Photo Collage Gift Project

This framed photo collage is a gift I made to give my Secret Sister at our revealing dinner this evening. The theme for the gift exchange is "For their Heart." My secret sis is all about her family, and so this is a project that I hope will touch her heart each time she sees it, if for no other reason is that she will see her family members.

Okay ---not one stamp image was used here, but it is mostly all made from odds and ends of various pattern papers I had around my stamp room.

I recycled a picture frame I bought cheap from a hotel that was changing the decor, so this was a rather large piece (for me) to paperscape, so not only a work of my heart, but also a frugal gift.

I went with colors that coordinated with the existing matting, and offset 12x12 pattern paper to fill in the backround. I finish the edges and gaps with paper strips, ribbon, and some metallic gold eyelash yarn. {I could not get a photo without the satin center ribbon showing alot of shine and color variation from my camera's flash, but I promise you, the entire thing blends and looks better in real life.} Then I hunted around for colors that would kind of bring up the not-so-noticeable colors from the background. After finding a few, I made my photo mats and frames using my Big Shot, some Sizzix frames and ovals and put together several photo mats and frames, and used the ones I liked best when I was done with that. (I saved the others for the next project...I have 3 more the same size frames to do, but because I am using scraps, they will all be different!)

Lastly, I added butterflies and gold bows around to glam it up a bit, and am leaving it the way it is, until I help my Secret Sister (who will learn my secret identy tonight) put her photgraphs in it, so we may add a few stamped images or phrases at that time, depending on what she chooses.

Hope she likes it!
C-ya Later!

Merry Little Christmas Skaters

I am experimenting with various ideas for Christmas cards for this year's cards. I like to make many before I decide which is "the one" that will be our family card.

This card combines the "Winter Post" skaters and reindeer with the "Scenic Season" pines, and the greeting comes from the Level 2 Hostess Set "Christmas Punch."

Using Card Pattern's Sketch #35 as inspiration, I also used the Stampin' Addicts Color Challenge 32 with Soft Suede, Kraft, Old Olive, Real Red with Very Vanilla as my neutral color.

Tools that I used on this card include the Top Note Die with my Big Shot, the Wide oval punch and the 1-1/4" and 1-3/8" circle punches and colored pencils.

Have a great day!
C-ya later!
Cheryl

Hope I can remember how to post here!

Hello! I believe I am finally back to stick around. What a summer it has been! I am truly looking forward to a long white winter that will enable me to sip coffee, keep the home-fires burning, and do some serious creating. Summers are brief and busy around our home, more-so with our 5 year old, who sees each day as a chance to do as much as she can to pack the day full. They definately can give anyone a new perspective on the world we live in.

This is a WCMD challenge card I did last weekend, with the requirement to use "words" as the main focal image. It is a very simple design, but I fiddled with the frame to give it a textured look about it.

Begining with a 5.5" x 11" Ivory Naturas lcard base, I attached a piece of 5.5" x 5.5" pattern paper, and added brown ogandy with a tiny strip of Old Olive card stock over the top.

The sentiment stamp is from the retired Stampin' Up's "Sampler Sayings" and stamped it with Basic Brown onto Ivory Natural oval (coluzzled) that had the retired SU retired "Linen" background stamped with Creamy Caramel on it. This makes it look more stitched to me. i sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip and layered it onto an Old Olive oval (coluzzled again) and the Chocolate Chip frame was also Coluzzled on the inside and outside diameter as a frame.

To get the ouside frame's edging, I used an old pair of Stampin' Up!'s retired scissors (Antique Elegance, I think --- they were fabulous edgers!). Still lacking the "ooomph" I wanted, I then ran the frame through my Big Shot with the Finial Press Folder and was happy when I saw how it looked. Really a very simple card, once I figured out how I wanter to do it!

Enjoy your day!