Friday, August 11, 2017

Stamp Off Sunshine Wishes

Buffy, Susan and I are at it, with another Stamp Off
Challenge.  I like this one because Stampin' Up!
makes it so easy!
 This challenge is all about using words on your
challenge card.  The words can be stamped or die cut,
but they should be a prominent part of the project.
The Sunshine Wishes Thinlits on page 216 have some
wonderful words.  The are chunky, meaning they are easy
to glue, without making a mess.  These thinlits also offer
great words, including "sunshine", "congrats", "love" and "hope".
You can cut "sun" and "shine apart, to give you more options.
I layered 3 loves, to really emphasize the word.
For this card, I knew that I wanted to use some copper elements,
so watercolored a Pear Pizzazz background.  Once it dried,
I added embossed splotches of Copper Embossing Powder,
1/4 inch Copper Trim (p 199) and  Enamel Shapes from
the Subtles collection on page 196. 


Overall, I'm happy with this card, with one HUGE exception.
I can't for the life of me figure out why I didn't make the
background pink or red.  I would have had to ditch the
copper and use a different accent color, but "love" should
be layered on to red.  Sadly, sometimes the card is done,
before these insights dawn.  Guess that I will have to
assert that I love the environment and anything green.

I am betting that Buffy and Susan used more relevant
color combinations, so please check out their challenge cards!

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Daisy with Butterfly Basics and Flourish

This card is a combination of some of my favorite products.
I used the new Daisy punch on page 206, placing a 1/2 inch
circle in the center.  The Happy Birthday sentiment from
Butterfly Basics (p 149) was cut out with the Stitched Shapes
Framelits (p 214), with a strip from the Flourish Thinlits (p 216)
layered over top.  The Berry Burst card base was run
through the Oh My Stars Textured Impressions Embossing
folder on page 210.  It actually was a quick and easy card 
to create and assemble, given the various Big Shot
accessories and Daisy Punch.

Monday, August 7, 2017

Beaded Flourish Thinlits Per Ubuhle Exhibit

Last week, I visited an exhibit at our local art museum.
and brought up a lot of emotion.  The beautiful, beaded
works of art were created by women with few economic
opportunities, many of whom had HIV.   They worked together
to created panels that were sold to support these women.
It took months to create their lovely panels, and some of the
women died during the course of making their projects.
Later, Chinese imports undermined their efforts.

This inspired me to pull out some of my retired SU micro
beads and make a beaded project.  I used a
Berry Burst flower image from the Flourish Thinlits.
The Ubuhle women always attached their beads to
black fabric, reminiscent of the Xhosa headscarves and skirts 
which many of them grew up wearing. I used the Color
Theory DSP pack and layered my beaded medallion on
to a Basic Gray card base, run through the Layered Leaves
Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

If you get a chance, check out the story of the Ubuhle
Beaded artwork here.