SSCB#53 Circles / Dots - Happy Flowers

Hi sweet friends!  I hope you're having a great day!  Everything is good here!  The weather has been crazy, but that seems so typical for the Chicago area.  One day it's in the 50's and you think.. .Ah.. spring is finally here.. and then the next day it will snow.   I think there is a lesson in patience in there somewhere for me!   I'm taking an on line class in photography - just trying to get to know my camera a little better.  I took photography in high school - but that was in the old days - before digital.  So usually I set my camera on "automatic" - now I'm learning a little bit more on how to change the settings to get different effects.  Hopefully you'll be able to see some subtle differences soon. 

I've had a few questions about the new look of my blog and I'm happy to report that I've made all those changes myself. How many years of blogging and I'm understanding how to write a little code for the gadgets, and make some new headers.  My old header - remember that?  Was a collage of flower photos that I took myself in the back yard, and it was a bit difficult to let go of.   I'm so sentimental.  The new header - with the birds is a vector that I altered.  There are lots of free or low cost ($1 - $2) vectors you can download for your personal use.   I took two bird images and positioned them on a blank Photoshop file, added then added my blog text.  Thanks for your positive feedback on the changes.

A new challenge begins today at Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog!  The challenge begins on the first of the month and this time it's all about circles and dots!   Serendipity has the most unique word / verse stamps - like this one "You Make Me Happy"  I love that it's circular.  The mix of fonts is fun too.  It's really versatile too because you can color in the open letters if you like.  I started my project with this verse cut in a circle.  I knew I wanted it to be surrounded by more circles, large and small.  I stamped several floral stamps and cut sections of them with circle dies.  I did a little playing around deciding which flowers to use, size of circle to put where etc. before I colored them in. 

 I played around with putting solid color card stock mats under each circle, but decided I liked them "as is".  So what do you do when you cut out extra dies that you don't use?  I just slip them in with the die set that I keep in a sleeve.  So the next time I pull out my circle dies the "extras" are tucked inside.  

The neutral background pattern paper reminds me of newsprint and  really makes the colors pop.  The final touch was a sprinkle of wood grain look sequins.  You can find these at Serendipity - they are wood grain on one side, and plain on the other.  You get LOTS in a package for $3 so you'll have them for a while, and they lie completely flat on your projects.

Want to go shopping?  Serendipity has a 50% off  Stamp of the Month.  This time it's "To The World" !! Perfect for our circle challenge!!  

Want to see more circle inspired creations from the design team?  Just click on their names to jump to their blogs!  We have a very special guestie too - Please hop on over to say hi to Jinny Newlin from Soaring! 

Julie Warner

Karen Amidon

Marybeth Lopez

Miriam Napier

Vickie Zimmer

Jenny Gropp

I hope you join us at Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog!  You have the entire month to play along!   

Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5"
Stamps | Serendipity Stamps | You Make Me Happy | Pansy Corner | Hollyhock | English Rose
Sequins | Serendipity Stamps
Dies | Spellbinder Standard Circles
Pattern Paper | Pebbles Cedar Lane 6"