Tuesday, July 21, 2015

don't get stressed, get DE-stressed

this week at shopping our stash we've got a fun one that's a little bit of a different take on the creative process, so why don't i let our fearless leader, leslie, essplain:

Okay, this rang a bell with me. My pal Sandy Allnock made a fun video for OWH for April Fool's Day. It took the Ranger Distress Inks, gave them new names, and she threw in lots of beach themes. So the idea behind this challenge is really to make a card based on someothing that helps you to re-laaaaaax. Could be beach, barkalounger, hot tub, field of flowers, whatever helps you relax.

so as soon as you say "relax", the first thing i always think of is hawaii, which is by far the most beautiful and stress-free place i've ever been. and as you know, it doesn't take much to make me want to head off on an "aloha" theme, so that's what i did:

(mostly scraps of) patterned paper: k and co, melissa frances, scenic route, my mind's eye, doodlebug, prima, fancy pants, sweetwater; glossy white cardstock: paper accents; stickers: creative imaginations, sandylion; deco tape and ancient acrylic letters used as a template to spell "aloha": heidi swapp; ink: colorbox; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape, sewing machine

there are a lot of ways to go with a hawaiian theme, and i've often taken it rather flowery and feminine, but this time i wanted to make a birthday card for my brother-in-law, john, who likes hawaii almost as much as jeff and i do. so i tried to make it a little more masculine with a surfboard, a neutral background and a cool tiki guy. ok, yeah, there's some pink and a few flowers, but those are pretty much EVERYWHERE in our 50th state, so i think it's ok. for the record, my favorite part is the lei sticker which i snipped apart, fasted around the center of the last "A", and re-attached so it was dangly. my reward was that when i showed this card to jeff, it was the first thing he noticed! 

hop on over to SOS to see many other lovely DE-stressful cards made by our DE-lightful DE-sign team! :) :) :)

11 comments:

  1. I love how you take letters and cut them out of scraps. And yes, that lei was totally inspired!

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  2. The lei around the letter is very nifty! I really like your tiki guy too! Nice card!

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  3. Aloha!!!
    This is all kinds of fantastic...Hawaii is on my must visit list!
    Love the lei around the A and the mask in the centre of the O!!

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  4. WOW! I am staring at your card thinking how much work this had to be. It's gorgeous but all of the little elements like the fussy cut lei and the tiki head probably added up to a LOT of time and effort. Your designs are always so clever and fun!

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  5. Your work is always so amazing and intricate! I just stare and stare! I'm still staring... Think I will have to try this in a mixed media project! Wonderful, as always!
    Hugz,
    Chana

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  6. Gorgeous job on the challenge, love the lei and the tiki so many elements on this card,

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  7. What a brilliant creation - so much to look at and each time you look you notice something else!
    Hugz Tinz

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  8. Fabulous guy card, and I relaxed just looking at it.

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  9. Love seeing that fun little tiki ... you almost make me want to get on a plane for that long (the one thing that has always kept me from seriously considering that journey).

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  10. OMG! This is amazing! Love the dangling lei (brilliant!), the tiki mask (brilliant!), the L as a palm tree (brilliant! You doodled the palm leaves, didn't you!), all sitting on a surf board! Did I mention that this card is brilliant?!!!!

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  11. Isn't it the best when someone notices your favourite part? I love that. That tiki guy rocks, as does the entire thing. PERFECT!

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