My Other Creations: Paper Artsy Book Page with Eclectica3 Stamp Set

I do not, not, NOT have a green thumb in any shape or degree.  Maybe it goes back to me being traumatized when I was a kid in my parents' garden.  We were always volun-told to weed and pick veggies.  I remember reaching to pluck a string bean only to see beady red eyes and pincer-fangs staring back at me.  It was a praying mantis and not a bean!  And I swear it hissed at me!   And I think I've blogged about this moment before, which only proves how deeply I was scarred by the incident.  Finding your fingers hovering mere centimeters from a praying mantis's deadly grasp is rather disconcerting!  And okay, okay.  Maybe the red eyes are an exaggerated memory, but they were dark days in the garden!  So for this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog theme of "Summer Garden," I was sure to make a very abstract and whimsical garden next to a beach house that reminded me nothing in the least of string beans and fangs.

I made this scene as a section of an altered board book that I've been chipping away at.  The backgrounds are all done with Dina Wakley's acrylic paints (LOVE THEM), and on this page, I also used a fabulous Paper Artsy stamp set for those wonderful wonky flowers/trees.  A circle loop die from Simon gives some visual oomph and the Sunshine sentiment is also from Simon.

For the background elements on both pages, I used the Crosshatch die from Tim Holtz.  I also made the scalloped banner using a new stamp from Carabelle Studio that is quite fantastic called, "Frise Nuage."  Head's up on that stamp-- be sure to check the dimensions!  With my constant habits of avoiding math, I didn't read the size very closely and it is a BIG stamp (almost 11 inches long).  Lots of bang for your buck.  I only used the very bottom tips of the scallops on my banner.  The beach house is also from the JOFY line of Paper Artsy and the Washi is from Doodlebug.  I added some numbers using Tim Holtz's Ruler Ribbon, which I love. 

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Paper Artsy Eclectica3 EKD02 Stamp Set	Carabelle Studio Frise Nuage Edge Cling Stamp	Simon Says Stamp Circle Loops Die Set	Simon Says Stamp Hello Sunshine Frame die	Sizzix Tim Holtz Crosshatch frameworks die	Sizzix Big Shot	Doodlebug Springtime Stripe Washi Tape
Doodlebug Dainty Dots Spring Garden Washi Tape	Doodlebug Deck The Halls Washi Tape	Tim Holtz Idea-ology RULER RIBBON Fabric Canvas Measure	Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink	Picked Raspberry - Distress Ink	Tim Holtz Distress Twisted Citron Ink Pad	Dina Wakley MAGENTA Heavy Body Acrylic Paints
Dina Wakley TURQUOISE Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Tim Holtz Distress Paint In Spun Sugar	Black Sharpie Fine Point Pen	Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad	Ranger Non Stick Craft Sheet	Fiskars Acrylic Blocks

Can't wait to see what kind of a summer garden you invent for this week's theme!  Upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!