Fannie Mae

No, I'm not talking about mortgages - today is the reveal for the challenge from smARTworks featuring the Victorian lady herself!

The images in this set are elegant and exquisitely detailed. As I was playing around with it, I often felt my ideas came off looking too busy due to those details... and then inspiration struck! She has a strong profile, and I decided to create a silhouette by simply coloring her in. I think I've finally discovered a coloring technique I'm good at :) Anyway, with the blacked-out image, the card came together much more easily, and I finished it off with the sentiment (partially inked, from Together).

I used gray Versafine ink and a black Prismacolor pencil on this - and I think it's kind of neat that when you tilt the card just right you can actually still see the details underneath.

So would you like to see what the other smART cookies made? You can see all the creations here. And be sure to click over to Susan's blog, too, for a chance to win a set of your very own.

Merry Snowman

I haven't had much time to stamp this week, but I did manage to make this for the Card Patterns sketch challenge. And yes, I did take some liberties with the layout again, but the little snowguy looked awfully bored when he was all symmetrical :)

The stamps are from Unity (October store kit), and I used Brilliance inks. The snowflake die-cuts & brads are from Making Memories. Sorry about the lousy shot - it's late and this is the best it's going to get for now...

You're A Blessing

For this month's smART-word challenge of gratitude, I initially sat down to make a simple "thank you" card, but after pondering it a bit more, I pulled out this sentiment from the Frames set. I wanted to send a card to a new friend who has really encouraged me, and telling her what a blessing she has been more fully expressed my gratitude.

I used printed papers from Making Memories, but found I wanted some soft color to balance things - so I stamped the flourish from Happy Silhouettes onto some pale yellow cardstock. I stapled a snippet of ribbon and added a few gems to finish it off.

So how would you express gratitude? You have until November 24 to play along with us here.

Card Patterns, Round 2

I was really unsatisfied with my other version of the Card Patterns sketch, so I decided to take another crack at it. I even managed to use fall colors - tough when it's still in the mid 80s every day and I'm surrounded by lush plants...

Anyway, I used the great papers from Making Memories, and "blocked" them on an ivory card. The lovely sentiment is by Wordsworth, and I thought it went well with the pear paper. I used rick rack and a couple buttons from my stash to finish it. And while I still tweaked the sketch a bit, at least it's recognizable this time :)

smARTworks Info

It's new release time - and I can't wait to get my hands on this rubber! There are some gorgeous sets designed by Dina (shown here), Christmas images, and as always, fabulous sentiments. Click on over to the online catty and check them all out for yourself, starting at page 179.

And I've also just realized that I've neglected to mention this month's smART-word: gratitude.

You have until November 24 to create a card of your own - hope you can play along!

Small Pleasures

It's been a few days since I posted - we (meaning me and my not-quite-so-enthusiastic-but-loves-me-very-much hubby) decided to tackle the laundry hallway. Let's just say things didn't go quite as we'd anticipated... but then do home improvement projects ever work out that way?! :)

I managed to get this little card done earlier this week, and am finally getting it posted. I wanted to make something for the Moxie Fab Plum challenge using the sketch from Card Patterns - and, well, it didn't turn out quite as I planned, but I still like the result! I stamped the sweet image (from Happy Silhouettes) with versamark eggplant ink, and also used that for the sentiment (partially inked image from the same set). I paired it with the cute Crate Papers, but ended up leaving the top right panel from the sketch off completely, as it just looked too choppy... and well, when I dove into my ribbon box, the dark purple grosgrain that I'm absolutely certain I own was nowhere to be found, so I resorted to the sheer white stuff. I did add the 3 brads - but again, not according to the sketch. Do you see a trend here?

Hoo boy -- off to see what else I can "improvise" on today!

Just dreaming...

As I've gotten settled into this house, I've had fun pulling out many of my supplies that have been packed away for months - and this card uses quite a few of those things! I started by stamping everything (smARTworks Cloud Dancer) onto some speckled white cardstock, then painted the scene with twinkling H2Os. I stitched the panel to the card base, and then accented the clouds with some fine glitter.

Off to rediscover more treasures... and possibly do some dreaming :)

Quilted Die Cuts

One more card for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge, based on this week's sketch at CPS. The verse is from the Christian Sympathy set (Clear Dollar Stamps) and I paired it with this "quilted" piece I had made a couple weekends ago at a library class, but it had yet to find a home. I know the CPS sketch features circles, but I really like the interest that the shape provides here.

Below you'll find the 2 cards that I made using the same quilted technique - punch squares from patterned paper and adhere to standard copy paper, then die cut. These panels were also dry embossed (with the CB paisley folder), and I accented it with some ink on the left card. Fun and easy! The sentiments are from Unity (praying for you) and a*muse (relax...)

The strength of my heart...

I always find the posts over at Stampin Sisters in Christ so encouraging, and this week's challenge was no exception: a reminder that God is always with us, even when it may not feel like it... it's so easy to rely on our own strength, and treat God as a last resort. But whatever our shortcomings may be, He is faithful - the one and only thing in life that is truly dependable. What a blessing!

Anyway, as I was reading through the post, my thoughts went to this verse (Psalm 73:26) - we fail even ourselves, but God is the "strength of my heart." Isn't that a wonderful phrase? I ended up using the layout from the Card Patterns sketch, but did adjust the circle just a bit to fit the verse. I used a variety of bits and pieces for embellishments, but it still has a clean, simple feel to it. I think I may end up playing around with this layout a bit more to create a few masculine cards - just need to lose the flower and lace :) Hope you all have a fabulous day - and remember, God *IS* with you!!

Bless You

Just a quick card to share today, made for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch. The oval die with the sweet birds was from a Making Memories pack, and the only stamping on the entire card is the small sentiment (Wordsworth). Everything else, from the card base (4" square) to the embellishments, was just piled on my desk. I think that's a sign it's time to do some cleaning up!

Finding Beauty

I've had this image colored for months and finally got it made into a card this past week. It's colored with a mix of metallic and prismacolor pencils; you can see a hint of the lustre on the moth wings and the eyelids (which look a bit creepy in this pic, but I promise are much nicer IRL! :) I highlighted the word forever with a yellow pencil, which helps it pop from the background. The card front is scored 1 1/4" from the fold, and then I added the ribbon and glued the spine, so the open part is 4 1/4" square.

images: smARTworks Daydream Collage, and the saying is from Tennyson/Emerson/Keats.