Haute Couture

The theme this month at the Gingersnap Creations Blog & Chestnut Challenge is Haute Couture, which is defined literally as high sewing, and more encompassing as trend setting fashion. We're inviting you to bring your fashion sense to paper crafting and show off your best designer art.

For me, fashion trends have always meant … shoes. I don't remember exactly when my love affair with shoes began … maybe it was that very first pair of saddle shoes … or in fifth grade when my feet were the same size as my Gran's and I was able to wear her "grown-up" shoes … or when I scored a pair of Bass Deck Shoes at the shoe warehouse for a steel … or those awesome fuchsia suede slouch boots that got me through the 80s … I think you get the picture.

When I have a memory, I can usually tell you what shoes I was wearing on that day. I had a pair of white summer loafers I loved so much, that when the heel fell off, I had my dad take the heel off the other shoe, and continued to wear them as flats. When people ask me how many pairs of shoes I own, I honestly don't know the answer (because I store my shoes by season, so they're never all out at the same time). After a foot injury several years ago, I moved to mostly clogs, which I was afraid would diminish my shoes love … but all it has done is heighten the challenge of finding shoes that are both comfortable and stylish. One thing I know for sure, is that each morning, when I decide what shoes I'm going to wear (often before I decide the clothes I'm going to wear), it puts a smile on my face.

These are my newest purchase from our trip to Chicago … red marbled patent Danskos. They make me feel like if I just click my heals together, I'll be transported home.

So needless to say, after all that shoe rambling, my card for today's challenge features shoes. Now that I think about it, I believe shoe stamps from Hero Arts were some of the very first stamps I ever purchased. This shoe image is called Fashionable Shoes ATC from Prickley Pear and the tiny Chic sentiment was trimmed from an Inkadinkado Girl Stuff Inchie.

Papers & heart embellishment sticker are from Sassafras Mix and Mend. The layout is actually a scrapbook sketch from The Studio Challenge (I love modifying them to work on cards).