Thursday, June 24, 2010

Hooray For Damask

I absolutely love anything with a damask design.
When I was in my early twenties, I would go shopping at a local thrift store on my lunch hour. I found the most gorgeous old damask table cloths in mostly white, but occasionally other colors. I felt like I had found real treasures. Sometimes I would find just a pack of napkins, and I snapped up whatever I could find (and the prices were ridiculously low). If a pack of napkins were a bit too stained for my taste, I'd buy them anyway and dye them with Rit. My two colors then were burgundy and deep gray. I still have them, and we use them quite a bit...even with young kids. The darker colors can hide a lot of Chef Boyardee stains. :D

Before my grandmother passed away, she let me pick out some sumptuous damask tablecloths and napkins that she had either: 1) never used or 2) managed to wash with magic detergent. They were in impeccable condition. One set is golden yellow, one is soft pink, and a pack of napkins are baby blue (or if you think in terms of Stampin' Up! colors, they're So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, and Bashful Blue). I was thrilled to inherit these beauties.

Now, it seems you can find damask designs everywhere: backpacks, pencil cases, post-it notes, folders and binders, tote bags, personal-size calenders and much, much more. I couldn't be happier. Why, even the collapsible containers from the Container Store, in which I store completed cards and cardstock/designer paper scraps, are covered in a chocolate-colored damask design. (swoon)

Which brings me to my card.
I like to take my inspiration from unlikely places, and today's card was inspired by a shirt worn by, I believe, Meredith Vieira of the Today Show. A couple of days ago, I saw her wearing a pink shirt that had a light gray damask design on it. (At least, I think it was her...it could've been elsewhere) Instantly, I thought: CARD!

For as much as I love damask, I really don't have too many stamps like that. This design is a stamp from the "Friends 24-7" set by Stampin' Up!. I used my Stampamajig to help me get an all-over design on the pink card layer. Simple matting in black, pink and white was all that was needed. I did heat emboss the main image with black embossing powder, but you can't see that from the photo.

I used my SU black journaling pen to help draw a frame around the main image, and darn it - it smudged! That's okay...it was a happy accident. :) I wound up covering the corner smudges with silver half pearls.

My envelope, using two grays: Basic Gray and Going Gray, both by SU.

Thanks for joining me today and bearing with me while I spout about damask!

Happy Stamping,
Colleen

Stamps: Friends 24-7
Ink: Going Gray, Basic Gray
Paper: Pixie Pink, Basic Black, Whisper White
Other: black embossing powder, dimensionals, heat tool, silver half pearls, black journaling pen, ruler

4 comments:

LeAnne said...

Gorgeous, Colleen. I don't use this set nearly enough!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful card, Colleen. I love the patterned paper you made, it's a gorgeous backing for the main image. Hope you're well - I'm just about to 'follow' you! Sally x

Carol Hurlock said...

I love this Colleen and know that I have picked up some inspiration from viewing it. It's dazzling.

Bear Hugs,
Carol

Emily Keaton said...

Oh, it's so much fun to read about your inspiration!! Thanks so much for sharing--about your smudges, too :) Glad to know that it's not just me!!!

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