It's Curtain Call Baby! {68}

Hiya friends!  Just a quick post tonight to share a card I made with the scrump-dilly-icious colors from Stacey's Curtain Call Color Challenge {68}:

 

Aren't they gorgeous?  I think I say that about all the colors Stacey picks!   I'm not sure I'm in love with this card but it's growing on me...I think.

I was itching to use the Fun Flowers die that I've had since December but not yet used once!  Ack!  The flowers are cut from Pink Pirouette CS and then stamped in Melon Mambo with the En Francais background stamp.  I also sponged more Melon Mambo on the edges to define each layer.

The center is one of the Sweet Stitches fabric brads from the mini catalog.  Just love these!  I also embossed the card base with the Perfect Details texture plate.  I like how it gives a garden lattice look to the background.

And here's the inside...combined two sentiments here, Occasional Quotes & Short and Sweet, and I thought they worked well together.  I've only ever used the "Love begins in a moment..." sentiment for wedding or anniversary cards but when I gave it some thought, it really works for the birth of a baby too! Sorry for such a short post tonight...it's been a long work week but I'm off tomorrow and looking forward to a bit of quality time at my craft table.  Have a great Friday, friends!

supplies:

stamps: en francais, a word for you, charming, occasional quotes, short and sweet

ink: melon mambo, wild wasabi, pink pirouette

paper: whisper white, melon mambo, pink pirouette, wild wasabi CS

xtras: two tags die, fun flowers die, scallop border punch, polka dot impression folder, sweet stitches fabric brads, perfect details texture plate, wild wasabi striped grosgrain ribbon

Crushed Chocolate Plums {CD87}

I know I say this every week but...here I go again...this week Riley has a gorgeous color combination for you at The Color Dare!  Chocolate Chip, Concord Crush and Perfect Plum--lovely isn't it?  These rich, luxiurious colors put me in the mind of a non-traditional Christmas card and I knew right away what I wanted to do.  Because Concord Crush is a very intense color, I wanted to toned it down a bit with Perfect Plum on the background panel.  I've used this technique before on this card and I just love the look--especially with the Vintage Wallpaper impressions folder.  Using a brayer, I rolled Concord Crush ink directly onto one side of the plastic impressions folder, going over it a few times for good ink coverage.  I placed a piece of Perfect Plum into the inky folder, ran it through the Big Shot and the results are a two-tone dry embossed effect that is so pretty!  Here's a close-up for you:

For this card, I inked the front of the impressions folder (that's the side with the Stampin' Up logo) which placed the ink on the de-bossed areas.  You could also ink up the back of the folder (the side without the logo) to highlight the raised or embossed areas.  Either way the results are stunning and such a simple way to incorporate two colors into your design! ;-)

With such a bold main panel, I needed to keep the other elements simple so I embossed one of the ornaments from Delightful Decorations in Concord Crush, popped it out with my coordinating ornament punch and layered it over some rich Chocolate Chip striped grosgrain ribbon.  I little adhesive basic pearl added just a touch of elegance to the only sentiment on the front.  

 I kept the inside simple too with another strip of the inked & embossed cardstock.  Seasonal Sentiments was the perfect flourish for the greeting and I overstamped it in Concord Crush on top of a simple medallion from Charming.  I thought the Charming medallion was a good match to the shapes in the Vintage Wallpaper impressions folder and inked in Perfect Plum (and stamped off once) it tied in with the cardstock nicely.  

So there's my clean but elegant (I think!) card for this week's Color Dare...won't you join us?  To get started, check out the fabulous inspiration from the rest of the design team below and then head over to The Color Dare to link up your creation.  We can't wait to see what you do with these colors!

The Design Team:

• Riley - our leader
• Glenda - Papers, Scissors & Rocks
• Heather - Princess Scrapper Stamper
• Joan - JJ Creations
• Marisa - Rosemary Reflections
• Melissa - My Paper Obsession

supplies:
stamps: delightful decorations, charming, seasonal sentiments

ink: concord crush, perfect plum

paper: chocolate chip, concord crush, perfect plum & very vanilla CS

xtras: vintage wallpaper impressions folder; brayer; chocolate chip striped grosgrain ribbon; basic pearls

Anything Goes: Paper Players {22}

Happy Halloween friends! No tricks here just today's project for the Anything Goes challenge over at The Paper Players.  I am the challenge hostess this week--my first ever hostess gig--and I would love to have you play along.  I've had this 1" square Simply Adorned charm for way too long and it was just crying out for some stampin' love!

The Charming set is the perfect size for these little "inchies" and provided the Baja Breeze medallion and the Early Espresso text.  "Inspire" is snipped out from the Define Your Life stamp set and the Butterfly embosslit made the pretty little butterfly in Poppy Parade.  Some 1/8" taffeta ribbon in Early Espresso and a Basic Jewel were the finishing touches.  I hope you can join us at The Paper Players this week--anything goes so go get your craft on and make something.  We can't wait to see your creations!  Short post today as I'm in Orlando to present at a conference...so it's back to work.  Thanks so much for stopping by...have a good one!

Shabby Vintage: {PPC9} & {CCCC41}

Tonight I have an entry for two of my favorite weekly challenges to share with you. Lesley and the design team over at Paper Players challenged us with a "vintage" theme and boy, is that ever a challenge for me! Is there such a thing as too much vintage?! This card has been distressed, smudged, spritzed, shimmered, embossed and stamped within an inch of it's life! I'm not sure but...I think I like it!

The color scheme was inspired by another favorite over at Stacey's Stamping Stage. I did take a little artistic liberty and changed the neutral from Whisper White to Very Vanilla to better coordinate with this lovely bit of Victoria Crochet Trim from the new SU catalog. Otherwise, the colors stayed true using Night of Navy, Marina Mist and Crumb Cake. What a beautiful
combination!

At stamp club with my upline this week, we made these wonderful flowers with the Scallop Circle Punch. I don't know where this technique originated...if anyone knows please tell me so I can give proper credit. You can use as many layers of scallop circles as you wish depending on how full you want your flower to be. For this one, I used 5 Marina Mist scalloped circles--4 punched with the 1 3/4" Scallop Circle punch and 1 using the 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch (new). The technique is super simple:

1. Punch desired number of scalloped circles.
2. Punch a small hole in the approximate center of each circle. I used my 1/16" circle punch but you could also use a Crop-o-Dile or even pierce a hole. Don't worry if the hole isn't in the center--you want each layer to be a bit wonky so it looks more natural.
3. Using a regular spray bottle, spritz each circle with water so it is covered. I just held it in the palm of my hand and sprayed a couple times.
4. Scrunch each circle in your hand.
5. Unfold each circle and layer them one of top of the other, aligning the center holes and with the largest circle at the back.
6. Place a small brad through all layers of the flower.
7. Starting with the top layer, scrunch up each scalloped circle until it looks the way you want it to look. You can spray the entire flower with water a few more times to get the desired effect.
8. Set your flower aside to dry--should take about 15 minutes or so. You'll be amazed at how quicky it dries and how beautiful it is when finished! Leave me a comment if you would like me to post a photo tutorial on how this is done. I've been thinking I need to start doing some tutorials so this might be a good place to start--let me know if you're interested.

Before my flower dried, I used SU's Color Spritzer and an Early Espresso Stampin' Write marker to give it an aged, vintage look. After color spritzing, I sprayed on a mixture of Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint and rubbing alcohol for some extra sparkle and glitz! I warned you this one was spritzed within an inch of it's life! LOL. (click on the photo above to get a better look at the shimmered spritz!)

Finally, the inside. A piece of Very Vanilla was stamped with the En Francais background stamped I used on the front. Also stamped in Crumb Cake but this time I stamped off twice so it looks almost like a watermark. I wanted a soft and washed-out image that wouldn't compete with any writing on the inside. The little piece of Marina Mist is punched with my new favorite punch--Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border--and the Night of Navy flower is from Charming. And because I couldn't let well enough alone (!), I sponged the edges of the inside with Crumb Cake just as I did on the sentiment oval from the front. That little background stamp in the oval? It's from Charming too and is also stamped in Crumb Cake...pretty, eh? Maybe I do like this vintage thing after all...what do you think? Don't forget to go check out all the other vintage entries at the Paper Players Challenge and the beautiful colors at the Curtain Call. It's always fun to play along...cheers!

8/8/10 edit: I'm so excited! Stacey chose this card as the LEAD in the Curtain Call Color Challenge {Act 41}. I just can't believe it...I'm thrilled...thank you!

8/9/10 edit: WOW! Just found out that this card also made it as a Cut Above at the Paper Players...a big thank you to Lesley and the design team! Hmmm, maybe vintage is my style afterall. :-)

supplies:
stamps: en francais; charming; because i care
ink: night of navy, marina mist & crumb cake
paper: crumb cake, night of navy, marina mist, very vanilla cardstock
xtras: vintage wallpaper impressions folder; 1 3/4" scallop circle, 2 3/8" scallop circle, wide oval, 1/16" circle; dotted scallop ribbon border punches; lots of tags & little leaves sizzlit dies; victoria crochet trim; basic pearls; champagne shimmer paint; color spritzer; early espresso stampin write marker

Vintage Queen: SCIC{10}

Hi, all! Tonight I have a new-to-me challenge to share with you. Stamping Celebration is a challenge site with an amazing Design Team, great inspiration and fun for all! When I saw the gorgeous inspiration photo of challenge #10, I knew exactly what I was going to do. Vintage! I think yellow, black and white, or in this case very vanilla, is such a timeless and elegant color combination. I've used some of my new favorites here including the Newsprint DSP, 2 3/8" scallop circle punch, Vintage Wallpaper impressions folder and Daffodil Delight cardstock.

To make the flower I punched one 2 3/8" scalloped circle and two 1 3/8" scalloped circles from the Newsprint DSP. I scrunched each circle up, crumpling it in my hand and then layered each one with the larger scalloped circle in back. A 3/4" circle of basic black highlights the pearl brad (non-SU) nicely. Did you notice the new adhesive pearls in the new catalog? So excited, can't wait to get mine! Anyway, I just love the way this little flower looks!

The Daffodil Delight strip needed something more than just the quote from Favorite Thoughts. I dug around my stamp cabinet and found this pretty bitty damask image from the Charming set. Inked up in Daffodil Delight and stamped in an alternating pattern, it makes a great background. Of course, this sentiment wouldn't be complete without the crowning touch from Tiny Tags to dress it up!

The inside needed a strong dose of style to match the outside and this flourished frame stamp from Gallery (retired) in Daffodil Delight fit the bill perfectly! An equally flourished {contraband} stamp (Hero Arts) set off with a pair of crowns is just the finishing touch for this royal card of elegance and style! Now, I wonder who I should give it to?

supplies:
stamps: favorite thoughts; tiny tags; charming; gallery (retired); fabulous birthday (hero arts)
ink: daffodil delight; stazon jet black
paper: basic black, daffodil delight, very vanilla cardstock; newsprint designer series paper
xtras: vintage wallpaper textured impressions folder; 2 3/8" scallop circle, 1 3/8" scallop circle & 3/4" circle punches; top note die; old olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon; stamp-a-ma-jig; pearl brad from my stash

More Curtain Call {Act 34} Mojo {143}

Hi everyone! Who knew...that rich razzleberry, basic grey and dusty durango could look so good together?! Well, apparently Stacey at the Curtain Call Color Challenge did because that is her challenge this week!







Once again, I really loved this week's Mojo Monday sketch which gave me the jump start I needed on this design. The sahara sand cardstock base is stamped with the Woodgrain Background stamp also in sahara sand ink. I think the Woodgrain coordinates well with the natural look of this little flower from the level 1 hostess set Of the Earth. The flowers were stamped in versamark ink and heat embossed with white stampin' emboss powder. I love the way the white looks so crisp and clean against the saturated challenge colors. So summer-y! I brought in the whisper white for the challenge on the background strip that was textured with the square lattice impressions folder. Some ruffled basic grey taffeta ribbon added even more texture and interest. The taffeta ribbon is my absolute favorite! So easy to tie in knots--even bows--and it's perfect for the ruffle technique I used here.

I inked up the cute little text stamp from the Charming set in sahara sand ink and stamped it onto whisper white. A journey into my stamp storage (with a flashlight!) for a sentiment I had not used in awhile turned up this retired set called Best Yet (I think it might have been a hostess set?) which got inked up in rich razzleberry. The 1.75" circle punch made just the right sized circle and the Circles #2 die made a perfectly-sized mat in coordinating rich razzleberry.
I finished off the inside with the Charming stamp inked in rich razzleberry and stamped off once. A dusty durango flower pulls in the color from the card front and finishes it off nicely! Thanks so much for all the sweet comments you leave for me--I hope your day is a crafty one!

edited 6/20/10: WOO HOO, this card was a Top 5 Show Stopper at Stacey's Curtain Call!

supplies:
stamps: woodgrain; of the eart; best yet; charming
ink: sahara sand, rich razzleberry, dusty durango
paper: sahara sand, whisper white, rich razzleberry, dusty durango & basic grey cardstock
xtras: basic grey taffeta ribbon; square lattice impressions folder; 1.75" circle punch; circles #2 die; stampin' emboss powder; rhinestones from my stash