JUST US GIRLS PHOTO CHALLENGE #642

 

The photo challenge over at the Just Us Girls blog this week made me think of a different way to use this floral stamp!   To give the look of the hanging vines, I just flipped the image and had it come down from the top of the card.  In addition, I didn't add any color to the flowers - just left everything green, giving the impression of the greenery shown in the photo.

I actually used one of the new colors from Close to My Heart - Seabrook - giving you a sneak peak of what is coming on August 1! 

I used multiple layers of the ink to get the depth of color I wanted, the true side of the cardstock, and die cut the Seabrook glitter paper for the sentiment.  That's harbour cardstock backing it!  The stamp is called "Language of Flowers" (#C1945) from CTMH.  

You can see some of those details a little better in this close-up photo.  

It's always fun to play with new colors for the first time - and I think this turned out well!  Love that they all coordinate.

 

I had so much fun with the single color usage, that I broke out another new ink pad - Periwinkle - and made a slimline card, rotating the floral image so it went both ways on the card.  The blank area was easy to cover with the circle sentiment.

I love challenge blogs, and was so glad for the inspiration provided by Just Us Girls this week.  Click on the blog link (highlighted above) and check out the other creations that have been submitted.   

Thanks for stopping by my blog - and I hope you have a great week!

IN A BOOK - ANOTHER CARD!

 

This is the second card I've made this weekend with this stamp set - In A Book (D2049 from Close to My Heart).  This one used only the stamp set - nothing extra!  And no surgery on any of the images.  But I did use a bit of paper piecing to get a more realistic look to the lady's shirt.  Some intricate cutting, but worth the effort for the look it gives.

I have several friends that are perfect recipients of this card.  Who would you send it to? 

I am entering this card in the current Time Out Challenge with a reading theme.  Click on the title of the blog so you can see other creations on this theme.  I love to see what's out there in the stamping community with all the cards people create.  Such fun!

Here's a link to the previous card I created - with details of the surgery I mentioned.

Well, thanks for stopping by - and I hope you are enjoying a good book.

IN A BOOK

 

This stamp set - "In a Book" from Close to My Heart - has been waiting for me to play with it.  Well, this was the week to finally do that.  I felt that the sketch at the Freshly Made Sketches challenge was perfect for my main project, although I needed to rotate it to a landscape orientation.  I then checked out the Time Out Challenges blog and found they had a reading theme, and I knew it was time!  By the way, you can click on either of the challenge names to head over to the blogs and see other creations using the same inspiration.

The main reason I bought this set was because my sons love to read - the oldest since he was a young child.  The younger one grew into it!  While the stamp set had a woman reading (you'll see that image soon), I knew that I could use the "Buddies" series of boys to create someone who looks like Jonathan as a child.  So - I started with "Ian" as a base (the hair and clothes were correct), but needed the glasses from "Joey"!  So I stamped and embossed Joey's head, then cut out only the glasses to add to Ian.  

Now I used the image of the woman from the "In a Book" set and cut out the book she was holding to read.  The problem I ran into was that Ian's arms were both straight down.  How was I going to get him to hold the book?  Well, a little "surgery" on the stamped image allowed me to rotate his arm so it was bent and could now hold the book.  

I had to stamp three sets of the bookshelf books to go across the card front, and I needed something to make them stand out a bit.  I found an edging stamp that was the right width, but I didn't like the design.  So, I switched it over and put the image side down on my stamp block and inked up the solid backing of the stamp to create my shortbread colored strip.  As I look at the card from a distance (not sure if it is visible in the photo), the books look as if they are popped up over the backing - but they are adhered straight down to the card front!  How fun that something as simple as that backdrop created a fun dimension.

I used LOTS of different markers to complete this project - but had I not had the Spectrum Noir TriBlends, it would have been a lot more!

I'm working on another card with this same stamp set - but using the woman reading as the focal point.  Here's a link to the post with that completed card.

But I did think you might like to see the card I made recently for the younger son's birthday using the "Buddies" sets.  It took three sets to create the correct Nathanael!

 

I used "Ian" for the body because that fit Nathanael's outdoor attire.  But, Nathanael has curly hair, so I had to use "Ezra" to get that.  And of course, I needed "Joey's" glasses to make it complete.  At least no surgery was required for this card!  These "Buddies" sets are pretty versatile, and really fun to see what you can create.

Just so you know, these "boys" are both in their 30's now, but it was fun to go back to those younger years and create for them.

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of blogdom!  I hope you have a great day.

Clean & Simple Floral Card

 

I love the rustic look of this wheelbarrow.  The flowers inserted into the slot brighten it up!  I used the stamp/die set from the new Backyard Bliss Cardmaking Workshop Kit (CTMH #G1260) for the images and sentiment and the Stitched Lattice Background Die (CTMH #Z3681) for the background. 

I love that with the die, the background white space is still clean, but gives some dimension to the card front.

I used my Spectrum Noir TriBlend markers to color the images.  I love how easy they are to use and create such a beautiful final product.   Just a little foam to get those flowers to pop out of the wheelbarrow!

I am entering this card into two challenges this week - you can pop over to each of these blogs to see other great creations by clicking on the links below:

• AAA Cards Challenge with a sketch and flowers
  
• Paper Players Green Thumb challenge
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  Thanks for stopping by!  If you are interested in any of the products used, just click here and enter the product number listed in the description.