Monday, June 4, 2012

Graduation Balloon

I felt like playing in a couple of challenges today, and these caught my attention:
  • Paper Players - Summer time theme - for me, that's graduation time!
Well, I already had made a graduation card for my 8th grader a few weeks back, and then THIS happened:


I can still use the other card, for another grad I know.  This one will stay in the family.  :-)


I'm using a set by 'Inspired by Stamping' called The Sky's The Limit.  I like the sentiments and the selection of balloon styles.  Look at the basket above:  HAD to include pearls somewhere...just HAD to!


Although I've used a lace screen print by Hambly, I also included some genuine crochet trim, and twine, too.

And I wanted to show you my new personalized stamp, which I bought from an Etsy shop called JLMould.  She does custom stamps, or offers standard styles.  I created my own look.


With all the cards I am delivering to the local boutique on consignment, I need a professional look.  BTW, I popped in the shop last week to find out how many cards have sold, but the person helping me did not know, but recalled selling one himself.  So that makes at least two sold that I know of!  LOL

My friend Vicki asked me to take a picture of my photographing set-up.  Here it is, and brace yourselves for the ugly appearance of my cellar 'studio':


I bought a light tent kit HERE, and it includes the two lights and the tent.  It's a pretty big tent, but if it were much smaller, I would not be able to get good shots.  I don't know how to explain, but trust me.  ;-)  If you look closely, there IS a small light shining from the top of the tent.  Please ignore that.  I bought a clip-on LED lamp from Target, to see if that might aid in the lighting situation, but it contributed nothing.  It's going back to the store.  Most of the photos you've seen on my blog for the last month or so have been taken in that tent, using only the two side lamps.  I use a program called GIMP (free download) - which is very similar to Adobe PhotoShop - to photo edit all my pix.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me (it's on my sidebar).

Thanks for coming by!



Dimensions:  4.25" x 5.5"
Stamps: The Sky's The Limit  - Inspired by Stamping
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla - SU
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko
Fibers: twine - Creative Impressions; lace trim - Hero Arts
Other: pearls - Recollections; Lace Screen Print - Hambly

37 comments:

Vicki Dutcher said...

WOW! That is a HUGE light tent! It sure does a great job for you!!

Nan G said...

Beautiful card! Love the 'lace' stamp! And thanks for the info on the light tent. Mine just came and I'm in the process of clearing a place to set it up!! I'm so looking forward to having consistently good pics of my projects!

Anonymous said...

Love all the one lace and those pearls - perfect! That stamp you had made is very professional! Wow, that is worth framing in itself! Just kidding! Your light set up is fantastic - we still don't even have a camera. Great job as always.

Chris R. from Iowa

Martha Herrera said...

WOW!! I'm with Vicki, that is Huge light tent, but your cards come out so nice, so it's all worth it. I love card, Colleen. And I LOVE to put pearls on everything too.

Hugs,
Martha H.

Annette Allen said...

wow I love how you stage your cards...thanks for sharing how you take your pictures...this card is amazing..

Donna B. said...

Love this card Colleen! The stamps and sentiment are great. Love how you added the lace and pearls - so you!! :) I could use a light tent, I got an Ott light and it helps me take pictures at night, but I need to take better pics!

Lisa Elton said...

Hands down my new fav from you Colleen! Love the shabby vintage feel of the lace background showcasing those sweet polka dot clouds and striped balloon.

And holy cow I could dive head first into that photo of all those GORGEOUS trims. I need the address to THAT store!! LOL

Unknown said...

Wow Colleen! I can see why you want this card to stay in the family. I love the vintage feel created by the lace. Those clouds are adorable! I would not have thought of using polka dots.
Hugs,
Ellen

Jennifer said...

Lov this card! Very pretty...great stamp too, I've been thinking of getting a more professional one too thanks for the shop name.

Your pictures are awesome btw, now i know i need to set myself up " Colleen" style lol =)

Rebecca Deeprose said...

What a great card Colleen! Love the mix of images with the bands of lace- super! Congrats on the graduation!

Emily Keaton said...

Oooooooo! Wow, I sure like your Sky's the Limit card, Colleen! Great trims, and I've never seen those Hambly screen prints before. They are so intriguing! This makes an outstanding graduation card. I just love it! And you've nailed each and every challenge. Yay!!

Lin said...

WOW!! I adore this card....that lace speaks to me! Really beautiful take on the challenges and a true treasure.

Marie said...

Love your card, Colleen - it's so beautiful! What a perfect day for me to visit - I just posted how I needed to work on my lighting set up for my pictures. So good to see how you set yours up. Also, thanks for much for visiting my blog and leaving me such a sweet comment.

yyam said...

Such a sweet card! Love your tent setup....:)

walchowDesign said...

Lovely lace card and the combination of the hot air balloon makes the card special Colleen! Aww... I love your dotted clouds too - it's so creative!

Lastly, your personalised stamp is very classy! Good luck with the sale of your cards - I've been trying to sell mine but not too much luck!

Erum Tasneem said...

okay first of all... WOW is the word for your over-the-top-gorgeous beauty of a card! Good decision; keep it in the family!
Your setup looks wonderful, I dont have this privilege but I love taking pictures in day time on the roof top.

Anonymous said...

Just gorgeous Colleen! Love your tent too but your card just took my breath away! Hugs, Joanna

Shirley said...

Gorgeous card!
Thank you for joining us this week at Fab'n'Funky!

Denise Marzec said...

Oh my gosh, how seriously FUN is that balloon card with all that gorgeous lace!! Love it!

Wendy said...

Gorgeous card...Thanks for joining us at Fab'n'Funky this week.
Wendy xx

Carol Lucas said...

I love your card! The lace looks like clouds for the balloon to float among. Just lovely!

Marisa said...

Eeeek, love the polka dotted clouds!!! Nice collection of lace you have there too - a little enabling by a certain someone we both know and love?? ;) Great card!

Unknown said...

This card look amazing my friend. I just love it.... All that Lace is so yummy!

Hugs~

Tenia Nelson said...

This card is sooooooo gorgeous!! Thanks for playing in the Stampendous! June Summer challenge!!!

-t

Sherrie K. said...

Absolutely gorgeous card! I love the design and the hot air balloon is so fun and perfect sentiment!! Beautiful!
Sherrie K
http://sherriescraps.blogspot.com

Benzi said...

Love the card, Colleen. The dotted balloons have my name on them...too cute. Great laces, too.

Glad you showed the tent...got mine up Sunday. Haven't used it yet. I need to learn the Gimp program as I am using Picasa now. When will I have time for that? UGH! After I shot myself in the mouth (very hard) with that thing, I noticed Sunday there was a warning on the bag. Big help that was...after the fact. LOL

Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

I pinned a similar setup on Pinterest, since I need one. I just need to figure out where I would put it. Blessings!

Chunyuan said...

love the lace card and envy your collection of lace.

Bonnie said...

Great graduation card that reminds me that I need to get one out. It's already going to be late. Ack! Thanks for all the links. Your pictures have always been really good, but I'm sure the tent makes it lots easier to get good pictures. I love your little backdrop display too.

Jinny Newlin said...

Oh, my gracious! All that lace looks absolutely delish on your kraft base! Yum! Yum! And I adore your personalized stamp!

JenMarie said...

O.M.Goodness! I'm in LOVE with this ... STUNNINGLY FABulous!!
~JenMarie Taylor ~ {ippity} Chick

Lesley said...

Sweet card Colleen! Hot air balloons always make me think of summer weather...that light tent is amazing! I need to get one! Thanks for joining us at the Paper Players.
Hugs,
Lesley

Unknown said...

Colleen, this card is absolutely STUNNING and I will be featuring your design on the Feature Me Friday segment of The Kraft Journal blog on Friday June 15, please be sure to stop by the blog on that day (or any time thereafter) to pick up your Featured Artist button and thanks so much for playing along with us at The Kraft Journal too!

Andrea Ewen said...

Love that inspiration pic, and you've really done it justice! I was wondering how you were taking your pictures recently...they look fabulous! Doesn't matter what the big picture looks like as long as your cards shine...and boy, they sure do!

Melinda Gleissner said...

What a wonderful card. Love the lace,very creative. Thank you for playing along with us at the Stampendous Saturday Challenge.

Angela said...

Well, the cards are just gorgeous, but I was so HAPPY to see your light tent set-up! I will be ordering everything you have. Your elegant creations are photographed so well, Colleen!

Laurie M said...

Hi Colleen it's Laurie from scrapwithlaurie on Instagram! I was going to message you about your beautiful photos on Instagram when I stumbled across this post regarding the light tent. I have a couple questions for you. What size tent are you using? Do you use the bulbs from this website? And are the majority of the photos you post on Instagram taken using this light tent? (Because they are all fabulous!) I am leaning towards the 17-inch tent however I have very limited space so wondering what your thoughts are with regard to size. Thank you so much I appreciate your time in answering my questions! Blessings,

Laurie

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