the shape of things to come

we're still celebrating cards that are not square or rectangular at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ and we'd love for you to join us. i realize it's only august, but you know as well as i do that as soon as the kids go back to school in september, it's a fast downhill shlalom to halloween; and then fifteen seconds after that it'll be the december first. so the more cards we make now, the less that will be lurking around to bite us in the... (AHEM!) ...proverbial during the holiday season. plus, shaped cards are *FUN* aren't they?! thus, the world needs more of them! i realized the other day that i had not made any round cards yet this year. how is that even possible?! well, never mind, i've made one now, and it's kinda cool, i think. but you tell me:

(patterned papers: tim holtz, crafty secrets, making memories; glitter paper: doodlebug; sentiment sticker: hambly; doily sticker: echo park; brad and backer: my mind's eye; 1" circle punch: ek success; poinsettia and glittery gold leaves: michaels; ink: colorbox; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, sewing machine)

i used CASE study #202 as my inspiration, and you can see i liked the kraft patterned paper, the bold flower and the horizontal sentiment, specifically. the challenge ended earlier this week, but it's still worth a look since both the DT and readers' gallery cards are fab!

hop on over to ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ where you still have nearly a whole week left to link your own gorgeous creation on the shape-up post!

wooden ships

isn't that a fabulous title... "wooden ships"? i've had stephen stills singing it in my head for days now because it's this week's challenge at shopping our stash. i bet you can't guess what the brief is, so i'll just tell you: make a card or project which incorporates wood veneer embellishments ...OR... which has a nautical theme. see, told ya you wouldn't guess it, but isn't it cool to do something completely different? yeah, i thought so too! i have to confess that i've been slow to embrace the wood veneer trend. for example, i've had this packet of pink paislee wood shapes that are beyond cuuuuuuuuute for at least two years, and hadn't even opened them yet! so this was the perfect inspiration to get me going:

(patterned paper: amy tangerine/american crafts, maggie holmes/crate paper, plus a few clouds punched from miscellaneous scraps; tag and wood veneer arrow: pink paislee; index card sticker: amy tangerine; flair button: october afternoon; deco tape: oriental trading; twine: doodlebug; embroidery floss: dmc; cloud punch: fiskars; ink: colorbox; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

some of the wooden shapes in that collection had little pierced holes around the edges-- including the arrow i wanted to use. i decided that meant you were supposed to stitch around the perimeter with embroidery floss. so i did! :)

my lovely friend amy tsuruta is one of the july guest designers at CASE study, and the current inspiration (#198) is VERY cool indeed, so i had to jump in and play along with that. you can see i was inspired by the sketch, the clusters of smaller items, and the bright colors:

speaking of inspiration there is a ton of it to be found at SOS so why not drop by and get some?! ♥