Friday, September 22, 2017

Heartland for As You See It Challenges


I've had a busy but fun week preparing for my Holiday Catalogue Launch this Saturday afternoon. I'll show you some of what I was working on later in this post. But it is Friday, and time for a new As You See It Challenge #159. This one is a Collection Challenge, in fact it's entitled Eclectic Collections. What, you may ask, is a Collection Challenge? Well, you are given a selection of design elements and you have to include them in your project. Here's the challenge banner:


I thought it looked like a lot of fun, until I went looking for a bird stamp!! Now THAT was a challenge! I didn't realize how bereft I am of birds! Maybe it's a subconscious thing. I love watching birds when they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, but let one get caught in my house or in the net over my pond, or dive-bombing me as I walk by it's nest, and I freak out! It's the movie, The Birds, all over again! So perhaps that is the real reason I have hardly any bird stamps. In the end, I had a choice between the tiny ones in Sitting Here (the Porch Swing) and Swirly Bird, or the sandpipers in High Tide or a Flamingo or the one I chose: the geese in the Heartland stamp set.


  • I ended up choosing that one for a couple of reasons. First of all, its charm. The little farm boy driving home the geese who are almost as big as he is makes me feel all warm inside. Secondly, the boy is wearing jean overalls, which could be coloured in dark blue, accounting for another element in the collection.
  • What ended up happening was a masculine themed card, but with enough whimsy and charm for anyone to love. I chose the barnwood design from the Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack because it made me think of the farm and rural country life.
  • The stripes came from one of the Whole Lot of Lovely Designer Series Paper designs in shades of greens and blues.
  • I stamped the image in Basic Black Archival ink before colouring it in using a Dapper Denim Stampin' Write Marker. I only coloured in the overalls, however, to highlight the Dark Blue design element from the collection. I tried using a Blender Pen to water colour them in, but the watered down colour that ensued didn't carry the design the same way the full strength marker did.
  • Brads were another surprise from the challenge collection. I can't remember the last time I used one. In fact, I wasn't sure I actually had any left. But luckily, I found a small stash of them and the two little ones with the button-like markings were perfect!
  • I have one thing to say to Stampin' Up!: If you insist on making sentiments like this one that are long and too wide for any punch to punch out, please make a new one or a set of dies that will accommodate them. I have to keep going back to the retired Project Life Cards & Labels framelits for sentiments like this. I don't want to keep just trimming rectangles around them! There! I've said my piece for what it's worth!! Rant over.
I said I'd show you some more of the decor I've been working on for the Catalogue Launch on Saturday:


 This showcases the Painted Autumn Suite!


And this highlights the Year of Cheer Suite.

Many of these items were cased from the Holiday Catalogue, but I find that people appreciate seeing them in real life so much more than in a photo. Plus, I get so much more made when I don't have to figure it all out first.




Have a great weekend! See you on Monday!




Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today.


Product List
Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits
Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits
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2 comments :

  1. I know I commented on your Playing with Papercrafting FB post but I thought I would leave a kind word here as well...love how this card reminds me of your grandchildren and how you put all the challenge elements together!

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