Double challenge card

Today's card was for two different challenges. One was for this month's WICKED challenge. My good friend Susie Nelson is our WICKED stamper this month. One of her challenges was to make Diana Gibbs' faux tin ceiling. I was able to use a piece I had embossed using Rhonda's cuttlebug. What a fun technique!
The other challenge is this week's Workshop Wow challenge: the forkbow. I saw this demonstrated at regional this spring, and yes, you use a fork to make the perfect bow. That's how I made the bow on yesterday's card. TIP: Taffeta works best for the forkbow because it's thin and pliable.
This card is a redo of a card I just made a few weeks ago, and we also made it at my workshop last week. The other change in the card is that we used thumping to add more color and depth to the hydrangea.
Here is my photo tutorial for the forkbow.

First of all, you need a fork with an even number of tines. The size of the fork will determine the size of the bow. The fork in the picture is the meat fork that came with my silverware. Start with 12" or so of ribbon (longer ribbon if you use a bigger fork). Fold it in half with one half in front of the fork and the other half behind the fork. The back part should be a little longer than the front.

You will always work with the same piece of ribbon, which starts out as the back piece. Bring it around to the front of the fork and put it through the center slot below the front piece.

Pull it tight.

Bring that piece up and back through the center slot again (this time you're bringing it from the back to the front).

Tie it nice and tight. I found that the bow will lay better if you pull the two ends vertical (straight up and down) after the first tie but before knotting.

Slide it off the fork. Here is your finished bow. You can cut the ends short or wrap the extra ribbon around your cardstock.

Happy stamping!

Quick and easy Inspired by Nature

Here's a quick and easy one for you today using Inspired by Nature. I started with Bashful Blue cardstock (3 X 3 1/4). Bashful Blue is a light enough color that you can stamp on it and the colors still stay true, so I thought it would be great for the sky. (If you wanted a sunset-ish background, you could use So Saffron.) I got my color combo from the new Color Coach: Bashful Blue, Rose Red, Old Olive. I stamped the flowers in Rose Red and the grass in Old Olive. Gold Glow Smooch Spritz is the final touch. I adhered the Bashful Blue piece to a Rose Red mat, added the Old Olive satin ribbon and tore the right edge of the mat. (I'll be showing you how to make this bow on Wednesday; it's awesome!) At first, I used an Old Olive cardbase, but that was WAY too much Old Olive. So I changed it to Bashful Blue, and I liked that much better. Old Olive grass makes a great background that mirrors what's going on in the main image.
Happy stamping!

Tulip card

Here is the other card from my last workshop. Thanks, Rhonda, for sending me this picture! The tulips are made from the wing from the 2-step bird punch. We punched 9 wings from Pale Plum cardstock and sponged them with Perfect Plum ink. That really adds a lot of depth! The stems are also from that punch.
The vase was made with 2 punches. First you punch the ornament punch then you adhere it to a scrap of copy paper and punch it with the large oval punch. (You could also use the wide oval punch.) We used Chocolate Chip textured cardstock and applied Champagne shimmer paint with a sponge dauber. (I saw this vase on a card that was on one of the boards at regional. So clever!)
The bow was made using the forkbow technique and Mellow Moss taffeta ribbon. I saw the forkbow demonstrated at regional. Yes, you use a fork to make the perfect bow. It's so easy! This bow was made using a meat fork (like you get with your silverware set). I'll try to make one later this week and take photos.
Come back on Wednesday to see a cool technique!
Happy stamping!