Cycle Celebration

Hi there and happy Monday!  Guess I can say that since I don't have to leave the house, huh?  lol  Hope your holiday weekend was all you expected it to be and then some!  This week is going to be pretty busy for me.  With that in mind, let's "talk" about the above card.  It is another experiment with the ink blowing technique using the vibrant colors of Pacific Point, Gumball Green, Daffodil Delight, and Rich Razzleberry for a bit of contrast.  When my background piece was completed, the dilemma was...what stamp set?  The piece has such a funky, young, artsy feel - so not my style.  I finally decided upon the Cycle Celebration set debuting in the 2013-14 Stampin' Up! catalog.  The bicycle image is matted on Pacific Point, then on White.  The Pacific Point mat just wasn't doing it for me - it was overwhelmed by the background design.  Back in my scrapbooking days YEARS ago, I learned the trick to mat photos on white to keep your photo from getting lost in the background.  The white mat was just enough separation from the busy design.  My next struggle was...what embellishment?  Using a little imagination (or a lot), I visualized the background piece as streamers blowing in the wind.  Hmmm, a Kansas song just popped into my head.  lol  OK, I'm back!  Pennants or flags seemed the logical choice.  Pennants and flags kind of remind me of the streamers we used to have on our bike handlebars "back in the day".   (A tip for making the flag ends is to snip up the center from the end about a quarter inch.  Then go in diagonally from the corner to the top of the center cut.  Do that on both sides of the center cut line.  You'll get your inverted V.)  The scallop circle keeps my "streamers" in place.  Oh, I added rhinestones to the center of the wheels after the photo was uploaded.  The bling was just the right finishing touch.  So, there you have it!  Please feel free to contact me, if you have any questions or comments.

That's it for today.  Hope you have a good one and thanks so much for coming by!

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted

Stamps: Cycle Celebration, A Round Array
Paper: Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, White
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry
Other:  drinking straw (obviously non-SU!), 5/8" circle punch, 1-1/4" scallop circle punch, Dimensionals, rhinestones, snips