Red, White & Blue

For some reason, I'm always late getting my 4th of July cards made.  Fortunately, mail gets to my sis in about 3 days.  Just got this finished in time for ODBD challenge HERE to use 3 stamps on the front of your card.  I actually used 4.  The background is the wonderful ODBD Old Flag stamp.  I embossed in white & then sponged on Distress Inks faded jeans & fired brick.  The eagle is an unmounted stamp I've had for years & I have no idea who made it.  It's also white embossed & then cut out with Spellbinders Curved Rectangle.  I embossed the edge & then attached it to another piece of the navy paper, cut it out & mounted it with foam tape.  The sentiment is by the Oregon Company Peddler's Pack & the star is from Ann-ticipations.  I pierced the navy mat & mounted it to the card front with foam tape.

Mt Jefferson from Detroit Lake

Yesterday at the lake was fabulous--blue skies & sunshine--I always feel like I'm a million miles away (really just over an hour from reality--LOL).  Thought you might enjoy a few pictures.
Hope you've had a good week.  Thanks for coming by.

Hubby in his element!

Relaxing on my day off         

Big, Bright & Beautiful!

Is it summer yet where you live?  In Oregon we always say if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes.  Today we've had gray skies, rain, clouds & now sun.  The flowers are in full bloom & that's what I chose to use for my summer card to enter the Stampendous! June challenge HERE.  This is from the Tropical Garden set.  I white embossed it, distressed with peacock feathers, shaded lilac & squeezed lemonade & then spritzed (got a little heavy handed--LOL!) with Shimmer Spritz frost.  I added Stickles to the stamen & then cut the image into 4 squares when it was dry & mounted them with foam tape.  The fancy corners are Spellbinders Parisian Motifs die cut from white shimmer cardstock.  Hopefully the sun will last, since I'm off tomorrow & we're heading for the lake.  Thanks for coming by--I appreciate all of you.

Monogram Note Card

Have you seen the new Flourishes set Letters in Blossom HERE?  It's on the top of my wishlist as I've always loved fancy letters.  The one I used here is an old one from a company that went out of business.  I stamped it with Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate & then clear embossed it.  The flowers are colored with Memento Markers & a dot of Stickles is added to each center.  The leaves from Flourishes Magnolias set is stamped with the chocolate ink on the white circle.  The circles are Nesties & are attached with foam tape to the panel embossed with my new folder by Cuttlebug, which I love!  This is my entry for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge HERE.  Hope you've had a nice weekend & are ready for whatever the new week brings.  Thanks for visiting--I always appreciate hearing from you.  

Classy Colors

I don't use a lot of yellow, but there are situations where I love it.  The current DeNami color challenge HERE is an example--black, yellow, white & charcoal.  Those of you who know me aren't surprised I chose to make a card in the elegant/classy category--my favorite.  The stamps are both by DeNami.  I made the background by stamping the image in Memento Gray Flannel on white cs & then sponged it with the same ink.  I used a Making Memories distress tool for the edges of both panels.  I love using my Sew Easy mat with the Tim Holtz Design Ruler & a push pin to make evenly spaced holes.  This is my first time to use the variegated floss for a little different effect.  Another first is to sponge the ink on the diecut while the die is in place--been wanting to do that & it was just what I needed here.  I used a gray COPIC to make the dots on the sentiment piece & a yellow COPIC to make my white pearls match the satin ribbon.  The stitched panels & the sentiment are popped up.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend & thanks for coming by my blog.

Flowers

My first week off orientation & I volunteered to work an extra day--don't know what I was thinking--LOL!  So stressful without someone right there to answer questions, but I know I have to do it.  Co-workers have been supportive & helpful by phone.  I have tomorrow off & it's supposed to be sunny, so we're spending the day at the lake--always so relaxing.
I was able to finish up my card for this week's ODBD Shining The Light Challenge HERE to make a summer themed creation.  Flowers are a big part of summer so I used ODBD Don't Worry set.  The flower is stamped in Distress Inks worn lipstick, peacock feathers & shaded lilac.  The stamp is spritzed & stamped on watercolor paper first & second generation.  The embossed bg is by Darice.  The panels are all mounted with foam tape.  The sentiment is stamped in Memento Gray Flannel & the piece is attached so that the center is slightly raised.  Thank you for stopping by.  Wishing you a great week.

Remembering Dad

2009 was the last Father's Day I had with my dad.  Hubby snapped this shot in our driveway after church just as it started to sprinkle.  Turned out to be a picture I treasure.  I was blessed to have an incredible father who I always loved, but came to really appreciate as an adult.  He was 75 years old when he cared for my terminally ill mom at home--never complained & did a wonderful job.  His career in radio put him in the public eye & I honestly never heard anyone say something negative about him--even those who didn't share his strong Christian faith.  That is probably because he always saw something good about the person & treated them with respect.  I miss just hearing his voice & knowing that no matter how I was feeling when I stepped in the door his face would brighten, there'd be a big smile & he'd tell me how great I looked & how glad he was to see me--even when I'd just been there the day before.  Thanks for listening. 

I was thinking of my dad as I made this card for Flourishes TT Challenge HERE.  He loved red & roses, especially red ones.  I used Flourishes Medallion stamped in Memento Peanut Brittle to make a background on Core'dinations Krafty cardstock.  Then I used Spellbinders Curved Rectangles (I bought them to use for masculine cards) to cut out the section I wanted.  I sponged the edge with Peanut Brittle & Love Letter.  The card is made from the same Nestie.  I stamped just the tip of the Medallion stamp around the edges in Love Letter.  I had never opened my Thickers stickers--perfect for this card.  I just colored them with a COPICS, tied on twine sponged in Peanut Brittle & added 3 little red roses.  Hope you're having a lovely Father's Day if you're in the US.  I always appreciate that you visit my blog & leave me a comment.   

Life

I didn't know I needed a sympathy card when I made the one on Tuesday, but yesterday I found out my friend's husband died over the weekend.  He had developed a serious heart problem over the last few months & was recently put on the heart transplant list.  Like so many, he didn't live long enough to get a heart.  He was my age & very active enjoying his first grandchild & now he's gone.  Makes you realize again how precious & fragile life is & what really matters.

My card is for the Flourishes pop-up challenge HERE.  I love this color combo & I've been wanting to use the Spellbinder lacy square or circle where the design goes to the edge, not just before the lace begins.  All the images are from Flourishes Butterflies & Blossoms  set.  The sentiment is die cut with a Spellbinder oval & the bottom edge is trimmed flat.  The little butterfly is stamped & colored with Memento markers twice & the second wing is attached at a slight angle & curved up.  Both the floral image & the sentiment are popped up.  I appreciate you coming by.  I know it takes time & you have lots of choices, so thank you all.

Gimme Ten!

Flourishes is about to reveal a new release--yah!  Here's my card for the challenge  to make a card in about 10 minutes HERE.  I try for simple but classy & appropriate for both men & women when I make sympathy cards.  This Flourishes Thinking of You set is perfect for that (& for any elegant card).  I heat embossed the tree in green, cut it out with Spellbinders Labels 13 & then embossed the edge to match.  The panel is debossed with Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl & vintage cream twill is wrapped around & tied in a knot.  The tree is attached with foam tape.  The sentiment is also green embossed & 3 pearls are added.  This design works for many occasions using various images, colors & sentiments.
I had yesterday off & the boat just needed a slight adjustment, so we were able to get it to the lake & moored.  Now we're ready for summer!  Of course, this is Oregon, so today it was back to rain.  Not to worry, the sun will be out tomorrow. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else!  Hope you have a great week & thanks so much for stopping by.

Best laid plans...

(Click HERE if you're looking for my DeNami Blog Hop Post.)

We were set to put our boat in the lake & leave it at the marina for the season.  Unfortunately, it wouldn't start.  However, we've both matured enough (I know--you'd hope so by the time you're in your 60s-LOL!) that we were able to look at some positives:  the boat was still on the trailer, it was a gorgeous day for a drive, we're both healthy & the puppy dogs were so glad we got home early!  It also meant I had time to do a sketch & make a second card based on the PTI MIM Challenge.

Immediately knew I wanted to use Rosie Posie with my new matching dies for this sketch.  The inks are Encore! Ultimate Metallics, the embossing folder is Cuttlebug (hard to see in the picture), Congratulations is Hampton Art & the other sentiment is from PTI Year of Flowers Collection.  The largest bloom is popped up.

I've had in mind to make a card based on my new potholder for months, but never got around to it.   This was really fun.  I used my neglected brayer to ink the Sizzix embossed piece & the small strip of tan paper with Encore! Ultimate Metallic Champagne.  PTI Harvest Berries (so glad I got that matching die, too!) is stamped in Distress Ink peeled paint & the 2 images are layered & mounted with foam tape.  The sentiment panel is also the tan cardstock with Hero Arts Flourish Background stamped in Brilliance Moonlight White & then the champagne ink is stamped on top using a Magenta splatter stamp I've had for years.  The sentiment is from Harvest Berries--I just inked the top half to fit in my space.  Better keep my day job, but I'm going to work on doing some more sketches.  Hope you had a lovely weekend & thanks for coming by.

DeNami Cards for Guys Blog Hop

If you're visiting me on the DeNami Cards for Guys Blog Hop, you're right on track having arrived from Tenia's jazzy blog HERE.  If you're lost, just head to the DeNami blog for a complete listing HERE.  My brother-in-law has a summer birthday & he loves to go out in the woods camping or panning for gold, so I used one of my all-time favorite stamps--this DeNami branch.  I stamped it multiple times with peeled paint Distress Ink, often not re-inking.  The DeNami pine cone is then stamped on the panel with gathered twigs Distress Ink.  I also stamped it on a scrap of kraft cardstock, colored it with a Memento Desert Sand marker, cut it out & mounted it with foam tape.  I added some Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles which gives the effect of glistening rain--common here in Oregon!  I distressed the edges with my fingernail & inked them with shabby shutters Distress Ink.  The card front has the dots from the new DeNami Retro Borders 1 set stamped in walnut stain Distress Ink for a little texture.  The focal piece is mounted with foam tape.  I love the font of this DeNami greeting stamp which finishes off the card along with some twine & a couple little brown buttons.
 
Time to hop over to Annette's for more inspiration HERE.  Don't forget, two gift certificates will be awarded to people who comment along the hop--good luck!

White, White, White!

Loved the chance to make a white card for the Flourishes TT Challenge HERE.  The only other requirement was to use lace or pearls--both I love, so of course I used both!  The sample card included gray, which I thought my card needed, too.  I embossed in white the lovely flower from the Magnolias set.  It's die cut using Spellbinders Labels 4.  The branches are a Sizzix die & the embossing folder is by Sizzix for SU.  The sentiment from the same stamp set is die cut with Spellbinders oval.  Memento Gray Flannel is sponged on the flower & is used for the sentiment.  Shimmer Spritz frost is painted on the leaves & the Magnolia--love that shimmer!  The doily was a gift from my friend Nat & was just what I needed for this card.  I had fun making the row of pearls in a pattern with 2 different sizes.  The flower & sentiment are attached with foam tape.  Took me awhile to figure out that it was OK to let the sentiment cover part of the flower--funny how the light suddenly goes on sometimes--LOL!  This may be the most layers I've put on a card--I found it much easier using all white.  (Surprised you, Sue, didn't I?!)  Thanks so much for visiting my blog & letting me know what you think.  Enjoy the rest of your w/e & stop by tomorrow for the DeNami Blog Hop if you have a chance.

Addendum:  Recently found the Make It Monday blog through Meihsia's blog (she's a DT member).  This is not a challenge blog, more a friendly place to share your creations and find some inspiration.  Being a pretty new blogger, decided this was the perfect blog for me.  I'm going to link this post next week.  You might want to check it out.

Fancy Frame

I combined 2 challenges with this card: ODBDSLC color challenge using pink, black & white HERE  &  OCC challenge to make an embellished frame the focus of the card HERE.  Both of these appealed to me right away, but it took awhile to get the ideas in my head onto paper.  I decided to try another card leaning towards Shabby Chic, so all the edges are sponged & I did some stitching with my Sew Easy.  Should have more layers for that genre, but I couldn't find anything else I wanted to add.  Probably this is just in the elegant category.  Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed putting it together.  The frame is Sizzix which is black embossed with ODBD Vintage Border Background.  I added the Spellbinders Parisian Motifs to 2 corners. The smallest blossom in the ODBD Sweet William-Small set was black embossed on 3 shades of pink textured cs, cut out, edges inked & black pearls attached.  2 of the blossoms are mounted with foam tape.  The frame is also mounted with foam tape to the quote from ODBD Little Things set that is stamped on white cs in black VersaFine & then sponged all over with Brilliance Moonlight White--not that you can tell from the photo.  The medium blossom is stamped second generation onto BoBunny Tutu Dot solid side using VersaMagic Pink Petunia--may be my favorite pink ink.  2 rows of pink floss stitching, a pink bow, tiny black pearls on the fancy corners & pink Rain Dots finish off the card.  I'd love to hear what you think & I welcome your suggestions.

I love watching the birds at my feeders & this year a couple Black-headed Grosbeaks have been here.  The male flew away before I could get a picture & this is through a window, so not great.  I think they're so gorgeous!  Hope you're having a great week.  By the way, I'd love for you to stop by on Sunday for the DeNami Cards for Guys Blog Hop.

Pocket Card

I've never made a pocket card, but I enjoyed Heather's video HERE & decided to give it a try.  My latest PTI order included Trendy Tree Tops stamp set & dies & I couldn't wait to use them.  The trunk is cut from K&Co Sheer Simplicity Neutral paper pad & is mounted with foam tape.  The "grass" is a strip of Doodlebug Design grasshopper daisy stripe pp with the edge distressed & inked with Brilliance Pearlescent Thyme.





The same ink is used to stamp the top on the card insert & the tiny butterfly is colored with a Sakura Gelly Roll glitter pen which is also used to color the Marvy punched butterflies & to make the 3 dots at the end of the sentiment. I used my Sew Easy to close the pocket with just a couple stitches on each side.  The card is finished off with twine & a button.  This was a fun project & I plan to make more pocket cards.  Thanks for coming by.  Hope you have a week with time for crafting!

Win Some, Loose Some

My last 4 submissions to publications were not picked up.  Rejection is never easy to take even though you know they had hundreds of great cards to choose from.  I looked at my cards again & I'm actually happy with them.  Everyone has different taste, so just have to keep trying.  At least I had some luck, though--my name was drawn for the May Stampendous! challenge--first time I entered one of theirs.  Today is my friend's wedding & still need to wrap the gift, so I'll get to my card.  Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge is to create a thank you card HERE.  That worked out well since I was already going to make a card for our neighbors.  There aren't too many people who would loan you a power tool to cut the hedge & their utility trailer to haul away old appliances, but that's what Dan did.  He always offers to help & never asks for anything in return.  I got them some sparkling cider & goodies & here's the card.  First time I've used the wreath from Flourishes Mother's words of wisdom set (sentiment is from Taglines).  I colored it using mostly Brushstix with a variety of Distress Inks--not trying to stay within the lines.  3 of the flower centers have glossy accents to attach tiny clear, glass marbles--always wanted to do that.  The dies are Spellbinders & the layers are mounted with foam tape.  I used a COPICS marker to color the clear dot stickers.  Thanks for coming by & letting me know what you think.