Saturday, February 27, 2010

Free As A Bird..........PPA31.......




That's me this week - free as a bird! All I have to show for my SU Regional meeting is this never been used name tag. Our NY regional was cancelled because of snow! I have consoled myself by browsing through the entries at Pals Paper Arts this week. It is an inspiration challenge based on the photo below and I have seen some wonderful work so far. Kim and Ann Beale's birdhouses are adorable. Mary and Ann's birds are elegant. And Gina's unexpected text from her children's book is delightful! It was time to stop pouting about my non-event and get busy with the challenge. I noticed the caged bird was perched on a key so I embossed bits and pieces from Vintage Labels and Eggcoutrements and made my own key. There are no birds on my card - I used my key and set them all free! Actually my card will be sent to friends who have just bought a new house..............

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Appreciating the Simple Things.........



I am a fan of clean and simple cards so I was delighted to be the feature artist for Pals Paper Arts' KISS Challenge this week. The new Pretty in Pink brads and ribbon look wonderful against a Basic Gray background. A bit of punching, a tiny stamp and I was done........ahhhhh the simple life!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Inspiration is Found in Strange Places......


My favorite commercial during the Daytona 500 this weekend was a Sprint commercial in which a family was trying to call the "real" Jimmie Johnson. I liked its humor and clean colors of gray, yellow and white. So when I put this card together for Stamping411's weekend sketch challenge, I combined Crushed Curry, Basic Gray and Going Gray. The birdcage from Happy Moments is embossed in silver. And it was certainly a happy moment for Jamie McMurray when he crossed the finish line just ahead of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Yep I'm a NASCAR fan.........

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Thinking of You.........PPA29.....


Margaret Moody's designed a terrific layout for Pals Paper Arts Sketch Challenge this week. Her layouts are very versatile and easy to dress up or dress down. I opted for the dress down look since my card is for a guy. Some new Sweet Pea Designer Paper along with some "old" Chocolate Chip ribbon and my card came together. I didn't want the card to be real flowery so I added striped paper and used brads instead of the scalloped edge to give the card a masculine feel. Head on over to PPA and play along - dress that design up or dress it down..........there's blog candy this week :)

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Clean and Simple......Sort of......


The Clean and Simple challenge at SCS this week was an inspiration challenge based on this beautiful card designed by Kelly Landers. I used a black and a ruby red marker to color various parts of a stamp from Of the Earth. Then I turned a roof stamp from Good Neighbors upside down to make the pots and popped up the center image panel on dimensionals. I based the layout of the card on this week's Saturday's Sketch Challenge at Stamping411 but I used the scallop trim border punch in place of the ribbon. Amazing the debris a "clean and simple" card can leave behind - not to mention inky fingerprints everywhere!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

PPA28.......Color Challenge.......





Friends of ours welcomed a new grandchild yesterday - a beautiful baby girl! Hmmm, the colors for this week's PPA challenge just happen to include shades of pink. These colors are oh so glamorous together so I kept the card simple to let the colors speak for themselves. The dotted window sheet from Night and Day Designer paper reminds me of the veil worn on a lady's hat back in the day. Love those old movies where the star wears that veil down over her eyes. A perfect card to welcome a new star in the family!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Sweet Bashful Valentine.......SSC136.....


The Stamping411 gals came up with another wonderfully versatile Saturday Sketch Challenge. The card came together quickly and then I hit a roadblock. Bashful Blue certainly lived up to its name - it seemed to be impossible to photograph its true color. All of the ensuing adjustments made me look at this card in a new light - in more ways than one! Now I'm thinking this sweet little Valentine of Bashful Blue and Chocolate Chip could also be used to welcome a new baby boy.......