#dailycreating NOVEMBER 2020

Well, here we are, about four weeks since featuring a month's worth of #dailycreating. 

As part of Terry Runyan's Facebook group, #dailycreating, we are encouraged to do something creative each and every day. Every Sunday afternoon, Terry adds to the Group page a list of prompts for the upcoming week. These prompts are just suggestions, completely optional. But they are put in place for many of us (me included) to use as jumping off points for our day's creating.

I usually follow the prompts, unless, for some reason, a day's prompt simply does not resonate with me. This doesn't happen often, but occasionally ir does, twice among this month's drawings..

Following you will discover 14 pieces that I created during November 2020. Obviously, in looking through these drawings, it was a very "birdy" month for me. I do love to draw birds, but I didn't think I actually did it so frequently.

As always, above each drawing, I will include the prompt for the day, as well as any other pertinent information I may have on the subject matter.

Here we go:

#what keeps you warm

#lunch

#thing on thing

#dinner

#caturday

#late night snack

lemur slow loris

#off prompt

great egret

#off prompt

#kindness

#world peace day

#favorite place

black swan

#thing on thing

rainbow lorikeet

#turkey

#eagleurday

If you or anyone you know could use a little daily distraction encouraging you in your creativity, I know Terry would welcome you to the group with open arms. You can find it on Facebook under Daily Creating Group. 

Please note that these are my own personal drawings and are not to be used in any way without my express permission. If you would like a Giclee print of any of my work, please contact me. Thank you for your respect.

#dailycreating

Smiles.

 

OLD FASHIONED

 I love working with my Stampin' Blends. So, every time I'm sorting through my stamp sets looking for something and I come across one that has images that would be good for coloring, I grab it and stamp a couple of the images in Memento Tuxedo Black ink for future stamping.

That was the case with these beautiful rose stamps. I grabbed all the Darks and Lights of my red/pink Stampin' Blends and colored in each one of the roses, also doing the leaves in various greens.

I ended up fussy cutting the six roses. Don't ask me why. I'd had no plans for them. But, after floating around in my Creation Station for quite awhile, I decided to finally do something with them. 

The reds and pinks were such a variety of hues that I wasn't certain they would work well together. Until I remembered there was a multi-hued rosy sheet in the Flowers for Every Season Designer Series Paper pack on page 148 of the Annual Catalog. 

When I located the piece that was in my brain, I thought it could work quite well.

Mounting the roses onto a 1 1/2" x 5 1/2" strip of white cardstock that was embossed worked nicely and showcased the roses.

When I paired this strip up with a 2 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of the aforementioned DSP, it worked OK. 

I added a sentiment that was die cut with one of the Stitched Shapes ovals and added a few gems to break up the monotony of the busy DSP pattern.

When I finished the card, I just was not sure if it was a success or not. One thing I was certain of was its old fashioned charm.

How do you feel about this creation? Does it work?

Old

Fashioned

Smiles.

FOUR SQUARES

If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you already know that I LOVE TO COLOR! No, not in a coloring book. That sort of thing brings me no joy whatsoever.

What does bring me joy is using my Stampin' Blends in my paper crafting. They make such a difference in creating beautiful cards. So much fun and really easy to use. 

While coloring in stamped images is wonderful, what I find even more wonderful is coloring in Designer Series Paper images. Those that Stampin' Up! makes that feature metallic embossing are definitely the most pleasing to work with.

Recently I sifted through my stash of DSP and discovered a few of these. One was from last year's Sale-A-Bration. Remember the bee DSP? Luscious stuff, and, of course, I had some left. The other one featured lots of small flowers and is a current product, Ornate Garden Specialty Designer Series Paper on page 149 of the Annual Catalog (on sale now because it's retiring!)

The two uncolored pieces of DSP I used in my project:

I took a chunk of each of the designs and went to work with  my Blends. I used the same color combo for both designs to give it some continuity. The Stampin' Blends I used were Dark Mango Melody, Light and Dark Calypso Coral, Dark Seaside Spray and Dark Mint Macaron.

Of course, it took quite a lot of <pleasant> time to color in enough of these pieces in order to get two 1 3/4" squares of each. I did love every minute of it though.

As I stated, I cut two 1 3/4" square of each of the designs. To make it into a card, I mounted the squares onto a 4" square of black cardstock, leaving even margins all around.

Since I am keeping this card as a decorative piece, I opted for no sentiment. To finish it off, I die cut a couple of silhouettes of floral stems from black cardstock. I carefully mounted these stems centered onto the panel of four squares..

To follow through with the delicate gold metallic outlines on the DSP I mounted the panel onto a brushed gold card base that measures 4 1/4" square.

The photos do not do the richness of the colors and gold metallic justice at all. I wish you could see it in person.

Have you ever colored Designer Series Paper with Stampin' Blends, whether metallic or regular? So much fun! 

Blended

Smiles.

A VERY SPECIAL SOMEONE

The bear stamp -- you know the guy, the one with the single curl on his chest! -- from the December 2020 Paper Pumpkin kit was simply too cute not to use. The Paper Pumpkin kit had come with bears as one of the components, but we subscribers were lucky enough to get this stamp to use over and over again.

After stamping him, I fussy cut the cutie and used the Blending Brushes to add a little Soft Suede sponging on his edges, leaving his belly the color of the Crumb Cake cardstock on which he was stamped. 

I cut a little slit by his hands so he could hold a separate heart I'd stamped and fussy cut. 

I mounted him onto a tag that was embossed and then onto a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock, which is also embossed, 

The fancy die from the Ornate Dies set adds a little more liveliness for the sentiment. 

And a ribbon threaded through the top of the tag and tied off with a Baker's Twine bow balanced the fanciness at the bottom and the interest at the top.

Keep reading for a tutorial on how to make a card similar to this. 

SUPPLIES: 

Flirty Flamingo cardstock

Crumb Cake cardstock

White cardstock

Paper Pumpkin bear stamp (December 2020)

Special Someone stamp set (page 93, Annual Catalog)

Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blend

Soft Suede ink

Flirty Flaminto ink

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Blending Brushes (page 70, Mini Catalog)

Die Cutting/Embossing Machine

Bonanza dies (unfortunately retired -- this is what I used for the tag)

Crumb Cake ribbon

Subtle Embossing Folder

Ornate Frames dies (page 182, Annual Catalog)

Baker's Twine

Stampin' Dimensionals

DIRECTIONS:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Flirty Flamingo cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

Cut a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock to 3 1/2" x 4 3/4". Use the Subtle Embossing Folder to emboss this piece. Adhere it to the card base.

Stamp the bear from the December 2020 Paper Pumpkin kit in black ink onto Crumb Cake cardstock. Fussy cut the bear. He is easy to cut out. Use a Blending Brush to add Soft Suede ink to the outer portions of the bear, leaving his hairy chest in Crumb Cake.

Use the Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blend to add a little color to his cheeks, if you desire.

On a scrap of white cardstock, stamp the outline of the heart in black, followed by the inner solid portion in Flirty Flamingo. Fussy cut the heart. Another easy one!

With your paper snips, cut in from the edges of the bear along the arm line and curving up the hands a little to make a slit in which to insert the heart. Don't worry, the cut portion of the bear won't be noticeable when you're finished.

Die cut a tag from white cardstock. Emboss it with the dots embossing folder.

Through the hole at the top of the tag, insert a 5" piece of Crumb Cake ribbon. Tie a baker's twine bow around the base of it.

Adhere the bear flat onto the tag.

Attach the tag to the card.

On a scrap of white cardstock, stamp the sentiment in Flirty Flamingo. Die cut it with the die from the Ornate Frames set.

Attach the sentiment to the bottom of the tag with a couple of Stampin' Dimensionals.

Hairy

Smiles.

FLOWERING BLOOMS

Do you ever put your heart and soul into making a card only to finish it and go "meh"?

That's exactly what happened to me with this card. Meh.

I am just not sure about it.

I started out in my typical way. I'd just gotten a new stamp set, Flowering Blooms, found on page 70 of the Annual Catalog. The floral images in this set are simply exquisite. And I was anxious to sit down with my Stampin' Blends and get to work beautifying one of them even more!

After using Light and Dark Rococo Rose, Light Mossy Meadow, and Light Soft Seafoam. I was finished. In case you can't tell, I'd used the Light Soft Seafoam on the background in sort of a dabbing motion. I love the effect this gives. It almost looks like parchment paper in person.

OK.. I had a pretty colored flower. What should I do with it?

I trimmed it to 3" x 4". Now what? 

Finally deciding to pair it up with a piece of Designer Series Paper, I came upon the piece shown below.

When I put it alongside the flower I'd just colored, the DSP was just too green. To help the two complement each other a little bit better, I sponged the edges with Old Olive ink. You know how nicely Old Olive and Mossy Meadow play together. Meh. It was OK. 

Just a closeup of the flower with its sponged edges.

Then I decided to cover up quite a lot of the too green leaves with the sentiment.

The precious sentiment, from the Positive Thoughts stamp set on page 87 of the Amnual Catalog, was stamped on white with Mossy Meadow ink. I cut it out with one of the dies from the Ornate Frames set (page 182), followed by one of the more ornate dies from the same set from Mossy Meadow cardstock. 

I embedded a folded Mossy Meadow ribbon between the two label layers, then adhered them together. I mounted it onto the DSP side with Stampin' Dimensionals.

While the various components of the card are lovely themselves, I just am not sure about the complete finished product.

Does it look like two separate cards?

I would really love to hear your thoughts on this MEH card.

Meh

Smiles.