It's still Fa-La-La-La-La at Jingle Belles - making a holiday card that incorporates music, a musical instrument, or a holiday song title or lyrics.
I found a piece of sheet music for a Christmas carol that was perfectly sized for a card front.
I topped the music with piece from a vintage Christmas Card that I die cut with Pinkfresh Studio Double Stitched Oval. The final touch was a vintage 2002 Stampin' Up Sentiment.
Another week of skipping through blogland:
Have a Tremendous Thursday.
For another Father's Day card, I used the hues from the Color Throwdown Challenge.
I stamped the Truck from Jillibean Soup A Little Pickup in Green and added a load of Orange Hearts.
I added a teal along my measuring stick roadway and in my sky. I finished with some vintage cloud dies and a Simon Says Stamp Mom & Dad Icons set sentiment.
This card features stamps from Raisin Boat's You Nailed It! The stamps date back to at least 2017, so I used the current Sketch from the Retro Rubber Challenge.
I stamped all of the tools onto a scrap of designer paper that was on my studio table. I stamped the sentiment on white cardstock.
I used two pieces of designer paper to complete the sketch before attaching the stamped elements with foam tape for dimension.
My next Father's Day Card combines products from a number of companies using this week's layout from Freshly Made Sketches.
I started with by die cutting the guitar from Rock 'n' Roll Guitar by Hunkydory Moonstone Die Cuts from Red & Black cardstock. I hand cut the black portions and attached them on top of the red guitar base. Finally, I used the silver AlteNew Metallic Marker for the metal pieces on the design. Next for the Leaf elements of the sketch, I die cut one of the shapes from the same die cut five times from silver glitter paper.
I cut a 3 1/4" square from Paper Rose Inky Splash paper and positioned it on a white card base. I attached the five glittery pieces before using foam tape to attach the guitar on top.
I finished with a sentiment from the retired Simon Says Stamp Mom & Dad Icons set and a few scatterings of red gems.
With all of my layers, I'm also linking-up at Just Us Girls Die Week - Layers. I'm also linking-up at the Simon Says Masculine Challenge & another Simon Says Masculine Challenge.
We left for Des Moines Friday morning without much of a plan.
First stop was Memory Bound Papercrafts, which never disappoints. I picked-up several of their custom stamp sets together with papers and a big stack of pre-cut card bases.
After that, I explored Walls of Books, which is just a few doors down in the same shopping center. It was a wonderfully curated mix of new and used books, so of course I had to bring a few home.
Next, since it was a lovely sunny day (and forecasted for rain on Saturday), my husband suggested the Greater Des Moines Botanical Gardens. Honestly, I didn't even know Des Moines had a botanical garden, so I jumped at the chance to go check it out.
You enter through the Garden Shop, which then takes you into an Indoor Greenhouse Garden Dome. I don't believe I've ever seen the mix of plants that they had thriving in that dome. It wasn't as hot and humid as many other similar spaces we've visited across the United States, so we could really take our time and enjoy the experience.
There is even an indoor waterfall, which provides wonderful relaxing sound.
Outdoors (and some indoors) was an amazing collection of water lilies.
The wall was too high for me to get a great shot, but you can get the idea of the size of the water lily area.
There was also a lovely waterfall outdoors.
We loved that there was a bench where you could sit in the cool mist under the waterfall.
One of the most unique plants (to me anyway) was this Kintzley's Ghost Honeysuckle. The blue leaves were so lovely.
It was an absolutely perfect way to spend the afternoon. We headed toward our hotel and decided to go for an early supper at Hessen Haus German Restaurant.
We started with a German Beer for Rod and a Pear Mule (the monthly flavor) for me. They hit the spot.
We ordered the We shared the Hessen Starter Combo with Pretzel Sticks, Rouladen Rolls, Sauerkraut Balls, and Cheese Curds.
We paired it with a Brat added to Spaetzle Mac & Cheese.
I scarfed down the apple crisp and ice cream before I remembered to photograph.
Saturday, the rain stayed away, so we were able to enjoy the Des Moines Farmers' Market in the morning and then walk to our first-ever viewing of Hamilton at the Des Moines Civic Center (we loved it).
We did enjoy a gorgeous planting of hydrangeas in every color in the planters down the entire block in front of one of the downtown banks.
The newest challenge at A Blog Named Hero is Saturday In the Park - to make a card inspired by those iconic Chicago song lyrics.
I chose several lines to inspired my card. The first was the repeating line - I think, it was the fourth of July. I stamped the Hero Arts Sparkling Fireworks in Silver Ink on white cardstock and embossed with Silver Embossing Powder. Next, I applied navy ink direct to paper to create an emboss resist sky and then I die cut it using the Hero Arts Arches Infinity Dies. I attached iridescent gems to the centers of the fireworks.
Next was the line "A man playing Guitar and singing for us all". I stamped the band members from Hero Arts Center Stage bundle in orange ink and clear embossed before die cutting them with the coordinating die cuts. I attached them with foam tape on top of the fireworks sky.
I added a sentiment from the Hero Arts Center Stage Bundle that I cut into three pieces to fit into my arched sky before attaching it to an orange card base.
Fa-la-la-la-la is the newest prompt at Jingle Belles. This week we're celebrating one of our favorite things at Jingle Belles ... Christmas Music.
We're asking you to create a card that incorporates music, a musical instrument, or a holiday song title or lyrics.
I started by scanning a piece of Christmas music from my collection. I chose Up on the House Top because it made me smile when I thought about learning to sing it as a kid. I sized it to print out card sized. I layered it with two pieces of designer paper and curled one corner.
To me, the song lyrics called for Santa and his Sleigh, so I added stickers. I finished with a sentiment from Flora & Fauna Bottle Brush Snow Globe set and a few clusters of light blue gems.
Another week of blogland fun:
Have a tremendous Thursday!
This bridal shower card is for an Iowa Cowgirl.
I started with the lovely Cowgirls Saddle Up paper from Carta Bella for the card background. Next, I used Carta Bella Long Live Cowgirls paper to die cut Crafter's Companion Wild West Cowgirl Boots.
I attached the die cut boots over coral cardstock and used form tape to attach one of the boots for dimension on top of a Pinkfresh Studio Double Stitched Nested Oval die cut.
Next, I filled the boots with a combination of handmade blooms from Little Birdie.
The final touch was a sentiment from Taylored Expressions Itty Bitty Sentiments punched with a vintage Martha Stewart heart punch.
Also linking-up at Addicted to Stamps & More Any Occasion Challenge.
