Friday, February 24, 2012

Debuting a New Blog Look with a New Lily Pad Challenge

I decided I had threatened to change things up long enough...it was time to deliver the goods. After shopping around all the blog decor sites and not seeing anything that was really me, I did a little designing for myself. Armed with my trusty Microsoft Publisher and some graphics from The Graphics Fairy and a freebie digikit I created a new blog banner, footer and favicon. One more thing checked off my 2012 To Do List.

On to the challenge at Lily Pad Cards. This month our Simon Says Stamp sponsored challenge is all about using the Kissing Technique. I love the great texture that you can achieve by "kissing" one stamp with another before hitting the paper with it. I hope you will check out the gorgeous work the Design Team has on display at Lily Pad Cards and join us for another fabulous challenge!

For my card I used a new stamp and an old stamp. And I embellished....yep that's right, I used flowers, buttons and die cuts on one card. I stopped short of adding bling too, didn't want to go completely crazy.




~James 1:17~
Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us
from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.

I channeled my inner Tiffany and Lin to come up with a feminine design to use the Kiss technique. I have no idea when or where I got the bird stamp, it has no name on it and it's been rattled around in my stamp stash for years. Because it has a large solid area it's perfect for adding texture, in this case I used Hero Arts Friend Definition to kiss the ink off of the bird before stamping. For the background I inked the background stamp with Tumbled Glass Distress ink and kissed it with the Envelope Pattern inked with Stormy Sky Distress ink.

blessings,
nancy



27 comments:

  1. I like the new look - nice & different plus superbly Victorian & vintagey. Love the idea of the footer with the cofee pot hydrangea & butterfly. Impressive. Super texture with the bird & I like your 'dressed' buttons.
    Paula (PEP)

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's absolutely FABULOUS, Nancy! I love it! What a wonderful job you've done creating a beautiful place to come visit! You couldn't have picked a prettier card to begin it all either! Again...FABULOUS! I also love the Scripture verse from James...thank you for sharing it!...Nancy :o)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I see a new career for you! Creating blog headers! This is fabulous! Lovely card. The colors are so pretty and the soft touches with the flowers and embellishments are perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Really pretty header and footer, Nancy! Fabulous that you were able to create this for yourself!

    Love the beautiful card you created, too! The blues with the pop of red are gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  5. LOVE this. The red really pops and I love how you utilized the kissing technique!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The card is gorgeous and so is the blog! Good for you Nancy :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am just nuts about your new look, Nancy - it seems so "you"! And congrats for figuring it all out yourself - Wow! Your card is too sweet - love the color combo and all the texture. I need to revisit this technique as I have had problems with it in the past. Thanks for the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your new look is gorgeous, Nanc! LOVE that pretty header! (great idea to add the footer!) I am very impressed that you figured it all out yourself too! Your card is fabulous - so gorgeous in that pretty blue - love the red bird and embellies! I sure hope you're feeling better! Sending hugs to you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. WOW to the new blog look l- I LOVE it! And double WOW to your kissed card! Such a beautiful combination of colors and elements, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh wow! Beautiful Nancy! Okay I haven't used that big solid background stamp yet, but I think I need to try it kissed. I love the texture the envelope pattern created. Also love the flowers with buttons :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Nancy, Your new blog design looks wonderful! I love it! And your card....you channeled Lin and Tiff very well ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. The card is beautiful - love all the little details with the kissing technique! AND what an amazing job you did with your blog - love it! Congrats :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. You've got a blog makeover Nancy, I like it!! Your "kissing" card is gorgeous, the red bird really popped against the blue bg!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I really love your fabulous new bloglook! I can't believe you made it yourself! Very clever!And I love your gorgeous card too! Just perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I am super impressed with your new blog look Nancy. It is very pretty. As is the wonderful card you produced. It is very impressive too. Blessing to you.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great new blog look, Nancy! Just love your new banner!! Gorgeous card today too - that blue bird is wonderful on the birdie background kissed with the envie pattern!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Gorgeous card and gorgeous new blog look! It's beautiful and so Nancy! <3

    ReplyDelete
  18. You did that yourself? The blog header - wow, it's amazing - and congrats!! Love how your blog looks! I also think your card is just beautiful. The white on the kissed bird is a lovely touch! Sending blessings your way!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. you did a wonderful job on the blog, Nancy. Beautiful card too. I'm glad you brought the scripture back, I look forward to reading more in the future. It's always a treat. hugs, amy k

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is very pretty Nancy and I really love that bird! Great new blog header too!

    ReplyDelete
  21. wow Nancy! Your card is gorgeous but your blog design is even more amazing!!! LOVE IT!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Your blog looks gorgeous! Love the card, that's my fave color combo!! Can't wait to play with this challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Lovely new look with your blog! Wow! The header looks so beautiful! Love your card - the bright, vivid red really sparkles against the softer blues on this card! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Nancy you did fabulous on your blogheader....I love every bit of it. Love that red bird and blue background...it's really elegant and vintage like...and any bling would also be delightful. Love it all.
    Hope you are feeling better.

    ReplyDelete
  25. oh WOW!!! This card is over the moon FABulous!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Nancy,
    thank you for your kind compliment on my blog re: my attempt at kissing technique for Lily Pad. I rarely have time for challenges but I'm trying to do them more.
    I was not very confident on my abilities but my little umbrella came out ok. I will try to do the kissing technique on a bigger area, like you all did.
    Anyway, thank you for your kind compliment and I hope to join more of Lily Pad's challenges in future.

    PS: I note you are linked to Stamp Fever. I am local in the area I will be researching another new vendor in the area (that doesn't require postage!).
    Naomi

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comments, I love hearing from you!