Week 1 with Guest Designer Diana Queen

I am thrilled to bring you this first project from Diana Queen, as my Guest Designer for "Pressed Flowers"! Seeing so many gorgeous heart wreaths and heart shaped arrangements this past week while I was out shopping on bags, gifts wrap etc, these things were just begging to be translated into a card, and to my delight Diana beat me to it with something more beautiful and perfect than I could have imagined, check it out! :)

Wow!! I want to make one in every color, it's just so precious! To make this you need to stamp out 8 of the frilly flower from the set. What perfect proportions for an A2 card! Use a craft or chalk ink like Diana did here onto darker CS and then trim to leave a little border isn't that a great look? And I love how she repeated the same image to make that frothy looking background and border.

Here's card creation details from Diana:

Stamps:Pressed Flowers
card stock: GKD Pure Luxury in White, Vibrant Violet and Fresh Asparagus
ink:Spring Pansy Versa Magic chalk ink and Bamboo Leaves Memento dye ink
other:ribbon, lace, and topaz colored jewels

"The flowers stamped on the white card stock as well as the ones on the purple are stamped using Spring Pansy and misted very lightly with alcohol before stamping.
The leaves are stamped with bamboo leaves dye ink and not misted with alcohol.
I cut a heart base to arrange the purple flowers on, then added it to the middle layer which is embellished with ribbon and lace. (It looks like I used "A Year of Flowers"...but I did not! A light colored ink stamped on a darker card stock gives the illusion that both stamp sets were used!"

And here's more about the lady herself!

FAVORITE TECHNIQUE: I adore paper piecing! I enjoy cutting out tons of lovely, little stamped images and putting them back together again!


COLORS/COLOR COMBO: Whatever color my DD Anna Lura is wearing is my favorite color that day!


FAVORITE GINA K SET BY MELANIE: I will always list Festive Frame as my favorite set by Melanie. I feel like I really grew as a card maker when I was assigned that set during my Center Stage Spotlight month. I always liked to make cutesy, whimsical cards...with Festive Frame I learned I could do create more elegant cards. I was thrilled!

That being said...Pressed Flowers just may take over my favorites spot...I am having so much fun with this set! I can't even sleep at night sometimes because I think of something I want to try with this set!


FAVORITE GINA K SETS (FROM ANY ILLUSTRATOR) I only recently purchased Take Flight and I love it! Nina's Bug me Anytime is a really fun one to paper piece and I have a feeling Theresa's Hang in There is going to be another favorite when the mailman delivers it! How's that for name dropping? LOL

CRAFT SUPPLIES I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT: Paper: Gina K's Pure Luxury card stock is to die for! Scissors: EK Success Cutter Bee Scissors are wonderful for paper snippers like me. Glue: I love my Glue Glider PRO and Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive (it's a white glue that dries clear and my cards never fall apart!)

I'VE BEEN STAMPING FOR (HOW LONG): I'm a late bloomer ;D...I've only seriously been stamping for about a year now and I love it!

I GET MY INSPIRATION FROM: I love to visit my Stamp TV friend's galleries and blogs. That is truly where I find the most talented paper crafters! Technique wise you cannot beat the videos Gina K makes for us and the GKD design team and illustrators have really taught me a lot!


THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS I'VE LEARNED ABOUT STAMPING/CARDMAKING ARE: I don't have to be perfect...some of my better cards are the ones I just have fun with. I tend to over think some of my projects.


SOME OF MY STAMPING/CRAFTING GOALS ARE: I just want to have fun...wherever that leads me will be great!


FAVORITE THING TO MAKE THAT AREN'T CARDS: Oh! I love making the little note pad covers everyone is doing right now! I buy my little legal pads and have them cut in half at my local office supply store. They are fun and quick to make and my friends love them!


SOME OF MY STAMPING/CRAFTING ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The best thing to happen for me was the e-mail I received from Gina K inviting me to participate with the October 2009 Center Stage Spotlight Team! It was a little intimidating, especially when I saw the list of talented ladies I would be on the team with! They are brilliant card makers!
My family still teases me about spilling my coffee when I saw one of my cards featured on your blog!
I'm loving getting to be your Guest Designer this month!

CHALLENGES I LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN: I enjoy participating in the Stamp TV challenges. Those are the ones I usually try to make something for first...then if I have time lately I've played with Stamping B's, Just Us Girls, Card Patterns and Embellish and our Vicki Dutcher hosts a color challenge on the Scrap booking and Crafting Friends site.


WHAT I DO WHEN I’M NOT STAMPING: What I'm trying to do when I'm not stamping is keep up with my eight year old twins, Anna Lura and Connor! They are so full of energy and so delighted with everything life has to offer! They are a true joy to my DH and I!

Now let's go see another "Pressed Flowers" project on Diana's blog here!