Gallery Idol Round 2: Around The House

First of all, thank you to everyone that has left me comments and sent me emails loaded with well wishes. I've got warm fuzzies in spades these days!

Today marks the beginning of Round 2 in the gallery Idol competition. Our theme for this round was to incorporate a household item: chairs, frames, birdcages, lamps, kitchen utensils, pillows, chandeliers, teapots, appliances, dishes, etc. Admittedly, my initial reaction was less than enthusiastic. "How on Earth am I going to make a card incorporating a vacuum cleaner?" I was stumped. The first couple of days were marred with false starts, but I think I managed to successfully pull myself together. I present to you...my big comfy chair.


I designed the chair in Adobe Illustrator and printed it on Spring Moss cardstock. My first step was to reverse mask the image using a piece of copy paper and stamp the plaid pattern in white and Ripe Avocado. That way, when I went to cut it out there wouldn't be plaid lines in the negative space outside the stitching.

Next, I backstitched all of my lines. I did the piping with 3 thread strands of floss while the knots are full strands. I can't do a French Knot to save my life, so those tuft thingies are just plain old double knots. Just keeping it real, Folks. After all the embroidery was done I cut out the image, being very careful to avoid the stitches.


My next step was creating the little dust ruffle. I took a scrap of Spring Moss and stamped it with the same pattern as the rest of the chair. Then I scored it at 1/4" intervals in a peak & valley formation. I did my folding and then scrunched it up in a tiny little ball; unscrunched it and scrunched it again a few times. Then, I did that thing where you separate the layers of cardstock by peeling them away from each other. I think it's called the faux suede technique. Really, I just wanted my paper to be thinner and softer so I could make it look a little more like fabric. It worked out rather well, me thinks. The ruffle was adhered to the back side of the chair with a little red line tape.

I set my little chair aside for a moment while I prepared my base and stamped the Kraft layer with polka dots. Next, I trimmed a strip of Ripe Avocado with pinking shears and adhered that (along with the Kraft) to my base. Finally, I stamped my sentiment, tied on my button with some twine, and mounted my chair with a little foam tape. Doesn't it just look warm and cozy?

So, the voting this week is much like it was last week. The only difference being you don't have to re-register to vote if you've already done so. You may have to log in, but you won't have to re-register. You can go HERE to see everyone's entries and vote for your favorite. Remember: You can only vote once per round! It's going to be a tough decision with so many amazing cards in the lineup. The voting runs from noon MST today through noon MST on Thursday. This round decides the Top 10 finalists (to be announced on Friday).

Thanks for checking in today! See you on the flip side...

Recipe:
Cardstock: Ripe Avocado, Kraft, Spring Moss - Papertrey Ink; Ultimate White - Strathmore
Ink: Ripe Avocado - Papertrey Ink; Frost White - Colorbox; Versamark - Tsukineko
Stamps: Polka Dot Basics, Background Basics: Retro, Boards and Beams - Papertrey Ink
Tools: Adobe Illustrator; Pinking Shears; Sewing Needle
Fibers: White Embroidery Floss - DMC; Hemp Cord - Darice
Other: Foam Tape - Scotch; Button - unknown