Simply Soft

What a great day!!  The sun was shining this morning so hubby and I enjoyed our first cup of coffee out on the deck (as we do most mornings ... but it's definitely better when the sun is shining!!).  Then I just hung out until noon when I met my SIL for lunch at our local Japanese restaurant (Minori's).  On our way into the restaurant, we noticed that a new "Cakes and Pastries" shop opened just a couple of doors down, so checked that out after lunch.  Picked up some Almond Croissants for tomorrow's breakfast - yum!!  After lunch, went grocery shopping for a family dinner party we're having tomorrow night to celebrate Father's Day.  Menu (hubby's pick):  Honey Garlic Ribs, Potato Salad, Veggie Tray, Fruit Platter and Ice Cream Cake (DQ) for dessert.  Sounds good, huh??!!
 
And, my SU! order came this afternoon.  I had been wanting to pick up the "En Francais" stamp for some time and finally ordered it.  I was so excited to make something with it today and also the new "Simply Soft" Hostess stamp set.  I just love the purple and brown color combo, so used it today.  Hope you like.
 

"Simply Soft"

 

 

Stamps:  En Francais, Simply Soft, Vintage Labels (SU!)

Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand (SU!)

Ink:  Elegant Eggplant, Soft Suede, Certainly Celery (SU!)

Accessories & Tools:  Stamp-a-ma-jig, sponges, Word Window punch, 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, sticky strips, and dimensionals

 

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I stamped the En Francais background in Soft Suede ink onto Sahara Sand paper.  I then randomly sponged the surface with Soft Suede to give the paper an aged look (darker sponging around the edges).

I randomly sponged Soft Suede onto another piece of Sahara Sand and then stamped the first part of the flower (outline - flower head only) with Soft Suede (three times).   I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the petals which were stamped in Elegant Eggplant.  I used my Stampin Write marker to draw in the stem outline and then filled it in with Certainly Celery.  I sponged the edges with Elegant Eggplant and then mounted it onto a frame of the same color (again, edges sponged with Elegant Eggplant).  Originally the image was much larger, but I cut it too close to the flower heads at the top and it just seemed like it was all stem, so I had to cut it down and then add a sentiment to balance it out.  At least I felt I was able to save all the work I had already done rather than starting over :)

I didn't have any purple ribbon, so I cut a piece of white and used my Elegant Eggplant re-inker to die the ribbon.  It was really, really messy and I'm sure my fingertips will be purple for days!!  I will definitely be buying some colored ribbon with my next order!

I mounted all the pieces as per the picture above, popping up the main image panel and sentiment with dimensionals.