Today is the second Wednesday of October so... It's Around the World on Wednesdays!
Today we are all sharing a bit about what it's like in our part of the world. I'm so excited to see more about how my fellow AWOW blog hoppers find inspiration in their surroundings.
Here is a little bit about my world. When I'm in my little craft pantry I pretty much see what others see since there are no windows: stamp pads, stamp sets, ribbon, partially finished projects, paper scraps, stray dies....... well, enough of that. When I'm outside of my craft room I live in the US state of Minnesota, specifically in a downtown condo in the capital city of Saint Paul in a neighborhood referred to as Lowertown. It's called Lowertown since its in an area between bluffs on a bend along the Mississippi where boats could land and early trading occurred. Here is a photo I took looking back towards home while on a hike to a nearby park earlier this year.
A closer shot of the same view shows where our condo is - I put a little red x where our balcony is. From our place we can see barges or rowing teams on the river, bike trails alongside the river, trains, planes flying into the small airport across the river and of course the traffic as two interstate highways intersect.
This past weekend was close to the peak for fall colors and we took a walk up to what's called Summit Hill where there are lots of big old homes with beautiful tree lined boulevards.
I've also been starting to get to know a new stamp and die bundle that will be available next month: Quite Curvy. There are several curved edge dies and I've only just started to imagine the possibilities as you try them in different configurations. For my first try I pulled out this weeks' Splitcoaststampers color challenge colors: Mango Melody, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Real Red. to see what they do. I was particularly impressed with this irregularly shaped curve - it kind of reminded me of the curves and bends in our nearby Mississippi.
- Of course the colors of the challenge echo the brilliant fall colors around us. I got to know the set's bough of flowers (and its coordinating die!) a bit better, while incorporating more of these colors into my card. They were stamped with Old Olive ink and colored with Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Real Red Blends.
- The white seam binding ribbon was colored with Mango Melody blends and tied so that it would drape and then held in place with a few mini glue dots.
- The Pumpkin Pie layer is embossed with the Tasteful Textile embossing folder before being layered onto a Very Vanilla card base.
That's it for a little peek at my world. Now it's on to visit Ann Marie Hille.
Chris Smith - US You are here!
I so appreciate that you took the time to visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.
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If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.
