~Valen”Ties”~
February 8th, 2008 by Holly McMillen
Oops, I did it again! I stayed up way too late making this card last night. Now that I look at it in the ‘light of day’ (not quite, but ya know what I mean)… I can think of a couple things I’d do different. But all in all, a decent showing for today’s Limited Supply Challenge. We were to limit in this fashion: No reds or pinks, no hearts, no heart embellishments or flowers, limited to 4 layers and most importantly, it was to be a Valentine! Talk about limited! Great challenge, Amber :).
So, here’s what I did. I made some ‘dp’ with the little star from SU!’s Small Sayings by stamping in Wild Wasabi and Blue Bayou. I took a black chisel tip marker and made a ‘border’ (faux layer) to make it look like there was a black mat. I did the same to the image piece. The image was colored in copics and popped on dimensionals. The main card front is also popped on dimensionals.
Now, a couple people have asked how I make this EASY PEASY bow. Never fear! I’m going to spill. Simply cut a piece of ribbon (main color.. in this case blue bayou grosgrain) and lay it out on your table. Then cut two small pieces of “accent color” (the certainly celery grosgrain, in my case) and lay them down the middle of your first piece. It should look like a cross, of sorts. Take the two ends of your ribbon and TIE a knot around the two smaller pieces, turn it over and straighten the ‘bow’. Voila! You CAN use more than two colors, more layers to the bow.. and you can even use several pieces and make it a pom-pom bow simply by spreading the smaller pieces out after you’ve tied the knot! How cool is that?
I’ve decided I love making bows this way for a couple reasons. First, I suck at making bows. I needed an alternative. Second, I like the way you can customize it by mixing up the colors. And lastly, it takes less ribbon to make this than to wrap around two layers (or three sometimes!) of cardstock.
Stamps: Hambo Stamps’ Ties and Sentiment, SU!’s Small Sayings
Colors: Blue Bayou, Certainly Celery, GP White
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Wild Wasabi, Blue Bayou, Copics
Accessories: Build a brad, star brads, circle punch, ribbon, dimensionals
*************************************************************************
It’s time for Sketch Challenge Friday! Now, I need to be forgiven here.. I don’t have my sample ready just yet, but I’m going to post the sketch now for the early birds.
THSC3 (use this in your keywords)
Rain or Shine… you’re a friend of mine! This is for my neighbor Renee who was just diagnosed with viral meningitis. She is stable and healing, but could use a pick me up. This “Rain or Shine” set from My Favorite Things’ had yet to see any ink and I thought it made for such a cute card, so I picked it for today’s sketch challenge.
I realize I said I would have my card posted by 9am, but today has been a weird day and I just now got to it.. thanks for forgiving me :).
A very easy sketch that can be interpreted in many ways. I made the sketch square, but feel free to change it up to fit your card! Thanks for playing!! Can’t wait to see what ya’ll do!
Stamps: My Favorite Things’ Rain or Shine
Colors: Basic Black, Basic Gray, GP White, Bliss Blue
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Bliss Blue, copics, white gel pen
Accessories: Ribbon, brads, circle punches, Rain dots, dimensionals
TFL!~
What a cute card! Love that sentiment!
This one looks fun Holly! I forgive you… hee hee
What a great card Holly – love it! Love that nifty bow too. 🙂
Love the bow Holly! I too am extremely bow challenged and now I can add this to my ‘alternative’ bow collection. TFS!
~Leslee~
Love the cards, Holly. Thanks for doing the LSC, see, it wasn’t hard, was it??!! Love your sketch. Maybe I’ll get a chance to do it this weekend.
OMG! This is too stinkin cute! I love it!
These are awesome cards! Can’t wait to play with that sketch this weekend!
Here is my card using your sketch challenge. I really liked this layout and it really helped me get the card done! Thanks!
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/807176?cat=500&ppuser=100352
Thanks for sharing your wonderful layouts with us!! I’m creatively challenged and very often use a sketch layout to get me going. DH has me working for him a lot lately (owns his own business) so my stamping time is getting very cramped….grrrrr! Will come back to these at some point in time and try them out!
Here is mine, Holly! Great sketch!
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/814016?cat=500&ppuser=8519