b-day bouquet gift October 6, 2007

I was browsing blogs and came across this “OMW..mouth-dropping..I must make” item.  On Jenn Balcer’s blog, there’s a Girlie Gift in a Hurry creation that is oh so cute.  Jenn received the idea from Lori Craig.   And with my daughter going to a birthday party today, it was perfect timing.  It took me about 2 hours to whip this together…and I must say, the end of party report from my daughter was that, “Ashlyn just loved her gift mom!”

 (my camera battery was dying so I do apologize for the not so good pic quality…I was really rushed).

I used a clear Stampendous paint pail as my base/pot.  I put a circled piece of styrofoam in the bottom.  I added brown paper shreds to cover up the styrofoam.  I painted 6 wooden rods green and set aside to dry.  The bottom of the pail has a 2-1/2 x 14″ Petals & Paisleys DSP with a Tempting Turquoise 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon tied in a bow.  The sentiment “happy birthday”…. happy from stamp set Polka Dots & Paisleys and birthday from Everyday Flexible Phrases stamped with Tempting Turquoise ink on Whisper White CS measuring 1″ x 2″.   I matted this on So Saffron CS 1-1/8″ x 2-1/8″ covered with Iridescent Ice.   Small flower to left of sentiment from Ginormous Flowers stamp set – stamped with Versamark on Pretty in Pink CS with Iridescent Ice added.  Attached Bold Brights Turquoise Colored Brad to flower.  Added Tempting Turquoise, Pretty in Pink, and Mellow Moss 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon to left side of pail handle.

The flowers were fun to make.  First, I took Tempting Turquoise, Pretty in Pink, and So Saffron CS and covered with Iridescent Ice.  Then I punched 2 of each color with my Scallop Punch.  With same CS, I created rings (again 2 of each color) by using my 1-1/4″ & 1-3/8″ Circle Punches.  Used Big Deal Alphabet Stamp Set with Certainly Celery & Old Olive inks on Whisper White CS.  Attached letters & rings to scalloped pieces with Mini Glue Dots.  I then stamped 6 different little flower images with same colors of ink from Little Flowers Stamp Set.  Punched out with 1/4″ Circle Punch, and attached with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Behind the scalloped pieces are stamped flowers from Ginormous Flowers Stamp Set.  I attached the wooden rods to the backs using a Pop-Up Glue Dot.  I had to cover this  up so I punched out 6 more scallops and 6 1-3/8″ Circle Punch circles out of Petals & Paisleys DSP.  I attached to the backs of the flowers with another Pop-Up Glue Dot.

Last step is to attach money.  This was done by accordian folding the cash, pinching middle, and attaching to wooden flower rod stems with ribbons.  I inserted the flowers into the styrofoam base….took the poor picture….and daughter was off to the party.

Thanks Jenn & Lori for giving me the inspiration to create a hand-made birthday gift:)

jolliest time October 6, 2007

With my last Stampin’ Up! order, I wanted to get sets that aren’t used that much and are still pretty cool & maybe overlooked.  I wanted to used the stamp set Jolliest Time of the Year for Beate’s wsc #22 .   This set is my style….whimsical and requires watercoloring.  If you are an old pro or a newbie at watercoloring, this set has a nice feature — there are sketch marks within the image and your shades of color are to be darker where there are sketches…makes it easy:)

                  

Card base is 4-1/2″ x 11″ Always Artichoke CS folded in half.  Layered on top is a 4-1/4″ x 5-1/4″ Purely Pomegranate DSP from Holiday Harmony.  The Circle to the left was made with Coluzzle, a piece of River Rock DSP from Holiday Harmony (the piece that is 2 shades of River Rock and strips).  This is matted on a larger circle of Soft Sky CS and scalloped the edges with 3/16″ Corner Rounder Punch. 

I wanted to spice up the DSP and add more colors from my card & texture.  I cut very thin strips of the same Purely Pomegranate DSP, Always Artichoke CS, and Confetti White CS and attached to the stripes of the River Rock DSP from Holiday Harmony.  Added Pewter Brads to all colored stripes.  Dazzling Diamonds applied to the Soft Sky scallops. 

The main image is Confetti White CS measuring 2-1/4″ x 3-1/2″ matted on Always Artichoke CS 2-3/8″ x 3-5/8″.  Image stamped 3 times with Stazon Jet Black Ink.  It is soooo cool and very 3-dimensional.  The legs, snowflakes, arms, and ground of the image are on the base piece.  The 2nd layer is Santa’s coat & Stampin’ Dimensionals.  The 3rd layer is his head & hat with 2 Stampin’ Dimensionals stacked to raise up higher than just one dimensional.  It really pops out at you.  All white within his clothes are colored with Soft Sky ink & Going Gray ink.  The ground, snowflakes, and shadowing behind him are colored with Soft Sky ink.  The rest of Santa was watercolored with Purely Pomegranate, River Rock, and Always Artichoke inks.  I added a fine layer of Dazzling Diamonds to the snowy ground and flakes falling. 

The sentiment with this set had too many words for my card.  Since only having a 1-3/8″ circle space to work with, I omitted many of the words and used what is the most popular saying we know.  I cut out the words I wanted & adhered to a River Rock CS circle created with my 1-3/8″ Circle Punch.  There is paper-piercing around this piece of CS.  I then matted on a piece of Soft Sky CS punched with my Scallop Punch.  Added Dazzling Diamonds to this Soft Sky scalloping as well to keep the pattern flowing across the card from the larger circle on the left.  Added hardware from Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware and attached with a Ice Rhinestone Brad.  Lastly, added a piece of River Rock Double-Stitched Ribbon. 

The upper right of the card has 2 Jumbo Pewter Eyelets with green Ice Rhinestone Brads in the center.    It’s hard to see in the pics, but there is paper-piercing bordering every circled image/element on the card.

Thanks Beate for another wonderful challenge.

TFL & enjoy your weekend.