Another trip around the sun

I couldn’t resist making another of those cards. I found this cloud paper in my stash and had to cut it up. The clouds are all glittery :-) The oval is made with a Nestability and I distressed the edges, then sponged it with Memento Cantaloupe ink.

The grass is cut with decorative scissors for the uneven grass effect then I cut it with Martha Stewart shredding scissors to make blades of grass. The edges are sponged with Memento Bamboo Leaves ink for a little added dimension.

I cranked up my Silhouette and cut out bunches of suns in different sizes and with a couple of different yellow papers. This paper is my favorite – Bazzill Fiesta, Washboard Texture. You can see the glittery clouds a little better in this photo, too.

Here is the inside. Nestability die again, sponged with Bamboo Leaves and the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

I will probably be making more of these in the near future. At least until I get into the Autumn colors groove. I like the sentiment on the front of the card but I’m not all that crazy about the font. So…..I had a small brainstorm last night and created several more with different fonts….on my computer! Duh!

I hope you enjoyed seeing my latest creation and now I have to go watch the season finale of Warehouse 13.

Is this week over yet?

Without boring you with the details, let me just state for the record that this week, so far, sucks. A lot. And it’s only Wednesday. The one bright spot was a lovely birthday gift from my friend Marsha. An adorable pair of earrings by a local artist in the mountains. Thank you, Marsha, I love them! No photo, sorry. I’m a slacker.

But I do have a card or two to show you. This is the one I gave Marsha for her birthday this week:

Once more, I should have considered the background in the photo. Sigh. The image is a Bella stamp (Stella’s Cupcakes), one of only four that I have in my possession. The Bella stamps are pricey, and especially for bare, unmounted-to-anything-at-all rubber. This girl was too cute to pass up, though.

Another card I sent to my daughter:

Yep, another Bella. Bitty Bloom is her name, I believe. Can you tell I am on a layering squares with punched corners binge? It’s just too much fun! And so very easy. Squares in increments of 1/4”. The largest is 3-1/2”, the second is 3-1/4”, and the top is 3”. I added two layers of a Nestabilities die, some pearls and a little ribbon on top of some of that glittery Best Creations paper. Voila. I padded it within an inch of its life to go through the mail. It made it there intact, I’m proud to say, and she was a happy girl when she opened it.

Here is the beautiful girl herself. This was taken a few weeks ago when she was here for a visit. She lives in Asheville, for now. The plan is for her to move in with us for a while, go back to school, get a better job, etc. I will be glad when she is over here – I miss her a lot! We always have such a good time together. She’s a sweetie!

I think I will go drown my sorrows in some coffee, watch some mindless TV and go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow is another day – hopefully a better one as well. I did get a good haircut today so I am grateful for that.

Nighty night, people.

Under pressure

So, last night – at 11:15pm, mind you – DH says to me, “R is having a birthday tomorrow, do you have a birthday card I can give him?”. Seriously? Does he like flowers? No? Are you sure? Men!!

The search for some “manly” patterned paper begins. I start in the Blue/Purple drawer, pass over the purple and hope I have some blue which is suitable. You know, no blue butterflies or swirly things, just a blue plaid or even stripes. No luck. I moved on to the Yellow/Orange/Brown drawer. Jackpot! A piece which is mostly brown with some blue and white lines on it. I knew I kept that paper for a reason. I think I’ve had it for several years.

I set to work creating my next masterpiece. I found a sentiment which wasn’t too sappy (Penny Black), stamped it half a dozen times (after stamping several others as many times) and die cut it with 5 or 6 different shapes. Meh. Scrap the cool shapes, they aren’t working. Several pieces of card stock later I decided on rectangles.

Before I make a short story any longer, here is the result, of which I am quite proud, by the way. Apparently I work well under pressure.

The patterned paper was brown with white and blue, I added the yellow over some of the white with a Copic marker because I needed a spot of yellow to go with the ribbon and the sun. The cloud is a Papertrey die, the sun is a Carla Craft punch. I’d love to find a larger sun punch.

No bows, just grosgrain ribbon. A manly, masculine ribbon, not foofy and girly at all. No bling, no Stickles, not a brad in sight, yet I am happy with the result. I probably should have photographed it on something other than the blue paper I used on the card. Too late. By then it was 2:30am and I was just plain done. I’m happy that I remembered  to take a photo of it at all.

Not bad for a last minute scramble, huh? I should make some more to have on hand so next time I don’t have to scramble.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. We finally got a little rain here today and are hoping for some more tonight. Is it Fall yet???

I’m back already

Back with another couple of cards to show you. These will be going to the shop in Mooresville to be submitted for their approval.

No butterflies this time, only flowers.

Sentiment from Papertrey, glittery paper by Best Creations from Stamper’s Alley. Martha Stewart border punch and some silk flowers complete the ensemble.

Hero Arts stamps – Wildflower Garden (I think), and Large Canvas Stripes Design Block. The flowers were inked up with Wild Honey and Worn Lipstick Distress inks and stamped on watercolor paper. Nestabilities Labels die (dunno which number).

Each time I photograph a card I intend to do an artsy shot, with brads, ribbons, or something artsy in the photo to add a little interest. Then I get lazy and just shoot the thing. Maybe I will surprise myself one day – and you, as well – and do something cool like I’ve seen on other blogs. Something to strive for, I suppose.

Rumors of my demise are highly exaggerated

I’m still alive and kickin’. I’ve just been busy, and sometimes lazy. I’ve been preparing for a few classes up at Stamper’s Alley, one of which I taught this evening. There were nine wonderful ladies in class, we made 6 Halloween cards using Great Impression stamps and we all had a great time. Thank you, ladies!

I have been doing a little card making lately, though. A shop in Downtown Mooresville has expressed an interest in carrying a few of my cards, so I’ve been trying to come up with some designs for them.

The request was cards with flowers, butterflies, or angels. I don’t have any angel stamps so I settled on flowers and butterflies and this is what I’ve come up with so far.

This card didn’t photograph very well. The colors go together much better IRL (in real life). I stamped the polka dots on white card stock and used a Papertrey die to cut the flowers. The sentiment and leaf stamps and die cuts are also from Papertrey.

The butterfly on this one is from Inkadinkado, colored with Copics, and the sentiment is, again, from Papertrey.

I’ll be back soon with some more, I promise! Thanks for hanging in there with me.