Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Blue Pumpkin...Curtain Call: Gorgeous Gourds, STAMPlorations #1

A few days back - actually on my brother's 40th birthday (which he managed to evade celebrating with us, as he went off on a boy-bonding excursion with his buddies, to Moab - the ever thoughtful, warm, delightful Happy Dance Bev shared a charming snowman card for a new challenge blog she's discovered: STAMPloraitons.  Sauntering over to take a look, I found this wonderful sketch:
I fully intended to play along much earlier than I did (which is mere hours before the link closes), but play I did, using the lovely Gorgeous Gourds over at Curtain Call as my image inspiration.


No surprise that waiting until last minute comes along with a few bumps in the process - like poor lighting for photographing, as well as using new products that maybe should be tested out further in advance (the watercolour paper is my 'bone of contention' here - should have stayed with my old tried and true stuff), but I'm okay-ish with my little 'out of the box' creation.  In real life, my background papers actually are white, my pumpkin  is a richer, prettier shade of "tumbled glass" with leaves of "peeled paint" and the sequins aren't quite as sparkly as they appear (then again, why I used sequins with watercolour/distress inks is just plain odd!).  Anyway, it's a bit cute, a bit whimsical and a bit different...


Since you've stopped by, I'll invite you to a 'no more talking from me' showcase of my gallery of baby cards I made last week for my sister-in-law's mom.  A lot of newborns arriving in her circle of friends and family in the next short while (she's already asked for four more!):





Inspiration for the chickie baby cards is here.

Thanks so much for dropping by; your visit and comments add sparkle to my day!








9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Carol, your card is gorgeous (despite the poor lighting). The blue pumpkin is what drew me in and I couldn't ignore it; my eyes kept going back to it -- mostly because I'm used to seeing pumpkins in orange, not blue -- and I like it! The faux/die stitching on the watercolor paper is very cool. Love your take on the sketch! Thanks so much for playing along at STAMPlorations!

~Shery

PS: You make the most adorable baby cards!

Unknown said...

Gorgeous pumpkins! Fab take on these challenges Carol! Thanks for sharing this new challenge too...always looking for CAS sketches to guide me ;)

Michelle said...

Wow! You have been a busy lady! So many lovely cards! I like that sketch. I'll have to check into that site. Personally, I like the sequins with the distress inks. It's such a fresh and fun look. And the baby cards are adorable! I'd also like to thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving such a sweet comment. You're a doll! Have a great week! ~Michelle

Shannon J said...

I am totally in love with your water coloured pumpkin! If it was taken in poor light I can't imagine how dang beautiful it is in real life! And I think the sequins are just right and perfectly placed! Oh and those baby cards score a billion on the adorable scale!!!

Shannon J said...

Forgot to say too, HAPPY 40th to your brother!!!

Darnell said...

What a wonderful array of adorable baby cards for our inspiration, Carol!! And your beautiful blue gourd card is stunning!! Hugs, Darnell

Tonje said...

Wow, you have been really busy with card making! I think your pumpkin card is lovely. Your are really good at coloring! I love the way you placed the bling. I totally understand the problems with getting a good picture when its poor lightning. It's almost dark all day long here in Norway now, and if its light in the middle of the day you can be sure that it's pouring outside, so I can just forget to photograph my cards outside. So all my cards come out weird and I have to try and save them in Photoshop. Now I got fed up with all the problems so I ordered a light tent on eBay so hopefully it will be easier to get better photos. Especially cards with bling and made of shiny card stock.

I just love your baby cards! The bird you used on them is just so cute!

Greta said...

Adorable baby cards, Carol! I love the pumpkin card--unique & beautiful! PS--Did you get the e-mail I sent to you?

Marisa said...

Adore your blue pumpkin!! Great card and thanks for joining us at Just us Girls.