Merry Monday 46

Hello there,

well I'm back with that guest designer gig ;) I mentioned the other day. I was delighted to be the top pick for Merry Monday #44 and as a result I get to bring you my take on Merry Monday #46. The Merry Monday challenge this week is to make a Christmas card using birds.

The first thing that sprung to my mind was birds = music so I knew I had to introduce some music in there and as I still had some music note DSP in my stash I pulled that out and then softened it by overlaying it with vellum cardstock.

Of course I had to have something for my birds to perch on - and what better for Christmas than a wreath. I embossed mine with Wild Wasabi embossing powder, then hung it up adding a layered bow. I added some border detail and then finished the whole thing off with a sentiment and some little pearls. I'm three Christmas cards up on my stash for this year now :) Don't forget to drop past Merry Monday and check out all the fabulous inspiration from the design team. Have fun with the challenge!

Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Aviary, Welcome Christmas, Love Lives Here: Holiday (PaperTrey Ink)
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi, Rose Red, Vellum
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Rose Red, Crumb Cake, Versamark, Basic Black
Accessories: DSP (R), Scalloped dotted ribbon border punch, Rose Red seam binding, wild Wasabi stitched grosgrain, Victoria crochet trim, Wild Wasabi embossing powder, Vintage brad, Jewels - pearls, Double sided tape (X Press), Dimensionals

JAI 67 - just add a sketch

Hello there,

I'm going to hop right into it this week and tell you about this week's challenge at Just Add Ink. This week we want you to add a sketch (see below) one thing we do want you to note is that this challenge will run for two weeks, as the vast majority of the team (me included - Hooray!!!) will be at the SU! Convention in Melbourne, and otherwise (and very happily) occupied for a while. So here is the sketch.

And this is what I did with it.



I was feeling a bit whimsical when I was putting this one together, and I thought Aviary would be a good set to use to suit my mood. So after flipping the sketch I got down to work. So I started with a Whisper White base, then added an Early Expresso mat and then some Pink Pirouette DSP. I cut two white panels, stamped a cage directly on one and the stand on the other. Then I added a couple of extra cages mounted up on dimensionals. Going with the flow of my whimsical mood I added some curly label edging, and rounded the corners of the base panels. Of course I had to add my birds (in Melon Mambo) one climbing up to say hello to the other. I also added a sentiment and had some fun stitching that down to the card as well as adding some extra decorative stitching. The last touches were some buttons. The inside was finished off with two cages and this time both birds are out ;) Initally unsure I ended up really liking this one!

Thanks for visiting and why don't you have a go at the sketch - it's a good one! Things will be quiet around for the next week or so - as I will be off galivanting in Melbourne :O. But I will be back!

Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Aviary, On my Couch (PaperTrey Inc)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Early Expresso
Ink: Early Expresso, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Curly label punch, Modern Label punch, Raseberry Fizz buttons (PaperTrey Inc), Pink Pirouette DSP (R), Corner rounder punch, white embroidery thread, sewing machine, Dimensionals, Double sided tape (X Press it)

JAI 47 - Just add a colour combo

Hi there all - again ;)
when I first saw the Just Add Ink colour combo challenge this week - so bold and bright I was a bit stumped, now I could have opted out as its my week off from the DT, but I was lucky enough to get some inspiration from a comment my Miss 5 made, more about that later. First here is the colour combo.

And here is the Christmas card I made using them.



Literally while writing up this post I realised I made a big Oops. I was positive the combo used Real Red so that's what I used. The outcome would still have been the same but I would have changed the ribbon to the retired Riding Hood Red taffeta. So read on for the Real Red version....

When I first inked up my Aviary set I made a little thank you card for Miss 5 to take along to a friends house when she was invited for a tea party - she loved it but did say "why is the owl in the cage Mummy". That got me to thinking how could I set the birds free. Then as I was putting Mr 2 to bed and turning the combo over in my head the idea of using the cages to make a christmas tree dawned on me, and even better to use the birds as ornaments!

So I started out by selecting the smallest Aviary cage - I needed to fit three across the bottom. Which was the next step, stamping three cages (definitely use the Stamp-ma-jig for this) then two above then one for the top of the tree. Then I stamped a couple of birds in Daffodil Delight and two in Tempting Turquoise and that cute whimsical owl in Real Red. I made things easy for myself by punching out the birds using a 1/2" circle punch (and of course ornaments are usually round ;) I added a little silver cord loop to each ornament, and add them to the tree with dimensionals. I added a star to the top, embellished with a brad and stamped a stand for the tree, added the sentiment and some 1/8 Real Red taffeta to finish it off. The image panel was layered onto a Real Red base. The inside was finished off simply to match - with a nice sentiment and some more of the birds. I had fun with this one and have already delivered it to some good friends who I thought would appreciate the quirkiness of the card.

Thanks for visiting in this busy Christmas season, and don't forget if you can squeeze in the time this week why don't join in with the challenge this week too.
Kim

Recipe: All SU!
Stamps: Aviary, Many Merry Messages, Tree Trimming Trio
Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red
Ink: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray
Accessories: 1/2" circle punch, small Star punch (R), Silver cord (R), 1/8" Real Red taffeta, Dimensionals, Double sided tape