Come and play!

I'm excited to be the guest host for the SCS inspiration challenge this weekend. I know there is a lot going on with the Dare to Get Dirty challenges happening, but I hope you'll find some time to play this one too. We're doing a room challenge (my favorite!) and I picked this pretty living room from Better Homes and Gardens. Here are some shots of various parts of the room, and if you click the link you can see more details. I hope this gives you lots of inspiration! I really loved the cheery colors and all the pretty patterns and flowers in the room.

When I sat down to make my sample card, the shot that grabbed me most was the one of the fireplace. There was something about the lines and composition, the ceramics on the mantel, and the gorgeous pink flowers that just drew me in. I chose my colors first, and I decided to mix some old and new In Colors: melon mambo, bermuda bay, kiwi kiss, tangerine tango, and barely banana. For stamps I picked the new set Greenhouse Garden. (These flower images are gorgeous - I could never have enough flower stamps, and you will definitely want these if you are like me!) I stamped the larger flowers in melon mambo and bermuda bay, and the smaller ones in tangerine. To get the monochromatic look with the two-step images, I inked the full image stamp, stamped off once, then stamped on whisper white. Then I added the accent image with the ink at full strength so it would stand out. I stamped the stems with kiwi kiss on banana cardstock, then cut out the flowers and popped them up on dimensionals. To give the panel some interest I added scoring on the outer edges.

For finishing the card I first made the background of bermuda bay DP, tangerine cardstock, and a kiwi kiss card base. I chose this print of DP based on the tiles around the fireplace. I added melon mambo ribbon around the background layer before adhering it. Placing the image panel on the diagonal was something I discovered completely by accident - I was moving the panel around and I dropped it onto the card base, and it landed diagonally, and I went, "Oh. Wow!" Suddenly the whole thing just popped into place. The frame and sentiment from Great Friend fit perfectly into the lower left corner, and the bow with the kiwi button (threaded with white CS) naturally went on the other side of the flowers. Isn't it amazing how one tiny little thing can make so much of a difference?

OK, are you inspired yet? I hope so! I can't wait to see your creations. You can upload to SCS with the keyword IC190. Have fun with this challenge and thanks for visiting!