Paris, New York, London Couture

Lately, I've found myself surprisingly homesick for the beautiful Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountains that flank the Shenandoah Valley where I grew up, so I took the three kiddoes down that way to visit their grandparents for a couple of days. Their behavior (the kids', that is -- teehehe) was wretched, but even that couldn't rob me of the peaceful, restorative powers of the beautiful landscape. We also visited a museum where we watched a short movie about Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign during the Civil War. I've never been a big history buff, but I found myself fascinated and wanting to learn more about both the Civil War and the geographical region I still call home.

Enough chatter, though, would you believe today's card was supposed to be a 10-minute card? I've had a quick and easy idea I've been wanting to try, but I went in a bit of a different direction, I'm sure you can tell {grin}. See the tag? I started by making that out of watercolor paper, Distress Stains (Peeled Paint and Broken China), various distressing methods, then stamping with an image from Tim Holtz's Papillon stamp set (currently out of stock at Stamper's Dream - sorry!). The words "Paris, New York, and London" had me thinking fashion, so I pulled out a Maya Road chipboard dress form and Webster's Pages' Trendsetter 6x6 Petite Paper pad. I painted the dress form with ivory (or maybe white?) acrylic paint, then sponged the edges with Old Paper and Vintage Photo Distress inks, and last, coated the whole thing with Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint.

Various bits and pieces tucked here and there finish up the collage look:

Maya Road tickets, stick pins, and organza rose ribbon
Prima bling (necklace on the dress form) and trim
May Arts trim (a prize from Embellish Magazine for winning one of their color trends challenges - thanks Embellish!)
Webster's Pages Bloomers (the turquoise flower)
a stamped and trimmed butterfly (also from Papillon)

I'm linking this up to the current CR84FN32 challenge. Aqua and green are well-represented, and I'm hoping the bling "necklace" fulfills the yellow :)

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a good one!

Stamper's Dream & Friends Blog Hop

Today, the Dream Team at Stamper's Dream and some very special guests have teamed up for a blog hop. Along the way, you'll find more eye candy than you'll think is even possible, plus you'll have a chance to win some hidden blog candy. Let's get going!

Here's today's hop order:

Debbie Olson
Becca Feeken
Michelle Rodgers
Laurie Schmidlin
Amy Sheffer (you're here)
Denise Marzec
Tosh Leyendekker
Mona Pendleton
Cindy Lawrence
Silke Ledlow
Arlene Cuevas
Charmaine Ikach
Mariana Grigsby
Lea Lawson
Joan Ervin
Teresa Kline
Jeanne Streiff
Kellie Fortin
Christina Fischer
Jo Thompson

And here's the blog candy that will be awarded to one random commenter along today's hop:

Be sure to leave lots of comment love to increase your chances of winning! Michelle will announce the winner this Thursday evening, the 16th.

For my card, I wanted to play with some newish goodies: Spellbinders Grand Calibur, Grand Labels Four Nestabilities, and Tim Holtz's Papillon stamp set by Stamper's Anonymous. I also incorporated a sentiment from You Are My Anchor by JustRite, a set with which, I must say, I'm quite taken.

I started by making the shaped card base using the largest Grand Labels Four Nestabilities and my Grand Calibur diecut machine. Next, I cut the green panel (a butterfly pattern from Graphic45's Once Upon A Springtime 8x8 pad) using the next smaller Grand Labels Four die. The sentiment, from You Are My Anchor, was stamped onto a  layered circle and lacey circle panel. I strung a Melissa Frances Super Mini Envelope and Tag (aren't they *adorable*?) from some crinkled seam binding, then embellished with a stamped and colored butterfly (from Papillon), some trim, a Zva Creative pearl flourish, stitching, and a chipboard glittery star.

Thanks for visiting, and enjoy the hop!