Pages

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Swirls and Pearls Challenge entry

I love to surf the web for inspiration for my cards and I came across this lovely blog: Selma's Stamping Corner http://selmasstampingcorner.blogspot.com/2010/07/bloom-where-you-are-planted-plus.html . There I found a fabulous tutorial on how to make paper roses. I had to try it! It is a bit time consuming, probably because it's still new - but SO worth the effort. I have to share.

I decide to find a challenge where I could use this new technique. I went with Winter Wonderland - Swirls & Pearls challenge. http://christmasblogchallenge.blogspot.com/2012/01/swirls-and-pearls.html . The challenge was to create a card using swirls and pearl embellishments.

This week is not a Christmas Card, so I decided to make a Valentine Card. I felt that would fit perfectly with the roses I created. I was also inspired by Selma's use of white on white with loads of texture and detail, so I thought I would try that also. I think everything came together beautifully.

  • I created a 5 x 5 card from my Cricut Wild Card cartridge.
  • I then cut out a window from the center of the card using the Cricut Christmas cartridge - altered with my Gypsy to just cut the window openings.
  • I then re-cut the shape on white cardstock, unaltered.
  • I embossed the top portion of the card with my Quickcutz floral embossing folder - Rose. I felt the roses went well with the paper roses, and the centers have a lovely swirl shape to them.
  • I cut some embellishments swirls from the Cricut Home decor cartridge, and some floral Baby's Breath from Cricut Serenade cartridge (both in white cardstock) and added a bunch of pearls.
  • I then layered everything, using foam squares to give some height and 'oomph' to my embellishments.
  • I have this super cute stamp, I think from the $1 bin at Michael's (can't beat that, right???). I added this to the un-embossed section at the bottom of the card, and heat embossed with a translucent red pearl powder. I love how the X's have little swirls on them, fits right with the theme.
I specifically did not add a sentiment to the inside, as I am not sure who the recipient is going to be yet...

OK, so here you have it. The first picture shows the whole card, and the second is an attempt to show just the the detail of the stamp - a bit blurry though.



As always, many many thanks to the talented desing teams that give me constant inspiration for my cardmaking. And a super big thanks to Selma for posting the wonderful rose tutorial.
Blessings!
Kat

Monday, January 16, 2012

New year - New challenges!

I haven't entered a challenge for some time now, I hve been focusing on the 'Operation Write Home' cards I have been working on...
So, now it's a new year, and I wanted to start it off with entering a challenge, or two (or 4 !).

I made this card for my mother's birthday - I wanted to do something that was both elaborate and unusual for me. I used the following challenges as inspiration...




Patties creations challenge # 35 - Fancy Folds. Create a card using fancy folding techniqes.
I have never done a gate fold card, so I decided to try this technique. I actually really like the way it turned out, and will definitely use this technique again!

Polkadoodle week 2 challenge - Retro/Vintage. Create a card with a vintage or Retro theme.
This was my main inspiration. I received some lovely new paper stacks from K & Company for Christmas, that have a lovely Victorian rose and coordinating patterns. One of the papers had a lovely 'Mom' sentiment, and it incorporated perfectly. Again, really, really pleased with the way it all came together.

Cooking With Cricut - Challenge # 67 - Something New. Use something new, that you just got, and incorporate a Cricut cut.
I used a couple of things that I got for Christmas - My new papers (as mentioned above) as well as my brand new "Flower Shop' cartridge. Love it!!! After a few false starts, I got the hang of making paper flowers. I love the 'Sunflower' cut, and used this for all the flowers on the card. I love the way the end up looking kind of like straw flowers. I will be using the cartridge a lot, I think. :)

Christmas Blog Challenge - Birthday Wishes. This week didn't have to be a Christmas Themed card, just a birthday card.
As I mentioned, this was created for my Mother's birthday. (Sure hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it!) I intentionally left the inside with only the sentiment, as I wanted room to write (My mom is living in another city).

So - that's it. Big thanks to all the challenge sites for continuing to provide the inspiration to try new and interesting projects. sketches and techniques!!

Best Wishes!
Kat