Matryoshka (say what?) and a Challenge!

Hello my friends! Have you missed me? I was down with a bit of a stomach bug for a few days, which wiped me out. I might have lost a few pounds, though, which is good. TMI, I'm sure!

Anyway, when I finally felt up to stamping, my mojo apparently had a bug as well... or should I say, had bugged out...and I was stumped, pure and simple. I even printed off several challenges, but nothing was coming to me. Then I came across this little stamp set I recently bought for about $2... it's by Basic Grey.

I've always been fascinated with nesting dolls. I was thinking they were called Babushkas for some reason. So I Googled and found out that, yes, some are called Babushka, but that describes a type of these dolls, which are really called "matryoshka." If you want to know more, I found this site with a History of Russion Nesting Dolls.

This card is very simple (which is just what I needed to get my mojo started). The images paired perfectly (I think) with this paper by October Afternoon. I was rooting around for a sentiment to stamp in the upper right, when I stumbled across this clear medallion which... although perhaps impossible to see in the photo... actually contains a floral image much like that in the paper. It was self-adhesive, so I punched out a bit of the patterned paper and mounted the medallion on top, then punched a red circle mat and made my embellishment. I wish the pattern lined up a bit better, but by the time I thought of that, the stick was already stuck. The finishing touch was a bit of this vintage lace from Taylored Expressions. Oh, and the ink is Pure Poppy by Papertrey Ink.

Very simple, but I love it!

Now for the challenge part. When I found the medallion I used in my card, it was in a cup of misc items that I had tossed aside to use one day on a card. It sat there for months... so long, I've forgotten where I got it in the first place. So, here's the deal. I'm going to call this "Challenge for a Sunday Afternoon." To play along, make a card and incorporate something laying around your work station or that you've been saving aside for a looooong time to use someday. Someday is now! All who enter the challenge will be eligible to win this cute stamp from LeLo Design by Stampavie. It is a brand new stamp in the original package, but I tried to take a picture close up and without too much glare.

Here's the deal, you can combine this with any other challenge you might be working on this week. I know there are so many challenges, and so little time, so this is meant to be fun and to stimulate your creativity. Be sure to mention in your blog post or online gallery the item(s) that you FINALLY used on your card. The deadline is Saturday, July 25th at 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time. And, yes, my friends from Australia, Canada and the UK are all welcome to participate!

I'm trying Mr. Linky in hopes it will make it easier to post your card. Also, if you post at SCS, please use the key word CFASA1. If this works out, I'll keep hosting a challenge each Sunday. I've got lots of stash to give as prizes!



I hope you're having a wonderful weekend. I'll be back soon with more to share!