A site for my handmade cards, accompanied by my photos and written meanderings which are occasionally witty, often tongue-in-cheek, and rarely profound. Beginning in June 2013, you'll also see lots of NBUS, which is an acronym I coined for Never-Before-Used-Schtuff. Note: my Privacy Policy can be found at a tab below and you can find my NBUS Challenge online. I hope you'll join in the fun there! Thanks for coming by! Have a beverage and enjoy!

January 24, 2013

MUSE #1 ~ Springtime in Winter

Hi There!

I spiffed up and cleaned off my desk in the Playhouse last night and set my heart stamps aside so I could join in the fun of another brand spankin new challenge called "Muse."  Its logo is cute as anything,
and it's Design Team is made up of delightful and super-uber-duper talented card makers a lot of you are already familiar with.  Here is the link for you to check out the details and play along. 

For the very first challenge, our Muse is the sweet Amy Kolling! Amy made this gorgilicious card:
 
Special3
 
We are free to draw our inspiration from any or all elements of Amy's card.  I've done some literal interpretations of sketches before, but I think this is the very first time I've done a pretty strict CASE interpretation of an actual card.  Amy's soft yellow flowers against the clean white really spoke to me and I know someone who adores yellow flowers, so this was a no-brainer.  Especially since I had a no brainer left after working yesterday. 
 
So there you have it.  Here's mine:
 
 
Amy embossed and colored her lemon-meringuey flowers with distress inks.  I used a Sizzix's Embosslits blossom to die cut and emboss the flower from patterned paper.  I'm not sure you can see that it's embossed.  I flipped my card on its side and used the same patterned paper for the card base.  (Since it is really too flimsy to be a card base, I reinforced it with white card stock on the inside.)  The top mat is made using Lil Inker's stitched mat rectangle and the bottom mat is embossed using a Cuttlebug EF to mimic Amy's striped paper.
 
This is a lot more layering and whatnot than I normally do with my CAS cards, but it came together very quickly and easily using Amy's "blueprint."  Thank you, Amy!
 
~~~
 
My friend's 96-year-old-mom fell and broke her arm, poor thing.  So my friend has gone to help her and I'm back to work today, which means no time for a rolling ramble.  Wait.  What?  Did I hear a sigh of relief?!  Not only that, but it gives you more time to check out Muse and support this fun new challenge!  The more the merrier, terrier!
 
Enjoy your day!   No, seriously, enjoy your day.   LITS! 

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit the Playhouse.   Special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!





 
Paper:  SU! DSP, "Beyond the Garden";
  PTI white; leaves DCWV
Stamp:  SonLight Crafts 1499-C
Ink:  Marvy black; Copics Outliner
Dies:  Sizzix Embosslits; PTI leaves
EF:  Cuttlebug; Lil Inker Stitched Mat Rectangles
Gold bling Studio112; other from stash
 

 
 

34 comments:

Bonnie said...

I love Amy's card and keep going back to visit it. Hopefully I can get to my craft room and play with the yellow! You card is beautiful. Perfect papers and I love those leaves hanging off the card and the gold beads!

Kathyk said...

You're not wrong - both cards are indeed gorgilicious!!

How kind you are filling in for your friend so she can take care of her mom

Happy Thursday

Kathyk

Allisa said...

Great card, love the colors and bling! Hope to be able to find time to play along.

Viv said...

What a beautiful sunny yellow Spring like card, just what we need to see with all our snow about now too. Have a lovely weekend :) Viv xx

Emily Keaton said...

Darnell, this is a super sweet CASE! The big yellow flower makes it so cheery and perfect for spring. I need all the spring I can get--we woke up to 1°F this morning!

Ustvarjalni utrinki Tamara P. said...

O I love spring in winter-your card is stunning-love the choice of colour.
Hugs Tamara

Tracey McNeely said...

Darnell your card turned out so pretty, I love the vibrant yellow and green paper and the gold bling seals the deal! Love it.

Ardyth said...

Great case - love the diagonal embossing to echo Amy's diagonal stripes - lovely fresh and sunny on a chilly winter's day!

Deborah Frings said...

I just love your use of language!! Gorgilicious indeed! I love your take on Amy's inspiration card - the paper pieced rose and sweet sentiment - just lovely!

Sue said...

Definitely gorgilicious I'd say. I love the colours beautiful flower. Such a lovely sentiment too.
sue xx

Rosemary said...

beautiful card, darnell... a lovely interpretation of amy's card!

Jean said...

Love this one ~ fantastic choice of patterned paper for your flower. The diagonal stripes embossing folder really draws your eye to the beautiful flower!

Redanne said...

Hi Darnell, beautiful, fresh, lovely sunny colours on both cards. Love the way you did your embossing - I would say they are both fabulicious - if I could spell it that is.... Hugs, Annie xx

Anonymous said...

Oooh, beautiful card Darnell; so fresh, clean and pretty!
xx

stampwithsandy said...

Pretty, Darnell! Love all the layers and the patterned paper. Hope your friend's mom gets well soon!

Kristie Goulet said...

Your card takes my breath away it is so beautiful! I am longing to see those beautiful flowers!

Unknown said...

Love your take on Amy's card - very, very pretty and thoughts of Spring come into my mind. Think I might just have to check out this challenge for myself and see if I can join in too!

Thank you for your lovely comments on my blog. x

Joyce said...

Your card is just beautiful. I'm glad you stuck so close to Amy's (I did too!) Changing the orientation was a nice touch, and it works so well.

MagsB said...

Both cards are lovely, the yellow flowers both brighten up a dull day!

love Mags B x

Carol L said...

Amy's card is such a pretty inspiration piece, and I love your take on the challenge! I love that yellow flower!

Jessi Fogan said...

I have a no brainer left right now! I love the sentiment you've used on your card - it's always true, isn't it? And the white & yellow make for such a cheery card.
Oh em gee, I want to say 'more the merrier, terrier' all the time! I hope your friend's mom is ok - a broken arm at any age is no picnic.

Mrs A. said...

Two beautiful spring coloured cards. Just made a 10minute Dash card that has left me a no brainer or it could have been the glass of wine I quaffed right after!! Of to have a looksie at this noo challenge. I mean how hard can it be!! Hugs Mrs A.

Karen B. said...

Goodness, this is beautiful, a perfect CASE with your own spin.

Sharron said...

LOVE this so much! It makes me think of spring. Which is wonderful as there's a freezing mist outside! The patterned paper for your flower is gorgeous! And I adore the embossing and that sweet sentiment!

Terri Trotter Earley said...

I am really enjoying all of your white space. Great job with the Muse challenge.

It's a good life!
Terri E.

Unknown said...

Your white, yellow and green color combo is so soothing and serene. Your gold bling is a wonderful accent, too!

Amy Kolling said...

Darnell, you are so sweet! You have me laughing at "gorgilicious".....what a fun word!!! Anyway, I'm so glad that you shared your card with us. You brought sunshine with you on this card. From the beautifully layered flower to the yellow paper that mimics the flower.....just perfect!!! (I think I see a stitched mat in there too.....:) ) Thank you so much for the sweet words! I love your crafty space a LOT......did I say a LOT? :)

Anonymous said...

Ok, I have tried to post something like 6 times so if it comes up 6 times--it means I really like your card!!! I see Amy's inspiration but you made it your own as well;) I love the DSP you used and am excited because I just picked some up! Thanks for sharing your beautiful card with us...

The-crafty-corner said...

Beautiful card Darnell-i love the sunny yellow flowers-you did a fabby CASE of the original :)Nessa xx

Jackie Rockwell said...

My mistake for using the word "all" over at Muse Darnell. Despite my mistake you've made a beautiful version of Amy's card! It's not an exact copy. You have lovely paper pieced flower petals, your card is horizontal and uses a different pattern paper for the background. Very pretty!!!

Marybeth said...

Beautiful yellow flowers they are gorgeous. Love your card and Amy’s!
Poor lady who broke her arm.

Anonymous said...

A 'gorgilicious' CASE of Amy's card, with your perfect brand of Darnellism sprinkled all over it's lovely zingy springiness! Anita :)

Inkyfingers said...

I love your interpretation Darnelle. Lovely flowers and sunny colours - someone is going to smile when they open this one!

Kay Miller said...

OH your card is just beautiful! I love the embossed flower! Such a great idea! I have to say I was curious and peeked at your playhouse... Oooooooh that is what I want so bad! I showed it to my husband. I have been begging him for a bigger craft room for years. Now I told him I just need a playhouse! haha! Not sure if he'll go for it, but it was worth a shot :) Thanks so much for the sweet comment you left on my blog! :)