My First Official Challenge...This Year!!

Wow...two posts, two consecutive days. Woohoo! : ) I had wanted to do Sharon's ssnotime120 a couple weeks back, to use something new, because I have gotten new toys. But that one slipped by, so here we are at ssnotime123--Very Vintage, and I'm actually combining the two. Three times. haha. There are three cards, all pretty much the same but different color scheme.

The whole feel to the cards is vintage (my take on it anyway). The new here is the stamp. Her name is Maribel. I first saw her on this post in September of 2008. She's not available here in the states, but long story short, it took a lot of patience and several visits to different shop sites in Europe that retail the stamp before I could bring her home. I love this image! While the cards may look a little involved, they were actually very simple, as the challenge states. : )

This images comes out best when stamped on glossy cardstock with archival ink. I only had one small piece left in my stash so I stamped her once on that piece and a couple more times on some photo paper. The latter didn't come out as well plus had some excess ink, but they still looked good. I colored them with re-inkers and a water brush, then sponged around her. I cut out the images and then a mat for each, clipped the corners. The base card is SU! kraft CS, and the card is 5.5" square. I stamped a Crafty Secrets flourish in coordinating color along the top of the base. All the DP is from DCWV Once Upon a Time mat stack. I used a different border punch on each. All the flowers are Prima flowers, except the big blue one. I made that one. The small roses on the green and maroon card were white, but I spritzed and dipped them in Glimmer Mist. Different leaf punches for each, and some quilled curly-ques. I added a tiny flower on the maroon card with Stickled center, to cover a blub I couldn't correct. Probably didn't need to say that. : ) Anywho...these are my cards for Sharon's two challenges.


Stamps: Stempelglede Maribel, Crafty Secrets Flourishes.
Paper: SU! Kraft CS, DCWV Once Upon a Time, glossy CS and photo paper.
Ink: Ranger Archival Ink, re-inkers and Distress Ink.
Accessories: Corner punch, Martha Stewart/EK/L-Em leaf punches, Prima flowers, Stickles, Glimmer Mist, pear and daisy punches for home-made blue flower, quilling paper and tool.

Wishful Thinking

This is a long one. Sooo....Spellbinders is having their Design Team try-outs for the 2010 team. I love all the Spellbinders dies! I thought long and hard before doing this, mainly because there are so many wonderfully talented crafters and my chances of making the DT are uber slim. But Chuck and my kids gave me lots of encouragement and convinced me to go for it. Why not, right? Submissions were a card, a 12x12 scrapbook layout, and an altered item. Here are my entries.

For the altered item, I initially considered a notebook, but then I ran into (again) all my empty Cricut cartridge boxes. I have...a lot. Couldn't part with them after I came up with a more space-saving means of storage. So I attacked this box with some pretty paper from My Mind's Eye. The paper on the inside is a scrap from my stash, but it coordinated nicely. Once I got the box covered, out came the Spellbinder dies. I used the Fleur de Lis Pendant for the centerpiece, layering it with foam tape. The Fleur de Lis Borderabilities was used for the corner pieces, and to cover the ends of the box, which can't be seen in the pix. I used the Cameo die for the frame and attached it on foam tape to the pendant. The cameo is from Melissa Frances. I painted with some Pearl Ex in two different colors to bring out the detail. On the front flap I attached two of the Decorative Photo Corners die cuts, as well as a segment cut from the Borderabilities to use as an "escutcheon". The tiny lock is hanging from a large jump ring that I wrapped around the ornament before attaching; Its tiny key is attached to a chain that I looped around the pendant. The little legs I found last year at the stamp store just down the block. They look great!

Since doing this box, I've altered six more (will post later). Lots of uses for them. My daughter and niece already put in their "orders" for one. Like I said, I have a lot. : )

For the card, I had a set of "blanks" with envelopes that were sent to me by a blogging friend. I think they were by Stampin Up!, based on the envelope size I found on their site. Anyway, those fit perfectly into the box, so I gave them a dose of Spellbinders dies and made a note card set for myself. Used the Lg Deckled Mega Rectangles Nestabilities over the base, inked along the edges. Again used the Cameo die mounted on foam tape, decorated with Liquid Pearls and a couple flat-backed pearls. Symbology One ornament in the corner, and some flowers made with various sized punches, and an MS butterfly flying around. Used JustRite Special Occasion font for the monogram.

Okay, now for the scrapbook layout. Try to keep the laughter to a low roar. When I was looking for pictures to use, I came across an envelope with these old prom pictures and decided these were the ones for the layout. The base DP is from Anna Griffin, I think (sorry). I used Classic Frames die to frame pictures. The roses were cut from the Rose Blossom Edgeabilities, stenciled while still in the dies, as was the frame. For the "journaling", that was actually my handwriting from the back of the picture on the left...from April 1980. I scanned the back of the picture then printed it onto some DP and cut that out with a Curved Rectangles die. If you click on the picture you can probably read what it says. I was such a dork! I actually made that dress, and it was so pretty - but lots & lots of satin! I used JustRite Brayton font to stamp "prom" on the ticket, which was cut from Spellbinders ticket die. The flourishes are from the Symbology One die.

So there we have it. I won't hold my breath to make the DT, but what wonderful honor and experience that would be! I had a blast doing these projects. I have some more cards that I will post tomorrow. Have a few last tweaks to do. I've finally gotten busy playing with paper again! Thanks for stopping in. Love to read your comments!