9 August 2014

Word Play at Country View Challenges

Hi everyone and thank you for joining me today, particularly to my latest followers - it's great to have you along for the ride. I was overwhelmed by the reaction to my last post HERE with so many of you getting in touch (either through comments or by email) to share their own experiences of self-doubt. Isn't it good to know we are not alone! One thing I would highly recommend if the possibility arises is to grab at opportunities to meet up with your fellow crafty friends or if that's not an option get in touch with them by email/Facebook/phone; as Eileen Hull said, ours can be a very solitary occupation/pastime so the chance to share time and chat with like-minded people is a real tonic.

OK, thoughts for the day over, so now to the reason for today's post... I was delighted to have been placed in the Top 3 for the June 2014 challenge and given the opportunity to be a Guest Designer at Country View Challenges for their August theme 'Word Play'. Having seen the standards set by previous guests I knew whatever I created for this theme it would need to be something special.


So this card started with a paste-stencilled background that I made, loved and puzzled over, particularly as this month's challenge theme requires words or phrases to be used. Do you keep it simple and just die cut some letters to put on top? Do you attempt to layer things over the whole lot and risk making it way too busy? Well no, in my case you grab a Bigz die and (with heart in mouth) chop into the middle of it to create a frame for the rest of your design. And as a bonus you are left with the central section for another card/project! 


The paste background? A mix of gold, silver and clear (coloured with... can't say right now... ) Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Texture Paste through a mask, then heated to make it bubble. With that done it was a case of spraying and splattering with a mix of diluted inks (blues/oranges) before blending the edges with DI Walnut Stain (Trace is right, it makes everything look good!)


To fill the 'hole' left after die cutting the background I heat embossed a postage frame using the Shelly Hickox method and gold embossing powder. The final lower layer was key to the remaining design; a piece of Idea-ology Wildflower Paper with bird cages was 'dissected' to separate out the beautiful garden birds and leaves. It gave me the idea to contrast birds in the wild with those kept for human amusement.


Having added some kraft core Spring Greenery on which to layer the birds my mind turned to those all important words. Chit Chat stickers are always a winner when you are lost for words, and I imagined all those budgerigars out there looking longingly out of front room windows. Indeed this will relate to anyone (avian or otherwise!) who wonders if their time will come to achieve those all important goals. Keep going!


All that remains for me to do is say a huge thank you to Chris and the Country View Challenges team for inviting me to join them this month and encourage you to join in the fun with the 'Word Play' challenge.
Take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx

36 comments:

  1. WOW Jenny - you are amazing! This is gorgeously lush and I agree with Trace, a little Walnut Stain makes everything look good...and so perfect on this! You have an amazing eye for colour too. Looove this.
    Dot x

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  2. Love the background & the cut out birds!
    I've only just got this paper.
    I've had French Industry for a while & finally broke into more of the precious stash to make a box/album.

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  3. Fabulous Jenny, the perfect combination of some fantastic techniques, resulting in a beautiful card, love it!!

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  4. Such a wonderful card, Jenny. The gold embossed frame and paste stencilled background are so perfectly done, the whole thing looks stunning.

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  5. Good morning Jenny, love this beautiful "work of art" which would look wonderful framed.
    Stunning techniques, colours and design
    Have a wonderful weekend
    Hugs

    Patricia xx

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  6. N amazing card,absolutely beautiful.I love it a lot.
    Greetings
    Felicie

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  7. Really beautiful Jenny. Wonderful images and great techniques

    Love Chrissie x

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  8. Wonderful details Jenny and the background texture is amazing. Love the gold frame and the interior .

    TFS and best wishes
    Annie x

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  9. Hiya Jenny - this really is gorgeous - very happy to come back for a second look!!! Hugs rachel xx

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  10. I totally agree, meeting up with like minded friends is a real tonic!! Your card is stunning, I love the embossed postage stamp frame and the birds peering through the frame are delightful. Gorgeous work, as ever! Anne xx

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  11. This certainly is something special Jenny .... it's absolutely stunning!! Love the colours, and the birds are beautiful ... another work of art! Have a lovely weekend ... Linda xx

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  12. Wonderful card Jenny,stunning creation. This should really be on a wall,it's too beautiful not to be on display :)

    Hugs
    Donna xx

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  13. Gorgeous card Jenny - so many different techniques and the layers are just wonderful. Have a lovely weekend! Jennie x

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  14. This is such a gorgeous card, Jenny! Love the cute birds and the melted embossing powder looks amazing! Hugs, Sandra

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  15. Absolutely beautiful Jenny. Your colours are divine, especially in the base layer. Nicola x

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  16. Oh Jenny, this is AGAIN such a beautiful, amazing project. Unfortunatly to me your explanation of the products used and techniques is like reading chinese. Probably because we don't have these products over here and I've never heard about these techniques. But I just love it it really is stunning. Thank you for sharing. And if I am 100% honost, I too have those feelings you described in your other post.
    And it is so true that we put a lot of ourselves into our cards and therefore look for recocgnition. As for me I have been searching my whole life for something in which I am very good at just to make my dad be proud of me since he has such high standards. To my feeling I still haven't found it. And when I see on the other blogs like 400 - 500 and more followers I always think waauw they must be very good in what they are doing I will never reach that point. So to have earned 2 winners badges and 1 top 3 badge this counts triple to me.
    Again thank you for sharing your beautiful projects and your feelings. It is so nice to know there are others like yourself out there. (jee that sounds very Si-Fi didn't it ? LOL LOL )
    Anyway have a lovely weekend lots of hugs from me Veerle xxx

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  17. Fabulous Jenny, that background is amazing. I wonder what secret ingredient is! Nikki x

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  18. Incredibly beautiful Jenny. Your make is one of the prettiest cards I have EVER SEEN!!,
    Sandy xx

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  19. I saw this on Facebook earlier and loved it, now that I get to see it up close and personal with all your angled shots, it is even more beautiful and detailed than the one photo gave a hint at. Thanks also for your lovely comment on my CC3 win. I was not expecting it as I had won a few challenges ago.

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  20. Beautiful use of those papers, love how you've used the embossing powder and texture paste, delightful! Ruth x

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  21. It's something special, indeed, Jenny! Now you have raised the bar even higher for the next one! This took my breath away!! Hugs, Darnell

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  22. Just gorgeous! I love that frame and how everything is shimmery! The blue and gold really go well together! Stunning! :)

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  23. Wow Jenny! This is beautiful! Just love that gold frame! I also see you are setting a good example cutting into those gorgeous papers!! Chrisxx

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  24. Jenny, this is so rich and gorgeous! I love that gold embossing and it looks even more amazing on the postage frame! Enjoy the weekend! Hugs!

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  25. Stunning! Love the way you put the leaves behind the birds, just peeking out. And the postage die cut embossing looks fantastic. The textured bg is beautiful, too.

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  26. Fabulous card Jenny, and as usual designed perfectly! Sue C x

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  27. Hi Jenny, this is so beautiful and I love your attention to detail.
    Julie x

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  28. Beautiful combination of textures and gorgeous papers with a sentiment that we all can relate to. Love it!

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  29. Wow fabulous background, love all the melted moulten!!!

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  30. Gorgeous card and all my favourite techniques.
    Happy crafting, Angela x

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  31. Jenny...this card is stunning. I so love every little detail about it. That postage stamp frame is amazing! I love the earthy, metally (is that a word?) colors you've used on this beauty. Those birds from Tim's Wallflower paper stash are gorgeous and provide such a nice, vintage feeling to this card. Beautiful job! <3 Candy

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  32. A wonderful card, love the embossing effect.

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  33. Oh ... my ... goodness!!! I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to get here to see this amazing card. Love the paste!!! Such a stunning background for the birds and foliage. Wow!! -- Mary Elizabeth

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  34. This is special Jenny, LOVE the background and such gorgeous colours and textures, frames the image beautifully.
    Avril x

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  35. Jenny, this is gorgeous. I love the treatment you've given the frame and the background, especially. Absolutely beautiful!

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Thank you for stopping by and leaving your comments - they are really appreciated and will be published when moderated. Jenny xxx

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