Thursday, September 26, 2024

Thank You, With Gratitude


I had a regular dental check-up last week (yay for clean, healthy teeth!) and they gave me a bag of dental "goodies" so I immediately thought of recycling it.  If you're looking for a project that is super fast and easy, then this is IT!  


This border stamp was just perfect for this project and made a beautifully bright, colorful accent for this basic kraft paper bag.  It took just a few minutes to color with Copics.  The "with GRATITUDE" sentiment was stamped directly onto the bag, carefully aligning it to avoid the bumpy handle attachments and the bottom-of-the-bag folds so that it would stamp clearly and cleanly.  


I used a Tim Holtz tag stamped with a sentiment from the same stamp set, set atop a Spellbinder's heart die cut from Craft Consortium's Ink Drops Sunset designer paper.  I love that this die looks pretty even from the wrong side!  The kraft colored seam binding and jute thread allow the heart and the leaf border to remain the star of the show but still balance the color scheme.  

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Please say a prayer for those in the path of Hurricane Helene!  We have done as much hurricane preparation as possible as we "Plan for the worst and hope for the best!"  Now all we can do is "hurry up and wait!"  
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Thursday, September 19, 2024

Deepest Sympathy


Hi y'all!  I'm here this week with a soft, simple version of a sympathy card.  Sometimes I make sympathy cards in advance because it is emotionally a bit easier that way, but this one was made after the loss of a dear sweet friend.  She was a calm, serene, wise, lovely soul who really "walked her talk" and she is already terribly missed. Patrick and I were in Michigan/Wisconsin at the time of her passing and her services were held while we were still away.  Honestly I'm still trying to wrap my heart around the idea that she's gone...she and her family were constantly in my thoughts and prayers as I created this card.


I used a combination of green and blue-green distress oxide inks topped with Delicata copper to stamp the eucalyptus branches and then die-cut them with their coordinating dies.    


They peek through the opening made from Spellbinders classic circles cut from the card front.  I used the "positive" circle of designer paper on the card's inside so none of that lovely paper would go to waste.  


Then when the card is opened, the "forever in our hearts" sentiment is revealed.  The heart was die-cut from another beautiful sheet from the same designer paper pad.  I love these papers so much!  This particular color combo especially!  If I had had some ice blue or aqua rhinestones or bliss pearls, I certainly would have used them!  I need to re-stock my sparkly things!       

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Love and miss you, dear Miss Anne!  
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Thursday, September 12, 2024

Boho Fall Gatefold Card


Hello friends!  It has thankfully been a little cooler the last several days, and Fall is officially just around the corner; the date for Autumn Equinox is September 22nd.  These lovely Fall colors have been calling to me and making their appearance not just in card-making but in some of my other crafting as well!  

In this project, the Beach Hut "barn wood" print had just a hint of peachy tones which harmonized really well with one of the papers in Grunge Light.  


This is a gatefold card, using a standard 5.5 x 8.5 inch piece of card stock, with score lines 2 1/8 inches from each end.  The belly band is about 2 inches wide and is scored with about 1/8 of an inch of depth on the sides to allow the band to be more easily removed.  (Remember to adhere your focal image only to the belly band and to avoid adding embellishments to the card base that would interfere with its sliding!)

I don't normally use kraft paper for coloring with Copic markers but decided to try it for a more muted, nearly monochromatic look for today's project.  I painted over the Copics with diluted Delicata copper ink but since it's been rainy and overcast here I couldn't really get the sparkle to show in my photos.  I also splashed and splattered diluted ink to the card front and inside, so IRL it is quite lustrous!  The addition of a double-ribbon bow brings a bright pop of color!    


Here's what the inside looks like with the belly band removed.  Simple and easy.   

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See what I mean?!  These colors!  ❤️   This is fiber I purchased in 2022 and have revisited each year during September/October.  Maybe this year will be the one where it is finally finished!  It's a wool-free blend of black baby llama, mulberry silk, bamboo and bio-nylon so whatever it becomes will be really soft and warm.  It really wants to spin thin so I should end up with some decent yardage.  

Thanks for visiting!  Have a great week!


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Thursday, September 5, 2024

Cool & Crisp Fall


Hello again friends!  It's one of those high white hazy days in Florida, threatening rain but thankfully a little cooler than it has been recently, and I'm still dreaming of Fall!  

I had made this center-step-fold card base a while back, so when I sat down to stamp this week's project I had a little bit of a head start.  I thought the images and sentiments from our new Fall sets would work well with this layout, so I pulled out an Autumn paper pad and got to work.  


I love the way the gingham and striped papers accentuate the folds of the card.  The color palette from the papers set the stage for the Copic marker colors used for the focal image as well.  


Delicata ink splashes and sparkly accents were applied with diluted ink and a skinny paintbrush.  I wish you could see how pretty it is IRL; unfortunately it is so hard to capture with a camera. And a confession:  that green pearl is there because my ink pads are getting rather old and I ended up with a "canvas ink blob" that begged to be covered up!    


The plaid paper and this leaf from one of our older stamp sets help to bring the color palette from the front to the inside of the card.  It fits nicely in that little niche at the top of the card and draws attention to those little details.  

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Thursday, August 29, 2024

Transformation!


Hi y'all!  It is hotter than heck here in Florida this week...maybe I am just noticing it more after spending several weeks in the U.P.!

Our flight home was delayed so we didn't get in until around 2 in the wee hours on Thursday morning.  I'm not so good with lack of sleep and big schedule changes like that!       


It has taken me all week to try to get back into the groove, so for my card this week, I needed something relatively quick and easy!  I opted for a nearly no coloring card (the acorns do have a tiny bit of Copic marker shading) made with colorful designer paper that represents the changing colors of Fall.

Those die-cut colorful leaves are mounted on dimensional adhesive atop a layer of soft gold from our brand new Stamp Simply COFFEE designer paper!    


I thought this passage at the top of the card's inside was the perfect choice to echo the idea of transformation but on a personal level from a Christian perspective.  

Another quote that ran through my head was "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow!"  Even nature and the seasons follow the pattern of fading away, death, resurrection and renewal which should always remind us to have hope and to expect miracles!  

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Thursday, August 22, 2024

UP Love


Hi y'all!  If you've been here for very long you probably know that I married a Yooper!  His hometown and mine (Westlake, LA) are just about as far apart north-to-south in the central part of the US as you can get!    


Here's the definition of Yooper and yes, it was indeed Patrick's nickname all through his career in the USN.  

For some reason, this designer paper made me think of the Upper Peninsula.  The colors are reminiscent of blue skies and that rusty iron/copper color that is so often seen in the water and rocks up there, so maybe that's why!


Patrick has an orange cap that has this map shape embroidered on it.  People always do a double take, expecting it to refer to Florida or Tennessee football.  Only a handful of people have recognized it as the outline of Michigan's U.P.  


The U.P. is also referred to as the 906 because that's their area code, so I had to stamp a 906 and some Yooper Love on the inside!

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Thursday, August 15, 2024

Christmas Joy


Hello again!  Last week I shared a card using our new vintage Christmas background and images.  Today's card uses the image set alone with a very different color palette.  Still traditional, but much brighter and maybe even bordering on "Grinchy" but I love this palette, even with a vintage image!


Here's a closer look at the sentiment on the left side of this Joy fold card.  


And here is a peek at the inside, with a die-cut holly branch from Tim Holtz's Holiday Greens mini.  Coordinates so very well!  

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Thursday, August 8, 2024

Old Fashioned Christmas!


Hello friends!  My project for this week is an old-fashioned Christmas card using some brand new sets from Stamp Simply!  And yes!  It's getting to be about that time!  Time to start thinking about making all the hand-made things for Christmas!  Really, it is never too early!


These images remind me of the Christmases of my childhood and make me feel so warm and fuzzy inside!  I just love them!  


I absolutely ADORE this image of a pair of Christmas ice skates!  I actually bought a pair of children's sized ice skates at a craft fair a couple of years ago to display under our Christmas tree!  


The classic colors, plaid paper and all of the distress inking really give this an old-fashioned feel!  So much fun!

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Thursday, August 1, 2024

More New Stamps!


Hi everyone!  How's it goin'?!  We're melting down here!  ;)  Last week the heat index was around 109!  I am so ready for Fall, and Stamp Simply's new Boho Fall stamp sets are really accentuating the longing!  


I figured that most of my team mates would use Fall colors, but here in Florida when y'all have Fall colors we still have green leaves, so there ya go!  We do have a few trees that will turn bright colors but usually that is later in the year, closer to Christmas or even after the New Year.

The background for these beautiful leaves was made with a Tim Holtz woodgrain stencil, kraft paper and distress inks.  With these muted colors, this card feels so peaceful and serene!    


Here's the inside.  Really clean and simple, just a stamped sentiment with some distressing and spattering.

  

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Thursday, July 25, 2024

Hey Pumpkin!

I'm back this week with a tall card using a set from our new Boho Fall release.  I used printed papers from a couple of pads to construct a barn-yard scene with weathered wood and a rusty tin roof as a background for some lovely pumpkins.  


Coloring these is so easy and fun!  Two or three Copic colors for high-and-low-lights and they look nice and plump and round!  You don't really even have to blend the colors very much if you don't want to.  

I used a Tim Holtz woodgrain stencil to give a little texture to the fishtail banner signs, and even stamped some wee ants on the garden dirt!


And here's the inside, a CAS spattered background with a stamped sentiment.  


I know you'll love these beautiful sets and the way they work so well together!  Be sure to visit the Stamp Simply blog to see more ideas for using them from my design team mates!  

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