Today’s card is my eclipse card!  This is such a big deal around here, I had to do something special! I recalled there were some great “sun” things in the Memories & More Color Theory Card Pack, which was perfect because I wanted to use the Colorful Seasons set for the sentiment and stamps. Those items and some copper metallic embellishments were all I needed to make a card commemorating this once in a lifetime event.

The chair was made using the stamps and a card from the Memories & More Card Pack.  I loved the stripe and it had the right colors for the card. I stamped the image on a sticky note and then positioned the sticky note on the striped card and fussy cut the paper to make my “striped chair”. It fit perfectly with the Crushed Curry Sun and the Berry Burst card base!

I ‘eclipsed” the sentiment by applying versa mark to just half the sentiment.  (Easy to do with your Misti!)  And then used Copper Embossing Powder to make my “eclipsed” sentiment.  Then I just added some Copper Trim and layered it on a piece of Copper Foil paper.  Simple and easy.  But I will admit at this point, I should have positioned the card landscape.  Then my chair would be facing the sun!  But oh well, haven’t we all been there at the finish of a card!  And I had only the one card to use, so I had to make myself happy with this and I am.

This card captures perfectly what I want to do at the moment of the eclipse.  Just sit back in my lawn chair, just breathe and take it all in.  I will be watching with some others from a great vantage point on a hill overlooking Manchester Missouri.   All I have to do is just lug my lawn chair up there and watch.  I have my eclipse glasses and will be ready to go.  Now all we need are clear skies!  In this area, which is to the south and east of St  Louis proper, we should have about a minute and a half of totality.  Happy “eclipsing” everyone!

If you want to see a great video illustrating what the total eclipse should look like, see this video the Weather Channel made HERE!

Card Recipe

Global Design Project is celebrating their 100th Challenge this week with “Case the Designer” #GDP100, Your Pick. The Challenge Designers did an assortment of cards and you could pick any you wanted to CASE. Or, to explain it better,  “Copy And Share Everything“.  Hop over to Global Design Project and see what they are doing by clicking on the image below.

I chose Brian King’s card.  Mostly because I was blown away by his use of a background stamp I never even noticed, the new Marbled.  Of course, I don’t have the stamp…yet.  So, I had to choose something else as a background and that something else was the Color Theory DSP.  I chose an Ombre DSP in Berry Burst. I Then anchored the right side  with a really big sentiment from Big Birthdays and ran a balloon up the side in honor of the challenge logo above. Please note the balloon was stamped on a somewhat marbled paper! Not exactly a “Copy Everything”, more of an “inspired by“.

The Big on Birthdays stamp set has large, bold sentiments that really make a card.  And make card making simple in that the stamped image is really your card design.  You just need to decide on your backgrounds and colors.  These stamps do all the other work for you. Check out this wonderful stamp set HERE!

I found more inspiration for ombre backgrounds on the Stampin’ Up blog with some Ombre Cards that 2017 Artisan Winner Paula Dobson did.  You can see them HERE! If I had seen this blog before completing my challenge card, I would certainly have tried this technique for an ombre background.  I am sure I will do something soon and share it with you. It is a fabulous technique using the sponge brayers. And Paula makes it look so beautiful.

I encourage you to CASE one of the cards on the Global Design Project this week.  I found this a fun challenge and I may try one more this week.  By casing, you don’t have to come up with a completely original design. And you can change things around a bit to make it your own.

Card Recipe

Papers: Color Theory DSP Stack, Berry Burst, Crush Curry
Stamps: Big on Birthdays, Balloon Celebration
Embellishments: Crushed Curry Backer’s Twine
Tools: Balloon Bouquet punch

I love the decor style called “Americana”. And Wood Words is the perfect stamp set to create a unique Americana look.  I know I probably say this about every stamp set, but Wood Words was one of the first sets to catch my eye.  I like rustic looks and this stamp set is perfect for this.

Also perfect for this look is one of the papers from the Wood Textures DSP Stack. I love these papers for their realistic look and what I will be able to do for both decor items and cards.  I had not tried a thing with these fabulous papers.  But today I saw a great Americana room look on an e-mail from Birch Lane.  While I love the look, re-decorating a room is not something I want to do right now.  Next best thing to getting my creativity fix for Americana?  A card, of course!

Here’s a close-up of the card so you can see just how realistic the paper looks! It appears I have stamped on a whitewashed board. But this is paper.

Americana is the first thing that came to mind for the Wood Words set, but it also perfect for fall and Thanksgiving cards.  And I can’t wait to try out some decor using the coordinating Wood Crate dies!  You can see the beautiful rustic designs in the stamp set below. Click on the image to learn more and see a video!

And with all the beautiful DSP and embellishments that go with this suite, you can see below how perfect this set is for fall decor and card making. The wood crates are cut from the dies in the Wood Crate Framelits. I can see them as perfect treat containers for fall, Thanksgiving, Halloween or Christmas!

Check out this new suite soon! I know you will love the rustic , vintage look and come up with great ideas for using this for your fall gifting, decor and card making!

Card Recipe

Papers: Wood Textures DSP Stack, Real Red, Night of Navy
Stamps: Wood Words, Label Me Pretty
Embellishments: Night of Navy 1/2″ Gingham Ribbon
Tools: Pretty Label Punch, Wood Crate Framelits, Big Shot