Big Shot Giveaway!

 Look at this fab giveaway from Paulina @ DeNami Design! a good way to get started with a great products giveaway.  

Visit http://www.denamidesign.com/ for great rubber stamps, follow challenges and hops at http://www.denami.blogspot.com/  and see them on facebook too! Or follow Paulina at her blog http://prettypinkposh.blogspot.com/ 

World Card Making Day: Another spot to visit.

With lots of card making events going on October 1st. here's one stop you should make for some of the nicest designs out there. The Design Team always has great ideas! It's one of my favorite places to visit.

Coming this weekend...

Saturday will be World Card Making Day. Be sure to stop by my blog Saturday to see my Christmas card contribution for the day. Don't miss some of the other wonderful artists hopping that day with Operation Write Home.

If you are interested in playing along for the day I have a few card kits available and two samples are below. The third was the apple card posted a week ago. All three cards available are also posted on my Flickr' site, link to it is in the right column.

I wish I'd had more time to make more kits, but it just didn't come about. Hope you hop along on Saturday's blog and enjoy making your own cards, too! Thanks for stopping by...

...andrea



Momento Mori

                                                                                                                                                          

1952-2005

Imaginisce Snag'em Stamps

While perusing a few of my favorite blogs a post on the Imaginisce blog asking to name your favorite Snag'em Stamps began this latest burst of creative juices. I pulled my dinosaur from the Dino-roar collection and a few of the papers from their "Let's Pretend" Collection. I had an idea and I was determined to get it to work...but thee just was something not working....so laid it aside for another day.

Today I had several things to accomplish and an errand that took me into the city, dangerously close to several craft stores...and I was alone...no one to hurry me home or tallk me out of a purchase. I also had coupons...a dangerous combination. I was looking for a specific stamp, but it had sold out...however a lovely display of fall themed papers caught my eye and I was hooked. The products were from Imaginisce...and they were so  colorful. The back to school papers were bold and just funky enough to fit my youngest son and a layout dedicated to the new school year. The other collection had leaves and apples and a matching Snag'em Stamp of an apple. I knew exactly what I wanted to try.

 A little more searching and I came across a patterned paper that I thought would solve the problems with the dinosaur card. After a bit of work...I have two new cards to share. One makes a good birthday card for a boy...

• On lime cardstock mounting Stars from Imaginisce's Let's Pretend collection.
• Dinosaurs from the Snag'em Stamp Dino-roar collection stamped directly on three pattern papers from the same collection and then trimmed and mounted on black cardstock. I then trimmed around the topside of each dinosaur, leaving the base a straight line.
• The found paper on top is the "Multi Colored Bday Words" from the Paper Studio. The colors worked so well with the stars I thought it was worth a try. The birthday sentiment was there and blended with the rest of the card.

and the other good as an encouragement to anyone who invests themselves in the lives of others.

 Detailed view of apple.

I stamped the apple directly on the red cursive cardstock (003450) and leaves on the green side of the apple cardstock (003338) I also stamped the apple on milkweed cardstock and trimmed the center carefully out to layer on top, and using the remaining apple ring to attach to the bottom of the red apple to give it a little depth adding a pop-dot to added depth. I then covered the red of the apple and green leaf with 3D Crysatl Laquer (Sakura) to make it shiny to match the finish of the apples on the paper. And yes, those are real apple seeds, I just sliced them in half so they wouldn't be too bulky. The sentiment was formatted in Print Shop and printed on milkweed cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by...

andrea
 

Imaginisce September Challenge

The September Challenge from Imaginisce is a sketch challenge. The requirement-to use 75% of Imaginisce products.

In my interpretation of the sketch I used five different papers from the "Let's Pretend" collection. The bright primary palette of this collection was a perfect fit for the Lego components to the workshop. The dot pattern in the orange papers, both large and small repeated the familiar pattern you know from Lego blocks. I love the block layout, but needed to adjust the bottom row to suit the photos I wanted to use, and I also wanted a journalling block so I combined the two blocks under the Title to use as one area. The title itself was a photo of the Power Point opening frame, I thought it worked well with the yellow plaid paper colors. The only additional product I used were some Lego brads for a simple embellishment. It's a very clean and simple presentation as it is for a teen boy's album; it leans heavily on the papers and their colors to frame the  photos. It was just a happy coincidence that the color of the room also fit the color scheme!



thanks for stopping by...

andrea

OOPS! I forgot to add an element to the finished project. Plans were to stamp a robot from Technique Tuesday's Rocket Man stamp set...stamped it on grey pearlesence paper for a shiny robot look.

afterall...what's a page about a robotic's workshop without a robot???

andrea

DeNami Design September Theme Challenge:Animals part 2

I should be cautious about what I say...I find myself eating far too many of my words. So I'll say this, when I posted my two cards to this months challenge I begged off of using my sheep stamp...again! No sooner said and the inner challenge to myself began. This past weekend I spent some time working out a few ideas I came up with two new cards. I'm not too sure I will actually post it to the challenge...will see how many more respond to the challenge first.

So I give you the first of two cards. This card used the sideways sheep stamp as well as DeNami Designs's "the Lord is my Shepherd" stamp.

The background papers are from Imaginisce Exotic East collection. the cardstock base and sheep are from Hollos: marigold and milkweed cardstocks. I've used Spellbinders classic oval and scalloped ovals. shepherd silhoutte is hand cut, sheep are embossed in chestnut embossing powder from Zing! Glue dots to adhere sheep and layer them.

The second card took me back to one of my most requested type of cards to make...one for a baby. This one is definitely girly...it's PINK and lacey.

On a white cardstock base I added a pink pearlescence face/base. Then from Core'dinations Whitewash collection used a paper with a pink back, dotted embossing folder background from Cuttlebug and then sanded to reveal the pink undertones. Three layers of cardstock: black, pink pearl, and whitewash pink sanded, all lacey edges using Martha Stewart punches and smaller scallop from EK Success. Pink and Black plaid ribbon from Craft Essentials from JoAnn's. Small scallop oval from Spellbinders cut for each of the sheep and mounted with pop-dots.

Thanks for stopping and taking a look at the latest.

A final thought...what's with the obsession with sheep? I'm not really sure, as a child we wore Fair Isle Sweaters that itched like crazy, our kilts were wool too, so it wasn't a love thing then.  I guess the Scriptures description of sheep and the Great Shepherd always appealed to me. (I've often been the wayward sheep, in need of rescueing) As an adult I began a small 'particular' collection of sheep, graduated to Merino wool sweaters (warm and SOFT) (which I did love!) and looked for rubber stamps of sheep that I can use in my cardmaking.

Last year after many years away, I travelled with my Mum back to Scotland and hit some of the family homes...I visited the "other" farm that our family had worked back in the mid 1800's ...guess what they had? you got it...sheep! Including a couple of photos of Beanie Farm...beautiful.

and a few of the sheep...believe it or not these two are in the front yard!

DeNami Design Theme Challenge #07

The September Challenge for DeNami Stamps is a theme challenge of Animals.  At fist I thought I might just have to sit this one out as the only animal stamp I could think of was the sheep stamp that I have already used in a challenge and a blog hop. I don't want to be known as the one who has fifty ways to use the sheep stamp on a card. So I looked over the online store under animals to see if there may be one I'd overlooked and lo and behold, I have the swans! So instead of a fun cutesy animal card, I have gone for an elegant card using beautiful papers and the swans...

For this card I wanted to show some depth, so I stamped and embossed three sets and then trimmed each layer, back wings, body and fore wings. The back wings have also been slightly chalked with Pebbles Metallic Cream Chalks, to add depth. Layers of mounting tape to add dimension.

Papers used: SEI White Elegance patterned papers and

grey Pearlescence Paper by Best Occasions by Walmart

white felt card stock: Hollos

EK Success scallop punch

Spellbinders scallop oval and classic oval

embossing powder: Liquid Platinum by Ranger

foam mounting tape by Front Porch Treasures


Then as I was looking at the card I had another idea I thought I would try. It is a bit bold and not exactly "my style" but I couldn't help but envision the swans at sunset in black silhoutte against a dark sky and water with vivid oranges  and reds for the sunset.

DeNami Swans stamped and Embossed in Liquid Platinum on black cardstock. All colors are Deluxe Cardstock-primary colors by Best Occasions for Wal-Mart. Oval dies are from Spellbinders.

That's my contribution for the September Theme Challenge #07 With DeNami Design. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!

andrea