Speedy Spring Flowers

, , , , , , 2 Comments

 

“Behold, my friends, the spring is come;

the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun,

and we shall soon see the results of their love”

~ Sitting Bull

I know that spring has officially arrived when the crocuses in my front yard begin to bloom. I love when the grass gets greener and the street sweepers clean all the sand and grit from the neighborhood streets. You start to hear the red-winged blackbirds and the robins whistling their cheerful tunes. And the kids actually WANT to go outside.

Spring is a sign that the worst is over. Winter can’t throw much more at us. We can look forward to warmer days, barbecues on the patio, and longer hours of daylight. The earth wakes from it’s sleep and we, in turn, feel more alive! It’s a beautiful thing.

The theme for the speed stamping challenge today, is flowers. As in every speed challenge from the As You See It Challenge Blog, you have to make a card in 10 minutes or less. You can gather your supplies and have a plan, but you cannot pre-cut anything. I put my stamps on their blocks, I pull out the paper and inks that I want to use, and I start the clock!

I always seem to push it to the limit of my time. I usually know to avoid colouring, sponging, tying ribbon, or even die-cutting and embossing, as they just take too much time. I didn’t quite avoid all those things this time. Have a look at what I was able to create in 9 minutes an 50 seconds! Oh man! I just squeaked through, didn’t I?!!

This card has a Merry Merlot Cardstock base, to which I added a layer of my favorite Pressed Petals Specialty Designer Series Paper. So pretty! The stamped layer is Whisper White Cardstock, on which I stamped the flower image from the host stamp set, Soft Spring. This is such a pretty stamp set with multi-step stamping. I stamped the outline of the flower image four time using Momento Tuxedo Black ink. Then I stamped the leaf filler using Old Olive ink. Finally, I added the Merry Merlot flower filler to complete the image. At first, I though these flowers were lupins, but I realize that the leaves are completely wrong. I spent some time trying to figure out what kind of flowers they are, but nothing I found looks right. Either the flowers are wrong, or the leaves are wrong, or the stems are too tall. Whatever flowers these images are supposed to be, they’re very pretty.

After stamping all the parts of the flowers, I used Crumb Cake ink and sponged aroung all the edges to give a bit more of a warmth to the image. I used a small circle punch on both sides of this stamped cardstock to make notches for the Braided Linen Trim. I wrapped the trim around the cardstock and tied it in a bow, then attached the cardstock to my card with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

This is where I should have stopped and called it done, but I wanted to add a sentiment. I chose words from the Peaceful Moments Stamp set and stamped it on a strip of Whisper White cardstock with Old Olive ink. I flagged the end and realized I was RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!

I SLAPPED on a couple of Mini Glue Dots and POPPED it on my card, STOPPING the clock with only

10 SECONDS TO SPARE!

Phew!! DONE!

That was close! I think I’m getting pretty good at making quick cards, though. I feel like I’ve come a long way! Practice practice practice!

Oh my gosh! There’s dog hair in my picture! Can you see it? LOL! I can’t escape it. It’s everywhere! If you have a dog or a cat, then I know you understand. If not, then all you have to know is that I’m an imperfect person and you just have to take me as I am or go enjoy someone else’s dog-hair-free, perfect pictures! HA!

Thanks for stopping by, my stamping friends. I hope you try this speed challenge. It really is a great creative exercise to get your blood pumping and your creative juices flowing. Do share it with us at the As You See It Challenge blog. We love to see your creations!