Thinking of You...Be Strong!

Hello everyone!  I've been participating in Tour de Fleece since July 5, and everywhere I look it seems as though my fiber artist friends are spinning Summery "pool" colors.  As I was looking through my paper pads, my eyes were drawn to these lovely blue-greens, so I had to follow suit!  

 

This "splotchy" print looked almost like a map or globe, so I decided to stamp the Mackinac Bridge directly onto the designer paper.  I added a bit more blue and green to the stamped design in the appropriate spots, but most of the coloring was that grey-green for the bridge structure.  

I loved the way the colors of that paper were like spilled ink, so I took a piece of card stock and splashed and splattered it, then dragged it through some ink pressed onto my craft mat.  Then I added the sheet of designer paper stamped with a swan and sentiment.  (It's raining here today, so I may have to get a dry iron to completely dry and flatten the paper which was still a bit damp when this photo was taken).  

A very easy and fun card!  I hope you like it!

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Mackinac Bridge
• Craft Consortium Grunge Light 6x6
• Craft Consortium Beach Hut 6x6
• Craft Consortium Test of Time 6x6
• Seam Binding
• Kaisercraft Self-Adhesive Round Pearls - Latte
• various distress inks/oxides
• Copic markers

Sunflower Season!

 

Hello everyone!  I hope you have had a wonderful week!  It has been a busy one here since my birthday/4th of July and the start of Tour de Fleece!  

Sharon is hosting a sale of Stamp Simply's Florals through July 11th, so I thought it would be fun to feature one of those sets.  The sunflower set is one of my favorites, although I honestly love them all!  

I combined our vintage seed packet stamps/dies with the sunflower for this Summery card front.  I stamped the frame directly onto a sheet from Craft Consortium Grunge Light, bringing some of those pale pinks from the corner of the paper into my coloring.  Gradient colors get me every time!  (I might have to try my hand at dyeing some fiber or yarn to match the gradient of this paper!  It is SO pretty and so perfectly Summer!)  

It is full-on Sunflower Season in Florida right now!  Our grocery store is full of sunflower bouquets.  Giant blossoms!  

I used several distress oxide inks to splatter the entire card, hoping that it would give it a Summer-out-in-the-garden, hands-in-the-dirt kind of feel.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Sunflower Season Bundle
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Vintage Seed Packet Bundle
• Craft Consortium Grunge Light 6x6
• May Arts Baker's Twine - 110 Yard Spool - Kraft
• Ric Rac
• button from stash
• Copic markers
• white acrylic paint, distress oxide inks for spattering

For those who are curious, here's what my Tour de Fleece is looking like so far!  I've got lots of spindles, in both Turkish and supported styles, and one wheel going.  Lots of wonderful color and a couple of natural undyed fibers as well. Tour de Fleece runs simultaneously during Tour de France...spinners set challenges for themselves according to their interests and skill level, taking rest days and challenge days right along with the Tour riders.  So much fun and always full of inspiration.  

Just Popping by to say Hi!

Recently one of my besties who is visiting the Pacific Northwest sent me a photo/video of a beautiful field of poppies, and that's what inspired today's project.  I was struck by the intensity of the colors and the peacefulness of the scene, the grasses and flowers bobbing their heads in the soft breeze and glowing in the light of that "golden hour."  I really wanted to try to capture that in a clean and simple card.    

The flowers in the photo were a variety of reds, oranges, yellows, and white but I chose colors here that would harmonize with this lovely designer paper.  I love the contrast of the paler portion of the background with the brightly colored blossoms.

I kept auditioning various ribbons and laces but in the end decided to just keep things really simple.  I stamped the sentiment directly onto the designer paper background and added some spatters to kinda tie it all together, hoping to let the paper and flowers shine all on their own.

Here's the inside.  I absolutely LOVE this "Just Because" sentiment since we really don't need a reason to send a card!  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Pretty Poppies Bundle
• Craft Consortium Grunge Light 6x6
• May Arts 5/8" Twill - 30 Yard Spool - Sage
• Melissa Frances Self-Adhesive Round Pearls - Cream
• Memento ink
• Copic markers
• Distress oxides and white acrylic paint for spattering