edge of the yellow mat.

4. Then I used VersaMark to stamp the flower from my Bella Blossoms stamp set on So Saffron card stock. I embossed two flowers and cut them out. I used 3-dimensional mounting squares to adhere flowers onto the leafy flourishes.

5. To tie it all together (no pun intended), I used some Certainly Celery satin ribbon and made a bow that tilted just so.

Hope you like it!

Something for Dad

Pals Paper Arts has a fun sketch this week (plus blog candy!):

My Dad's birthday is coming up, so I wanted to make a card for him. Here's my DEEsign:

But I couldn't have a "FORE U" card without a gift (and I couldn't trek out in the snow), so I made him this tag:

Card DEEtails:

1. My Dad is a golfer, so it made sense to use my Just Golf stamp set. I started off randomly stamping the golf ball image with VersaMark on an Old Olive card.

2. I used a little bit of a sheet of Windsor Knot Designer Series Paper for both the big mat and the scalloped edge.

3. I inked the F, R, and E in the FORE stamp and stamped them on a piece of Soft Suede card stock. I stamped the golf ball instead of the O just for kicks.

4. I stamped the golf club on some Old Olive card stock and cut it out. It worked out by coincidence that the golf club lined up with one of the golf balls in the background.

5. I found a brown U sticker in my stash (Lola Basic Mix alphabet from Love, Elsie) and stuck it on some Old Olive card stock, embellished with a square frame from my Hodgepodge Hardware set.

Tag DEEtails:

1. This was totally an experimental project, but I like the result! I really hope this holds up, however Dad decides to use it (I'm thinking it might be nice on his hand carry bag when he goes traveling). I started off with a chipboard F from my stash (I can't remember where I got these). Each piece is a 2 1/2" x 3" rectangle with a letter that pops out. You can use just the letter, just the silhouette, or in my case, the whole thing!

2. I used the Windsor Knot DSP from my card on the background and the reverse for the letter. I popped the F back in and also adhered the light blue paper on the back side of the tag. I also printed my Dad's address and phone number on a piece of Kraft card stock and adhered it to the back.

3. I punched a hole at the top of the rectangle, then I used a TON of VersaMark and clear embossing powder. First I did the edges to seal the paper and chipboard. I did each edge twice. Then I did the front and back sides, also twice for a thick, shiny coating. I paid careful attention to where the F was cut out and the edges of the address card stock on the back side to make sure they were sealed well. The bad thing is that the heat from embossing discolors the paper a bit, making it look darker and more dull, but I ended up liking the fact that it looked a bit distressed and more manly.

4. I took a piece of Whisper White card stock and embossed it with a polka dotted Texturz plate, then adhered the card stock upside down on a small round piece from my On Board Batch of Blooms chipboard set to look like the grooves on a golf ball. I used the same embossing technique on the golf ball, then adhered it to my tag, using Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive. I really hope it stays on there!

5. I found a ball chain in my stash (I knew there was a reason why I kept these random pieces from clothing tags) and strung it through the hole. It was the perfect finishing touch. Hooray!

Pinked!

This week's Tuesday Trigger is very pink! And very sweet!

Here's my DEEsign. I tried to make my card sweet and pink too!

DEEtails:

1. I punched a scallop circle out of scrap paper for the base of this very pink flower. Then I put a lot of adhesive and layerd on my Prima flowers. This was a nice way to use up some of those mangled flowers from the jar. I just made sure they got hidden in the process. I just love my bird punch and found another use for it - the stem for my flower with Kiwi Kiss card stock.

2. I wanted the card to be bright, pink and giry with a sort of softness to this card, so I used Naturals White card stock (it has some natural flecks in it, hence the name) mounted on Pink Passion.

3. I used my scallop edge punch for the bottom and added the sentiment from the Valentine stamp from my Wandering Words set.

4. I found this cute gingham ribbon in my stash, so I tied a bow to the side. Then I filled in the space right above it with more adhesive and more Prima flowers!

5. It needed a little bit of something extra, so I trimmed the leaves off of the branch I used for my stem and tucked them randomly in my pile of flowers. I think it just adds that little extra bit of color!

What do you think?

Compose a Card

I was really tickled when I saw Becky Oehler's Compose a Card Challenge. I love music and the idea of pairing it with a card challenge sounded so fun! So I got my iTouch and supplies ready and got to work. We've been snowed in for a week now, so it was nice to make a fun and springy card.

The inspiration photo was bright and cheerful:

And I love the song:

But the card recipe seemed very specific and a little tricky since I didn't have all the right supplies:

I hope you like my DEEsign:

Here are the DEEtails:

1. I used all SU! colors - Dusty Durango, Bashful Blue, Melon Mambo, and Whisper White - cut to the specified sizes. This is my first 5" x 7" card. I was worried because when I started, I felt like there was a ton of empty space to fill!

2. I used the large swirly flourish from my Priceless stamp set and stamped it with VersaMark directly onto the Dusty Durango card.

3. I used my Stampin' Write markers to ink a stamp from my Heard from the Heart set. I mounted it on a piece of Dusty Durango card stock just a tiny bit larger. Then used 3-dimensional squares to mount my sentiment to overlap the flourish and the Bashful Blue mat.

4. I didn't have white embossing powder (I've added it to my wishlist), so I stamped the flower image from my Always stamp set in ColorBox Frosted White ink and used clear embossing powder. I cut eight of these flowers - eight because I got tired after the eighth one! I clustered them randomly, and thought it would look cute with a few raised.

5. I didn't have rhinestones either (and one look out the window told me I had to improvise). So, I took some rhinestone brads and took them apart. I pulled the rhinestone piece out from each brad and glued them to the centers of a few of my flowers.

That's it! Hope you like it!

Stamping 411

I really liked the Saturday Sketch Challenge from the Stamping 411 blog:

Here's my DEEsign:

And the DEEtails:

1. I started off using patterned paper from the American Crafts Metropolitan line. I love the aqua, chartreuse, and kraft color combination. I created these roses with a 1" x 12" strip of paper folded in half, then scrunched and twisted and glued into a spiral shape. I used Therm O Web Sticky Dots Die-Cut Adhesive. It's basically just a flat sheet of sticky dots. I like using this stuff for odd shapes or things that are hard to get adhesive on. I adhered the flowers onto a scrap of Kraft card stock, then trimmed the backing. This creates a flat surface that can be easily glued down onto my card.

2. After I made my flowers, I punched out branches using my Bird Punch on Paper Source Chartreuse card stock. I trimmed the stem on these, since they are a bit longer than the width of my roses and glued them down randomly on a piece of Kraft card stock. Then I glued down my flowers.

3. I cut a piece of Chartreuse card stock 1/8" larger than my Kraft backing to add an extra bit of color to the card.

4. It's a bit hard to see, but I stamped "Hello" from my Pendant Park stamp set with ColorBox Lime Pastel Chalk ink and added a piece from my Hodgepodge Hardware set. I find the Hodgepodge Hardware a bit tricky sometimes, so I use adhesive directly on the metal piece, using my the same Sticky Dots Adhesive sheets from DEEtail #1, then adhere it to the card stock, punch the brads through, then trim the backing. If you know a better way, please let me know!

5. I love the retired Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon. It's such a nice splash of color! I glued it onto the Kraft card stock backing and placed the Hodgepodge Hardware on top. I chose Kraft for the backing and the card for more tone on tone. Plus, I think it really makes the flowers pop!

What do you think?

Cluster of Flowers

One of the things I really like about the EtsyInspired Challenges is that I get to choose my own inspiration image. This week's Challenge is to visit Traveling Mama to be inspired. The unique color combinations and textures were definitely a challenge for me to try to capture!

The inspiration image I chose is this one from the Afternoon Tea postcard set:


Here's my DEEsign:


DEEtails:

1. I love the combination of both deep and subtle colors in the photograph. I tried to choose a similar combination of colors and went with Bravo Burgundy for the flowers, Mellow Moss for the background, and Soft Suede for the card.

2. I used my Martha Stewart hydrangea punch to create the bougainvillea blooms. I layered 2 and used a white eyelet in the center. This may be a little strange, but I put the eyelets on backwards because I thought the bottom part of the eyelet looked more a flower center. When placed the correct way, I thought the white was a bit too shocking. After putting the eyelet through each flower, I squeezed each one a bit to make them pop up.

3. I cut a strip of vellum paper to emulate the kind of foggy, unfocused look of the table in the photograph. This card is very delicate because the vellum isn't glued on very well. I still haven't found an adhesive that I like for vellum, so I stick to using regular adhesive only on sections that are hidden or very sparingly otherwise. I found a scrap of a strange brownish ribbon that looked great with the soft suede paper. This was totally unplanned, but I needed something to cover up the majority of my adhesive and the color was just too perfect to pass up!

4. I stamped the sentiment from my Kind Thoughts stamp set in Mellow Moss directly onto the vellum. I love how this looks!

5. I liked the idea of the flowers being arranging on the page in a sort of vine-y cluster. The idea sounded good, but gluing the flowers down was tricky! I used glue dots on the front side of the eyelet and very carefully pressed the flowers down. The problem with pressing the flowers down is that it either scrunches them up too tightly, or spreads them out too flat. It was quite the battle to get my flowers just so! (All that work, even though they'll probably get messed up again once they go in an envelope!)

Clean and Simple, Blue and Gray

I love the new Clean & Simple Fall-To Layout:


Here's my DEEsign:


And the DEEtails:

1. I used SU! Basic Gray and Going Gray with a hint of Paper Source Lake card stock. I love the color combination!

2. I stamped the small swirl image and the swirly branch portion of the large bird image from my Wings of Friendship stamp set, using my Basic Gray Stampin' Write Marker. (Now that my card is done, I wish I had done this part in blue...)

3. My sentiment is a very simple one from my Trendy Trees stamp set, stamped in Basic Black.

4. The patterned paper is from Amy Butler's Lotus line from K & Company. I mounted it on a 2 inch strip of Going Gray card stock that I punched on both sides with my Scallop Trim border.

5. The final touch is the paper flower. I punched 1", 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" circles - 2 of each size, using the three colors. I distressed the edges and scrunched them up, punched the centers, then layered them together. I used a blue rhinestone brad from my stash and adhered it to the card.

Tree of Hearts

I love the color combination in this week's Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge:



Here's my DEEsign:


DEEtails:

1. I started off with a Basic Gray background on a Basic Black card (I think I broke the rules here, but the tree just popped a bit more on Basic Gray than Whisper White).

2. I stamped the tree from my Seasons of Friendship stamp set. Then I punched out a bunch of small hearts using a punch that I had gotten a while ago from a $1 craft bin. I cut some 3-dimensional squares to fit the size of the hearts and mounted them on the tree.

3. I used my Pinking Heart Border Punch and a small strip of Pretty in Pink paper for a cute border on the bottom of the card.

4. I used the heart #5 that I had cut out from my Embellish challenge last week. I always love finding a good use for my scraps!

5. For my final touch, I stamped a sentiment from A Happy Heart and mounted it on a Melon Mambo rectangle a tiny bit larger and adhered it to my scrap paper heart.

Inspiration in Action

Here's a fun sketch I found at Gretchen Barron's Inspiration in Action Blog:

Here's my DEEsign:

DEEtails:

1. I adore the bird from my Always stamp set and really wanted to get use of it today. I selected Bordering Blue card stock for this little guy. I stamped him with VersaMark and used clear embossing powder. Then I patiently cut him out. I feel like I'm missing the trick in cutting things out. It's so painstaking for me. If you know the trick, please let me in on it!

2. I love the retired Bella Birds DSP and selected four papers that would help showcase my bird. I chose 2 blue papers and 2 pink papers. I was worried that the color combo would make it look like it was a baby card, but I really liked it!

3. Here's my favorite part. I found this pink recycled paper in my stash that just so happened to be the perfect color! It's just a shade lighter than Pretty in Pink. I used it to back my patterned paper and for my large diagonal square. I'm really into tone on tone lately, so I cut two squares out of Bordering Blue card stock to layer on my large pink square. Then I placed my cute little birdie on top, using 3-dimensional foam squares.

4. I cut a slit in the layered squares and carefully slipped some new Pretty in Pink satin ribbon through it and tied a cute little bow. This was probably the hardest part, aside from cutting out that bird! Thick satin ribbon is hard to tie into a cute little bow!

5. I love the technique of cutting thin strips of paper for faux stitching on the ribbon. It's a perfect solution when I don't have the right color floss. Plus it stands out a bit more. I used strips of Bordering Blue threaded through some pink buttons from my vintage-ish button stash plus one from SU!'s Button Bouquet. I couldn't use all SU! buttons because the Pretty in Pink color was just a shade too bright.

And there you have it! Hope you like it!

Clean & Simple

The Clean & Simple Stamping blog has some really nice layouts, so I thought I'd try out the current Fall-To Layout:

I adored the sample on the blog and didn't realize how much my DEEsign looked like it until after I started to post (My colors are almost identical - oops!):

DEEtails:

1. I loved the idea of a tone-on-tone look. I'm liking that lately, so I picked two very simple colors - SU! Kraft and Melon Mambo.

2. I started out by using my Cuttlebug and my Sizzix Heart #5 die. I adhered the heart to a 2 1/4 inch square, then cut it into 4 smaller squares.

3. I used my Pinking Hearts Border Punch and some hemp twine for my ribbon embellishment.

4. I added the sentiment from SU!'s A Happy Heart stamp set.

5. So simple!

Monkeying Around

The EtsyInspired Challenge this week is too cute! We were supposed to find an inspiration image from Elie's Happy Hats. Here's mine:


I'm not totally thrilled with this card, but I think it turned out pretty cute. I think it just wasn't what I was envisioning when I saw the cutie pa-tootie in the photo. Here's my DEEsign:


DEEtails:

1. I've been wanting to use my new Fox and Friends set, but just wasn't sure what to do with the cute little critters, but when I saw this adorable hat, I knew just where to start!

2. I'm sorry that the photo is not so great. The colors aren't showing up too well. I wanted to use Barely Banana to match the monkey hat in the photo and it doesn't seem to be picking up the pale yellow color. I stamped the little monkeys and punched them out. (hehe sounds funny!)Then mounted them on scalloped circles punched out from Real Red and a random pink scrap that I had (it's not an SU! color).

3. I gave each of my monkeys a DMC needlepoint floss bow in red and pink to match, of course!

4. I used a Very Vanilla ribbon and embellished it with red and pink buttons from my stash and coordinated needlepoint floss.

5. I mounted the monkeys on Very Vanilla paper, then layered my card stock - pink scrap, Barely Banana, Real Red, and more Barely Banana.