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Friday, January 21, 2011

Gray skies are gonna clear up . . .

. . . put on a happy face!!!

That's what this card says! I just can't help but smile when I see those little handmade orange camellias on my branch. :)

I made this card today to honor a good Splitcoast friend, Pam (aka pam124 on SCS). She was named Queen for the Day in Splitcoast's QFTD game. I usually shy away from challenges (such as SCS's Featured Stamper challenge and QFTD) that require CASE-ing another stamper's creations. I'm just too intimidated!! But the planets were in alignment today, and a CASE just fell into place. Here is the card from Pam's gallery that I CASEd:
I changed the image, color, and orientation, but kept all the basic elements of the sketch, the stitching, the eyelets in the corners, the ribbon down the middle, and a circular element in the corner. My circular sentiment ("gray skies are gonna clear up") was computer generated. The felt clouds are die cuts I received in a RAK from another SCS member.

I am having such fun making my own little paper roses and camellias from my collection of basic 5-petal basic flowers from the Prima Got Flowers? line. I followed this fabulous tutorial to make mine. So easy!

So here are the other challenges I'm playing in with this card:
  • Play Date Cafe Challenge: PDCC65
  • Cute Card Thursday: Recipe of 1, 2, 3 in any combo. I used 1 huge circle brad, 2 felt clouds, and 3 handmade orange camellias
  • 4 Crafty Chicks: another Recipe challenge: Ribbon, Brads, Patterned Paper
  • Simon Says Stamp: Bingo! Include any three items that are in a straight line on the challenge Bingo card: I chose the diagonal: Brads, Flowers, Ribbon
  • Papertake Weekly: ribbons and/or pearls (I went with ribbons this time)
  • City Crafter Challenge for week #40: Handmade Flowers
  • Gray is the New Black Challenge in the Moxie Fab World: to use gray in an innovative way. I once read on the blog of a stamper/landscape artist that we stampers usually get it all wrong when we stamp trees--we use brown to stamp the trunks and branches of trees and bushes when, if you look closely in nature, they really are gray. So, I guess my innovation with gray is using it to represent the branches of my camellia bush accurately!! But I also had fun using gray to tone down my vivid oranges and olives, using gray for my felt clouds, giving my layers subtle frames with gray stitching, and even using the word "gray" in my sentiment. It was all such fun!
Well, we weathered our snow day with no troubles today. Now we are preparing for the deep freeze (overnight lows below zero for a couple of days) and another potentially major snowstorm midweek. Yikes!!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my blissfully clearing skies!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Schlosser Designs Boughs
Paper: MFP snowstorm CS, SU old olive CS, SU basic gray DSP
Ink: Palette charcoal, SU old olive
Accessories: MFT Cloud Dienamics (RAK from a fellow SCSer), 1.5" circle punch, SU boho blossoms punch, Crop-A-Dile, orange eyelets, sewing machine, sponge, orange grosgrain ribbon, swirled satin ribbon, foam tape, basic Prima flowers, SU silver circle brad

Techniques: machine stitching, sponging, handmade flowers

33 comments:

  1. Really lovely design work, Emily...this is a perfect use of the colors over at The Play Date Cafe. Thanks so much for being a part of it this week!

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  2. Beautiful creation, thanks for playing along with us at CCCB!

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  3. Beautiful card Emily! I'm going to have to check out that tutorial - thanks for sharing! And thanks for playing at the PDCC this week :)

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  4. Beautiful color combination! Very lovely card!
    Pam

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  5. Mrs. Keaton, this is perfectly, absolutely lovely. I would say that the stars *definitely* were in alignment on this card! Wow! I like your use of a tree stamp for the branch, the handmade flowers, the pretty ribbons, the computer generated sentiment. All of it is really, really wonderful! (it's a winner in *my* book)

    Thanks for coming to play at my new home, the PDCC!!

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  6. Gotta love those flowers, great card

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  7. Great card...I love those flowers! Thanks for the link-I may be trying these today!

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  8. This is just adorable! I love the branch with the flowers. Very pretty! Thank you for joining us at Cute Card Thursday!

    Julie

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  9. Those flowers are fabulous, Emily!! As are the colours you used. One great card and a fabulous tribute to Pambelina :) Hope to get time to do one for her myself.

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  10. Both of these cards are awesome Emily! Love the felt clouds along with the burst of orange roses on the first! Can't go wrong with the Eiffel Tower :)

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  11. WOW.. Your card looks wonderful.. I would be at a loss with that color combo, but you nailed it my friend.. Thanks for playing along with us at CCCB!

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  12. Emzi....great card for our Queen friend. She'll be pleased. I am loving those flowers you're making and wanted to try one last night but was just too tired when I finally had the time. Oh, where is my youth? Out the window and gone!! LOL
    I love your computer generated sentiment.
    Sounds as if you will be frozen soon or snowed in so deep you'll never dig out. What a great time for crafting. Take care.

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  13. Oh Wow Emily! theses flowers are just stunning ... I'd never have thought that they were handmade ... I'm so impressed .... thank you so much for sharing your talent with us at CCCB

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  14. Definitely an eye catcher! Love everything about this card! :)

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  15. what a great card, Emily! I love those fuzzy, felty grey clouds...we have lots of those this time of year where I live. Your camellias add such dimension and texture alone with that stitchin'.

    Nice job with all those challenges.

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  16. This is sooooo cute how you've used that branch and then made the flowers pop off of it. I love how you've created the sentiment too. Thanks for sharing the link to that tutorial as well - I have a bunch of those flowers that I will never use and am excited to see that I can repurpose them for something much prettier. So very glad you have played along at the Play Date Cafe this week.

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  17. Wonderful design! I love those little handmade camelias too! Gorgeous use of the colors and so glad to have you with us again at The Play Date Cafe!

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  18. Hi Emily

    wow your card is stunning and such a fab design, gorgeous!

    Joey xx

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  19. Your card is stunningly beautiful, Emily! What a perfect design and use of the color story! Thanks for sharing the tutorial, too! Thanks so much for playing along with us in the Cafe!

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  20. Emily another very cool card! Love the colors and ribbon. Thank you so much for sharing this little treat with us at 4 Crafty Chicks and for playing with our challenge this week.

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  21. love this branch of beauty.....awesome blooms

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  22. this is really pretty. love how the orange pops with the grey.

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  23. Beautiful card Emily, the sentiment is perfect for our colours too! Thanks for playing along with us at the Play Date Cafe!

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  24. Beautiful flowers and a great card with these colors! What a perfect sentiment for these dreary days!

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  25. Gorgeous! LOVE the colors and flowers!

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  26. What a gorgeous card Emily! Those flowers are awesome! Thanks for playing with us at 4 Crafty Chicks this week!

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  27. Hey Emily! Thanks for entering the Gray is the New Black challenge in the Moxie Fab World! I'm so glad you joined in on all the fun! :)

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  28. WOW! I love this, it is stunning!! Gorgeous colours and design!! thanks for joining us at Simon Says Stamp! hugs, Jane x

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  29. Oh how I LOVE this card!! The flowers are gorgeous and the gray clouds - so clever!!! Thanks for joining us at The Play Date Cafe this week!

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  30. This is outstanding. Lovely designand way to go on meeting all of those challenges

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  31. This is a gorgeous card - I love everything about it :) I am in MA,too - stay warm!

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  32. Whoo hooo! See, and you were worried no one was paying attention to your cards. ;) I really thought this card was genius using the challenge colors; apparently, so did a lot of my teamies! Congratulations.

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Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment. I love to read every word!! Wishing you a day filled with bliss, ~Emily