Welcome to Day 5 of the 2013 Artisan Award Winner Blog Hop!!  I am so incredibly excited to FINALLY be able to share, in detail, the projects I created for my submission to the contest.  If you came over from Jeanna Bohanon’s blog, Stamp Time Somewhere, I know you have already been impressed by her amazing work.  If not, you can just start the hop here and follow around until you get back to me.

This card was the one that started it all.  Back in February I was pondering entering the contest when I sat down to make this.  After I was done, I thought that maybe it was possible.  This card is right in my happy zone using one of my favorite color palettes, Crumb Cake and, well, anything.  In this case, Rose Red.  Pleasant Poppies is just one of those stamps that always seems beautiful.  I love spotlighting and it works so well with this stamp.  So I started stamping.  I won’t tell you how many times it took me to get the watercolored panel exactly like I wanted it but suffice it to say, it didn’t happen on the first try.  Once I had it colored, I added some stitching around the two stamped panels.  I have always loved the look of sewing on a card and was finally brave enough to do it here.  My mom is a quilter and she handed down a wonderful Bernina machine to me.  While I can guarantee that it is under-utilized, it certainly did a good job.  Thanks mom!  I added a bow created with Rose Red Seam Binding (again, the tails were a bit shorter after I trimmed them right before mailing).  While I don’t have a picture of the inside, there is a panel stamped with the same grouping of flowers that is colored.

I’m glad you have been joining me on each day of the hop since I am having such fun sharing.  Now, on to the beautiful work of Mercedes Weber of Creations by Mercedes.

Thanks for stopping in today.  See you tomorrow!

Stamp:  Pleasant Poppies; Paper:  Crumb Cake, Rose Red, Watercolor; Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose (ret), Rose Red, Lucky Limeade (ret), Stazon Black; Accessories:  Stamp-a-ma-jig, Sewing Machine, Rose Red Seam Binding, Neutrals Button (this style retired), Linen Thread

 

Welcome to Day 4 of the 2013 Artisan Award Winner Blog Hop!!  I am so incredibly excited to FINALLY be able to share, in detail, the projects I created for my submission to the contest.  If you came over from Jeanna Bohanon’s blog, Stamp Time Somewhere, I know you have already been impressed by her amazing work.  If not, you can just start the hop here and follow around until you get back to me.

I’m going to change it up a bit today and share a scrapbook page with you.  This was the only traditional page I created.  No digital here.  I am not a big scrapbooker but for me it always starts with the picture.  I have a larger version of this picture in my home and took it to the local camera shop to get smaller copies.  When they asked it I wanted it taken back to true black and white, I almost gasped.  Nooo!!  The aging on the picture is simply perfect and I wanted the copy to be exactly the same colors.  They did an awesome job!  This page is 8″x 8″ with a base of Soft Suede.  I took a layer of Naturals Ivory card stock and distressed, sponged and stamped it with Daydream Medallions.  I chose elements that looked like my mom’s dress and flowers to complement the picture.  The lace from the Artisan Embellishment Kit (retired) and the gorgeous Flower Trim (retired) seemed perfect.  I used a little of the First Edition DSP (retired) and a shabby bow cinched with an Antique Brad.  I must thank LeAnne Pugliese for showing me how to make these bows a while ago.  I’ve been hooked ever since!  Since every scrapbook page required journaling, I wrote a little on the page.  That was the hardest part…I was so afraid of messing it up with my sloppy writing!  This page make me so happy (and my mom likes it too)!!

As every day goes on I’m more and more in awe of the projects.  Now, on to the beautiful work of Mercedes Weber of Creations by Mercedes.

Thanks for stopping in today.  See you tomorrow!

Stamp:  Daydream Medallions; Paper:  Naturals Ivory, Soft Suede, First Edition DSP (retired); Ink:  Crumb Cake, Soft Suede Marker; Accessories:  Flower Trim (retired), Artisan Embellishment Kit (retired), Very Vanilla Seam Binding, Antique Brad, Sponge Daubers, Stampin’ Distress Tool

 

Welcome to Day 3 of the 2013 Artisan Award Winner Blog Hop!!  I am so incredibly excited to FINALLY be able to share, in detail, the projects I created for my submission to the contest.  If you came over from Jeanna Bohanon’s blog, Stamp Time Somewhere, I know you have already been impressed by her amazing work.  If not, you can just start the hop here and follow around until you get back to me.

Today’s card was the last one I finished.  I really wanted to use some things from the new catalog so I had to wait for the demonstrator pre-order to become available.  I thought that the colors in the Gingham Garden DSP were so perfect for a fun birthday card.  The cake from Make a Wish just called out to be layered and fussy cut so I went with it.  I inked up each layer with Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Marina Mist, respectively, and cut them out. Then I ink them up again and stamped the whole cake on the card stock.  Each layer is popped up with slightly different dimension using a combination of Dimensionals and Glue Dots.  The sentiment is from the same set and the buttons in the coordinating colors (Rose Red instead of Melon Mambo but it is a good “go with”).  The middle layer is actually a strip of the Gingham Garden Washi Tape layered onto a piece of Whisper White cut to the same width.  The tape is somewhat transparent and I didn’t want any of the patterns showing through.

I hope you have been enjoying the hop so far.  I know that I have been simply wow’d by everyone’s projects.  Now, on to the beautiful work of Mercedes Weber of Creations by Mercedes.

Thanks for stopping in today.  See you tomorrow!

Stamp:  Make a Wish; Paper:  Gingham Garden DSP, Whisper White, Melon Mambo; Ink:  Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist; Accessories:  Buttons (retired), White Baker’s Twins, Gingham Garden Washi Tape

 

Welcome to Day 2 of the 2013 Artisan Award Winner Blog Hop!!  I am so excited to FINALLY be able to share, in detail, the projects for my submission to the contest.  If you came over from Jeanna Bohanon’s blog, Stamp Time Somewhere, I know you have already been impressed by her amazing work.  That flag is a WOW!!   If not, you can just start the hop here and follow around until you get back to me.

Today’s card was my take on the chevron trend that has been so hot!  Conveniently, Stampin’ Up has wonderful products to help you stay right with the latest!  So Jennifer, you ask, what is that chevron stamp on the bottom of the panel??!!  Well, it is the  Chevron Embossing Folder, of course!  *smile*  When I first inked it up, I expected to see fat chevrons just like it embosses but this is what I got.  Oh happy day!!!  Even better than I had hoped!!  I love the slightly splattered look it gives, don’t you?  All I did was brayer on the Rich Razzleberry ink and stamp (the inside is stamped the same way).  The I inked up the chevron oval from Oh, Hello and cut out a fat banner from it (did the same for the thin banner up top).  The thought bubble from Designer Typeset (photopolymer stamp) seemed to go with this look perfectly and I just added a sentiment from the retired Up, Up and Way (I love that font!).  I embossed a small piece of Whisper White with the embossing folder and added it to the top chevron banner, attaching it with an arrow clip.  Now a little layering.  The Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon was attached with a staple and I looped another staple through a Razzleberry button from Sale-a-bration.  A little splattering of ink with the retired splatter tool and done.

Even though the picture quality isn’t great, I wanted to share this version from my board at Convention.  Notice the length of the ribbon.  This is the version I sent in.  I had left every ribbon a bit long when I first used them and trimmed them as I was putting them in the box to mail.  The shorter ribbon makes the card balance better.  Also, you can see a bit of the stamped portion of the inside.  There is no sentiment since I felt a “miss you” card would be one where the sender would want room to write.

Make sure you come back again tomorrow since the whole team will be sharing more of their winning entries.  Now, on to the beautiful work of Mercedes Weber of Creations by Mercedes.  I promise it will add a little sunshine to your day!

Thanks for stopping in today.  See you tomorrow!

Stamps:  Designer Typeset, Oh Hello; Paper:  Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry; Ink:  Rich Razzleberry; Accessories:  Chevron Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Hung Up Cute Clips, Razzleberry 1/4″ Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Button (SAB), Staples, Dimensionals, Brayer

 

Welcome to Day 1 of the 2013 Artisan Award Winner Blog Hop!!  I am so incredibly excited to FINALLY be able to share, in detail, the projects I created for my submission to the contest.  If you came over from Jeanna Bohanon’s blog, Stamp Time Somewhere, I know you have already been impressed by her amazing work.  If not, you can just start the hop here and follow around until you get back to me.

I thought it appropriate to start with this card since it really is one that reflects how I feel about Stampin’ Up!  I loved the idea of a negative image cloud and since we don’t have a punch for this, I simply used a few to get what I wanted.  I started with a Word Window Punch and then used my 1″ and 1/2″ Circle Punches to finish it off.  All the prints on this are from Polka Dot Parade DSP (still current in this catalog!).  I made a little paper airplane and attached it with my friend Crystal Effects…truly the right glue when you want something that can stand up!  I love this sentiment from Up, Up and Away but I needed it in a slightly larger size and in a straight line.  MDS to the rescue!!  The best part is that, while the stamp set is retired, the MDS stamp will stay current.  A bow tied up with a Basic Black button and some White Baker’s Twine finished it off on the front.

On each of my card submissions I finished the inside in a way that I hoped added to the finished look of the card.  On this one, I just used some more DSP, mimicked the layout and added a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Make sure you come back for the next 10 days since the whole team will be sharing all of their winning entries.  Now, on to the beautiful work of Mercedes Weber of Creations by Mercedes.

Thanks for stopping in today.  See you tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

 

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes, Up, Up and Away (MDS); Paper:  Polka Dot Parade DSP, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Whisper White; Accessories:  My Digital Studio, Daffodil Delight Seam Binding, Neutrals Buttons (this version retired), White Baker’s Twine, Dimensionals, Punches – Word Window, 1″ and 1/2″ Circle