Bold Blooms

Wild, isn't it?  One of great things about papercrafting is the chance to try on a completely different style.  If you buy an item of clothing that isn't quite your style, you might love it or not.  If not, it sits in your closet taking up space and radiating guilt.  I love the color yellow but I can't wear it with my skin tone.  I don't even have that much of it in my home.  It has to be an accent for me.  And orange, forget it.  For years, I said it was my least favorite color.  However, I've come to really enjoy orange on my scrapbook pages and my cards. I don't want to live with it all the time, yet I can indulge in something totally different on my pages.

So this layout that screams yellow and orange is definitely, ah, different, for me.  It isn't just the colors.  I did this one for two challenges.  One is the Scrapbooker's Anonymous challenge this month to use at least 7 flowers from your stash - no homemade ones.  Such a shame as I've really been into making my own flowers lately.  Fortunately I remembered these from Hobby Lobby's floral department that I thought were a great bargain and I stocked up for cards.  However, they are so large you have to do a large square card and I just don't make many of those.  Once you have made someone a card with a large flower like this on it, you and they will remember it so less is more.  You just can't send a big yellow daisy birthday card year after year.  There is a baker's dozen flowers adhered to the background with glue dots.  More submissions at:  March Challenge

I also worked through the stash with this ancient piece of brown MME paper for the background and some old chipboard I painted and stamped to replicated the look of the lattice in the background of these photos.

Speaking of the photos... they are from the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens in Fort Bragg, California.   This will be the intro page to several pages on these gorgeous gardens.  

The other challenge this layout is being submitted to is from Two Peas "Products You Love" class.  This month's topic is buttons.  I frequently put a button in the center of a flower.  My tiny alteration here is to use a cluster of buttons which I suppose is more realistic for the center of a flower.  Check out Shannon's class at:  Two Peas March class

Thanks for braving the flower patch today!

Ingredients:  Chipboard:  Stampin' Up!
Flowers: silk from Hobby Lobby
Buttons:  Fancy Pants, Basic Grey and various sources
Cardstock:  Early Espresso and Crumb Cake
DSP:  My Mind's Eye
STickers:  Paper Studio

Found: Gobs of mulberry paper

Remember when mulberry paper was so popular?  I must have stocked one sheet in every color!  I just came across an extra stash.  The smooth side made an interesting stamping surface for this detailed floral stamp from Stampin' Up!

This is a really quick card for my next card class.  We are concentrating on using large stamps. We are also using some K&Company chipboard out of my stash for this card.

Have you rediscovered an "oldie but goodie" from your stash lately?

Ingredients:  Stamps: Elements of Style by SU!
Cardstock: Sweet Blush by PTI!
DSP and ink:  Soft Suede by SU!
Brad also by SU!

TIPsy Tuesday - Outline stamped DSP

When I was doing yesterday's layout, I needed a flower to finish off the embellishments and just didn't have quite the right design to cut on my Cricut.  So I stamped an image on designer paper and cut it out by hand.  I liked it so much, I did this card with several images.  When stamping, I tried different colors with different flowers to see what I liked.

To get the look, choose small pattern papers and an outline stamp.  Stamp directly on the pattern paper and cut out.

To finish these flowers, I used markers to color in the centers.  Normally when I use these stamps, I'm coloring in everything with markers or watercolor crayons.  This was much faster and I love the results.

Thanks for visiting today!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Fifth Avenue Floral and Define Your Life by SU!; Fresh Bloom by Stampendous
DSP:  October Afternoon Farm Fresh; Sweet Pea by SU!; various grid papers by Fancy Pants
Ink:  Dark Brown by Colorbox; Soft Suede by SU!
Cardstock:  Baja Breeze, Pumpkin Pie
Ribbon:  So Saffron by SU!

Signs of almost Spring

It’s time for another Shimelle’s 4x6 Photo Love class at Twopeasinabucket.com.  This month she is helping us build a layout with two photos.  In all of the examples within the pdf she used two portrait oriented files.  I quickly discovered when going through my photo stash that most of my pictures are landscape orientation.  (Later I did see some of her other examples where she used the same layout using two landscape 4x6 photos).  I had the photo with the budding tree and I knew I wanted a picture of Lenny with the daffodils.  It’s tradition for him to go out and pick the few daffodils that we have and bring them in in the early spring –or more precisely, late winter.  It is a sign that it is 'almost Spring.'

Check out some of the other layouts by clicking here.  Also Shimelle is offering an extra opportunity to win a prize by uploading your layout to her blog as well as linking to Two Peas.

One project note to create the circular element on the right I use to rub on on a circular piece of chipboard and brushed the edges with white paint.

I'm really in love with this little yellow pom pom trim from Stampin' Up!  It is available in their winter mini catalog through the end of April.  It comes in three colors.

Stop by tomorrow for more on the flower accent - another thing I'm in love with at the moment.

Hope your week gets off to a good start.

Ingredients:  DSP:  October Afternoon various collections

Stickers:  October afternoon

Rub-ons:  Delight by Fancy Pants  Brad:  KI Memories

Font:  Blackjack

Thickers:  American Crafts

Ribbon:  Making Memories  Trim:  Daffodil Delight pom pom by Stampin' Up!

Stamps:  Fifth Avenue Floral  Ink:  Dark Brown by Colorbox

(boy, I sure covered the manufacturers on this one!)

Straight from the Nest baby card

This is my card for the baby shower today.  I love using these October Afternoon papers for die cuts.  The tiny patterns work so well on these 'baby clothes.'  I did find it better to stamp the embellishments separately, cut them out and the glue to the baby clothes rather than try to stamp directly.  The little 'c' is a sticker representing the new baby's first name.

The flowers in the border have a tiny hole cut in the center presumably for a brad.  I just did a touch with a green marker in the center of the yellow flowers to keep this simple.

The background of the card is a piece of naturals white cardstock rubbed with pastels.  Naturals cardstock has quite a bit of texture to really picks up the pastels.

So my card is more in the 'clean and simple' category than my Mother's vintage inspired card.  I enjoyed doing a bit of both to welcome a new baby girl.

I can't wait to show you my baby gift but I'm going to :-)  hint: I'm waiting for the Spring Blogger's Quilt Festival in May.  I'll post a link to the festival on Amy's Creative Side blog when it gets here.  If you are a quilter and want to participate, visit Amy at:  Amy's Creative Side

Thanks for visiting me today!  

Ingredients:  Stamp: Whimsical Words by Stampin' Up!

DSP and letter stickers:  October Afternoon Thrift Shop

Cardstock:  Naturals White, Crumb Cake, Bermuda Bay

Ink:  Close to Cocoa 

Baby Card

If I am making a card specifically for someone, I usually try to make the card to recipient's taste.  I choose colors and a style I think suits them.  Do you do this?  Is this normal?  I figured it was just habit from my work designing window treatments and helping others select colors and furnishings for their homes.

This weekend, my mother and I are invited to the same baby shower.  We know the grandmother-to-be very well but don't know the mother-to-be that well.  So I decided to make cards more the style of the giver.  This is the one my mother will bring.  Mother is the kind of person most of us envy.  She can throw together a half dozen items of clothing and jewelry none of which were bought at the same time and the same place or seem to the same style and make them work beautifully.  So for her, I did a more vintage style card with lots of layers.  

Since this is a tough style for me, I stuck to a monochromatic color scheme.  The papers and die cuts are from one line of products.  I added some stamping and different techniques to give it that 'artsy' look.  The flower technique is from the October Afternoon blog.  I found this via Sue's Friday Picks linked here.  I left off the glitter.  Thanks, Sue.  It really is an easy flower to make.

Tomorrow, I'll post my card.  It is certainly a different style!

Happy Friday.

Ingredients:  Stamps: Baroque Motifs and So Many Scallops by Stampin' Up!
DSP, card base and die cuts:  J'Adore collection from Making Memories
Brad:  KI Memories

One More Offbeat Card

Using the Split Coast stamper's sketch challenge for this week, I finished off the Offbeat collection from Basic Grey.  I sometimes get stuck using the same stamps with certain types of paper. It's like some designer papers just calls out for a certain stamp. This paper really went well with the Cheap Talk stamp set.

Project notes:

• Rather than stamp and cut out the stem from the stamp set I cut the stem using the Cricut which is always more precise than I am.
• To keep some of these light colored pattern papers from blending together I put everything on white mats. For white card stock I often use a ream of white card stock I purchase at the office supply store.  It isn't that great for stamping but wonderful for typed journaling or mats and it is really inexpensive. 

This cheery card reminds me of all the birds we have visiting our feeder. We're enjoying lovely warm spring like days. It's been so nice to get in some outdoor walking and work on my resolution to 'get moving.'

Ingredients: Stamp set: Cheap Talk by Stampin' up!
DSP: Offbeat by Basic Gray
Card stock: Baja breeze
Ink: Baja breeze, pumpkin pie
Cricut:  Straight from the Nest

TIPsy Tuesday - Leftover Chipboard Letters

My 12x12 Sterlite stackable drawers not only help keep me organized (as much as possible for me) but also from getting too out of hand with my purchases (again, as much as possible).  When I run out of drawers, I have to stop buying pretty paper.  So what to do when I see all these great new paper collections? Well, I have to clear out drawers of course!

In clearing out a couple of drawers yesterday, I found some chipboard that was running fairly low and thought I'd use some of it up along with older pattern paper collections.  One great way to use up those extra letters whether chipboard or stickers is to make cards.

I had so much fun with these.  Typically, I really like my chipboard to match at least for a full word but I just used what I had extra and it made these more whimiscal.  Using up your stash is so freeing.  I find I can really experiment when I'm not saving paper for something later on.

When using leftover chipboard on cards, you may find it a bit like playing Scrabble.  You have to form words with the letters you have and you have to pick words that will work on a card.  It's just a new kind of challenge.

Ingredients:  DSP:  Offbeat 6x6 paper pad from Basic Grey; Daily Grind 8x8 paper pad from Fancy Pants; a little J'adore from Making Memories
Chipboard letters:  Various that I think are Making Memories
Cardstock:  Naturals White and Bashful Blue by Stampin' Up!