Today's challenge is brought to us by our terrific friends Chrissie and Mandi at Less Is More. It is Week 75 and it's a colour challenge and the color is Gold.
The sponsor is the wonderful Wow! Embossing Powders.
I love the affect of embossing on a card, but I was often too lazy to peel myself up out of my chair and walk two feet to gather all the necessary stuff to emboss. Plus, it often took a few tries to get a good result. That all changed, however, when I received a fantastic tip from my friend Ardyth. Now I happlily emboss more often. Per her advice, I wrapped a sturdy piece of cardboard in foil on which I lay my card to emboss. The embossing powder doesn't splatter as much, nor the paper curl as much. Mmm-waugh to Ardyth!
I did have to run to the craft store to buy gold embossing powder for this challenge, however. When gold prices reached an all-time high, I sold all my gold jewelry and all my gold embossing powder. They wouldn't take the paper because it wasn't solid core gold.
You know I'm joshing, right? I don't want to hear about you taking your gold embossing powder downtown to the jewelers.
My card:
The bling balls are shiny gold, too, but that fact appears to have been overshadowed by the glossy gold paper and the embossed glossy gold pine cone in the photo. This is my first Christmas card of 2012. I don't make many holiday cards since the twins came along in 2004. Now we do a family portrait card instead. I do make a few cards for my fellow card-making friends and it's fun to use my well-loved stash of holiday stamps.
Speaking of twins, here are a couple of updated pictures to share. Henry made a wonderful Lego creation and he was quite willing to have me take a picture. Note how he has discovered a way to make his face smile! He's not a natural smiler. When his mom said one day, "Henry, now, please smile so we can see how happy you are," Henry replied equanimbly, "But, Mom, I'm smiling on the inside." Ya gotta love that!
So the next time you see someone in a gathering who appears to be stand-off-ish, give them a chance. They may only be naturally shy and smiling and warm on the inside.
The Mister (Papa) was proud as a peafeather when he noticed Adam, fresh from the bath, deep in concentration reading a magazine.
Why was Papa so proud? Because Adam is reading on his own? Well, yes, there's that, but check out the magazine Adam is reading. If you can't make it out, it's called "Cycle World," and now Papa thinks that means the boy will carry on his love of the machines!
It's been a few days since we had anyone come up the front walk, or sneak in behind the garden wall to join us, but today I'm happy to answer the door to the talented Carol L. of Our Little Inspirations. Thank you, Carol, for following! Please make yourself at home in the Playhouse!
Enjoy! As always, thank you for stopping by to visit. Special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!
Paper: PTI rustic white;
unknown glossy gold
Stamps: All Night Media 153F
Joy, unknown, but PTI I think
Ink: Detail Gold embossing powder
Bling unknown
32 comments:
Hi Darnell, what a pleasure to visit your lovely blog and to have a peep around. I visited your playhouse and it just made me gasp at the beauty of it. I am not a jealous person by nature but I did feel a little twang. You have such a lovely blog , family and home so I have become a follower so I don't miss out . Your card is so pretty, very dynamic image and great placement.
Marie
Thanks so much for the nice welcome!! I really like it here :) Your gold card looks fabulous, and I must thank you for the tip your friend shared with you about embossing! Who knew? I'm going to give that a try instead of pressing my embossed panels into a big heavy book to flatten them out after they curl! LOL
Love the photos of the boys - too cute :)
Happy crafting, and thanks too for becoming a follower over on my blog too! :)
Hi Darnell, great card and two lovely pics of Adam too :) Viv xx
I love your card and the way the jewel dots the 'j' but also am intrigued by the orientation of the cone... I would always use it the other way up... but it looks great like this!
Great post as ever!
Thanks so much
Chrissie
"Less is More"
Okay, now Chrissie just got me standing on my head to look at the cone the other way up - makes it look like a christmas tree - so I think you're right :o) It is a fab stamp and makes for a very classy card. xx
No standing on our heads, ladies!!
I love how we all have our own styles, makes for a wonderful diverse community! For me, when I put a pine cone on a card, it's narrow end down, just like they hang when they are still on the tree.
However, when I decorate with them, in centerpieces or in baskets, I put them narrow end up, 'cause, frankly, their little flat bottoms aren't that pretty. Besides which, their little flat bottoms make for sitting very nicely in centerpieces and in baskets! They would tip over if we did it the other way, just like we might do if we stand on our heads!
(Sorry, I even use a lot of words in comments. Sigh.)
Arrived here from Joyful Creations by Kim and have spent a delightful 20 minutes or so poking around. Covet your playhouse, love your prose...and your cards aren't bad either! (insert smile here) I have signed up to make sure I miss nothing going forward!
Lu C - no blog...I'm a decent cardmaker but my tech skills are extremely lacking.....
Hi Darnell, glad to see your beautifully embossed card, the pine cone is fab in any orientation in my book :0)Your Grand children are very photogenic, Gay xxx
Gorgeous card!
Does the tin foil absorb wome of the heat to help prevent the card from curling?
I am intrigued by this as my card edges always curl!
Great card, Darnell, whichever way up the cone should be. I won't check, I know I'd go dizzy. In fact, I'm already going dizzy at the thought of making Christmas cards in July! I need a lie down.
Hola Darnell, fantastic embossing, and elegant card, the pine is a mediterranea nautochthonous tree, my island is surrounded by differents varieties:D.
Beautiful boys, and very clever i think.
Hugs from the melted island and have a nice week
How elegantly beautiful, Darnell! Love where you placed the joy and the placement of the beads. Wow!
So funny - I thought about you as I pulled out my foil-covered card this morning to heat emboss my Monday morning post - glad it's working for you! I love your card - the gold on the gold is so pretty!
Shiny shiny! Love the embossing on top of the gold card! Aw happy twinks photos too - you're spoiling us today!
Hi Darnell, fab card! The cone looks perfectly right to me - would you stamp an apple with its stalk downwards? And such a great tip about embossing, in between sending my butterflies flying all over the room here the other day, I also found the card buckled, as always. One to try for sure.
What gorgeous eyelashes Adam has - ain't nature cruel to us girls :( It's always the guys who have the lovely lashes.
Di xx
Fabulous card...love all of the gold. I have to say you had me going there for a second or two about selling your gold embossing powder, you are just too funny. Love the card in all of it's shineyness. Thanks for the tip for embossing, just too clever, now I will have to give it a try.
But seriously wouldn't it be cool if you could take your embossing powder to the jewelry store? Gorgeous card Darnell.
Oh, those boys are precious. They probably wouldn't want to hear that, but how sweet are those faces! Now about the card: Gold on gold... That's a whole lot of crafty cleverness going on in your brain! Great card!
Very cool embossing. I love all that gold--so shiny and elegant. Your boys are cute, too.
This card is just perfect ~ love the gold jewel for the dot for the J.
Very clever card, love your embossing hmm will have to have a go at this challenge. Pictures of the twinks are adorable love his pulled up smile. Sandy :)
Your card looks very special to me.
The Lego is beautiful! I understand you needed a picture of that.
I totally understand Papa! I would be proud too.
Marrigje
Hi Darnell
What a fabulous post!
A gorgeous card creation from you. I am loving all the gold and the embossing.
Great pictures of your boys too.
I love the thought of Henry "smiling on the inside". Don't kids say the most lovely things.
Adam looks super engrossed .. could be a bike lover in the making!!
Have a great week.
Love Jules xx
Gorgeous card, love the gold on gold on gold look so decadent. Thank you for the tip as well have only just started embossing, i know behind the times again but it never turned out right but bought some decent embossing powder and I am embossing everything in sight lol. Love the smiling on the inside from Henry so sweet, they say stuff that you keep with you for ever don't they. My godson turns 26 today and he still calls me Manna and when he says it he turns into a two year old right before my eyes. Hugs, Amanda x
What a great CAS card Darnell and the embossing is so perfect - no stray specks anywhere that I always seem to get. Your grandchildren are gorgeous! Tell Henry I think his lego creation is magnificent!
Terrific card DArnell
I love that cone, perfectly embossed!
That's a great tip about the foil I wil give it a try next time as I go get rather disgruntled by the card wharping!
Lovely post as always, what a lovely boy you have!
Thanks so much
mandi
"Less is More"
Beautiful gold card. I love the pine cone and think it would look great up or down. The boys looks so sweet. Ann Y.
Unusual and totally gorgeous Christmas CAS card
Kathyk
Hmm... definitely going to have to try Ardyth's heat embossing tip. Anything to make the dreaded chore easier! I love the results but hate the mess and also that my card ALWAYS ends up totally warped! Today's card is a beauty!
Another fabulous post and an even more fabulous card Darnell.
Lynne xxx
stunnung card!
Hi Darnell,
As usual I'm on the last minute with my LIM post and comments, but I suppose better late than never.
Love the card, the pine cone looks great in gold (I think it's the right way up too!)
Love pics of the kids, what handsome boys they are.
Have a lovely weekend xxx
Post a Comment