25th Anniversary

25th Anniversary

Friday, February 25, 2011

UDI Inspiration Challenge 136




 So, the snowstorm started a little late and didn't get here until tonight.  It's supposed to last for the next three days, so I'm planning to stay put and play with my paper and ink!  So glad I have some UDI Challenges to inspire me and keep me off the streets and out of trouble!  The above picture is this week's Inspiration Challenge.  They are gumdrops, and the napkin reminds me of those old fashioned paper bags you used to get at the carnival or the circus, or maybe the beach boardwalk filled with popcorn or peanuts or a candy store filled with...hmm, let me think... maybe gumdrops! The gumdrop colors immediately make me think of summer at the beach, and in keeping with the boardwalk theme, Dippin' Dots or shaved ice, a wonderful way to cool off on a hot summer day!


So here's what I came up with.  It's an 8 x 8 Scrapbook Layout that I was planning to use for a swap I'm participating in, but halfway through it I realized I had used  Pink Pirouette for the background and the friend I'm swapping with has 3 boys... um, yeah, I'll be working on another layout before the storm's over.  But that's okay, 'cause I've got time on my hands this weekend!

Anyway, back to the layout, I used a sheet of Poppy Parade DSP to represent the candy strip or popcorn bag, and the white eyelet border reminded me of a candy store doily. I used Pink 5/8" grosgrain ribbon for the bows, and stamped "Summer Fun" with my Sweet Shoppe Alpha set in Melon Mambo and punched each letter with my 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches.  The letters are sponged around the edges with Melon Mambo ink, and raised on dimensionals.

I used the new 3.5" and 3" Circle dies to make the 2 white circles as eventual mats for pictures of my adorable nieces & nephews at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. For the remaining circles I used Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Marina Mist, So Saffron and Pumpkin Pie along with various Circle punches.  I used my Textured Impressions folders to give some of them dimension and popped them up on dimensionals.  There's still room on the DSP to put another photo or a Journaling tag once I decide what exactly I want to use.

Well, that's all I've got for tonight. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings! I love the way everything looks with a fresh layer of snow, and we don't get it here very often, so three days will be a treat!




http://utahdivasinternational.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

UDI Color Challenge #24



So I decided to play along with today's color challenge from UDI after getting home from my mother's hair appointment and the last minute grocery run to prepare for the snowstorm that's supposed to come through California tonight.  Now I know those of you in the midwest, not to mention Canada and Alaska, are saying to yourselves "What a whimp! Stinkin' California chick wouldn't know real snow if she were buried in it!" and you'd be right.  I live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, and we're billed as being "above the fog and below the snow".  We get anywhere from 2 to 6 inches each year, and it washes or melts away fairly quickly, but this storm is supposed to bring snow to sea level in the Bay Area, and with 2 octogenarians in my care (otherwise known as Mom and Dad), I like to be prepared so that even though I COULD go out, I don't have to until it thaws and I don't have to worry about any of us slipping on the ice!

Okay, back to the challenge: The colors are So Saffron, Blushing Bride, Cherry Cobbler, and Always Artichoke.  They reminded me of the wallpaper in the kitchen of one of my neighbors growing up.  She was my babysitter/adopted grandmother, and I have to say thoughts of her brought back wonderful memories.  The wallpaper was on a white background and had lots of strawberries on it. Anyway, I stepped out of my comfort zone a bit, because I really haven't used Blushing Bride very much, and I loaned out my favorite Textured Impressions Folders last week and won't get them back until tomorrow, so I was left with the Petals a Plenty, which I thought kinda fit the fruit theme if you think of them as fruit blossoms; and my Spiderweb folder, which I guess if you stretch it a bit fits the garden theme, 'cause I always have lots of spiders in my garden.  My first choice would have been the square lattice folder to give it more of a fruit basket feel, but as I said, I loaned it out... (sigh).

I trimmed around the perforation on the Blushing Bride top note, and sponged it with Cherry Cobbler ink, then I sponged Always Artichoke over the texture on the So Saffron circles.  For the fruit I stamped each one once in Cherry Cobbler and once in Always Artichoke.  Then I actually cut out the green stems and pasted them over the red ones.  I have to admit, I questioned my sanity as I was cutting around the cherry stems, but it worked out better than I expected.  I popped the So Saffron layer and the cherries up with dimensionals and wrapped Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon around the card base with a finishing bow on the side.  


So, that's how I spent my evening, and now I'm going to settle in and wait for the flurries!  Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Link to Utah Divas International Blog

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

Okay, so Valentine's Day was on Monday and it's now almost Thursday...  I'm running just a teensy bit behind! But I had so much fun making my Valentines this year, I had to share, and I think the ideas are usable with a few tweaks for other occasions, so here's to inspiration!

For my "Grown-up" girlfriends, I made a swivel card using the Big Shot and my Scallop Circle for the back, and the Circle, 3.5" Circle and 3" Circle dies for the front.  I attached the 2 layers with a brad so you can swivel the top open to read the message inside.  I also used the Circle die to make a DSP liner for the inside.
This card has Sunny Garden DSP and is embellished with Rhinestones, a metalic brad, grosgrain ribbon and glimmer paper. The stamp sets are Simply Said and Monogram Sweet.


This card uses the Be My Valentine Stamp from the last page of the Occasions Mini. I stamped it twice and cut out the banner portion and popped it up with Dimensionals.  It's difficult to see in the photo, but I added a couple of Rhinestones in the centers of the flowers on the big heart. I used the small heart punch to make the hearts out of Glimmer paper found on page 7 of the Occasions Mini. The layered flower under the brad is made from the Boho Blossoms punch

 This one uses Victorian Crochet Trim, and Pearls.  I layered the 2-3/8" Scallop Circle punch and 2 Fancy Flower punches with a 1-3/8" Circle punch for the center. The leaves are made with the wing from the 2-step Bird punch. I popped the flower up with dimensionals, and the brad is hidden under the ribbon.
 I used Rose Red Seam Binding Ribbon found on page 16 of the Occasions Mini for the bow and the Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit die for the bottom layer of the monogrammed heart. The brad is hidden under the glimmer paper heart at the top.

The Melon Mambo cardstock is embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions folder. The 1-1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon is scrunched on a line of sticky strip.  A scrap of Victorian Crocheted trim is layered on top with glue dots.  The Jewelry Tag punch is stamped with 2 different Tiny Tags stamps and tied to the crocheted trim with Linen Thread.  The brad is hidden under the flower.

I used the 3" circle die to cut the Glimmer Paper circle. The Red Satin Ribbon is scrunched on a line of Sticky Strip.  In order to make the sticky strip curve to follow the circle's edge, I clipped it halfway in every 1/4-inch or so.  (Note: This method works well for adhering Glass Glitter, too.) I attached the front to the back with a Glimmer Brad through the center of the layered Boho Blossoms and added pearls to the centers of the flowers.


Here's a view of the inside.  I used Teeny Tiny Wishes to stamp the greeting inside each card.

I hope you enjoyed the Grown-ups Valentines!  I love the variety you can get when you add different embellishments to a few of the same simple foundation pieces.  The kids' cards are coming in my next post!