Nightstamper in the afternoon...

German Phrase of the Day: Der Hund bellt. = The dog is barking. This is a phrase I'm sure our neighbors use frequently, since our dog does tend to bark a couple times per day. Especially when the kids are at our back gate teasing her hoping that I'll then come out to say "Maisy, no!" Poor dog.

Today's card is for the Featured Stamper challenge over at SCS. I quickly looked over Nitestampers gallery and was completely blown away by the incredible artwork I found! I loved so many of them...but this card of hers was by far my favorite! I just loved the layers, the colors, the use of embellishments. It was amazing!

For my card, I had to change the Groovy Guava to Soft Sky because I don't have any Groovy Guava double-stitched ribbon (a calamity I intend to correct as soon as possible!) because I don't like Groovy Guava...remember? LOL! I do now!! Anyway...I swapped in Soft Sky, I changed the stamp set (both for the images and for the greeting) and I used silver brads instead of white. Otherwise, it's a total CASE!

This card did take me quite a while to finish, what with all those layers, measuring, cutting, etc. But It was totally worth it! I LOVE this card. And so when I stamped "You're my favorite" the greeting could be as much about the card as the recipient. One thing is for sure...it will have to go to a VERY special person! Looking at the card now I'm thinking it really could use a little glitter on the flowers. Perhaps I'll add some stickles before I send it out to anyone as an extra special addition! :-)

Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday! I also made cards for Beate's weekend sketch challenge and Jeanne and Sherry's Just Because We Wanna challenges today, so I'll upload them this week too! Oh...and I just saw I've gone past the 50K mark, so I'll be having some blog candy this week too!! Yipee!!!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Both Way Blossoms, retired SU! greeting set
CS: Whisper White, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate, Rose Red Prints DSP
Ink: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate, Certainly Celery marker
Acc: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, and Purely Pomegranate double stitched ribbon, silver brads, word window punch

TFL!
-Jana

CASE of Julie's oh so Pleasing Card

German Phrase of the Day: Interessierst du dich fur Kunst? Are you interested in art? I am very interested in art...in all different forms! I used to paint (not very well!) and have always tried to find a way to express myself creatively. I also enjoy art created by others, and so today's card is my attempt to emulate an incredibly beautiful creation by an amazing papercrafting artist, Julie Buhler!

Julie's card (seen on her blog, Paper Pleasing Ideas!) struck me as jaw-dropping gorgeous the first time I saw it. Earlier this week there was a card done in a similar style on SU!'s Stamper's Showcase, but I thought Julie's execution was much better. After having a discussion with my friend and downline about how to do this card as a make and take at a workshop last night, I really wanted to try and recreate the card myself. But alas, hubby got home, and time with him took precedence!

Then, I took Julia to kindergarten this morning, only to discover they had an ausflug today (field trip!) and I had forgotten. Since they carpools had already left, I had to drive her over and was lucky that one of the other mom's had room to bring her back at the end. Then, off to the airport with my husband's credit card to get our flights to Istanbul changed (remember, that's the trip we had to postpone because of my gallstones!) and I finally got back home around 10:30 and declared I NEEDED to make this card now!!!

I used one of my precious Fabriano cards for this one, deciding that if it wasn't going to have layers, it was going to be top-notch paper! Then, for my reverse mask, I decided I wanted rounded corners. So, I found a piece of CS on my desk, rounded the corners, traced it onto copy paper, and cut it out. Using my dotto, I adhered it to the card and sponged in some mellow moss. I think I was a little heavy-handed, and would go much lighter next time. Next, I stamped the trees with mellow moss and close to cocoa for the trunks - although I think the trunks are a little too dark still. Finally, I removed the mask and stamped the tree in the foreground with Always Artichoke and chocolate chip trunk. Instead of using the liquid applique like Julie did, I decided to just use some dazzling diamonds - make it look like a light frost. Finally, I stamped the Merry Christmas sentiment from Holidays and Hugs in Basic Brown ink, and added the artichoke grosgrain and gold organdy ribbons to finish it off.

It's not quite as good as the original which inspired it, but I'm satisfied. Might have to make a few more to use this year as Christmas cards!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree
CS: Fabriano Card
Ink: Basic Brown, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa
Acc: Artichoke grosgrain, gold organdy ribbon, glue pen, dazzling diamonds glitter

TFL!
-Jana