[DYSU] Challenge #51 - Stripes

Good morning folks! Sorry for the "silence" in blog land, but it's just that time of the year where everything is racing to get done...! I just finished the last bit of domestic mailing. It will be a big miracle if those greeting cards go out in time. If not, everyone gets an extended Christmas...

You are probably here to enjoy the next challenge. You'll like this one because we're all about Stripes this week! And stripes are super in this year - did you notice the clothing trend?

Stripes actually made me think of candy cane. And I had this Banana Republic tag from my jeans sitting on my craft table for the longest time. I thought it had an interesting dimension, and was totally re-useable. I've also felt inspired and less scared to used Gesso. So in honor of my friend & inspiration Janna, who is a mixed media queen, I whipped out some left-over Gesso and decided to try a few things out of my comfort zone. Here is what the end product looks ;)


Stamps: (Skating Circles) The Prairie Fairy; ('Twas the Night Before Christmas) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Banana Republic Jeans tag) Recycled
Ink: (Jenni Bowlin Ink - No. 11 Brown Sugar; Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Vintage Photo) Ranger
Embellishments: (Peppermint Collection - Border Stickers) Crate Paper; (Artists' Color Acrylic Series - Light Portrait Pink, Cadmium Red Hue) Utrecht

It was really fun to get my fingers dirty. The background is inspired by candy cane and my need to break open the tube of pink acrylic paint that I had bought a few months back. To place the digi onto the tag, I used the trick we learned in our Nathalie Kahlbach workshop - transfer the print onto tissue paper, and brush Elmer's Glue or Glossy Accents onto the tissue paper.



To make the edges of the tissue paper more antiqued, I brushed on some Vintage Photo distress ink for good measure ;) Anyways, head on over to the other DYSU girls and leave them some holiday love. They are getting all stripey for you....

And our sponsors this week:

The Prairie Fairy $15 Gift Certificate

The Craft's Meow Winner's Choice of 1 Stamp Set

Hi from a Lil' Birdie

Another fun installment is being hosted at the Embellish Magazine Blog! And some changes to the DT are occurring. This will be the last challenge where we get to be inspired by Maile Belle's work on Embellish. It's really bitter sweet, since I really enjoy seeing her work here every other week.

However, things can't remain the same, if we want to allow for growth. Right? This opportunity allows for new talent to be spotlighted and Ashley has a great eye for picking the right gals! Cristina K has joined the team and I remember seeing many of her creations at the Embellish challenges - either as a winning design or a "What's Hot" spotlight. So I feel so lucky to be able to stalk her work now on a bi-weekly basis.

So I would like to dedicate this card's creation to Maile Belle.

This week I whipped my rather dusty Inkadinkado stamps out, that I used for a Christmas project back in 2009. The colors came together pretty quickly for me, especially cause I had enough foresight to purchase Mister Huey in a beautiful blue hue (Lunchtray). No questions asked - it had to fit in there somehow! I also had a toothbrush box (saved from a trip to Bangalore in 2008 - one can never have enough toothbrushes for cleaning or crafting!) made out of corrugated material. I have always found the texture fascinating and wanted to do something with it. Here is the card in a nutshell:


Stamps: (Birds Galore) Inkadinkado
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Vintage Cream) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - Cream) Recollections; (Offbeat) Basic Grey
Ink: (Tea Dye Duo - Chai) Papertrey Ink
Embellishments: (Perfect Pearls - Perfect Bronze, Perfect Copper, Distressed Inks - Vintage Photo) Ranger; (Steel Dies - Cloud 1 & 2 Die Collection; ) Papertrey Ink; (Mister Huey - Lunchtray) Studio Calico; (Glitter Stickers - Bronze) K&Company; (recycled corrugated box for toothbrush)

I initially had this idea of using the corrugated cardboard as tree bark, and started inking it up with Vintage Photo. I liked the distressed look on the edged and went to emphasize the uneven edges with my finger nail. (Super cool technique I learned from watching the talented Ashley in one of her Wednesday Tutorials.) The sky was created by playing with Mister Huey and I went for an uneven coverage - heavier on the left, lighter on the right.



I found a fun scrap piece of Basic Grey paper and knew I wanted to create some fun clouds with the pattern paper. Since I wanted to give the clouds some dimensions I swabbed some edges with my Papertrey Chai cube. This also blended the blue in better for the entire card's design - which was becoming more and more vintage-y. My bird was "colored" using Ranger Perfect Pearls. It has a gorgeous Copper and Bronze finish that shimmers in real life. The photo capture doesn't do it justice.



After playing around with some placement I opted to stick two letters from my leftover alpha stickers - that were conveniently available in the awesome shade of brown! Perfect for this challenge.

I was pleasantly pleased with this card, since it fell outside of my comfort zone. And I loads of fun creating this one! Will you be playing along?

Embellished Wine Gift Bag

I missed the last Embellish Challenge and vowed to play along on this next one. The theme is Bags! Here the cute poster to sum it up:

Isn't the babe on the picture just too cute? I had saved this William Sonoma bag from a purchase since its form factor was so unique. 



Slender, tall - perfect for a wine bottle. I also tend to save things and want to refurbish it and never get around to it ;) Also known as pack rat behavior. So this challenge was the perfect motivator. So with the color combo poster, I went to town. Thanks, Embellish!



Here an up-close look of the bag's label. Don't you love Waltzingmouse Stamps Rescue Remedies? The "Syrup of Kindness" makes the perfect label for a wine bottle. 


Stamps: (Rescue Remedies) Waltzingmouse Stamps;
Paper:  (Paper Basics Card Stock - True Black, Raspberry Fizz) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock Scrap Pack - Pink) Recollections
Ink: (Brilliance - Graphite Black) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Border Punch - Arch Lattice) Martha Stewart; (1/4" Spool 'o Ribbon - Pink) Michaels; (Silver Jewelry Thread) ?

The wine gift bag would make a good hostess gift and not so much of a host ;) I must say, I'm loving my current pink binge...Do you have a current color obsession?