Sending You Sunshine...

This little Korner blog hasn't had much activity this week...the holiday and other activities have kept me out of the craft room for a bit.  But I finally finished photographing some of my latest projects, so I have a few things to share in the next few days while I get busy creating more. 

They say the high temps are headed our way starting tomorrow, which means it's the perfect time to stay indoors and get to creating. So in the spirit of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" here's a cottage-chic little number to end the week...sending you sunshine!

a diecut loopy doily, cheesecloth, shabby pale fabric flower topped with lace and a felt rolled rose, accented with pearl wire loops...

this soft velvet Prima ribbon has sheer ruffled edges that make it so feminine...

Supplies:

Patterned papers: My Minds Eye Miss Caroline/Dilly Dally collection

Dies: Tim Holtz On the Edge/Brackets; Spellbinders Classic Scallop Edger; Memory Box Whimsy Circle (doily);

My Favorite Things Mini Rolled Roses; My Favorite Things Royal Leaves

Velvet ribbon and pearl flourishes: Prima      Fabric flower: Frogfeathers on Etsy

Lace: local craft store      Misceallaneous: handcrafted pearl wire loops; cheesecloth

Thank you for stopping by for a visit!

A Nod to My Love of Chocolate...

It's one of my long-time guilty pleasures...dark chocolate. (And I'm sure MANY of you understand that love. :) ). So when I found a vintage chocolate pot image, as well as a vintage French chocolate label, I had to make up a little digi collage for a card...challenging myself to use non-traditional colors, and no dark brown anywhere.

There's a story behind the design of this card. A few weeks ago, I was on my phone, surfing the web...I wasn't home, and was killing time.  I did a search for "shabby chic pink green handmade cards" and started looking at blog photos. I ran across a pic of a card that I really liked...and promptly sketched it out on a small piece of paper, and wrote what I thought was the origin blog name (I know...the old fashioned way of doing things). Apparently, I didn't pay close enough attention, because I didn't write the name down correctly...and it was in another language.  Once I got home, I did a search of my bookmarked blogs, to no avail...and all I can remember is that maybe the blog is Polish(?). So, by chance, if this card looks familiar to you, and you happen to have the blog address of the wonderful crafter whose design I sketched and used, please let me know so I can give the proper credit where credit is due.

ETA: July 15 - Thank you to those who offered suggestions for the source of the original inspiration card. Although it wasn't any of those, I did add a couple new people to my favorites. :) I hadn't yet given up trying to find the elusive source, and it finally paid off...I found the blog in question!!  I happened over to the Vintage Cafe Card Challenge blog to look around, and there was my inspiration card a few challenges back.  Go to Irena's blog HERE to see the original that started it all...then be sure to look at all her other beautiful works of art. I just love her soft and shabby style!

So, here's the finished card, in pink, gold, and white...and no chocolate brown used. :)

I combined Prima paper roses, punched hydrangea flowers with clear crystal centers, white die cut leaves, and a couple handmade pearl wire spirals for the corner cluster...

to make the decorative edges along the four sides of the image, I combined the decorative sides of two different Spellbinders tag dies...

Suppplies:

Patterned papers: Echo Park Be Mine collection (pink); MyMindsEye Miss Caroline/Fiddlesticks

collection (gold stripe)

Spellbinders dies: Fancy Tags 1 & 3     Paper roses: Prima     Paper hydrangeas: Martha Stewart punch

Paper leaves: My Favorite Things Royal Leaves die     Pearls: Recollections

Miscellaneous: Handcrafted pearl wire spirals, Wilton doily

Digi collage elements: French chocolate label, chocolate pot w/flowers, teacup/saucer: The Graphics Fairy;

Butterflies: Dover Publications; Pink flowers (corner): vintageimages.org

Wishing all a wonderful Independence Day holiday tomorrow! We're attending our annual neighborhood get-together at the end of the street, so I'm off to the kitchen to whip up a dessert contribution...made with chocolate, of course. :)

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Weekend Pretties...

Wednesday turned out to be a wonderful day. First stop was the eye doctor, where I learned I didn't need a new prescription this year (yay!).  After they called the lab on my behalf,  I was happily informed that, yes, they actually *can* fix this particular brand of titanium "frameless" frames, and the cost will be about 1/4 the price of new frames (yay! again). So they're on their way to the lab for repair now. 

Then  it was off to a delicious birthday lunch at McCormicks & Schmicks. After some fun furniture shopping with my husband, we arrived home to a delivery of beautiful flowers from my mom, and a gift my husband had ordered but didn't think was going to arrive on time. Gotta love nice birthdays like that!

I'm ending the week on a sparkly note with the two cards I'm sharing today.  I had already completed this first card when I saw the "soft and sweet" challenge at The Shabby Tea Room, so you can see I was already in the "soft color" mode.  I seem to run in spurts with my color combos these days. :)

Here's "just a note"...

there's a birdcage preprinted on the patterned paper, so I added just a light touch of clear glitter to the lines to accent it, then left the little rose and leaves in a "natural" state as a contrast to the glitter...

 the paper also has a butterfly printed on it, and the die cut butterfly in the ephemera packet is exactly the same, so I layered the diecut over the matching printed butterfly (after adorning it with mini pearls)...

Supplies:

Patterned papers & die cut: Pink Paislee Butterfly Gardens collection

Edge punch: EK Success Dotted Scallop      Pearls: Prima and Queen & Co.

Paper flower: Prima     Lace: local craft store

After working on a couple softly colored cards, I changed up to brighter palette (well, just a little bit brighter).

Here's an all-occasion card that will most likely end up becoming a birthday card with the addition of a sentiment tag.  I often make cards with no sentiments so I can decide how to use it as the need arises later. I'm not sure how deep the color looks on your screen, but the "oranges" in the cardstocks and papers are all a soft coral shade IRL...

 I wanted to use this gem-heavy Prima flower center, so I adhered it first to the back of a cream colored button to give it support over the center of the bows...the pearl "loops" are pearl sprays (you can find these in the wedding section at most craft stores) that I took apart, then bent and hot-glued the ends to form the loops...

and a peek at the inside...

Supplies:

Patterned papers: Glitz French Kiss collection, Graphic45 Once Upon a Springtime collection

Embossing folder: Cuttlebug Kassie's Brocade     Edge Punch: Martha Stewart Double Arches

Pearl & crystal flourishes, gem flower center: Prima      Pearl strip: Queen & Co.

Lace: TheFunkieJunkie on Zibbet      Hug Snug seam binding      Pearl loops: local craft store

Digi collage elements: The Feathered Nest (rose); Vintage Workshop blog (postcard)

Thank you for visiting...have a wonderful weekend!

 

Celebrate Today...

We're halfway through another week, and I for one am most thankful for the cooler-than-normal temps we've been experiencing this week...in stark contrast to the sweltering heat our families in Texas and the southeast states are suffering through!

I'm "celebrating" today by going for my annual eye exam...which had to be moved up by a couple months because my one and only pair of glasses broke late last week.  And I mean broke...right across the bridge. They're the frameless style, and not fixable by a temporary tape job. So...I'm wearing my old (2 years) prescription, squinting now and then, and fighting the mild constant headache caused by not being able to see as clearly as I'm used to. This is one of those times when I wished I could wear contacts, so I'd at least have two options when one fails. Party time at the eye doc's and Lenscrafters...whoohooo!  LOL

But it hasn't stopped me from finishing up a few more cards.  For today, I have a soft and sweet birthday card to show you...

The scalloped die cut is by Melissa Frances, and I couldn't resist adding some pearls and flowers, along with a little "topper" that's just one end of a Spellbinders tag...

and, of course, the "obligatory" bow, with more pearls and another rose...

Supplies:

Patterned papers & diecut: Melissa Frances 5th Avenue collection

Paper roses & pearls: Prima      Sentiment stamp: Papertrey Ink

Lace: local craft store      Hug Snug seam binding

This card was inspired by the "soft and sweet" challenge photo at The Shabby Tea Room this week...

Thanks for popping in for a visit!  Hope your week is going well and you're enjoying your summer so far!



Just Thinking of You...

Happy Monday, all!  Crafting slowed down a little bit last week due to other activities, but never fear...more cards are in different stages of completion as I write this. :)

To start off the week, here's a little pretty made up in aqua, grey, and cream, with just a few touches of bright red for fun.  I like to have several "thinking of you" cards ready and waiting for use as get well/feel better, sympathy, or "how are you?" greetings...

light touches of clear glitter on the vintage collage rose, with grey and silver pearls as accents...

and the understated sentiment stamped above more pearls and lace...

and lastly, a peek at the inside, ready for my handwritten note...



Supplies:

Patterned papers: MyMindsEye On the Bright Side collection     Edge die: Tim Holtz On the Edge/Brackets

Crochet lace: LittleRedCottage on Etsy      Oval dies: Spellbinders Classic Ovals Large, Floral Ovals, & Beaded Ovals

Pearls: Prima      Leafy branch die: Sizzix      Paper roses: Prima      Sentiment stamp: Papertrey Ink

Hug Snug seam binding      Digi collage elements: The Graphics Fairy

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

A Beach-y Birthday, and One for Summer Days...

Yep-we're still in prime birthday season around here. LOL

Here's a card for a sweet friend who celebrated yesterday, and whose love for the beach is probably second only to her love for coconut. :)

Sweet little gold starfish and sea horse charms with pearl accents atop "netting" of cheesecloth and aqua Hug Snug bows...

...and the perfect retro beach-side image...

Supplies:

Patterned papers: Authentique Fresh collection; MyMindsEye On the Bright Side collection

Edge die: Spellbinders Classic Scallop     Sentiment stamp: Hero Arts

Laces: local craft stores      Hug Snug seam binding      Pearls: Recollections

Doily die: Memory Box Woven Circle     Miscellaneous: cheesecloth, twine, sea charms

Next up, a card with the same sentiments, but a totally different presentation.  Bright shades of orange and aqua and summer white...

A white doily, a large shabby fabric flower, tiny paper roses on white lace...lots of frills here...

Supplies:

Patterned papers: MyMindsEye On the Bright Side collection      Edge punch: Martha Stewart Eyelet lace

Sentiment stamps: Hero Arts & Papertrey Ink     Fabric flower: Frogfeathers on Etsy

Paper doily: Spellbinders Ironwork Motifs die      Crochet lace: TheFunkieJunkie on Zibbet

Leafy branch & sentiment tag dies: Sizzix      Paper roses & pearls: Prima

Cotton lace, eyelash fiber: local craft store

Hope your week is going well...thank you for stopping by!