CC Challenge #21 - Pop Color

The details for CropChocolate Challenge #21 - Pop Color read: "This week's Challenge comes from Michele (by belle) and Miwa! A home decor project or altered item using neutrals and one main focal color." [Find details for the current CropChocolate Challenge here.]

The rules read "Post a picture of your project. 50% of the product used must be from CropChocolate.com. Please include items used in the description of your entry. Contest ends on Wednesday, July 11th, 2012 at 08:00:00am Mountain. Please submit your entry before then. $10 CropCredit in a random drawing. $25 CropCredit for monthly random winner."

Wow! Home decor. Not my forte. I am not a home decor sort of person. I like eggshell for a wall color. I hate to put holes in those pretty eggshell walls. I like having few things to dust. I display my photos via screensaver on my computer or digital photo frame or in a scrapbook (traditional or digital).

So, with that in mind, I always make something to donate to my family reunion auction to raise funds for the the following year's expenses. I had two of those inexpensive wooden frames from a chain craft store on hand so I decided to do something with them. But what, 50% of the product has to come from Crop Chocolate. Ah, I purchased some of the Making Memories Scrapbook Colors paints from CC when they were available. I could make good use of those.

I started by painting the frame with the Scrapbook Colors paints in Shopping Bag (item #23895). After drying my mother thought I should try to paint scrolls, but I am not a painter. I remembered I had these great stamps, CTMH My Acrylix® The Best Things stamp set (item #Y1012), that can be used to make a border (the video in my Blooming Flourishes post shows making a border using The Best Things stamp set on a mini album).

I thought stamping would be easier than painting. I also thought using a stamp pad would be much easier than trying to get an even coat of paint on the stamp so I used CTMH Exclusive Inks - Desert Sand. I let it dry for awhile and then for good measure I used my craft heater to ensure the ink was completely dry. I used a clear coat surface sealer to keep the paint and stamped image protected.

I used my Cricut Expression and Art Philosophy cartridge (item #Z1686) to cut the flowers. The larger flowers were cut at 6 inches and the smaller flowers were cut at 3 inches (speed medium, pressure high, blade depth 4 used for all cuts). I found the Cricut Chirp (Vol. 344 - November 8, 2011) helpful when rolling my flowers. I misted the paper lightly with water to help me bend the petals back to make the flower look more realistic. I used my Spellbinders Grand Calibur and Grand Shapeabilities Grand Peony Creations (item #LF-005) to cut and emboss the leaves.

All of the paper used was received in CC Grab Bags: Echo Park Paper Co. Dots & Stripes Tinsel Large Dot (item #DSH3004) and Be Mine Sweet Stripes (item #BM9013) and Sassafras Sweet Marmalade (item #11363). I used Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Vintage Pink (from CC) and Glimmer Mist Chalkboard Banana Pudding, but neither show up well in the photo.

Here are how my frames turned out:

And here is each frame:

And here is a closeup of my pink flowers:

I hope you like how my two new-to-me techniques, home decor and creating flowers from the Art Philosophy cartridge, turned out. I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks for stopping by.