Blog Hop/Playdate Cafe Challenge

May begins with a new Stamp of the Month from Close To My Heart, and this month's set is appropriately named "Chairs To You." You can view all the images in this great stamp set in the righthand column of my blog. It contains several cute chairs and phrases which will surely make for some super clever cards and scrapbook layouts.

The Stamp of the Month Blog Hop features over 50 consultants' designs with this fabulous stamp set. I love hopping around to see what ideas others have come up with! If you're already hopping, you've come here from Teri Baxter's blog. Keep scrolling through my post to see where to hop to next.

I began my first card very simply. No embellishments, so ink-distressing. Just a quickie. Everyone knows quickies are always fun, right? It's also my card for the Play Date Cafe Challenge this week, featuring the color challenge shown here.

The colors I used are Gray Wool, Pear and Tulip. Definitely a colorful combination! I used my Martha Stewart punch for the red border, snipping it in half longways to make two.



My second card is a little more involved, featuring paper piecing, layering and a faux window...

I'll zip through the steps to make the window.

I started with Colonial White card stock. One square for the window itself and a strip for the sill.

I cut four equal sized squares out of the square to make the window panes, and cut a staggered edge on the strip to look more like a sill would.

Using a Brown Bag marker, I colored the grain with the brush tip, staying with one direction like wood would. (Wood would?)

I placed a square of pattern paper with clouds (Splendor paper pack) behind my window, and with a black pen added some lines to my sill.

I added a valance with some striped paper, popping up the center with some foam tape to give it a more dimensional illusion. Just one piece in the center did the trick. The rest is adhered with regular tape runner adhesive.

This chair was stamped with black ink onto pattern paper (Twitterpated paper pack) followed up with some shading with a Crystal Blue marker. I used foam tape to pop it up.

This simple frame worked perfectly for the wall of my living room scene. A bitty brad secures a piece of waxy flax for the frame's hanger. This other chair has been paper pieced with Twilight and Brown Bag card stock, both stamped in black.

I didn't want that brad to show through on the inside of the card, so I added some pattern paper to cover it.

Here's another look at the whole thing put together. What fun it was to make!

Thanks for stopping by, now keep on hopping over to Judy Burger's blog to see what beautiful creation she has designed. Have a great day!