Tuesday, October 20, 2009

walkin' tall

ladies and gentlemen, it's the 20th of the october, 2009, so for the very last time may i wish you a:

HAPPY CAARDVARKS

CHALLENGE DAY!!!

on this occasion we are sponsored by a company called nikki sivils, scrapbooker, purveyor of fine papers, albums, rubber stamps and other scrappy accoutrements, who are providing a lovely and generous prize to our lucky winner. the challenge is TALL CARDS! easy-peasy, right?! ok, yeah, it WAS, actually...but not until after i spent about 3 days running rings around myself logically. over-thinkin' it, thy name is lauren!

as you know, i've been digi-dabbling for a while now, but i don't think i've made a hybrid card yet. this one started as an experiement with some gorgeous rhonna farrer brushes. eventually a wider and more text-based version became a fancy label for mailing birthday presents. (many of my digi-experiments become address labels for some reason; i guess because they are always useful and yet hard to be over-critical about??) while i was pondering what would fill a vertical rectangle nicely, these lovely birdcages sprang to mind. i planned to start from scratch, but when i looked at the saved label i realized that it already had nearly every element i wanted to use...it just needed to be re-sized and re-shaped! so that's what i did.

i printed two copies of the inner panel on glossy photo paper. one i trimmed to size. from the other i carefully cut out the birdcages. i mounted them on foam tape for extra dimension, and layered the panel onto coordinating paper and then a glossy black cardbase. i liked the look of it, but...somehow...it just was not alllllll that exciting to me. i considered going back and re-formatting the whole thing, so as to leave room for embellishments, when it hit me: the cages are black with lots of dangly beady bits--wouldn't it be great if they were encrusted with real jet crystals??!

it took over an hour to cut and paste a prima flourish into pieces of the correct size and shape to adorn all three cages, but it was worth every second! this card has soooo much sparkle and shine and dimension it's almost a bit sinful, really. but in a gooooooooood way.

(software: broderbund printshop; birdcage brushes and inked edge tool kit: rhonna farrer, house of 3; spots and dots brushes: katie pertiet, designer digitals; indian summer nights background paper (re-colored): marcie reckinger, funky playground; glossy photo paper: kodak premium; patterned paper: bo bunny; glossy black cardstock: ranger; black crystals: prima; lines of bling: heidi swapp; rhinestone flourish: oriental trading co; ink: colorbox; adhesives: tombow mono runner & 3m foam tape)

here's a close-up from the side so you can see the beads a bit better. it's still not as cool as the thing looks in real life, but short of inviting you all to new jersey for a personal glimpse of said masterpiece* i guess this will have to do!



you have until midnight, 10-31, to make a *brand new* tall card and submit a direct link to your creation via mr. linky. as per usual, all the rules and regs are on the varks' blog, as are pics of the prize, and an even more than usually amazing array of fabulous crew caards! why not stop by and drool awhile??!

but first: scroll down to THIS POST and enter the draw for my blog candy!

*though OF COURSE you'd be most welcome! just let me know so i can stock up on diet soda and beef jerky! :)

16 comments:

  1. Holy Moly! This needs to be framed. The beads make it for sure. I agree....totally worth your effort!

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  2. I agree that this needs to be framed! This is gorgeous and I think you must be the calmest steadiest hand at cutting out intricate designs that I have ever seen. Wow, I love this. The dimension, the additional blingyness - it really comes through in the photos!

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  3. ♥♥sweet mother of pearl♥♥ This would be the mother of all chandie cards...holey macaroni...this card absolutely and definitely ROCKS!!!

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  4. Beautiful!!!!! Yes, frame it! Such a great 'outgoing' masterpiece:)

    Love your blog, and your awesome inspiration... So glad to be subscribing!!

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  5. Hi there,

    Amazing card. Love the black and pink combo.

    Ali x

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  6. Drooool!!! ♥♥♥
    Baby you really know how to go out with a bang!! Ka-POW!

    (-: Heidi

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  7. Dear heavens, this is incredible!!! All the glittery bits are so you and so worth the effort. BRAVA!! ♥

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  8. Hey Lauren, I guess this is a sad goodbye! (But not really, lol!) You have continued to inspire me with your work and your personality the past 6 months. I really enjoyed reading all your fun comments every challenge. Thank you for being so uplifting and inspiring! Will continue to follow your work, of course! KIT!!! Hugs!

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  9. snif...I will miss your carrdvarks cards.. on another note

    SHUT UP!!!...look at this card..Im dying over here from overexposure to pure awesomeness..( i love King Fu Panda)

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  10. This is gorgeous! I love the crystal accents. The treatment on the paper is extraordinary! A frame would be a GREAT treatment for such a glorious creation!

    I am giving a free image of a turkey away on my blog today, it is kind of whimsical, but if you like it go on and help yourself!

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  11. This is drop. dead. gorgeous. That needs to be mounted in a black shadowbox stat!

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  12. Beautiful card. Love the colours, the image... A piece of art.

    Linda

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  13. lovely lovely lovely!!
    i love to chop up my swirly bling, too. probably defeats the purpose of buyin' 'em swirly instead of plain, but ya know, whatev. :)

    working on this new Caardvarks challenge and i'm almost done!!

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  14. I can't believe this is your last dt caardvarks card. Its so gorgeous. so lauren. I love it. Truly love it. I'm so sad though!! I hope you are still going to do the challenges because I would be heartbroken otherwise. I need to get to work tonight on my tall card! :)

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  15. so sad to hear you're leaving caardvarks, but hope it'll give you more time to focus on other good stuff!! love this card, seriously beautiful!!

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the *BEST* part of blogging is the comments, dontcha think? thanks for taking time to leave one! ~♥~