Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Flower Pot Lady with Crown



Maybe this is how a little fox holds his mommy's hand.

"I must have a cat whom I find homeless, wandering about the court, and to whom, therefore, I am under no obligation.  I have already selected a dirty little drunken wretch of a kitten to be the successor to my poor old cat."
                                                                            ----------Samuel Butler




Hi, Friends.....


I was racking my brain (such as it is!) to think what I could make for the MFP Inspiration Challenge - Flower Pot People.  


Then......I spied my whimsical masked lady with wings by Teesha Moore.  (Teesha is the artist who also designed the "Old and Curious" stamp I used in my very strange and eerie doctor book page project.) So I hit on actually putting her IN a flower pot!!.....the stamped image, that is, not Teesha! :o

   
Since this gal with the crown has been sedately biding her time unused in my stash for months, she also qualifies as a NBUS item..."Never Before Used Schtuff"....for Darnell's challenge.







Here's a closer look at her sitting in her Stamping Up Flower Pot.

I heat embossed the flower pot numerous times with gold embossing powder to get a thick smooth coat.  Then I stamped her image and heat embossed again.  To make her stand out a bit from the background, I sponged with Distress Ink - Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain around the outside of the image, keeping her face lighter.  Then I inked and heat embossed around the edge of her panel with gold.

I chose some delicious K & Co. papers in wonderful autumn colors for this project and really love the blue foil accents in the background paper.  So I pulled (and pulled...and pulled) out this string of metallic blue faux pearls.  After trying to figure out how to use them on here, I finally just draped them all over the background and laid the image panel on top.  LOVE the look!!  Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue came to the rescue for securely adhering this viperine strand!!!  Yay!! (See, I told you that failed "rainbow" project had a good takeaway!!)  It also was just the thing for putting my image panel down on top of the beads.


Some amazing Prima Flowers, a few blue accents for the crown,  and gold sequins here and there finished off the card.  



(More about those flowers in a moment....)





Here is an angled shot so you can see the lovely metallic sheen.  Yum!!!






*******FANTASTIC PRODUCT ALERT*******
 
I have to tell you about the amazing deal I got on a bunch of Prima flowers!!!  If you LOVE Prima flowers and you are always hunting for the right color, shape, and size for your projects, you MUST look into this product:  Prima Wildflower MixThe product description on the JoAnn's page says it is 72 count.  It is NOT.  It is more like 372 count!!!  


I got the item (reg price $15.99) when it was half-price thinking it was still pretty expensive for 72 flowers, but I do love my Prima......  However, when I took this out of the JoAnn shipping box, I nearly lost my teeth!!  This is a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig tube of flowers.  The description says 7-3/4" x 3", which is correct.  But the flowers are really stuffed in there and the net weight of 1.20 oz doesn't nearly communicate just how many flowers you are getting!!!!  They are of all shapes and sizes and colors and include some leaves, too.  I get the idea that these are the collected leftovers or end runs from their factory.  Yay!!!  I love having the huge selection!!  Some I recognize from other Primas I already own, but most are new ones to me.  So, if you love flowers as much as I do, put this on your JoAnn wishlist and wait for a great sale....then snag it! 
************************************

Hope you enjoyed my card today.  I had a lot of fun with it!  Also, let me know if you like my product alert mini-reviews (like I did with Beacon 3-in-1 with my rainbow card and today with the Prima flowers).  If so, I will try to do more of those, too.

Have a lovely week!!!

<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1 MFP Speedy TV Inspirational Challenge #78 - Flower Pot People 
2.  Vandicrafts Artistry Challenge #7 - Anything Goes 
3.  House of Cards Challenge - September Photo/Color Inspiration 
4.  Hiding in My Craft Room Challenge #164 - Think Fall 
5.  DJKardKreations NBUS Challenge #2 - Anything Goes with Never Before Used Schtuff

42 comments:

  1. Janis,
    How wonderful and so very pretty! I love all the awesome colors and the image is awesome. Thanks for joining us at SpeedyTV's Inspiration TV and hope to see you again very soon!

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    1. Thanks so much, Kathy!!! I am loving the autumn colors, too. They are so rich and beautiful to create with.

      <3
      Janis

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  2. Fabulous job with the gold embossing! and very creative with the beads!

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    1. Thank you, Jill!!! I love to use gold on my cards.....and it went great with the autumn palette!!

      <3
      Janis

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  3. Very unique card! Love the background paper, all the gold embossing and the beads! Thanks for joining us at House of Cards!

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    1. I did kind of go nuts with all the beads, didn't I? Ha. Thank you for stopping by and leaving your nice comment!!!

      <3
      Janis

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  4. Excellent work on the card. Great attention to detail. - Jim

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    1. Thank you, Jim! How's that paint by number going???? I am so impressed with how intricate it is.

      <3
      Janis

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  5. Hello Janis! This card belongs in a frame my friend! Everything turned out so pretty. Thank you for entering Vandicrafts' Artistry challenge: Anything Goes
    Melissa - Vandicrafts

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    1. Wow, Melissa!! That's a high compliment. I have never once thought of my cards as frameable art...although thinking back, I guess a friend did say once she was going to frame a card I gave her. (But I don't think she actually ever did it! Ha!!) And upon further reflection, these lumpy-bumpy cards are not the easiest to mail, so maybe framing is a better idea! :)

      Thanks for your fun challenge blog. It's wonderful to see more people entering!! I look forward to it each week, although I am not always able to enter. Glad I got to this week!!!

      <3
      Janis

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  6. This rocks. you went steampunk and very successful thanks for sharing ...Lis MFP DT

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    1. Thank you, Lis!! I guess I don't really know what steampunk is, and I hadn't thought of this card as that......but I like the description!!! THANKS!

      <3
      Janis

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  7. Oh what a masterpiece of artwork! This is stunning and so well done!!

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    1. Thank you so much, Kay!! I appreciate your visit and your wonderful comment.

      <3
      Janis

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  8. Hi Janis
    Great card. Love how you have used the beads. Thanks for joining in at House of Cards Challenge.
    Ang

    PS. . . Very cute cat too!

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    1. Thanks, Mrs. Duck!! It was kind of a wild idea just draping the beads around like that, but I really like the effect. Thanks for your visit!!

      <3
      Janis

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  9. Oh, my goodness, Janis, what a beautiful work of art this is! It's majestic and royal and fabulously gold, which is just what one would expect from a queen inside a flower pot!! I love it! The flower punctuation is perfect and thank you for the Prima information over at JoAnn's! What a deal!! Thank you so much for playing in my second NBUS Challenge!! Hugs, Darnell

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    1. Why, of course, a queen in a flower pot should be generously embossed with gold....hehehee...aren't they always? :) Thanks so much for your fun NBUS challenge. I am so glad to be a part of it!!!

      <3
      Janis

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  10. Janis, I love how you were inspired to come up with such a clever card. What a great idea to put the lady in the pot to make your flower pot person. I love the beads and your colors. Thank you for joining us for the Speedy TV Inspiration challenge.

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    1. Thanks so much!! I could have done a card with just a pot of flowers for the inspiration challenge........but this was tons more fun!!! :)

      <3
      Janis

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  11. What a great idea to put her in the flower pot - that is some creative thinking for sure. I love the look of this card - so artsy and fun. Love the beads and the whole design. So glad you joined us in the MFPSpeedyTV Inspiration Challenge! I really liked your product review - keep doing it!

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    1. Thanks!!! I really liked the look of my project, too! I appreciate your nice comment!!!

      <3
      Janis

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  12. There is nothing like an enabler alert, Janis, to stoke the home fires LOL thanks for the heads up about the prima flowers! Your card is fabulous! I love your imaginative uses of the images, creating a magical setting! The beads look SUPER FABULOUS - like a party for sure! And the colors are luscious! Thanks for the heads up on the new challenge site, too. Like you, I'm trying to use "schtuff" which has been in my stash for a long time. Too bad I enjoy buying new things, too! LOL

    What a pleasure visiting your blog today. Love the little fox and your hand-holding analogy, too! xo

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    1. Donna,
      Thank you so much for your visit and lovely comment!!! The beads were really fun. I have a bunch of those in different colors that I got in a thrift store grab bag. I might have hit on a good way to use them....finally!!! :)

      <3
      Janis

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  13. I LOVE all the fabulous texture on this card, Janis! The embossing, the beads, the stamping, it's all gorgeous! Thanks for joining us at House of Cards! HUGS! :) Mynn xx

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    1. Mynn,
      Thanks so much for your sweet comment!!! I wasn't sure I actually understood all the rules at the HOC challenge.....this week for this style, etc. because it looked like there were all styles in the link-up. Hope it's okay that I entered.

      <3
      Janis

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  14. Wow Janis, what a spectacular project! That quirky stamp lady was the perfect image to pop into a flower pot...and then when you add that gold embossing and the beads it is out of this world! All the gold, the gorgeous paper from K&Co, and those blue pearl beads make it look like something from the Byzantine era. Not only beautiful, but clever and unexpected...which make it even more special. Great way to use all your thrift and craft store odds and ends. I can't stop looking at this!

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    1. Thank you, Karen!!! I've had so much fun with my quirky stamps lately!! Deep down I think mixed media hits close to my true art soul......but I love the other genres, too! I have yet to figure out just what my style is.....obviously!!! Ha. That's one fun thing about challenges, it lets me experiment a lot. Hey, I like the Byzantine description!! Maybe this is Byzantine Steampunk (like Lis called it!).

      I think this bead technique I did might look good on a Christmas card, too.....hand delivered, only!! I'm sure I must have some red or green or other holiday-appropriate color in that bag of them I got.

      Thanks again for your wonderful comment!!!

      <3
      Janis

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    2. I also have quite a lot of those pearl strands but I'm too chicken to use them on my cards! I may just have to break down and get some of your super duper special glue to wrestle them into submission. And then who knows, it might even be buttons, wood or metal next... eek!!

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    3. Forgot to say also that I'm glad you're giving those quirky stamps a spin because they can be a little hard getting used to at first but once you free your mind (weren't those song lyrics from the 1960'??) it can be loads of fun. I have some seriously strange and unusual images that I used on ATC's some years ago for swaps. I also pull them out for birthday cards and tags for the men in our family....because they have very little appreciation for cute cat stamps or flowers!

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  15. This looks so artsy :) fab way to incorporate the beads !

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    1. Thank you, Deepti!!! The beads were a lot of fun to work with.

      <3
      Janis

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  16. Thank you for following my blog http://justapieceofmebrans.blogspot.com ! I love your work!

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    1. Thank you, Brandie. I just finally figured out the connection with your Google Friend name and your username here. I'm kinda slow! I'll reintro you on my next post! :)

      <3
      Janis

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  17. Lovely card! And the Old doctor book page is fantastic too, I loved it :)
    Also thank you for the description of how you made it, I always enjoy this glimpse in the crafting process, the glimpse into the artists mind.
    Debbie / Daqa

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    1. Thanks so much for your nice comments on both projects!! :) I hope you will come visit again!!

      <3
      Janis

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  18. Thank you for participating in our September Challlenge: Photo/Color Inspiration at House of Cards.

    Ma :)
    House of Cards DT

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    1. Thanks so much, Merethe! The colors in the challenge are so wonderful for autumn!!

      <3
      Janis

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  19. Love all this texture and embossing on your card. Thanks for joining us at House of Cards challenge blog.

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    1. Thanks for your sweet comment, Donna!! I appreciate your visit!!

      <3
      Janis

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  20. This is such a gorgeous card! I love the gold embossing and that you put her in the pot! So clever! I love the beads behind the focal panel also! The colors are beautiful! Thank you so much for joining us at House of Cards! :)

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    1. Sorry I did not reply until now, Katy!! Thank you so much for your sweet words. Your comment and visit mean a lot to me!!!

      <3
      Janis

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THANK YOU so much for taking the time to leave a comment. Your kind words encourage me so very much!!!

Have a lovely day!
<3
Janis