Search This Blog

Thursday, May 31, 2012

SOTC Challenge~~May 2012


Hello Friends,
it is time to show you another card made for the 'Sisterhood of the Travelling Cards' . Such group is the brainchild of Kadie (kmensley on SCS).

The wonderful hostess for the month of May, was April (Aprilo on SCS)
and she challenged us with the following request:

"...This month's theme is Monochromatic May! Your card can be for any occasion, but it should be all one color family! I tend to have a problem making cards like this, so I would love some inspiration from my Sistahs!..."

Well, I totally {{{{{heart}}}}this challenge!! woot woott...
I knew exactly what stamp set I was going to finally ink...I knew the tecnique
I wanted to apply too....yet I was undecide on the color family...and then it hit me...
I wanted the card to have a 'soft feeling' to it therefore I decided to stick to neutral tones and hues and did not add any sentiments on purpose, to allow the recipients to include one of their choices depending on the occasion...
I really like the soft result obtained by combining a few tecniques together.

 
Card Deets:
C/S: Crumb Cake (SU) , Naturals Ivory (SU)
D/P: from My Minds Eye
Ink: River Rock,Soft Suede, brown sugar marker (American Crafts),Gelly Roll pen.
Stamp: Bliss (SU)
Accessories: white satin pearl embossing powder, double stitched grosgrain ribbon (SU),
self adhesive pearls (Kaisercraft), Boho flowers punch (SU), Textile Texture embossing folder.
Tecniques: * sponging * distressing * dry embossing * wet embossing *

 
There you
 have it folks...
Thanks for such fun challenge April!
♥ Blessings to all! ♥






Monday, May 28, 2012

Calendar Girls~ Memorial Day...


Hello Friends,
First of all I'd like to wish HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY to my American friends,
secondly it is the 28th and, as such, it is CALENDAR GIRLS time!
I think I made it just in the nick of time...;o)

Who are the Calendar Girls? From the words of our 'founder' (Jeanette aka Forest Rangeron SCS) We are a group of bloggers who want to have a place where friendships blossom, creativity abounds, and encouragement prevails! In keeping with that dream, this blog group has been created so we will have a place to interact and enjoy being fellow bloggers.

This month Calendar Girl hostess is none other than Barb ♥ (swap hostess with the mostest - aka barbaralynn on SCS) She challenged our group of galZ with the following  May Challenge:" Memorial Day--a day of honor, remembrance, family picnics, parades, flags placed at cemeteries, concerts and the unofficial start to summer! So the challenge this month for the Calendar Girls is to ink up a patriotic stamp, get out the red/white/blue paper and DSP to post a card that shouts respect to your country and those who have served in the past. I would also like you to note in your post on the 28th what is in your plans this year or what typically has been part of your celebration in the past years on Memorial Day.
Paola--my challenge to you is to also show us your Canadian Patriotism with a card that reflects the colors and images that you are proud of. Barb (Miss May) "
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something,
usually a person (who has died) or an event.
 The most common type of memorial is the gravestone or the memorial plaque.
Also common are war memorials commemorating those who have died in wars.
[From Wikipedia]
Today, is an extremely important date for me as each 28th of May we pay respect and commemorate some beloved members of our family who departed toward a better
and most peaceful world....
May 28th----is the day when I lost my paternal Grandfather ...I was only 8 yrs old...
yet I remember well all the wonderful walks through daisies and poppy fields and the awesome stories he used to tell me as  he shaved, using a special shaving mirror encased in wood, complete with a lil drawer for his shaving kit. That mirror has been sitting in my living room for years now...took it back with me during one of my trips back 'home' many years ago...
May 28th----is the day when I lost my favorite maternal uncle, a man whose gentleness and kindness and love for kids and everything that was nature made quite an impact in my life. Again, during another of my trips back 'home' we decided to surprise my Mom...and he came back with me to Canada and it was a most joyful eventful surprise for all...I didn't say ANYTHING to anyone, not even to my dear hubby! :o)
May 28th----is the day when I lost my first handsome precious,adorable grandchild.
He turned 21 yrs old in Heaven, two days ago. I think often of my Alexander and love to talk about him...but as this time of the year approaches I also became very melancholic....it's like a misty cloud takes over me.....no matter how much I try not to feel overcame by emotions....I miss my first grandchild soooo much still, but know that God had special plans for him and know he is most happy being my sweet angel watching over us from above the wonders of the heavens...
May 28th......is when memories come most alive....when I pay tribute to several members of my family at once...May 28th...an unforgettable day.
I had Barb's approval to interpret 'Memorial' my own way....therefore my card , for this month's challenge is ment to reflect my thoughts for my loved ones, embracing both the colors of the Country where I was born in, and the colors of the Country who adopted me when I was a teenager. The two star - mostly in green , white and red - Italy's colors , are a tribute to my nonno and zio while the biggest star in  Canada's colors, is in honour of my beloved grandchild.
Three bright stars shining inside my heart forever....   ♥ ♥ ♥

Did you noticed what I used to create my background and part of the stars??
I ♥ recycling...

~~~* Sending blessings to all! *~~~
Paola

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

May's Mystery Image Challenge

Hello Friends,
Here we are once again, continuing on the fun that our fearless leader
Jeanette- aka Forest Ranger (as she's best known on SCS) started way back !!
This is the tenth round and the fabulous hostess for this round is Linda. ♥
The images received each round are a complete mystery to everyone , and we are not allowed to post our finished cards until the 18th of every other month to keep the surprise from being spilled....*wink*
Linda gifted us with wonderful full card front style images....Very springy looking and serene - it is going to be interesting to see everyone interpretation of such mystical images.



*click on any images to enlarge*
I must confess that I was swamped at first and no ideas came to mind, then I decided to keep it simple and use the Spotlighting Technique with the immies received.









For that reason I sacrificed using a full image and punched out five different circles from it to use for spotting my cards (4 to send away and one for me to keep)
The inside of each card sports a cute li sentiment from SU and a glittery butterfly
sticker.
I am still not too pleased with the end result of this card, but there is no use  crying now over spilled milk....sort of....LOL

Have a wonderful blessed day to YOU, who just took the time to stop by and brighten my day :o)
xox

Card Deets:
Image : Outlines Nature Fairies image; Rubbernecker Wildflowers
Ink : Memento Tuxedo Black ; Rich Razzleberries
Stamp/sentiments : SU- Sweet Little Sentiments
Cardstock : SU- Rich Razzleberry & SU- YoYo Yellow
Accessories : SU Punches,SU Markers, SU-Wine Organdy Ribbon ,
                         Embossing folder 'Stripe' by Darice , gems, glitter, green butterfly stickers.
Tecnique: Spotlighting Technique

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A dueling card at camp....♥



Hello Friends!
It's the 15th of the month again...that means that
it is DUELING time between the Dazzlers and the Divas :o)
This month, my friend Judy (a Diva) and I (a Dazzler) are co-hosting the duel and
came up with a Spring Theme. We also decided to send both teams the exact same images and sentiments, so we came up with this sweet darling image from SU
aptly named  'Serene Spring'

 

Above is what I included in each of the Dazzlers’ kits :
Immies were inked with: Memento Black & Archival Versafine Antique Sepia
Card Stock : Very Vanilla (SU) & White c/s from Wausau Paper Co.
Designer Papers : from Costco
Accessories : cut out butteflies from Sizzix BigZ Beautiful Butterflies ; pink daisy flower w/ pearl (from Jolee’sBoutique) ; 5 petal silk flower from Michaels ; styled vanilla hardware from (SU Hodgepodge) ; buttons and beads from my stash ;
pink/vanilla gingham ribbon & polka dotted ribbon from local craftstore.

For tecnique I added a lil steepling ,to my coloring, at the bottom of the pot...
This is what was requested from our respective teams:

                                      SPRING IS IN THE AIR! 

It’s May, that month when the earth bursts forth with new growth, new flowers, new bird song.  Other’s have described this time better than us. Here’s some favorite poems/quotes that reflect this theme:

“ The air is like a butterfly With frail blue wings.
The happy earth looks at the sky And sings.”
Joyce Kilmer / Spring

“ Sweet May hath come to love us, Flowers, trees, their blossoms don;
And through the blue heavens above us The very clouds move on.”
Heinrich Heine / Book of Songs

“ When April steps aside for May, Like diamonds all the rain-drops glisten;
Fesh violets open every day: To some new bird each hour we listen.”
Lucy Larcom

We also asked our teams to include -alongside their May Dueling Darling creations-  what they love about the month of May.
It could be a favorite activity, a special event or a favorite flower that you associate with. We look forward to seeing your offerings! ♥
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wellllll....lemme tell ya....Hubby and I are presently camping and I am commuting back and forth twice a day to feed our cat,  go to work and to check my e-mails and favorite internet site aka SCS  ♥ *wink*. I didn't think I had  a chance to make my card and post today...but decided at last minute to take some supplies with me ,along with the May kit, and work at it while camping...mmmmm it turned out I started my card after 11:00 pm yikesss. I also realized I didn't even have a pair of scissors with me...mmmm...what to do?? As U can see kitchen scissors came to the rescue....lol....but I sure missed NOT having my nesties along!....I also didn't have any twine or floss to use on my buttons....sooo I turned thin strips of throw away c/s into 'thread ' which I now call  'faux-floss' I also used 'faux  floss' to make the butterfly centre 'threading' each bead into vanilla strips which I curled up the ends later on at home......Anyhow...considering I hardly had any items other than cardstock,  I would venture to say it all turned out ok afterall...;o)



My favorite things to do in May is to fully enjoy nature - aka go CAMPING! ♥
Love hearing the chirping of lil birds flying from branch to branch and watching them...it relaxes me as I lay down with my favorite read and a beverage at hand *wink*...(Yes Darlene I kept my promise! *cheers* lol)
Yesterday afternoon I heard the calling of the majestic eagles....hubby and I were wondering if ,perhaps, the feathered mother was calling the young ones back to the nest as the call was quite persistant.....
This May I also love the fact that finally my whisterya is coming to full bloom and it looks spectacular!...(Spring sprang quite late this year in my neck of the world!)

Please check the rest of the Dazzlers and Divas's Dueling creations here:

DAZZLERS

Jeanette April Debbie Melina Michelle Terry Darlene Paola
DIVAS

Barb Carol Jamie Judy Kelly Laura Jean Tami



Thanks for visiting!! Have a great, blessed day!


Sunday, May 6, 2012

Child Birthday ~~ April SOTC


♥ Hello my dear blogging Friends,
finally got inky today, after several days of literally staring at my
messy craft space and wondering how did I let it go that 'wild' once again...*sigh*
I just wish I had a magic wand each and everytime I finish creating a card...

Anyways, today's post is about April's Challenge for the SOTC group
 (Sisterhood Of The Travelling Cards) on SCS' s site :
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/cards-f107/closed-sisterhood-traveling-cards-t7-t550294.html

My dear friend Carol was the wonderful hostess for last month, and she challenged us to create children's birthday cards so that her beautiful 7 yo grandaughter could use them  for the many children's birthdays invites she goes to. Great idea, right? ♥

Well, believe it or not I actually had  a real hard time deciding on what to create, which image to chose, go boy/girl or neutral?... I even went through a bunch of newer stamps and, at the end, I chose the one set that wasn't even considered at first....
I really should try to use the many older rubbah I collected over the years ,especially from my SU stash. This set was purchased via SCS B&S a few years back and it's only my second time using it...yet it is such an adorably cute set w/ endless possibilities...
Finally, I decided how my cards was going to take shape and what you see  is the final result...







Card front and Inside of card


Ultimatly I liked how this lil girl immie turned out, holding a heart shaped balloon (brushed with Crystal Effect to give it a sheen look) and a lil banner message.
The nesties are positioned over fabric d/p. This lil gal's totally ready to part-eee ;o)
 Hopefully, every sweet lil birthday girls receiving these cards would enjoy receiving them just as much as I did creating it....
Thanks for stopping by my friends, please let me know what your thoughts are...I do appreciate each and every comment I read....*muwahhhhhhhhh*

  ♥ Blessings To All!! ♥
            ~~Paola~~

*Card Deets*
Stamps: Kids at Play, Spring Pictogram,
Birthday Best, Birthday Counts, Cute Converse (all from SU)
Card Stock: Melon Mambo, So Saffron
Designer Paper: 'Firefly Fest' - Adhesive Backed Fabric Paper by Recollection Signature
Accessories: Blossom nestie, Circle nesties, gingham yellow ribbon (Michael), stickles,
liquid pearls, yellow baker's twine, crystal effect, dimentionals, glue dots
Tecnique: Paper Piecing, Coloring w/ markers