Thursday, May 25, 2023

Coming and Going!


There's a whole lot of coming and going in a military family!  Over the years we spent a LOT of time apart and wrote lots of letters (and sent micro-cassettes too!) in those days before email was available for deployed sailors.  Those bon voyages and homecomings were so emotional!  Military families make huge sacrifices to support our freedom, and we are so very thankful for them.    

My card for today is a patriotic card that commemorates all those emotional comings and goings, inspired by a quilt design (flying geese), made flat for mailing via FPO/Fleet Post Office.  With a vivid imagination those triangles could even make one think of a stealth bomber !  :wink:

This scripture is absolutely perfect for someone about to leave for deployment.  It is part of a beautiful Stamp Simply set, A Man of Knowledge, which includes other scriptures, happy birthday, Father's Day and congratulations sentiments. 

 
The passage inside is from one of our new patriotic stamp sets, American Eagle.  

Here in the United States of America, Memorial Day will be observed this coming Monday.  It honors those who have paid the ultimate price, who left and never came home again.  My husband lost several squadron mates over the course of his career, and our hearts are always with their families.  I hope as you unofficially welcome Summer this weekend, you will take the time to honor these military heroes.  God bless, and God bless America!
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Thursday, May 18, 2023

Sing to Him a New Song!


The colors of this beautiful Ink Drops designer paper inspired a card celebrating God's steadfast love in the midst of the changing seasons.  


That lovely designer paper has cool colors on one side and warm colors on the other.  I used Copic markers in greens, teals, yellows, oranges, and pinks randomly to color the leaves, bringing the colors from the one side of the paper to the other and tying the design together.


Speaking of changes, that little pop of red from the cardinal really changes the personality of this card!  He adds a hopeful, happy note.  Here is what it looks like when he's not there!  Even though the colors from the inside of the card still sing, the atmosphere seems much calmer and more serene without that bright red focal point.
  

This is what the inside looks like once the belly band is removed and the card is opened.  I was going for that "new every morning" feeling and I love the way it turned out using distress oxides/inks with a little Delicata splash and sparkle.  

We've had the landscapers at our house removing some old, tired plants and replacing them with fresh new healthy ones.  Then we had what we thought was a hot water heater problem that ended up being an under-slab leak so the plumber had to cut into our wood floor for access to the repair...so the floor is going to be replaced/repaired too!  Our home was built in 1989/90 and so I suppose it is time for all these things to need replacing or updating.  We did some remodeling during Pandemic too, but the list just goes on and on (and not necessarily on our chosen timing!).   I don't know about you but this kind of stuff sorta stresses me out!  Hence the "note to self" to sing that new song, to remember that it will all work out in the long run!  All things work together for good...(Romans 8:28).  

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Thursday, May 11, 2023

Stars and Stripes Easel Card

Hello again everyone!  I'm here today with a special version of an easel card inspired by one made by Frances Byrne.  (The tutorial that she links to in her blog post is no longer available, but this card's construction was not hard to figure out, so here's my version!)

The dangling star ornament was made by stamping and die-cutting several stars (I used 5 but 3 or 4 would probably have worked just fine!) from our new American Eagle bundle, scoring each star vertically from top to bottom and glueing them one half to another. Remember to add a strand of cording or monofilament for hanging your ornament to the center before glueing the final two sides together!


The card base is a vertical half sheet of card stock, 4.25 inches wide x 11 inches long, scored it at 2.75 and 5.5 inches.  I used a circle die to cut a circle opening through the fold...it helps with alignment if you first cut a circle of copy paper for a template and fold it in half to align it where you want it to be, matching the horizontal fold lines of the card and template. 


For the "frame" I aligned two circle dies, one inside the other, on a sheet of gold pearlescent card stock.  Repeat the process, then center the star inside the circle and position the cording taut before adhering the two frames together.  Finally, glue ONLY THE BOTTOM HALF of the frame to the circular opening of the card so that the top of the circle is free to swing away from the base when the easel is propped open.


Decorate the inside as you wish, with elements to peek through the opening (or to remain hidden) when the card is closed.  Some strategically placed embellishments will help to keep the easel in position for display.  

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Thursday, May 4, 2023

American Patriotism


I really LOVE Stamp Simply's new American Eagle stamp and was inspired to make another very CAS patriotic card using our new sets.  This project is straightforward and no-frills for masculine appeal (although I think the ladies might like it too), and since it has no bows or rhinestones it's flat and therefore suitable for mailing without requiring extra postage for hand canceling.    


I used small and large circle dies to cut a peek-through window through the card front and the striped designer paper so that the starry background could peek through.  If you look closely you'll notice that I used a metallic gel pen around the edges of the papers to add just a touch of sparkle.  The eagle is attached to the front of the card only by the very tips of its wings.  It was stamped with Memento ink, colored with Copic markers, and then backed with another die cut from designer paper so that it would look nice from the back side when the card is opened.

The small numbers above the eagle are from Tim Holtz's Collector's die set.    
 

I also used the metallic gel pen to go around the edges of the fishtail banner, and to add a "drop shadow" effect to the stamped sentiment.  Just that little bit of extra attention to detail really elevates the look of such a minimalist card.  


Once the card is opened, the gold pearlescent stars inside become visible.  (You can see that peek of designer paper that backs the eagle from this angle.)

I graduated from high school in 1976 which was the bicentennial of our nation's independence.  Maybe that is another reason that I love making patriotic cards so much! 

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