Sew Simple

Since I got to spend all day waiting for contractors (who never showed up, sigh), I pulled out some of my favorite products and got crafting!

I couldn't resist the "Kraft & Kreme" challenge at Less is More, and paired it with the current Clean & Simple sketch. The sentiment stamp is from Our Daily Bread Designs, and the corner stamp is from SP & Company. The sentiment is stamped in Rich Cocoa ink (Memento); the "stitching" is stamped in Craft White (SU!) and heat-embossed in Brown Sugar with embossing powder (Zing).

I cut the rosette from Kraft paper with a Tim Holtz die, and covered the edge with a "measuring tape" decorative tape that Mom got free with a British magazine. I covered the center with a paper button cut with SU!'s Sweet Buttons Embosslit die, and finished it with this stunning fabric brad from American Crafts' Amy Tangerine line.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Clean & Simple: Sketch #226
Less is More: Kraft & Cream

Thank you for visiting,

Sunshine Mail Challenge: Pink, red, and white

It's the 1st of the month (Rabbit rabbit!) which means it's time for a new 2-week Sunshine Mail Foundation Challenge. This time our theme is "pink, red, and white". The only real rule is that you send in at least one card (Donation guidelines here). 

We're sponsored by Red Rubber Designs, and I used their fabulously unique Happiness of Life set:

Inspiration/Challenges:
Crafting By Design: Animal
Hanna & Friends #164: Anything Goes with a cute stamped animal
Party Time Tuesdays #105: Anything Goes
Sisterhood of Crafters: Hearts
Vickie's Challenges: Anything Goes

Thank you for visiting & hope you'll join us for the Sunshine Mail Foundation Challenge,

Look at me, look at you / Searching for the purest blue

I so enjoyed making my Jane's Addiction-inspired card that I decided to make another song-inspired card.

In that post, I talked about my best friend from college, and our experiences also influenced this card. One of my favorite memories is when we went to see Porno for Pyros (the second-generation Jane's Addiction) at Club Rio in Tempe ... they had advertised a "Special Guest," and we were about the only people there when the opening band came on... We were 19 at the time, and so described them as "a bunch of old guys who played like nothing we'd ever experienced." Well, it ended up being Love and Rockets, an incredible band that influenced so many of the artists we all love. We were literally front-row for their performance (it was a standing-only club, no seats), but by the time Porno for Pyros took the stage the club was packed and we were caught up in surge of people... I weighed less than 100 pounds back then, and I remember my friend (who is over 6 feet tall) holding me as we were swept backwards into the crowd... I could have been trampled it if wasn't for him, but of course we then fought our way back towards the front! Good times!

Anyhoo, shortly afterwards I got my hands on a copy of Love and Rocket's album Earth.Sun.Moon. and took to listening to it while watching the sunrise every morning. I was staying with my parents at the time, and they have the most beautiful view of mountains from their back porch; I could time it just right so that as the tape played the track "Waiting For The Flood" the sun poured over the mountains and lit up the landscape. With those memories in mind, I made this card:

Inspiration/Challenges:
Annabelle Stamps Challenge: Sketch Challenge
Anything Goes Challenge #85: Monochrome

The cherry blossom images are from a Flourished set, and I stamped them in "Night Sky" VersaMagic chalk ink and colored the petals with a white pencil. I added hand-stitching with a light blue thread. The papers are all DPs from my stash. I think this blue monochrome scheme reflects the color of the landscape in those seconds before the sun fully rose...

Thank you for visiting & rock on,

Where green grass grows there can't be wrong

Although most of my cards tend to be on the "sweet" side, in my personal life I tend to like art & music that is more on the edge. Like, dangling off the edge and screaming. For example, one of my favorite bands of all time is Jane's Addiction, in part because that's what I listened to with my best friend from college. We lived in Arizona, and would take long drives out in the desert or up through Oak Creek Canyon or into the winding roads to Jerome, listening to Perry Farrell's wailing and wondering what we wanted from life. We've remained friends all these years, and have shared the joys and sorrows that come from being strong-willed and naturally rebellious.

You may remember the "ballsy" card I made for him last year; I wanted to make him something special, so I decided to use a line from Jane's Addiction's "Ain't No Right"... 

I used two double-sided papers from BoBunny; I printed the lyrics in brown (set in three versions of Ablefont) directly onto the DP, and added a little dimension to the piece with Vintage Photo distress ink. The banners were cut with dies from a•muse studio's Cupcake Toppers set, and I used Creative Medium to give them a shine & make them pliable.

I added hand-stitching on the ribbon; it's really light, but worth it I think. Here's a close-up:

I feel like there's a sort of Medieval Festival vibe going on here... which I think Perry Farrell would appreciate. As he once said, "Don't blame me 'cause you got no honor in your life ... don't blame me 'cause you have no chivalry in your soul!"

Inspiration/Challenges:
Clean & Simple: Sketch #225
Dynamic Duos #37: Soft Suede and Crumb Cake
Glitter n Sparkle: Male Card

Thank you for visiting & rock on,

Doodlin' with Roy G Biv

I had so much fun using this week's Less Is More sketch for my leafy CAS card the other day, that I just had to try it again. This time, I was inspired by the "Use Markers" challenge at CAS-ual Fridays as well as the "Doodle a Frame" challenge at Speedy and Friends.

For the color band, I used the "texturing with Copic blender solution" technique that I learned from my mom via Copic Diva Jennifer Dove. My current favorite fabric to use is scrap Aida cloth from my cross-stitching projects. I used my Copics to make a color-block band, soaked a strip of fabric in Colorless Blender Solution, and simply pressed it on top of the colored band. Presto! 

Then I stamped the sentiment in black, and then again with SU! Craft White ink, and traced it with a black glaze pen.

I used an XS PITT Artist pen to doodle the frame; this is a doodle that I've been doing for years but it's the first time I've used it on a card. But it won't be the last!

Inspiration/Challenges:
CAS-ual Fridays: Use markers
Less Is More: Sketch (2nd entry)
Speedy and Friends # 144: Doodle a frame

Thank you for visiting,