Five Days of Dapper Denim, Day Five

Are you ready to wrap up our Dapper Denim days?  I've saved one of my super favorites for the last day.

I watercolored the background on the circle piece, using Shimmery White CS.   The text is embossed with black EP.  By embossing the top layer of the card, it just bumps up the WOW factor ... a lot!

I've stamped the inside of the card as well as the coordinating envelope.

Yes, I had to fussy cut the flower and leaves, but I think it was well worth the effort.  Like I said, this is one of my favorites!

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Evolution of a Calla Lily

Have you ever made a card, stepped back and looked at it and said to yourself: "It's almost what I was after... but not quite."  If you have, then you're going to enjoy today's post.  I call today's card the 'Evolution of a Calla Lily' because that's the way it played out.  I'll show you the end result first and then back up and explain how I got there. 

Here's the end result, with which I was very happy.  The inside stayed the same.

Here's how I started... just the 2 lilies, which is how the stamp looks.  I liked it 'ok' but it wasn't as elegant as I'd hoped it would be.

I'd spent a long time on it because, as you can see, I stamped extra flowers, cut them out and added them on dimensionals.   I just couldn't bear to waste all that time and effort by throwing it away.  I kept thinking: "I can save it."

So... I cut around the top layer, stamped and cut out another lily and attached it behind the first two lilies.  Then I remade the back layers.  I did save it!  Because the third flower was so near the top of the card, I added my gold thread to the bottom of the card this time.  I like that even better.  And, yes, I did add a few 'speckles' in gold with a stamp from my Gorgeous Grunge set.  So, do you think it was worth the extra effort to redo the card?  I'm very happy with it, so I guess it was worth it to me.

By the way, my coloring on this card was done with my Aqua Painter and inks, with a teeny tiny bit of Shimmer Paint added to it.  It makes for a beautiful and elegant sheen to the lilies.

Up next, I'll be doing a series on all the cards I've made recently using the acrylic block technique.  Be sure to come back and see what I have to share with you!  

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Elegant Lilies

I love, love, love lilies and was thrilled when I discovered that we now have stamps to make our own.  Here's what I came up with for one of my cards.  I used Shimmery White CS to give an elegant contrast to the black that is matted with gold foil CS.  Add an Elegant Eggplant card base, and it's just perfect.  I added my Champagne Mist  shimmer mist spritz to the black.  In real life, it has an elegant shimmer.

The greeting is embossed in gold and the inside of the card and the envelope are stamped to coordinate with it all.  

I embossed and hand cut both of the lilies.  I wanted them to really stand out on my card.  I added a touch of Crushed Curry to the centers of the flowers.

I love how it all turned out.  I wish you could see the shimmer.

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Remarkable Melon Mambo

Let's have some Melon Mambo today for a bright and cheery card.  The black accents add just the perfect touch for a gorgeous card.  I've spritzed the embossed layer for some added shimmer.  

The 'speckles' are from a Gorgeous Grunge stamp.  Like I said before, I just don't put this stamp set away.  The satin ribbon is tucked under the focal piece and wrapped around the embossed layer.

The flower is painted with my Aqua Painter.  I love this card and I'm not really a pink person.  I do allow Melon Mambo to hang around:)

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2 Remarkable Frames ... Frame #2

Today, let's take a look at my second frame using our Remarkable You stamps.  This one features a yellow flower.

The background is the same as in my previous post on frame #1.

Here are both of the frames together.

Which one do you like the best?

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2 Remarkable Frames ... Frame #1

Using some of the flowers from our Remarkable You stamp set, I decided to create 2 little framed projects.  I love little square frames.  Here is frame #1, with 2 pink flowers.  

The background is a piece of watercolor paper, lightly painted with a pale blue and a little touch of shimmer paint.  

The flowers are cut and attached only to the background.  The frame can easily be taken apart and reused for another project.

They are quite 3-D.  I love how they turned out.

In my next post, I'll share the second frame that I made.

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Bohemian Remarkable You

Today's card uses my same design as the card in my previous post, with new stamps.  It changes the look a bit and I absolutely love this one, too.  I had more background space on my layered circles on this card, so I got to add a bit more watercoloring this time.  It makes for a pretty background that is quick and easy to do.  

My coloring on the flower and leaves was done with inks and an Aqua Painter.  The card inside and the envelope are stamped to coordinate with the card.  The colors are Bermuda Bay and Island Indigo.  I never really used these colors together too much until I got this new paper and, I must say, they are gorgeous together.  I am passionate about playing with colors.  When beginning a new card or project, I always start with color first and go from there to creating my design.  That's what really works for me.

Isn't this a gorgeous stamp set?  This flower image reminds me of beautiful times spent at a lakeside cabin in Minnesota.  The water lily is their state flower.  Our first vacation as a married couple was to a resort on Clamshell Lake (on the White Fish chain).  My husband knew the resort owners and we became like family.  Going back for a week each year was like a family reunion.  We became close friends with several other couples and we all planned to go the same week each year.  It was a wonderful family resort with lots to do for every age.  My husband would play his guitar and we'd sing around a campfire on the beach at night.  Those were the days.  Our first year there, my son was just 4 months old and our daughter was 3 years old.  They loved it as much as we did, but the car ride to get there... not so much:)

I'm off to work in my studio some more this morning.  I'm working on vintage cards for my July Saturday Stampers class.  This afternoon, a good friend is joining me for more stamping and then we'll join our spouses for dinner tonight.  Talk about a fun day!  Yes!

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