DeNami Design May Blog Hop

Welcome to the DeNami Design Pretty Pastels May Blog Hop. I hope you are finding lots of inspiration as you've been hopping from blog to blog. If you began at the beginning and hopped along, you've come here fromGreta Hess 's Blog. 

If you came here directly you can always start back at the very beginning at DeNami and start from the top and make your way through all

 31 Blogs participating in today's hop!

Hopefully, you will leave everyone some encouraging words as you stop to look, we all like to know what you like, it and it helps us to know when we are on the right track!

It's been a while since I played around with some new card designs, so I had lot's of ideas once I took a look at what I had to stamp with from DeNami, but it was the pack of Spring Pastels from Colorbok that I picked up recently that really brought the inspiration.

This is where I began. I wanted to do something with each of the shades in the pack. It's been years since I did any paper weaving....so I gave it a try with 1/4" strips through white cardstock. I've cut a scalloped circle and circle with Spellbinders dies. A bow in narrow ribbon to match is mounted under the "Dropping you a note" sentiment stamp stamped with VersaColor chalk inks in Purple Hydrangea. Everything is then mounted on light purple cardstock.

Card 2:

This began with two stamps from DeNami. The sentiment stamp Sending you God's Blesssing and the wheat stamp. In this presentation I have turned the wheat stamp into lavender and have it hanging upside down to dry. I used Zig brush colors to "paint" the flowers and stamp. the back row of plants are directly stamped to the white cardstock. A strip of green cardstock serves as the rack to dry out the lavender, that hangs with a bow of lavender floss. Three plants are stamped and cut out and popped up with stacked glue dots. The white cardstock is punched with an EK Success border punch and mounted on lavender swiss dot cardstock by Bazzil.   

Card 3:

A white narrow ridge cardstock mounted on a light aqua cardstock base. a strip of the narrow ridge cardstock edged with an EK Success edge punch and mounted on top of the bottom edge of the white below creating another ridge. Then laying  a narrow aqua ribbon just above the edging. Using an aqua  dotted ribbon (that I really love)  to "suspend" the greeting box, with the "Dropping you a Note" sentiment stamped in Colorbox's Robin's Egg ink.

Card 4:

I had circles in several sizes that I was playing around with...in the end I kept it super simple using all colors but the pink, so I used the pink to stamp the sentiment "with love" from the Petit Four set PF42 love sentiments.

Were four cards excessive? I hope not, after all, you if you have stuck it out to the very end...shouldn't we try for the finale at the fourth of July fireworks display? Hopefully you feel like you were rewarded for hangin' in and see something you liked!

Be sure to keep hopping on to the next inspired designer with fabulous ideas, remember to drop everyone a note too!

Your next stop on the list is Stacy M.  Go and enjoy the creations awaiting to delight you!

Thanks for stopping by...

andrea

Just to remind you about the details of the blog hop:

When: The blog hop starts on May 20th at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until May 21st, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize)

Why: To be inspired by fun DeNami Design creations and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!   We are giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to our website! We'll be giving away one gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and then we'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!   

DeNami Design Sketch Challenge #12


I had a couple of other ideas for cards in this sketch challenge so in keeping with the pastel theme for tomorrow's Pretty Pastels with DeNami Design Blog Hop I featured some pretty pastel papers from Doodlebug Design, Inc. The cardstock is from Colorbok Spring Pastel Collection.



F177 "Thinking of You" stamp by DeNami Design

"Thinking of You" is stamped in Sepia Archival Ink, flowers are punched with EK Success punches. butterflies are dies from a-muse studios. Gems are Swarovski Crystals, white organdy ribbon from JoAnn.

 

DeNami Stamps: G135 Sending You God's Blessings and the D77-Small Solid Sweet Daisy.

Narrow satin ribbon by Offray. Small Solid Sweet Daisy's are stamped in Color Box Ink's Pink, Thistle, and Lime and topped with Crystal laquer and Orange Crystal Laquer.

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for the Blog Hop celebrating Pretty Pastels and see all the beautiful creations from everyone!

Thanks for stopping by...

andrea

Life Lessons from a Friend

Yesterday I had one thing to do...drop an e-card to a friend and wish her a Happy Birthday. It was the least I could do, how embarassing for a card maker, to forget a special day for a friend. Oh I knew it was approaching, but the urgency was crowded out by other things and then the memory thing....I too am getting older, and it just never got done.

Our friendship extends to our childhood...now approaching that half century mark. Though not as close as we once were, we do keep in touch from time to time, with Christmas cards, emails or birthday cards and she is thought of often.  As I think of her tonight there are some life lessons I've  learned from her I'd like to share with you.

• It was okay to dream about getting married one day by playing dress up in her mother's wedding dress. As a little girl I never thought anyone would want to marry me, so I dared not dream of it often. Playing upstairs in her house on a sweltering hot summer day with the Wedding March being ta-dummed is a special memory for me.
• Long hair was way cool! Her hair was straight and very long.  I still remember when she got it all cut off!  My forced pixie cuts were a curse! Seriously...who wants to look like their brother? When I finally was allowed to let my hair grow, I was never able to get mine as straight as hers, not even by using an iron. I didn't see the blessing curly hair was at that age, it just did it's own thing. Now my hair is very long, but still not straight and it is rapidly turning snow white.
• Having a dream is important. Her dream was to become a writer one day. She had notebooks with stories she had begun and she would often talk about our collaboration on a book. She would write it and I would illustrate it for her. I too, had aspirations of writing one day, but that was my secret. I thought by speaking of my dream, maybe she wouldn't attain hers, or it wouldn't be as special for her to dream it. I was content to be a part of hers and put pictures to her imagination. Maybe one day that will still happen, but if not, it was enough to dream. 
• Life is precious. It is sacred. As a teen I wasn't a news junkie, or very politically aware at the time, but it was her who told me all about Roe v. Wade and what it all meant when that decision came down from the Supreme Court. I was horrified. She was firm in her opposition, I was just appalled that such a thing could happen. For me, it became the beginning of educating myself and others, encouraging them to make better choices in life and at the polls. I've  kept my hand in many pro-life efforts over the years, including a March for Life in DC with my four month old baby in a backpack just to make a stand. We travelled overnight in a bus to be there bright and early, it was the craziest thing I had ever done...at that point of my life. (be sure to watch 180 the movie...see my side bar)
• Time and distance can be erased by a phone call to express condolences, and share a friend's sorrow. She was one of the first to call when my husband passed away. It had been years since we had talked, but in a single moment that changed, calling to say "I don't know what to say" said so much more than you could imagine. I will never forget that simple gesture. 

As adults I don't know how much we do have in common anymore as we've both gone our own ways and lived our lives. It has been that reaching out on special occasions to say "I'm thinking of you" that have been enough to keep alive some very precious memories. So, forgetting to make time to make a card and send it, or post an e-card and let the modern version be a substitute makes me realize it's time to get some priorities rearranged. This post is a poor substitute for a Birthday greeting...but Happy Belated Birthday, dear friend, many more.

My dear friend and my brother (yes, even my kids had to ask) and our dog.


with love,
an

DeNami Design May Sketch Challenge #12

I've been a bit out of the card challenges in recent months. I've been putting a lot of time into my new role for 2012 as a member of the Mosaic Moments Design Team. I have had two scrapbook challenges a month keeping me busy! If you are not familiar with the Mosaic Moments grid system for scrapbooking be sure to check my scrapbook gallery for a peek of what I've been doing or visit Journella to see what the whole team has been up to.

However, this card is my offering for the May DeNami Sketch Challenge #12.

I've started with a pale sage green cardstock base. Then cut and punched white cardstock with an EK Success Border Punch.  A small lavendar rectangle mounted with foam mounting tape with an accent of Doodlebug Cotton Candy Twine tied on the leftside. Circles are cut with Spellbinders Circles in shades of lavendar and pink, all from Colorbok Spring Pastels Collection of cardstock. Versa Magic chalk inks in Pink Petunia, Spring Pansy and Purple Hydrangea were used to stamp the hearts and sentiments. Two sets of Petit Fours from DeNami Design  are featured: PF 42 Love Sentiments Stamp Set and  PF43 Hearts Stamp Set.

I liked the fresh spring look of the white on the green, and I've had pastels on my mind as I get ready for the Pastels Blog Hop this Sunday...so be sure to stop back and see all the pretty pastels everyone will be sharing...



 Thanks for stopping by...

andrea



Sneak Peak for May

I know...what a mess! With the layout complete these are a few of my left overs and tools I used this time. I'm trying to decide whether or not to publish my layout as is, or go back and rework something I cut, and now realize was part of the assignment. So, if you want to know more I'll have the layout uploaded Saturday at Journella and you can see what I decided to do. 

andrea

Quick Gift Idea



It's May, and our Bible Study is winding down for the summer. Next week will be our last lesson and a sharing day the following week. Last year I made a quick bookmark for my fellow classmates with a verse we'd studied in Isaiah and many really enjoyed it. So I thought I'd do that again this year. We've been in the New Testament this year, Acts of the Apostles, and just finished with II Peter and Jude today. So it was appropriate to choose this verse from II Peter 1:5-7. The stamp is by Biblical Impressions and is embossed in black embossing powder by Zing! the foliage stamp is by Unity and stamped with Spanish Olive Versa Magic chalk ink, on pearlized green paper mounted on olive green cardstock. Ribbon by Offray.


thanks for stopping by...

andrea