Good Morning Fellow Stampers !
How is everyone this fine Thursday morning. I do believe Fall is finally arriving here in Colorful Colorado -- in fact, 59 degrees on Saturday sounds cold enough to possibly need the furnace -- eeek! That might be a little too fast for me. Besides, the furnace needs some maintenance before Winter hits!
It's Pals Paper Arts [PPA270] challenge time. This week is a Color Challenge - and I have decided on a CAS card for today's challenge; with a mix-in of a few extra "accent" colors to make the whole thing work :-) I am actually very excited about today's card, and hope you will love it too!!
Doggone Delightful Stampin' Design Tips:
- Layerothology. This card base is cut "on the vertical" from Sahara Sand cardstock, 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2" . The background layer is one layer of Whisper White, 4" x 5 1/4", which has been scored on the diagonal with the Simply Scored and the Diagonal Plate; only the left half of the cardstock.
Technique Tip: To get your raised score lines the lower lefthand side of your cardstock, you need to score from the lower left corner to the upper right corner, and then every other score line on down to the lower right corner. Then flip your card over. Give it a try; you'll see what I mean.
- Masculine Birthday. The sentiment from the Wetlands stamp set is perfect for the masculine birthday card I intend here with today's design, and is stamped in Blackberry Bliss on the right hand side of the cardstock above the score lines. The pearls have been colored with a Gold Stampin' Dazzle marker (retired) before being placed strategically. The entire background piece is popped on the card base with dimensionals -- one of my "go to" adhesives. In fact, I realized when I was done, that other than the inside layer, I didn't use any SNAIL on this design today.
- Vintage Falling Leaves. Oh the beautiful "flowers" of Fall. I do love the leaves. This card was inspired by a design I saw on Pinterest, from a 2013 stamp set and die set created by Clearly Besotted (a company I had not heard of before). Nonetheless, I felt certain that our new Vintage Leaves set was more than up to the task. I picked two leaves from that set for my design today; and stamped them in Blackberry Bliss, Always Artichoke, and Crushed Curry and Cajun Craze brought in for accents, using a bit of the "rock-n-roll" technique. I "tinged" several of my leaves with Gold embossing by "dipping" just edges of the stamp in my Versamark pad, stamping over my inked image after it was dry (be sure to use your embossing buddy), by re-aligning with my Stamp-a-ma-jig, and then embossing with the Gold embossing powder. The leaves are cut with their coordinated Leaflet framelit, and then popped with dimensionals in their floating, falling pattern as they cascade down my card front.
- Turn to the Inside. A little peak at the inside of my card. A sentiment from the All Boxed Up stamp set was perfect to finish off my birthday card.
So what do you think? Do you like this CAS design? Does it feel fresh and modern? I felt like it was a little of both those things. I intend this card for a masculine birthday, and I think it fits the bill. What do you think? I'd love to read your comments and thoughts.
And for those who want to know -- yes, those are real live leaves from our Rocky Mountains, and even right here in town, that I have pressed and kept over the years. I have a real Leaf and Flower Press -- you know, that old fashioned thing with the wood top and bottom, cardboard and paper inbetween, and screws in each corner 😃 I have always loved trying to capture nature and bring it indoors. Memories of beautiful things that can be hard to hold onto as they are here and then fade so quickly. Pressed leaves can be thin as tissue paper. Handled carefully, they are special treasures -- even perfect for the scrapbook page. I've pressed many a beautiful Aspen leaf over the years. These are just a sampling.
As always, I'm only an email away with any questions you might have about any of my designs, or any help you might need with placing an order or other needs. Looking for a Stampin' Up! demonstrator? I'd be honored to be your choice.
I leave you with a fun little Autumn Poem today -- enjoy! 😊
Until Next Time . . .
The Leaves
The leaves had a wonderful frolic.
They danced to the wind's loud song.
They whirled, and they floated, and scampered.
They circled and flew along.
The moon saw the little leaves dancing.
Each looked like a small brown bird.
The man in the moon smiled and listened.
And this is the song he heard.
The North Wind is calling, is calling,
And we must whirl round and round,
And then, when our dancing is ended,
We'll make a warm quilt for the ground.
Anonymous