Up to the Challenge

I have been so inspired by The Color Room challenges lately.  I missed a couple of weeks because of vacation, but came back this week and found a challenge made just for me!  This week the challenge is to use  light and dark pink, light and dark brown in a layout. I love pink and brown together (think Neapolitan ice cream!).


I sorted through my stash of papers and embellishments, flowers and inks, put my creative cap on and went to work.


I decided to use a picture of my daughter, when she had her First Communion about 10 years ago.  I love this picture of her, she looks like such an angel in it.  Next I searched my Cricut cartridges for a frame design and found on on my Sentimental cartridge.  I cut the frame out of a pale pink designed paper and the shadow out of a darker pick paper.  I cropped the photo a bit and used the dark pink paper to create a narrow mat for the photo.  I used a Creative Memories corner punch with a simple "nipple" design to crop the corners.


Next I had a white chipboard frame a bit bigger that the frame.  First I misted it with Glimmer Mist "Sand", but it was the wrong tone.  So I then misted with "Vanilla Breeze", but that still wasn't right.  I looked through my tings and found some Shimmerz Pearls in "Ballet Slipper" pink that a friend gave me.  It is a very thick paint and I thought that by itself, it would be too baby pink.  So, I took a little bit and put it in a small container and watered it down, making a pink wash.  I washed it over the "sand" and "vanilla breeze" and it came out perfect!  Next I used some of the chestnut ink to antique the edges of the chipboard frame.


I placed the Cricut frame slightly to the right of center and set the chipboard frame around it.  Then, the fun began!  In my stash I had a K&Co packet that had a piece of vellum with a brown floral garland on it.  I cut 1/4 of it off and place the 3/4 piece under the photo frame and over the chipboard frame to the left, an place the 1/4 piece likewise to the right.


As a base to the floral arrangement I was planning to add, I chose some Maya Road chipboard flourishes I had laying around.   covered them in some dark brown scraps and affixed them to the lower right corner of the now pink chipboard frame.


I had a stem of tiny dark pink silk roses (from the floral department), so I popped off the buds and clipped off the plastic shaft that held them to the stem.  I placed them here and there, sporadically, tapering off to a single bud at each end of the arrangement.  Next I clipped some of the leaves from the rose stem and placed those.  I also had a stem of small pink "cherry blossom" flowers.  I used those to accent the dark pink, centering them with pale pink brads.  It was looking pretty, but not quite complete.


Next I dug out some pink pearl swirls from Basic Grey and embellished here and there until it pleased my eye.  It was still missing something, so I took some antique-looking lace I had and cut bits off and tucked them behind the flowers.


I was going for an antique, opulent look and still hadn't quite achieved it.  I searched my stash again and found some brown hat pins, so I added those.  I decided the layout needed more darker brown, so I selected a small flourish stamp and used it sparingly, but it added to the over all desired affect.  I added pink rhinestones to the base of each flourish too.  To carry on the pink rhinestones, I added them around the chipboard frame too.  I also found a pink/brown chipboard set in my supplies that was mostly used, but had some small paisley pieces, so I used them to further accent the stamped flourishes.


I sat back and looked, but it still needed something else.  Nothing in my stash seemed quite right and then it dawned on me.  Since this is a First Communion layout, a cross would set it off - but a small one so it didn't overpower the layout.  I didn't have anything like that so off to Hobby Lobby I went.  I found a small antique style, bronze cross in the jewelry aisle.  I picked up some pink organdy ribbon while I was there too.  I tied a piece of the ribbon through the part of the cross that was destined to loop it to a necklace.  I placed the cross to the right of the photo, snuggling it in between roses.


I added snips of the pink organdy ribbon amidst the flowers to finish it off, and was quite pleased with the result.  :-)


However, the left side of the layout needed balancing.  I used a dark pink dragonfly from K&Co over the brown vellum flowers, and used some of the pink pearl flourishes to create a trail.


The layout also needed a title...one that fit in the space I had!  That meant it had to be short words!  "Bless Me" seemed appropriate. I used Thicker letters in the "Mirror Mirror" font that I just so happened to have in a Rose color.  Love it when things just work out!


All in all I am very pleased with the result of this challenge!

The final result: Bless Me

Detail of the floral arrangement and cross

Detail, including the title

I encourage anyone who needs a little challenge to inspire their creativity to checkout The Color Room!  I have included their Blinkie to the left to help you navigate your way there.  In the meantime...go crop yourself!

Spreading My Wings

Have you ever had an idea bouncing around in your head, but didn't give it much thought until someone else did it first?  That's me.  I gave a passing thought to wondering how the techniques and tools I use in scrapbooking could carry over to into other realms of my crafting world.  I often see things in stores and think, "I could do that!", look at the price and think again, "Really?  I could do that - for alot less!" so I pass it up.  I promptly forget that fabulous idea... until I see someone else has done exactly what I thought!