Little House Homespun

One of my favourite bits of children's literature is the Little House on the Prairies series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Not only did I read the books as a child, but I also read them to my girls as they were growing up, and we watched the TV series as well.  It really brought the pioneers' existence to life.  One of my daughters still reads the books from time to time.  I especially loved the Christmas stories because they were so different from our over-the-top celebrations.  Simple but meaningful!

 



















The card I want to share with you today reminds me of Little House on the Prairie.  It has that homespun look to it, probably due to the Fan Fair DSP I used in the background.

 

I designed this card to participate in two challenges. Pals Paper Arts Challenge #146, is a colour challenge using Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake - a very homespun combination in my mind. 

 

 

Then, the Paper Players Challenge #119 is a lovely sketch, and the two just work so nicely together.

 

 







I used the Water Colour Winter stamp set for the main image, but chose to go with crumb cake instead of the red which was too dominant already.  The colour was added with a little splash of Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details. 



The horizontal panel was embossed with one of the Delicate Designs embossing folders and trimmed with 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Real Red.  The Very Vanilla panel backing it was punched with the Scallop Trim Border punch.  The vertical flag was scored with the Simply Scored Scoring Tool and sponged with some Crumb Cake ink to bring out the ridges it formed.

I'm quite pleased with the design and hope that the special people that I want to thank with this card will be pleased as well!  Did  you ever read the Little House on the Prairie Series or watch the television show?  Does this card make you think of homespun?  Let me know what you think.  I love to read your comments as they help me to get to know you better!  I feel like I'm communicating with real people and not just nebulous ether waves!  And if you like what you read, won't you join my site?

Excited to hear from all of you!

Stamps:  Watercolor Winter (w129724; c129727), Teeny Tiny Wishes (w115370; c127802)
Paper:  Riding Hood Red (111348), Crumb Cake (120953) and Very Vanilla (101650) card stock; Fan Fair Designer Series Paper(126918)
Ink: Classic Stampin' Pads in Crumb Cake (126975) and Riding Hood Red (126968)
Accessories: Dazzling Details Cherry Cobbler (125585); 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Real Red (119251)
Tools:  Delicate Designs embossing folders (127023); Window Frames Framelits Dies (129021); Scallop Trim Border Punch (118402)



Framed!

Good morning, fair readers!  Today I have a card for you that I designed for the pastor of our church and his family.  Did you know that October is Pastor Appreciation Month?  I don't know of a profession that needs appreciation more than pastoring!  Pastors work long hours, try to live up to a million different, and sometimes opposite, expectations, live on next to nothing, and try to maintain their own relationship with God, while ministering to all the most difficult times in the lives of their congregation.  And do they get the gratitude and support of their flocks?  Unfortunately, they are more likely to get criticism and disapproval.  For some reason, many people think that the pastor is their personal property, to use and abuse according to their particular expectations.  No wonder there is a high attrition rate among pastors.  Folks, they need our expressions of support!  Why not send a card of appreciation to your pastor today!  And if you don't have a pastor, find one and send a card anyway!

Here's my design:

It fills the requirements of this week's Paper Player's challenge to use a frame or frames in the design.  Hard to see here but the black matte around the image is actually a frame, popped up on dimensionals. 

The card base is Always Artichoke, then a panel of basic black and a panel of Crumb Cake, embossed using the Argyle embossing folder.  The image is from Serene Silhouettes stamped in Always Artichoke on Very Vanilla card stock and sponged with Soft Suede ink.  Both the image panel the matte and the frame were cut using the Labels Collection Framelits and the Big Shot.
I added a strip of Always Artichoke Seam Binding ribbon and some  Antique Brass metallic brads.  The sentiment is from the One in a Million set and is stamped using StazOn Jet Black ink.

I also wanted to remind you that November is a super month to host a Stampin' Up private class.  Qualifying hosts will earn a set of stamp pads FREE!  Do you know how amazing that offer is?  A colour collection of stamp pads is worth $65 and with free tax and shipping, that is an $80.00 value!  WOW!  Call me today for your chance at this great offer!  Ink-spirational!

Stamps:  Serene Silhouettes (w127322: c127324); One in a Million (w126380; c126382)
Paper: Always Artichoke (105119), Basic Black (121045), Crumb Cake (120953) and Very Vanilla ( 101650) cardstock
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Always Artichoke (126972) and Soft Suede (126978); StazOn Jet Black (101406)
Accessories:  1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon in Always Artichoke (121000), 3/16" Metallic Brads (119741)
Tools: Argyle Textured Impression embossing folder (127750); Big Shot (113439); Labels Collection Framelits (125598), Paper Piercing Tool (126189); Stampin' Pierce Mat (126199)

Argyle Embossing Folder

 

Serene Silhouettes