Where Your Heart Is

This is the stamp set I won from OWH (see sidebar) . It's designed by Melanie Meunchinger over at Hands, Head and Heart.  StampTV had a release party this weekend for their newest stamps and I wanted to use Melanies creation for all the challenges.  It was a bit intimidating as I've never used this set before and I was nervous about coloring the hands so they would look realistic.  (can you imagine me sweatin' it over that???)  I just decided to DO IT.  Here are my creations.   This set is SO versatile I know it will be a favorite go to set for many occasions. All the stamp sets from Gina K Designs @ Stamp TV stamp so beautifully.  I've never worked with any others that stamp this nice. There's just a softness to them and yet they are so clear.  So here we go, One image, three ways.

Okay, first up was the color challenge.  Use green and yellow and one neutral color on your card.  This was the most difficult one for me as I know they are primary colors and I do love yellow but I'm not real fond of green.  I managed though and was glad I had this ribbon and these large brads on hand.  I'm still in the process of "using things up" and I really got to do a lot of that with these three challenges today.

Next up:  Use string, twine, jute something besides ribbon. When I think of string or twine I think of autumn and hay bales. I want to play with these hand images some more and this is what came to mind. I cut out the hands completely  then traced around them on the pumpkin image then trimmed the pumpkin image to glue behind the hands. Then layered them on top of the first stamped image which I left uncolored. This will go to my neighbor who grows and sells us such wonderful organic produce all summer long. I will give it to them at the end of this years harvest season. I love it when what is in my head comes out of my hands. :)


The final challenge was to make a card like this sketch. 
This card is for a wonderful couple in our Sunday meeting that have been sixty-three years together.  In fact, this morning he spoke about their years together and how it takes wanting to do things for each other to stay a priority. On a daily basis not to try to get the last word.  It doesn't always happen but if we are aware of the Christ nature being first in our lives we will be more willing to have the right spirit about things.  We had a newly wed couple in our meeting this morning who's wedding we all attended yesterday.  I think he was talking to all of us though. The inside of this card says "the example you set. "   This will be a very fitting card to send to them next month. It was a fun challenge for me.  I've never tried that before, to use one image for all three challenges and this was the perfect image to do that with.  Thanks Melanie for your creation.  

inspiration challenge

We were given this picture to inspire us to create.  With this kind of challenge it doesn't have to look like the picture at all.  You could just use the colors or shapes or whatever comes to your own mind when you look at the picture. As soon as I saw this beautiful bouquet and the setting I knew I wanted to use a piece of acetate. I also wanted to pick up the brown stones shown in the background. I stamped and masked and stamped and masked and stamped and masked my tulips on the acetate. Turned it over and colored it with copics and a bit of alcohol inks. I sponged the paper that comes in between the acetate sheets, with a cloud stencil and Voila' here is my card. I love tulips, they are my second favorite flower.

When stamping with Acetate you need to use a product like Staz-On so the ink doesn't smear.  Before coloring it I also give it a quick blast with the heat gun so the ink doesn't smear as it is placed face side down to work on. Here's a picture of the acetate sheets I use in case you have never seen them. Hope you get the same pleasure out of looking at this as I do. :)

odd size cards

While listening to beautiful violin music by Sarah Chang I had a relaxing evening making these two odd size cards.

I really need to make about eighty more of this size. They are 4 1/4 x 3 7/8 Our reg A2's measure 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 Several years ago a stationery store was going out of business and they had these beautiful heavy weight envelopes for almost nothing. A box of 100. I thought they were A2 size--oops they are not.

I have made a few cards this size but then I get tired of it b/c there doesn't seem quite enough space to do the things I want with them. The winter one is for my friend in CA who always "thinks" she would like to live where there is snow! Otherwise, I'm tired of snowmen and flakes and winter. It was fun to try something a bit different. I thought I would try Gina's sketch of the week again too. oh and a little hint: if you have DP where the flowers grow UP, it doesn't work too well if you cut the paper sideways. I live and learn...

Attached Thumbnails

     

Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #42 and Grab & Go #11

I like the stamps I've won from Speedy Cat.  They stamp so beautifully and they are see through acrylic so it's very easy to line them up. I'm going to have to try some of their heavy weight paper the next time I need to purchase as I've heard it's v-e-r-y nice.  I'm starting to run out of some of my colored card stock and I'll be visiting Marks Finest Papers which is where Speedy Cat lives.

This week Vicki Dutcher posted a sketch challenge for us.  I like sketches because it really stretches my mind.  Here's the sketch and here's my card.  Thanks Vicki.

 

SSIC and Grab and Go #10

Every once in a while I grab my stamps by Judith.  She has fun little stamps that just make you smile.  They are interactive meaning you can make a whole scene out of several different stamps.  Like here, I used the fence post, the two bird houses, the flower stems, lady buy, dragonfly, and the pink flower. Put altogether it makes a nice little scene. I also used a cloud stencil on this one and colored the scene with my Staedler Water Pencils.  I forgot how much fun they were, we get so used to the markers nowadays. This is for my friend Molly who just found out she will have to do an extensive round of Chemo and I thought it might bring a smile to her face on a day when she may not be feeling to well.
SSIC this week is a one layer card.  It's supposed to be KISS keep it simple sister but one layer cards are never that simple for me.  They always look so bare!!  I keep trying to fill up the white space.  That's why I stenciled the clouds, then added the foreground flowers, then sponged the green and on and on.  LOL!  And it's no longer a "simple" card.  :)

ODBD and Grab & Go # 9

This weeks challenge at ODBD 

This week the challenge team would like to see your creations using our "Have a H.E.A.R.T." recipe.  You must use three of these ingredients.

H= Hemp √

E= Embossing √

A=Any Our Daily Bread Images or Sentiments

R= Ribbon or lace

T= Tearing or distressing √

It's so much fun to use embossing.  This card is dry embossed through the cuttlebug with a Fiskars plate.  I really get a lot of use out of those plates I purchased for $1.00 at Fleet Farm many years ago.  This also has wet embossing done on the dragon fly and the tag.  The torn edges are distressed by sponging ink onto them.  When you put it altogether it just turns out.  There is olive green sponge all around the cream cardstock too but it seems the flash washed out the color.  It looks better IRL. A row of faux stitching ties it together and keeps the top layer from looking like it's floating off the paper..  I also fulfilled my commitment to myself to use some designer paper every week.  That's been coming along well though I do find it a challenge to work it in.  Thanks for looking. 

Why I'm doing Grab and Go

Someone said, "you must have a lot of stamps".  Well....here is a portion of them.  I forgot to take the ones that were sitting on top of the bed and the seasonal ones that were sitting under my table and these don't include any of the alphabet stamps or the sentiments which each take up a box of their own.  These containers are stacked seven layers deep. IN the second box there are fourteen plastic storage boxes about 1.5 inches deep.  Each box holds six to eight individual 3 in. stamps.  I have them grouped in some semblance of order. Flowers, fun, animals, nature, hearts, winter, large background stamps.

 I went through and took out all the sentiments from my Stamping Up sets.  I  grouped them all in their own boxes like Get Well, Thank You, Wedding, Baby, Birthday, Sympathy.  I find I get much more use out of them since I did that.

Now when I say Grab and Go you will get more of an idea of WHY I decided to do that.  I just stick my hand in a container and pull out a box and then pull a stamp out of that.  Sometimes I do it blindly and sometimes I just take the top pack.  Today's cards were all made with the Grab and Go agenda.  I did however have a couple of challenges I wanted to meet and I just made the stamps I picked up fit into the challenges.  I will be posting them each separately as each one needs it's own URL tag.

Love Without Words and a pin from Paris WWII

From Dad to Mom WWII 1943-44 hand blown glass birds

SSIC #75 Make a card that says love w/o using any words.  Going through my stamps I found these Parisian stamps.  The city of love.  Look at the cute heart shaped chairs.  I masked the table set and stamped the Eiffel Tower behind it as if it is in the back ground.  My dad was in Paris in WWII and sent my mom the cutest little bird pin from there that mom has passed along to me. I like to think that he was thinking loving thoughts of her while he was there fighting a very difficult war. So young to see so much.

Stamping at age 93

Edith at a Stamping Up party with hostess Irene 

This is my friend Edith Boreen. She is ninety three years this past October. Doesn't she look great?  She is a very positive and active person.  She has been stamping for about ten years now. I know the first time I stamped with her was at her 85th birthday party when her daughter and grand daughter brought all kinds of goodies to the party they gave for her and set up long tables and all the ladies made cards.  Slowly I started getting into stamping and Edith and I started stamping together off and on.  A couple of years ago we joined the stamping club in Shawano.  Sandee Voigt got us involved with them before she died. They meet once a month on a Monday and always have a project to do.  Edith and I enjoyed our time with them and learned a lot but we hardly went this whole last year.  Always something would come up to keep us from going.  We don't much like going in the winter anyway, it's cold and dark for the drive home and we're never sure about the roads.  Edith still likes to purchase things for stamping and treats herself at least once a month from her daughters store.  The Stamp Shoppe in Weston, WI.  Edith is a former teacher and you can see her attention to detail in the cards she stamps.  Now isn't this a really cute card that she put together? She sent this to Gilbert for his birthday.

She used textured paper and three layers.  She has taken the time to color the candles like a pepermint stick.  She has given the image layer a very nice edge with decorative scissors and tied the sentiment to the image with the same decorative touch and embossing. There is glitter on the candles and stickles on the little guys fiery breath.  She has even shaded the hot peppers with two different colors and made them realistic. Her card base is embossed with a cuttlebug folder.  Who says old dogs can't learn new tricks.  Edith recently purchased her cuttlebug die cutting machine and I see her using it quite often.  She's my role model and I hope to live a long and healthy life like she does.   Apart from stamping together we quite often play Rummikube and in the summers we take two mile walks together.  I hope she keeps hanging around with us for a long time yet.   Here's to you, Edith!

Make your own flower

Make your own flower, they said over at MFP and Speedy Cat's  #41 challenge.  What??? Make my own flower?  How do you do that?  Oh look, we'll give you some ideas!  Hmmm.  I don't have the talent for any of that and I don't have the right punches, the only felt I have is grey..  Make my own flowers...Ta Da!  Okay, here's what I have on hand and here is the extent of how my brain worked for this challenge.  All in all, it was one of the most difficult challenges I have done because none of it wanted to come together.  It looks simple though!  :)

Grab and Go #8 SSIC 74

I was itching to be creative tonight.  The wind is howling, it's cold outside, snow is coming, what's better to do than stamp?  I did the Grab and Go tonight. I just closed my eyes and stuck my hand into one of the bins and pulled out a set.  I was so glad I picked up this set that had something springy in it. I paper pieced the flower pot, stickled the butterfly, glazed the lady bug and then spritzed the whole thing with my home made smooch. I do love the pearlized effect it gives to my cards. You can see it pretty well if you click on the image and view it full size.  This smooch was made with yellow liquid Pearl-Ex.  I think I'll enter it as a 2nd entry into GKD as it fits the sketch she has for us this week.  Guess I must have liked it, eh?  Well, here it is!
Also entering this in SSIC 74 challenge-green and blue