Saturday, September 22, 2012

Inspired by Nature

Good morning & welcome to Fall !    Here in Ontario we are enjoying cooler temperatures without the humidity of the summer, it's wonderful.   It rained overnight so it's cool & wet this morning and a perfect time to drink Tea and catch up on blogging.

The challenge theme this week at Impression Obsession is "Inspired by Nature".    I was gardening all afternoon yesterday and was certainly inspired by all the nature around me.   I love this time of year when the leaves are turning and the Mums are blooming.      Last night I created this card to enter into this challenge.

I used the Damask Floral image which is another one of my favourites by Leigh Hannan,      I'll also link into Judith's Forgotten Friday post as these stamps haven't seen ink for approx two years.   Too many stamps, not enough time !


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Impression Obsession Stamps used:  Damask Floral J2011 (rubber stamp) & Damask Floral CL109 Clear set (in which the same image is slightly larger and separated which are great for using as accents).  

I embossed the J2011 Damask Floral and a couple of the leaf images from the CL109 Damask Floral set with dark brown.   I coloured all the images with Tombows and blended Salty Ocean & Evergreen Bough Distress Inks around the image.    I attached the leafy arrangement & the flower charm into the bottom/centre as shown.   I also added some holograph glitter and tiny rhinestones.    The flower charm came from charm necklaces that I took apart to use for embellishments.




Below is a photo of Purple Coneflowers that were blooming in July & August in our garden and are a great inspiration for creating.



Well that's all for this morning !
Thanks for your visit and enjoy your day,
Shirley

35 comments:

Claire said...

Beautiful card Shirley, I love the stamps you've used and the the colours are stunning. The flower charms finishes it off to perfection.
Hope you're having a great weekend
Claire xx

Ellen Taylor said...

Absolutely fabulously stunning Shirley! Love the tiny rhinestones and holographic glitter and that gorgeous charm! A show stopper indeed! Your flowers are still thriving beautifully! I should be pulling mine out this weekend but I think I will hide in my craft room and play! SHHH! Have a fun filled weekend my friend!
Hugs,
Ellen

cparsons said...

I love what you did with that stamp! It's been on my wish list for a while, but I've been side-tracked trying to build SU business stuff.

Loli said...

Hola Shirley, thank you for your kind comment:D.
FANTASTIC CARD!!!you're the QUEEN of inking technique, i love your damask flower stamp and the flower charme is an stunning touch, your card match perfect with your photo, great work as always.
A warm hug and have a nice week:D

G Peplow said...

Hi Shirley, WOW I have these stamps but I never managed to make them look this good:0) I see where you got your colour inspiration from :0) Gorgeous!!!, I hope you enjoy the weekend, Gay x

Creations by Shirl said...

Another beautiful card Shirley, adorable stamp image... love the colors and that blue just pops it out too.., That charm in the center makes it even more special....
TFS ~ enjoy your weekend...

judith@poppy cottage said...

Woo hoo, you got there in the end! This is a stunning card Shirley, that stamp set is gorgeous, and I love how you have coloured it. Thanks so much for linking your card to my Forgotten Friday post, Judith xx

Sophie said...

Wie schön du die Stempel eingesetzt hast, die herrlichen Farben.
Eine fantastische Karte, so schööön.
Diese Stempel habe ich auch, eine tolle Idee von dir, Shirley.

Liebe Grüße und ein schönes sonniges Herbst-Wochenende

Karin said...

Wow its a gorgeous card, with rich colors and with a beautiful sparkeling! Have a nice saturday!

Shirley said...

I love that set and your card is fantastic!! The colors are lovely and your design is just so wonderful. I really like how you did the flower charm! Now I know what to do with mine. ;-) Thanks for playing, Shirley, and good luck in the drawing too!

maria's knutselplezier said...

What a beautifull card , with a beautifull and sparkling image from a gorgeous stamp, no Shirley don't tell were I can order this no more stamps before Zeist for me!!!

greetings and a lovely weekend!!

Maria

Sue's Crafty Corner said...

A stunning card Shirley, gorgeous colours and a lovely embellishment. It's great to see you've made the Forgotten Friday challenge, I've still got to make something for that this week. It won't be hard, I have so many forgotten stamps crying out to be used.

Hope you're having a great weekend.

Sue x

ALIX said...

Ohhh, this is beautifull!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Warm greetings, Alix

Alie Hoogenboezem-de Vries said...

So nice Shirley...what a great card!


have a nice weekend, Alie :-)

froebelsternchen said...

just gorgeous Shirley!

Paula Huiras said...

This is just so pretty. I especially like your blending around the image.
PH

Miranda said...

Lovely Shirley, also one of my favorite stamps from IO, have neglected that......but can't do everything.....time is very limited! But you've made a beautiful card with them! warm greet Mirandaxx

Ellen Taylor said...

Thanks Shirley!! You too!! :)

Darnell said...

Stunning, Shirley!! Simply stunning. It's like you absorb the colors through your gardening and transmit them through your colorful cards!

Thank you, too, for the lushilishous cone flowers picture! I am so, so green. I adore those flowers and have the (I think SU) coneflower stamp. I think I would just sit there and stare at them all day if I had real live ones in my garden!! I'm guessing they don't grow well here since I can't believe I haven't checked, but my memory ... I'm going to check again, so thank you for the nudge!

Marja's Stamp Addiction en Marja's Creativity said...

Dear Shirley, this is marvelous work. What a beautiful colors and beautiful flower. lOVE IT.
Have a nice Sunday and my lovely grfeet
Marja

craftystamper said...

This is absolutely gorgeous!! I've been out in the garden as well, but have been busy with shows so haven't done too much yet. It is a lovely time of year isn't it?

Anjas-Artefaktotum said...

Beautiful card, love the fanciful created flower, also the coloring is amazing.
xox Anja

Saakje said...

Hi Shirley! Finally, my browser likes your blog again!
I love this card! It is amazing! I like the way you designed it and I like the way you coloured it. I have this stamp too and I am sure I will try to create a card something like this one! Thank you for inspiring me and for sharing!
Hug from Saakje :)

SYLVIA-ANNE said...

Wonderful colours and inking, as always, Shirley. Your gorgeous creations never fail to inspire.
Hope you are having a happy and relaxing weekend ~ Hugs, Sylvia xxx

Alie Hoogenboezem-de Vries said...

I don't have your mailadres Shirley..so I'll answer you here. We use soft lino and a little carving set to create our handcarved stamps...if you search on YouTube for: soft lino carving, there are a number of examples to watch...and in Holland we can buy the soft lino as well as the carving set in several crafting stores.

Thanks for the nice comment too :-) Greetings, Alie :-)

Alda said...

Wowie Shirl, totaly love this one. the colors are so yummie.
way to go

Sue said...

Well once again Shirley this is totally stunning and the colours are to die for xxxxxxxxxxx huggles hun

Donna Ellis said...

Shirley, this card took my breath away. It's one of the first stamps I ever purchased from Mitra. I love your rich shading, and the gentle feel around the aura of the flowers. The deep, bold shading is amazing. A great idea to layer the leaves in the front like that! Simply BREATHTAKING. I've missed being able to visit your blog. Hopefully better days are finally here.

Craftyfield said...

Absolutely gorgeous ! The variegated coloring on the flowers and leaves is great, the decoupage adds interest and the distressing round the edges brings the image into focus. Love it

Shannon White said...

Just So Beautiful Shirley! Love the Fabulous I/O image and the pretty colors you chose! Love the touches of bling and the pretty bauble too! Love this! 8-)
Hugs
Shannon

Anneke said...

You have awesome flowers in your garden and your card is awesome too! Love it!

Ted and Helen Howard said...

Shirley I loved, loved your card.The detail and colours are superb.Such a talented lady and so inspiring.
Hugs
Helen

Vicki G said...

Beautiful card and I love your inspiration photo too. Thanks for joining us at IOstamps!

Julia S-W said...

Beautiful stamping Shirley, really spot on! Love the colours you've used and the leaves are a wonderful addition. I had to laugh when you said it was cooler and wet as it's howling a gale here and I'm sure someone is stood above my house with a running tap - so much rain. That's what you get for being British I suppose!
I really love how you've used these stamps and don't leave it another two years before you ink them!
Juliaxx

Anonymous said...

Stunning card Shirley. Beautifully made.
Regards Florence x