Hi Everyone. Happy Saturday.
It's the fabulous LeAnne's turn to host our Paper Players challenge this week and she has a color challenge for us.
You've all heard me say this before…. but the great thing about color challenges is that they really force you outside of your comfort zone and this one was no exception. I'm just not a fan of Wisteria Wonder – but I am a huge fan of Blackberry Bliss. I also wasn't sure what to do with Lost Lagoon. I spent a little time thinking about it and decided that I would send both of these colors to the background and feature Mossy Meadow and Blackberry Bliss as they were my favorite colors.
I also wanted to create texture and dimension on my card. These days I am very conscious about creating too much dimension on my card as I really want them to be able to go through the postal service without too much extra cost. However, as this card was not going through the post, this wasn't a concern. 🙂
I started by tearing a piece of paper and using that as a mask. I inked up the Dictionary background stamp with Lost Lagoon ink and stamped onto a piece of scrap paper before stamping onto my base.
The next thing I did was get out a leaf stencil and some white embossing paste. I then placed some Mossy Meadow ink directly onto my craft sheet and mixed it into the embossing paste with a spatula. I used this to create the leaf pattern over my Lost Lagoon Dictionary base.
I didn't spend a lot of time trying to ensure that my embossing paste was super-smooth as I really wanted the texture and distressed feel. I love the look that it gives.
I then stamped some flowers with Blackberry Bliss and my Flower Patch stamp set. I ran my Blackberry Bliss marker around the edges of the flowers just to give a little extra dimension. To finish off my flowers, and to incorporate the Wonderful Wisteria, I used my small flower punch and some silver glimmer paper to create the inner part of the flower. The glimmer paper takes the marker inks very well. I finished off with a basic rhinestone colored with a Copic Marker that resembles Blackberry Bliss. Here's the flower:
All I needed to do was add the sentiment, pop up the flowers and my card was finished. Here's the final card:
As today is a really overcast day, I wasn't able to get a very good shot of it so you can't really see the fun sparkle from the middle of the flowers.
The design team have created some fabulous cards for your inspiration. Pop along to their blogs and check out their cards and then don't forget to join us at the Paper Players and play along with LeAnne's color challenge.
On a personal note:
Well, our visitors have left for the airport having spent two weeks enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes of the wonderful mid-west. The weather held out the entire time they were here, except for yesterday morning and a little English drizzle this morning. The English drizzle seemed appropriate considering that is what they can expect – in abudance – on their return :-)
It has been a wonderful two weeks and we really have seen some fabulous places. We have also had some exceptionally memorable nights spent at our home, including dinners in the new deck area. The great thing about old friends as that they know you so well and things are so comfortable. Our guests will be greatly missed and we eagerly await their next visit!
I wanted to share a couple of photographs from our trips. This week we were up in Grand Marais and around Lake Superior. Lou and I took a drive into the Lake Superior National Forest whilst our visitors did their own favorite activities. As we were driving down one of the roads in the forest we came to an opening and this is what we saw:
It was so beautiful to see the prairie flowers in such a large area and unexpected amongst the majestic trees of the forest. We heard so many wonderful bird sounds and even managed to catch sight of a couple of loons.
The previous week were were in Decorah, Iowa and surrounding areas. We visited a seed farm on our way back up to Minnesota. The farm is beautiful and has heritage livestock, flowers and fowl. It really was amazingly peaceful and I loved this little scene. We used to see so many red barns in Minnesota, but sadly, there seems to be fewer and fewer of them these days.
The only part of this photo that puts it into the context of today …. the orange and yellow bollards! They look so out of place that they made me smile. The rest of the setting is so bucolic. This part of Iowa is so pretty as it is set in the Bluff Country. Gorgeous 🙂
As always, thank you for your visit – and for your comments. Thank you also for being patient with my intermittent posting as we spent time with our favorite guests! I'll be back to my normal schedule this week and will be back with another card and some more photos for you tomorrow. In the meantime, warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.
Hugs
Jaydee
Card recipe – all ingredients Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:
- Card stock: BlackBerry Bliss. Whisper White
- Inks: Blackberry Bliss. Lost Lagoon. Wisteria Wonder. Mossy Meadow
- Stamps: Flowers: Flower Patch. Sentiment: Hero Arts
- Tools: Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste. Stencil (SSS)
11 Responses
I love how you added the texture to this card, and the sparkle to the flowers. It’s so pretty!
I also agree with you on color challenges, they do force one outside their comfort zone. I have found that I now I use colors I never did before, after trying them out in challenges. It’s so much fun!
I love all the texture here, Jaydee! The Dictionary background and embossing paste leaves are gorgeous!
Wow! Your design in lovely and your use of embossing paste adds just the right amount of texture. Very pretty!
Love the bold flowers against the print background Jaydee and those embossing past leaves really make the flowers stand out – a super card!
Jaydee, I just love your card! The dictionary background is perfect. The embossing paste on the leaves is amazing. The pop of silver gives your card the perfect finishing touch! Super card! I do love your pictures! The red barn touched my heart. I grew up on a small farm in Indiana, so your pictures brought a sense of home to me! Thanks for sharing them! XX
Oh, I think I am going to have to add Dictionary to my wishlist….I love how you added a subtle touch of it to your background! Just GORGEOUS!
Gorgeous card! That partially inked dictionary stamp is fabulous! Great use of the colors, even if you don’t love them. (I’m not a Wisteria Wonder fan either…)
Lovely card, Jaydee. Isn’t the new Blackberry luscious? My mouth waters when I hear it! Ha!
What a lovely card, Jaydee! I love the look of the embossing paste and the bits of glimmer. Great use of the challenge colors!
Just wondering since you have been off the last two on vacation if you were going to beable to go to convention? Since enjoy reading your blog, see your wonderful wetlands with birds and animals and lately the inside of your home. The screened in area is wonderful. You have done wonders with your grounds.
I still haven’t purchased the In Colors yet and I really need to. Blackberry Bliss is such a rich color and it looks beautiful contrasted with the Mossy Meadow. And, I need to remember to invest in some embossing paste. I love the texture and look it gives your leaves. And, pure genius to marker around the edges of the flowers to add extra depth. :o)
Hugs!!