Strawberries........yum!

Don't you just love fresh, ripe strawberries? I love them so much that I themed my summertime dishware around them. I found these fun strawberry plates, bowls and cups at Target and then also matched up some place mats, napkins and wicker baskets. I re-decorated my porch this summer too! I got some wicker chairs at Target, and scored some fun vintage pieces at garage sales which include a wicker ottoman, a red ice chest and a red metal serving cart on wheels. And then I added lots of pretty flower baskets. We're planning on having fun *porch picnics* all summer long.

And that brings me to this cute card and other photos. I made this card as a little centerpiece for a little porch picnic we had last night. I made that yummy fruit dip I posted a few days ago and we munched on fresh strawberries all evening. Those are photos of my front porch with my new wicker chairs, etc. I thought the strawberry card would make the perfect little centerpiece to go along with my other strawberry goodies.

Here's the details, prepare yourself! I just received a bunch of goodies from Ellen Hutson's store and boy am I in heaven. I knew the first thing I wanted to get my hands on was the strawberry stamp! The first photo shows a bunch of the other supplies I used to create this card. Can I first say that Karen Lockhart's stamps are TOP quality. They are constructed of red rubber on wood and they are splendid. The images stamp nicely and the wood mount is nice and smooth. And to me, the images seem much bigger in real life that what appears on Ellen's website. Seeing(or touching) is believing, girls! You can purchase them from Ellen Hutson's online store.

Okay, on with the details. I stamped the strawberry image with Palette Black Noir ink(from Ellen's store) on a piece of Arturo notecard. I then colored the image with watercolor crayons and an aquapainter, adding darker detail with colored pencils and a grey outline around the finished image. The color scheme I used matched the strawberry bowl I purchased from Target. For the polka dots on the bowl, I brightened them up with a white gel pen (SU!). Image is backed with red card stock then mounted onto the Arturo card front with SU! dimensionals. The patterned paper is a snippet from the Homespun 6 x 6 Collection from Ellen's store. Cute, cute little papers just perfect for cards. Ribbon and eyelets were also added to the card front.

Here's the best part, ladies: The basic supplies used to create this card are available in a kit this month at Ellen's store!! Check out the kit here. You will receive the strawberry stamp, Arturo notecards, the ribbon, eyelets plus a piercing template all in one fun little package! The patterned paper I added to my card is not included in the kit though.

I've got lots of other fun stuff to come using Lockhart stamps......so stay tuned!! Think I'll go have me some more strawberries now. It's such a beautiful day!