Happy 1st Anniversary to Dynamic Duos

It's good to be home!  We just returned from a wonderful 10 day vacation in Palm Desert, where we celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary!  I highly recommend Palm Desert for a relaxing, warm holiday!

It was hot and beautiful in Palm Desert, and even though we live in a very arid climate, it doesn't begin to compare with the dryness and spartan beauty of the real desert.  We got lots of pool time, shopping and even some hiking in, though it was really too hot for that.



Here was the little guy that I considered my mascot for the trip:  the ever-present roadrunner!  Remember Wile Coyote and the Roadrunner cartoons?  I always used to wish that just once, the coyote would win!  How about you?



 Dynamic Duos is also celebrating their 1st  Anniversary this week!

They are celebrating Dynamic Duos challenge #52 with the challenge to use any of the past year's colour duos for your creation.  I chose Dynamic Duo's challenge #45 - Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose, partly because they are retiring colours this year, and partly because they are my favourite pinks.  I'm going to have to get chummy with Melon Mambo and Blushing Bride I guess.  Here's my card:

and here's the challenge:  

I love the look of Everything Eleanor's blooms just stamped and hand cut, using a bone folder to give them a little dimension by curling the petals in or out.  And the stamped label from the same stamp set works well on this gate fold card.  The little sentiment is from Teeny Tiny wishes, stamped in Early Espresso and, of course, Crumb Cake was the other neutral I used (allowed according to DD rules).

And you know those little rows of pearls all attached on the adhesive runner?  Yeah, that's right, the ones you have rows and rows of and never quite know how to use them, unless you cut them apart.  Well, I was determined to use some of them and created a couple of pearl flourishes to jazz the card up in a soft way.  You just have to create a curve on the string of pearls and adhere them to the card.  They don't have an unlimited bend to them, so try them out before adhering to the paper.

I know it's almost impossible to spot in the photo, but I gave the card some subtle shimmer by spraying it with a mixture of 70% alcohol and shimmer paint in a Stampin' Spritzer.  The shimmer paint is retiring, so we're going to have to figure out another way of achieving that shimmer on our cards.  In the meantime, you'd better pick some up if you want it before supplies are gone.

And, stampers, I wanted to advise you that I have up-dated my Class Schedule page, so check out all the great events you can choose from here.  Pay special attention to the Catalogue Launch and Rubber Rummage Sale event on Saturday, June 1!  It's going to be great fun and there will be lots of prizes you can win and discounts which you can take advantage of.

Thanks for stopping by today!  See you tomorrow with a Mojo Monday entry.

Stamps:  Everything Eleanor (w124162; c124164); Teeny Tiny Wishes (w115370; c127802)
Paper:  Regal Rose (105130)** and Whisper White (100730) card stock; Subtles Collection Designer Series Paper Stacks (117155)*
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Regal Rose (126947)*, Crumb Cake (126975) and Early Espresso (126974)
Accessories:  Pearl Basic Jewels (119247); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Glue Dots (103683)
Tools:  Paper Snips (103579); Bone Folder (102300)