Each man's life represents a road toward himself.
I liked the Sketch Challenge for this week, so decided to indulge myself.
What do you think of the cute little cherry design on the Designer Series Paper I used for my background?
That paper, as well as the funky crosshatched green and white piece come from the Cherry on Top Designer Series Paper Stack on page 144. I threw in a little Mint Macaron for a some contrast. The card base is that scrumptious Watermelon Wonder. Mmmmm. Makes me hungry just looking at it. It is spot on for the color of watermelon!
I did dig out the retired set, Button Buddies, to make my little cherries for my focal point. I cut out and popped up the leaf. And I like the little scalloped circles around the button "cherries". As I am wont to do, I repeated the cheery (cherry!) scallops in the dot-embossed white circle.
Do any of you, my readers, ever take part in challenges? Share some of your favorite challenges with us here!
Using an amazingly beautiful -- and versatile -- stamp set from the big catalog, this card features Awesomely Artistic (page 125). I have used all but three of the images from this set, and it includes nine images.
One of the images is this gorgeous realistic dragonfly. While it is fussy cut, it is an easy task. Leaving a bit of margin around the stamped portions makes it fairly quick to cut out.
And popped up with a piece of Stampin' Dimensional, it seems as if it has just landed on the card -- or is about to take off again.
The following photo shows a couple of elements that I really love, and that make the card outstanding.
The technique used is, of course, an emboss resist. Notice the shiny embossed look of the fern that is catching the light.
By coming in at the end with some of the splotches from the set, stamped off first, it gives our card another interesting facet.
I love how easy it is to create the "Friend" label. It looks somewhat complicated, but with Stampin' Up!'s creative planning, it is so simple to manage.
The lovely 1/4" Cotton Ribbon in Marina Mist adds the final -- necessary -- touch.
The card would be equally as beautiful in a variety of other color combinations. I, however, do love the icy looks of the blue/green combo I've used here.
Have fun creating one of these cards for yourself!
Adhere a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Tempting Turquoise cardstock to the card base, followed by a 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" piece of Mossy Meadow cardstock.
Rub a 3 3/4" x 5" piece of Whisper White cardstock well with the Embossing Buddy. Stamp the ferns in VersaMark, stamping the larger ferns first and filling in the blank spaces with the smaller ferns. It is OK to overlap the ferns a LITTLE BIT, but try to keep them fairly separated.
At the Heat Station, dump clear embossing powder over the entire surface, tapping the excess powder back into its container. Use the Heat Tool to emboss the ferns, making sure that ALL the ferns are shiny. Set this piece aside to cool completely.
On a scrap piece of Wild Wasabi cardstock, stamp the dragonfly in Mossy Meadow ink. Carefully cut out the dragonfly, leaving a small margin around the stamped image. Set him aside. BUT KEEP AN EYE ON HIM SO HE DOESN'T FLY AWAY!
On a scrap of Whisper White, stamp the frame image in Wild Wasabi. Stamp "Friend" in the center of the frame in Marina Mist. Cut out this label with the appropriate Framelit in the Big Shot. Add Basic Pearls to either side of the word, removing the pearls from their base and transferring them to the label with a craft knife (Xacto). Set this aside for now.
Go back to the fern piece. With sponges, and starting with the Tempting Turquoise, sponge the ink randomly, starting out softly. You will be darkening it later, so leave it light for now. Follow with the Wild Wasabi and the Marina Mist inks, starting to blend and overlap the colors somewhat. When you have the entire piece covered with these inks, you can go in and deepen some of the tones for a variety.
In Marina Mist, lightly stamp the splotchy dots here and there, stamping them off first.
Secure the ends of a piece of Marina Mist 1/4" Cotton Ribbon to the back of this piece with tape. Adhere the piece to the card base.
Put the dragonfly in the sky with a piece of Stampin' Dimensional. Add the label over the ribbon with two Stampin' Dimensionals.
Today my sister, Diane, is celebrating one of those dreaded milestone birthdays. You know which ones I'm talking about.
To make her day a little more special, I wanted to create a birthday card for her that was "a little more special". I always think that a tent topper card delivers a little more punch than one that just opens up in the traditional way. Sort of more star quality maybe?
This angle shows off the interesting profile a tent topper card possesses.
A few weeks ago, my husband and I took another road trip. Of course, I just cannot get into the car for a destination more than 10-15 minutes away without worrying about being able to stay awake, and fretting about all the stuff I'm NOT getting done.
So, I opted to do some more paper cutting!
The day before we left, I stamped the flowers, leaves and branch from the retired Indescribable Gift set on an assortment of blossom-like papers.
In the car, I snipped my little heart out. No, not really. That would hurt. But, I did have fun doing it.
For Diane's card, I went with almost all polka dots, with the branch being the only exception.
When I first started cutting out all the components, I, of course, also cut out some of the little leaves that encased the buds. When they became much too small to even keep track of, I decided that, once I had my flowers put together, I would simply color those pieces green.
That turned out to be not such a great idea. You see, if you know anything about color theory, you know that when you combine pink and green, you get, guess what? Yup. An unsavory brown. Yuk. I tried a couple of different mediums, but none gave me the result that I'd wanted.
This photo shows the funky paper I used for the branch in this card. I love its looks! Don't you?
You can also see more clearly in the photo the combination of dots in the composition, including the Basic Pearls I added to every other scallop around the edge of the oval. After all, pearls are a sort of "dot", aren't they?
And, although it's not apparent, except a little bit in the second photo, I used the Large Polka Dot embossing folder on the background of the card front to continue with the dot theme.
I haven't played along with the Paper Players in quite awhile. When I saw their challenge for this week, I decided to hop on board.
You see, the title of my post is basically the challenge: to create a SQUARE CARD.
Who says a square card needs to simply open and close like a traditional card? Not me!
I took out my Circle Card Thinlits (page 171), which I had acquired recently during one of Stampin' Up!'s wonderful Weekly Deals. Yes, using the Thinlits as is gives you a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" card. Well, who says that's the only way it has to be? Not me!
After cutting a card base with the Circle Card Thinlits, I simply cut the bottom off so my finished card measures 4 1/4" x 4 1/4". Ha! A SQUARE CARD!
Decorating the circle on what is the outside of the card was lots of fun -- and SO SIMPLE!
I used the Flower Fair Framelits (page 172) with Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, Pool Party and Watermelon Wonder cardstock to create the elements of my flower. Crushed Curry Baker's Twine (page 158) tied in a bow behind the button gave the completed flower a touch of happy whimsy.
As you pull the card open further, the circle rotates to show the opposite side, which I used for my sentiment: The More Candles the bigger the Wish, from a well-loved retired set, stamped in Bermuda Bay and cut out with the 2" Circle Punch (page 165) which was mounted on top of a scalloped circle from the Circle Card Thinlits in Bermuda Bay. The cute little slice of cake was carefully cut from another of the pieces from the Cherry on Top DSP.
So, what do you think of my square card?