Decor Definitions Update

My blog has been so quiet for comments these days! There's lots of new posts below so be sure to check them out if you haven't!

Some of you may remember this post where I finally made frames with the Decor Elements definitions "create" and "inspire." Well, I finally completed this project and hung it up! I didn't like that the two fabrics were different from each other, and Grant wanted them to be different colours, so I ordered some of the honeycomb pattern in blue! We both like the way the pink looks the best, but like having them the different colours so they are here to say. The blue doesn't translate well in the photo due to the lighting and size of the area in the picture, but it's quite soft and pretty!

Also, some of you have emailed and asked what size the frames are - they are 10" x 24" from Michael's.

Diaper Cake and Card

I have been wanting to make a diaper cake for a long time now and finally had the perfect opportunity to for my girlfriend at work. I'll probably be heading over there to give it to her this week and can't wait to see how her little baby has changed. I saw her the day after she was born and now she'll be a couple weeks old!

Here is the front view of the cake (You can click on any of the pictures for a larger view): Here's a view of the cake from the sides where you can see a little bit of where I decided to place all the items that are included in the cake. The seams in cardstock appear more noticeable in the photos than in real life. What's included in this diaper cake:
-72 diapers
-1 blanket
-4 onesies
-1 temperature sensitive rubber duckie
-1 Johnson's essentials pack (that includes baby wash, lotion, shampoo, baby powder, penaten cream and nursing pads)

These diaper cakes can be as cheap or expensive as you want depending on how much you wanted to include. Seeing as I am quite good friends with her outside of work, I wanted to do more than just the diapers and top decoration!

After making the diaper cake, I didn't want to use the original card (you can see it in this post) I had made for her and wanted to make something that would match the cake. I was inspired by Jen's SFYTT for this card. Here's a better pic of it close up. I hope she loves this gift! I was a bit concerned that there is so much blue, but I don't think she'll mind. I really just took inspiration from the onesies!

You can see a tutorial on how to make your own diaper cake here. I personally had to modify it a fair bit in order to include all of the gifts but it's a great foundation to start with!

Stamping Related Supplies for Cake
Paper: SU Delicate Dots dp (retired)
Ribbon: SU 5/8" so saffron grosgrain

Card Supplies

Stamp: PTI bitty baby blessings
Ink: SU so saffron, versamark, pumpkin pie
Paper: SU ww, bashful blue, so saffron, delicate dots dp (retired)
Button: SU bashful blue
Misc: SU white embossing powder, circle cutter, dimensionals

Viva La Verve Challenge: Week 1

In searching for my sketch challenges to inspire me, I re-discovered the Viva La Verve monthly challenges. This is for the Week 1 challenge for the month of March. In addition to the sketch challenge, there are three pictures to choose from to inspire your sketch (either colours, textures, etc). The above picture shows the picture that I chose to inspire my card (below). As you can tell, I worked mainly off the colours in the pictures. I love the way this card turned out. These aren't my typical colours but they work well together. The flower was coloured using SU markers and my aquapainter on watercolour paper. It was then cut out and mounted on dimensionals with the leaves adhered behind.

Stamps: SU organic outlines, fifth avenue floral
Ink: SU dusty durango, crushed curry, kiwi kiss (retired), black StazOn
Paper: SU ww, dusty durango, crushed curry, kiwi kiss (retired), watercolour paper
Die-Cut: SU little leaves
Misc: SU aquapainter, dimensionals

SC270 Shabby or Chic?

This card is based on SCS's SC270.This card is my least favourite of all the cards I've made recently. I thought I would try sponging the edges for a distressed shabby look and I have to say I don't really like it. I contemplated not even sharing this card, but figured I may as well, we all have bad days! I've seen other people do this technique and I like it but I don't like the way it turned out here - it just looks dirty in my opinion. I didn't like the way the white image panel seemed so bright against everything else being sponged so I sponged the whole thing as well. I realized afterwards, it would have been easier to just use vanilla cardstock! Oh well, hindsight is 20/20!

Stamps: SU Botanical Blooms (retired), Short & Sweet
Ink: SU soft suede, pretty in pink
Paper: SU ww, soft suede, pretty in pink, shades of spring dp
Misc: SU dimensionals

SSSC59 Shades of Kindness

Since Sale-A-Bration will be coming to a close at the end of the month, I thought I would feature one of the stamp sets, Whimsical Words, that you can earn through purchases, hosting a workshop or becoming a demonstator. This card also features ribbon and designer paper available until April 30 in the Occasions Mini Catalogue. Please click on the links in my sidebar to view either the Sale-A-Bration or Occasions Mini catalogues. This card is based on the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge on Karen Giron's blog here. I did alter the placing of the image and sentiment panels by overlapping them in a different order just because I liked the way it looked better! I love this colour combo - it's definitely one of my favourites!

Stamps: SU Embrace Life, Whimsical Words
Ink: SU basic black, pretty in pink
Paper: SU ww, basic black, pretty in pink, shades of spring dp
Ribbon: SU 5/8" pretty in pink satin
Misc: SU dimensionals

SFYTT Earthly Thank You

This card was created using the Jen's SFYTT on March 6 as well as the Crazy 4 Challenges C4C27 to use paper piercing. I'm not a big fan of purple but I love the way this card turned out. The cottage wall dp is so beautiful, although I have a hard time incorporating the larger patterns (as you can probably tell by the background piece in this card). I love how the "of the earth" flower fit so perfectly inside the circle!

I'm not happy with the way my paper piercing looks once it's glued down but I just got a great tip from Jessica to glue the pieces together and then pierce through the multiple layers for a cleaner look. I'll have to give this a try. It should work as Jessica is the queen of piercing!

Stamps: SU Of the Earth, Sweet Little Sentiments
Inks: SU orchid opulence, old olive, rich razzleberry
Paper: SU ww, orchid opulence, rich razzleberry, cottage wall dp
Misc: circle cutter, paper piercing pack, beautiful wings embosslits, dimensionals

Feeling Creative and Productive

Just as the title of this post says, I've been feeling very creative and productive with my stamping lately. Just the other night, I sat down for a few hours and made 5 cards! I haven't had much mojo lately, so I've been using a lot of sketch challenges as inspiration - works great! This card is for Our Creative Corner's sketch challenge posted here. This is my favourite of all of the cards! I love the colours, all the white space and the organic outlines stamp. Many people weren't a big fan of this stamp set, but I had to have it when I saw it!

Stamps: SU Organic Outlines, Thank You Kindly
Ink: SU old olive, not quite navy
Paper: SU ww, bashful blue, not quite navy, maine blueberry dp (retired)
Punches: SU scallop border punch
Brads: SU not quite navy brads
Embosslits: SU Beautiful Wings
Misc: SU dimensionals