Free 4 All Challenge

Happy Friday, friends!

Just finished stamp club a little while ago...I even cleaned up afterward! Gasp! I worked so hard to get things clean for an event earlier this week (non-stamping related) and I want to keep it that way...at least until April! LOL

Today's Free 4 All Challenge on SCS was posted by my dear Stampin' Friend Wendybell...SU Demo and NEW member of the exclusive Dirty Dozen design team on splitcoaststampers! We simply needed to make a project inspired by a garden, and the Mini Occasion set "Nature Walk" was a perfect match! In fact, I made this card BEFORE she posted the challenge, by just a few minutes. Yep...totally in sync across the miles!! Ha! Truthfully, we are probably both just anxious for spring to arrive and STAY!

I made this card as a sample for my club so I could highlight this lovely DSP (Botanical Gazette) and the stamp set, since we will not meet next month. Thought the sample might inspire them...and then I decided, let's go ahead and make it! Well,I already had magnets planned, and bookmarks, as requested by the hostess. Good thing, because her face revealed an otherwise hidden truth...she doesn't like the distressed look! Oops! I reassured her that it was no big deal. I still have the kits made up...so we may try this design in a less stressed look on another day! The other projects kept us busy enough tonight.

But hey, I like it...hope you do! The card base is early espresso, and I used this lovely pattern from Botanical Gazette. (I lined the inside of my card with very vanilla and a small strip of the opposite side of this paper.) I crumbled the paper in my hands, opened it up again, and sponged with early espresso ink. Even the marina mist satin ribbon and chantilly lace trim are sponged. I stamped the butterfly in espresso, then used my blender pen to color it in with marina mist and crumb cake, punching it out with the scallop circle, and yes, sponging again! I stamped the sentiment from You're a Gem in cherry cobbler, sponged and used my modern label punch. An antique brad holds it together, popped up with dimensionls.

We still used the Nature Walk stamp set, creating this bookmark. I cut out natural ivory and always artichoke with the 2 Tags die. We used markers to color the flower image. The sentiment is another one from You're a Gem, stamped in marina mist. I lined the ivory layer, just barely with my daffodil delight marker...the club members actually colored the border in more, up to the perforations. Pretty always artichoke seam binding and daffodil delight taffeta ribbon finish it off. Guess my knot is not practical for a bookmark...but it IS pretty,right??

We made another bookmark, but I don't have a picture...yet. I'll update later.

Thanks for stopping by!

Inky (and apparently distressed) {{{HUGS}}}