sew far, sew good

yes, indeedy, the new caardvarks' challenge starts today and it's called (drumroll please) sew on and sew forth! the brief...as you've probably guessed...is to include some hand-stitched-goodness upon the front of your card. the DT went kerrrrayyyzee with fabulous examples this time, plus we have a lovely guest-designer, celeste brodnik with a few tips to get ya started. and o'course the caardvarks' are always makin' with the fab prizes: this time there's a new sponsor, the scrapping spot, providing some very yummy autumnal paper goodies!

i have to say that this one kind of scared me...ok, scared is the wrong word...but usually when the challenge is announced i think of a few ideas right away (many are bad & get discarded!) ...or at the very least i have an inkling of what i will do; if not a whole design, i can envision a concept, or a product, or a way to incorporate the "challengey bit" into a card. this time, i had nothing--not so much as a glimmer of a seed of an inspiration! not right away, not the next day, not until i actually sat down last weekend to make the card. and then i saw this small piece of anahata clip art, with the "sunrays" that go off the edge, and there was practically an audible ~DING~ inside my head! after that, i had so many--or in this case--SEW MANY ideas (sorry, but this whole subject just SWIMS in bad punnage!) that i could hardly keep up. here are three that "made the cut" and became cards:

(anahata katkin clipart; my mind's eye pattern paper; love elsie epoxy button & cardstock words; ki icicle word; colorbox ink; page from a chinese travel guide; leftover bits of paternayan persian needlepoint yarn; foam tape)

(my mind's eye & creative imaginations patterned paper; prima flowers; queen&co brads; michaels' ribbon; colorbox ink; dmc embroidery floss; foam tape)

(sorry about the world's worst scan! the rainbow effect is from it being so lumpy!

(provocraft & sei patterned paper; eiffel tower cut from michael miller fabric paper; marah johnson velvet flower brad; rusty pickle transparency frame; rhonna flourish stamps; plus: vintage sheet music, dancing couple cut from an old book, embroidery floss, misc beads; foam tape)

...SEW...now it's your turn! :)