Hello everyone! Today, I am here with the first of this months wonderful Waffle Flower Crafts Challenges. When I first see a challenge inspiration photo, I am usually drawn to one of two things: the color scheme or the content (especially the feel and mood of the photo). For this challenge I chose to work with the colors of the inspiration photo.

     I love the dark navy, blue-grey, red, and deep chocolate color combination. I also noticed that the metallic accent lines in the background gave the whole photo a "finished" feel. So, I included gold in my card's color scheme as well. I thoroughly enjoyed making this card and feel I came pretty close to honoring the colors in the inspiration photo.

     The bear is a little less blue-grey than I had hoped for, but I am pleased with the results. I also used a new (to me) technique which uses complimentary die-cuts to hold the card closed. The dark navy "flower" die-cut is attached to one side of the card, while the white circle with the bear is adhered to the other side. I love trying out new card folds and closures, and this is one variation I will employ again on future cards.

     I hope you like the card, and my take on the WF Challenge inspiration photo. I can't wait to see what my fellow Challenge DT members come up with. If you would like to take a look too, here are the links to their blogs:

 Kymona Tracey

Shelly Kurth

Tenia Nelson

     Well, that is it for today's card. Be sure to check back on the 26th to see the second card for January. It will be based on a different inspiration photo, and I can't wait to show you what I have come up with!

WAFFLE FLOWER CRAFTS STAMPS AND DIES USED: Flower Circle die set, Tribal Thank You stamp set. These items and more can be found here.

p.s. ***COMING SOON*** Stayed tuned for the only "non" crafts related post I do all year....IMATS LA (Los Angeles)!!! For those of you who don't know what IMATS is, it is the International Make-Up Artists Trade Show. I go every year and love it! This year it is on January 16th-18th and will be held at the Pasadena Convention Center (as usual). Even though my blog focuses on card making, rubber stamping, and altered arts, I have had a good response in the past when I posted a short description of my time at IMATS and some photos. It is the only off topic post I do all year and I hope you will find it as interesting as I do. After all, make-up is an art form too, right?

Huggies to all of you---Jennifer.