Mr. & Mrs.

Hi Everyone.  Happy Sunday night.  I hope you have all had a fabulous weekend.

Tonight's card uses one of my favorite new color combinations – Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler.  It also seems to be appropriate considering the time of year!  I was at the hairdresser of Saturday morning and there were bridal parties everywhere.  It seems to be that way every Saturday these days.  So, how appropriate that the Pals Paper Arts PPA51 theme challenge this week is Wedding. 

On splitcoast the Fan Club (paid membership) is having a daily challenge for fan club members.  So, I chose to use one of the sketch challenges as the layout for the challenge tonight.  So, I combined the sketch challenge from splitcoaststampers and the theme from PalsPaperArts.

I decided not to use DSP, but to create my own background DSP instead.  The sketch challenge called for a sentiment at the top third of the card, with an element to the left of the sentiment and a large element (circular) at the lower right.  I decided to take those circular elements and change them up just a little. 🙂

Card recipe:

(all ingredients Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted)

• Card stock:  Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla
• Inks:  Cherry Cobbler
• Stamps:  I [love] love wheel, Big & Bold Wishes (Papertrey)
• Accessories:  Heart Shapes (Nestabilities), Vellum

Card instructions:

• Cut Cherry Cobbler to A2 11 x 4 1/4 – scored and folded at 5 1/2"
• Cut Very Vanilla layer to 4 1/8 x 5 3/8 and adhere using Snail
• Ink up wheel with Cherry Cobbler ink and roll onto Very Vanilla card stock.  I did this twice.  I then cut the two pieces to 3 1/4 x 4" when put together.  I adhered these two panels to a piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock cut to 1/8" wider all the way around.  Adhere the two love wheel panels to the Cherry Cobbler layer.
• Adhere Cherry Cobbler/love wheel layer to the base card using snail.
• Cut a piece of Vellum the same size as the Cherry Cobbler/wheel layer and adhere.
• Ink up sentiment stamp with Cherry Cobbler ink and stamp onto Very Vanilla card stock.  I cut this piece to 3 7/8" x 1 3/8".
• I then cut the final Cherry Cobbler layer to 4" x 1 1/2 and adhered the sentiment layer to it.
• Create y our circular elements (in this case my hearts) and layer them.

Tips:

• Sometimes, you just don't have the right DSP – so create your own.  It doesn't necessarily have to be a background stamp either, I joined the two stamp panels to create a visibly single background.
• The wheel is stamped in a strong color and I wanted to make it recede.  Adding a layer of vellum helps to create a soft feel – which is also perfect for a wedding. 
• If you want to make the background panel recede even further, you can add two layers of vellum
• The sentiment in this set is so large and so strong, that it needs strong elements to go with it.  That's why these hearts work.  They also help to soften the rectangles on the card.

On a personal note:

I wanted to share a couple of pics with you tonight.  The first one is a photograph of the GORGEOUS RAK (Random Act of Kindness) from my wonderful friend, Adelle.  She sent me this beautiful bird house that she had found at a craft fair in California.  The person who created this bird house is a real craftsman.  The details on the bird house are amazing.  I was in awe when I opened the box and found this fabulous gift.  It is going to be perfect for our newly updated garden.

Here's a pic of the bird house sitting on the built in bench on our new deck.

Isn't that just gorgeous?  Adelle, thank you so much.  I absolutely love it and I know the birds will love it, too.

I want to leave you with one final pic.  As I was taking photos of the bird house, I looked across to the "fairy knoll" and noticed that there was a ray of sunshine coming through the trees.  It was a fleeting moment, but I managed to catch it.  It adds an even more magical touch to this, one of my favorite parts of our garden.

As always, prayers for some of you tonight.  Rach – I will be thinking about you tomorrow.  Warm virtual hugs, my friend.  Trish, I think about you every day.  For "T" and Pri. 

I hope you all have a magical Monday filled with the things that make you happy. 

As always, thank you for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visits, your comments and your support are much appreciated.  Don't forget, smile at a stranger – it may change their life.

Hugs

Jaydee