Magazine Monday...

... with a twist.

First off, I apologize for not posting last week. The week passed in a blur of trying to get the attention of a literary agent and making my house presentable for weekend company. Oh yeah, and hubby came home on Wednesday after being gone on the boat for 3 weeks. I didn't tend to any business at all last week.

Today's Magazine Monday isn't from a magazine layout. A couple weeks ago I took part in Virtual Stamp Night (VSN) at SplitcoastStampers (SCS). I had a blast! Over the course of the two days, I completed all 17 challenges based on the theme You Make My Heart Sing. Seventeen Hostesses took a turn at offering up a challenge based on the theme. I had a couple of favorites.

The first challenge asked us to create a card based on the layout of the 4 champers of the heart. For some reason, my mind went directly to Easter LOL. I made this card for the challenge and liked how it turned out so much I made 20 more for a Easter card front challenge for Ronald McDonald House.

I used a combination of Studio G stamps (carrot and sentiment) and the bunny/ basket from Hello Spring (Retired SU) I'm still trying to use up as much of my Valu CS as I can so I eventually work exclusively with SU. The cardstock was from the ValuCS Garden collection. I added texture with the CuddleBug Dotted Swiss folder.

But one card really surprised me. I was challenged to use a technique I'd never done before (well, not on CS anyway) and to make it for a guy. The Soot Technique required using a candle flame to burn off the glossy finish on Glossy Cardstock to give you a black/ sooty effect to dry-stamp into. I knew I had to use the STAG from Noble Deer (Retired SU) The scorched edges were an accident but wound up adding to the overall effect.

This card was chosen for the Honors Award! I was soooo surprised. One card is chosen from each challenge for the award. I didn't even knew there was such a category! LOL I think what surprises me most is that it was on a technique I'd never done before.

This technique reminded me of the old burnt paper bag technique I learned years ago from Aleene's Crafts.

Because my three-year-old granddaughter is here for two weeks, instead of a magazine layout next week, I'll showcase a couple more cards from VSN.

Creative Blessings!