this one's for you, friend...

Let's go back to Paris, the most beautiful city in the world. Back to an earlier time, earlier 'us~es'. Let us remember when hope was bright and shining and life was spread out before us fresh. Breathe. Remember all those paths and journeys and all the strength lived through.  

I've left some lights on in the windows. But I know you won't need them, you've got that light inside...

This card made it's self friends...don't you just love it when that happens...I knew I wanted to use these Tim Holtz images...the plane is inked with Stazon onto up cycled packaging acetate, fussy cut and popped above the Basic Grey 'Adrift' ocean wave papers.  Someone is on a journey back to the city of lights...another TH image the Eiffel Tower collage (I used VersaFine Majestic Blue).  The city townhouse paper is from Basic Grey 'Mon Ami'.  I colored lights in one window with a yellow Sharpie.  Washi tape on the diagonal has to do with degrees perhaps a nautical term and the black diamonds is paper tape.  My 'tea bag fortune' saved from Yogi teas spells it all out...I just knew it would find a useful home on a piece of art one day.

Thanks for stopping by. I can just see beacons of lights shining in the darkness...journey on, light the way.

it ain't easy being green!

Oh, dear March, when Spring steps forth, reminding us of all things green.

And so the Curtain Call Challenge for March 1 is an Inspiration Challenge with this yummy photograph.  I haven't had the pleasure to sink my teeth into a Key Lime cupcake, but you can bet I'll put it on my list.  So refreshing, don't you think?

Having a wonderful cupcake stamp from Oxford Impressions, I decided to go with a literal take on the photograph.  My cupcake liner was inked onto Basic Grey paper from the Fact group and run through a paper crimper.  The delicious frosting top was embossed with Sea Foam white embossing powder.  

The real star of my Key Lime goodness is my beautiful amphibian ballerina.  Doesn't she have the most perfect form?  The stamp from Stampendous was inked onto watercolor paper that I had earlier created.  I love the mottled skin.  Her skirt is multilayered.  First with a double layer of the white embossed with Silver Pearl ep and colored with a Spica clear marker and the underlayer done in a grey.  The black band is vintage German scrap.  And those minty green flower petals...cut from a silk scrap and attached as a slip.  A tea tiny gold crown sits on her head.

The background has been stencils with Donna Downey collage stencil in various shades of Tim Holtz distress inks.  I used a Sofft sponge to dab.  A couple of sequins, the bright Key Lime net cut into points just like the skirt.

Since this is an inspiration card, I wanted to
encourage my Key Limey ballerina to keep
her head held high, to keep reaching for the
fulfillment of her wonderous froggie dreams.
The stamp is a classic Hamton Art Stamp
from the '90's.  So things never change, and I
don't know about you, but for that I will jump
up and take a twirl...one must ALWAYS have
a dream or two!


Thanks for dancing by today...may you twirl
beautifully...