Sympathy #780-781-782-783

It’s been relaxing to make some Sympathy cards ahead.  i found a blog with a similar design.  I don’t remember whose it was, I’m sorry about that.  It was something I saw and just thought, I could do that.  I never went back to the blog and don’t know who to give credit to.  Anyway i CASED her idea and it turned out so beautiful that I made 8 cards “same but different”  The last four i made i was using the pieces left over from diecutting the first ones.  then i was running out of the cardstock i used and had to make a smaller panel.  I truly love them all and had such a peaceful time creating them.

making a stash #278-279

It seems i never get ahead with making Sympathy cards.  There is a lot of sorrow in this old world.  A card is the least I can do for so many friends and even acquaintances, you know, those friendships that havent really had time to be formed yet either because of distance or just FB friends. 

I made several but they all have homes to go to and i need to get that stash built up.  I sell as many sympathy cards as i do birthday cards.  Here’s the first one.  if i were to do this again i would put the narrowist black border under the top layer.  I embossed those solid leaves and there is a translucency to them that i wasn’t expecting.  i like that. Leaves and sentiments are from Sweet N Sassy stamps.

For the next one, i saw this technique pop up in my e-mail from Splitcoast Stampers.  One of their Wednesday tutorials.  I love the curved tri-fold opening.  Judy Palmer this is about as creative as i want to be with my folds.  LOL  I made a belly band for it.  It was easy to staple the ribbon together and then  die cut two of the scalloped ovals and  spray adhesive to attach them with the ribbon in between.  I am in love with this look.  My Sister-in-law lost her sister this past week and this will go to her. SU image stamped in the corners.  I bought that set at a rummage for $1.50 and it is so pretty. 

We had the sorrow of losing a great friend in another state at only 52 years of age.  This card was made for his family. I have never used DP on cards like this.  Usually only making the scene over the entire card but i had those two scraps sitting there and i like the added elegance and masculinity they add to this card.  Sponged with distress inks and stamped with chocolate chip ink from SU.  Images are Mark’s Finest Papers and the geese are StampScapes

I had some scraps left from the curved card and wanted to use that pretty curve in another way and this is what came forth from that experiment.  This one has a home too, unfortunately.  A new stamping friend i met at a stamp camp a couple of years ago and just kept in touch with her by FB lost her husband.  Now this was a blessing as the poor man had Alzheimers but love still hurts when our long life partners leave us.

We had our first snow #726 & 727

We have a young friend that is a really really good skater.  Haven’t seen her since last year around this time but she was the friend of our children when they were home.  One of those second daughters kind of girl.  She used to just drop in when ever with her back pack and her duffle back and stay one-three days.  Called me mom.  I took the sentiment from some Ranger Stamps i think, and changed the word “skip” to ice skate with a white gel pen.  That little piece of ice this cute mouse is skating on is some old old old plastic stuff that gives dimension when you look through it.  I have no idea what it was called and i never see it in stamp stores anymore. I still have almost a full sheet of it.  I used to cut ice cubes out of it for one of my house mouse stamps.  The colored portion is done with a bit of brusho powder.  Wow, that stuff is INTENSE.  both cards have Brusho on them. 

The little birds have cotton ball pom’s on their hats.  Aren’t they adorable?  Unity stamps has that cute stamp.  

Simon Says Stamp November Card Kit 2016

I’ve seen several of those 10 cards one kits videos and i always enjoy watching them.  I like to see how others take all the same “ingredients” and make something completly unique.  I watched 2 videos on this kit and wondered if i would be able to come up with ten cards of my own creations.  I did pretty well however i liked the folded over paper card that Vicky Papaiannou posted and I did CASE that one. 

I truly appreciate these stampers that have the patience to record and edit all these videos.  it is no simple task.  I thought to give an overview of how each card came about here on my blog and that thought overwhelms me.  You get the cards, no explanations, no directions, just my creative results.  Thanks for stopping by.   I really did enjoy this challenge to myself.

By the way, there are still quite a bit of pieces to create more form this kit.  In order to stretch my supplies i don’t use a folded 4.25 by 11 piece of card stock to make a card.  I almost always cut my colored card stock into four pieces and adhere a 4.25 by 5.50 onto my cream or white card base. 

Here is what is still left of the kit.  I don’t know how many kits i will actually purchase but it will be fun to get a whole box of new stuff for $25.00 coming every couple of months I think.  It will keep me out of Michaels where i always spend WAAAAY more than that and stuff still doesn’t match.   

 

bah humbug #718-719-720-721-722-723-724

i didn’t make many halloween cards this year, i didn’t turn the porch light on, i didn’t look at any little kids and say awwww….i really just simply did not care about this fantasy holiday at all.  sometimes life just overwhelms me and i have no energy for the external stimuli.   I did however enjoy the process of making these two halloween creations for my adopted grands that are 5 and 8 years old.  I copped out of the candy and put money in the card instead.  it can help pay for the dental work they’ll need after eating piles of candy.

alrightee then, this is a real downer of a post.   just wanted to get these cards recorded.  Happy whatever holiday is next to for you!!  i hope to make some happy cards today and improve my mood.improve my mood.

How much fun can you have with ONE kit? Stamps used up to 725

oh my word.  i have had the Simple Thiings kit from Gina Kay Designs for two years already.  I have made a couple of cards from it in the past two years and thought this was the perfect time to see how many cards i could make from it.  Well, there are a LOT more cards in that kit.  I love Gina’s kits.  You get SO much.  This one is now kind of extended even though i haven’t even come close to using up all the 6x6 paper pack that came in the kit.  I wond two little mini kits from GKD over the years and they both had fall themed 6x6 papers in them and i have incorporated some of them into this kit.

Technorati Tags: GKD,The Simple Things,Kit

Color Suggestions

Simon has a color challenge for their work it wednesday put up in September.  I used all distress ink.  First sprayed the water color paper, then swiped swatches of yellow, red, and orange onto the craft sheet.  Lay the sprayed paper into the swatches and tip the paper to move the color around.

After drying with a heat tool i laid a metal tree stencil from Dreamweaver over the paint and sponged with tea dye distress ink.  I used the brown for a back layering piece and for the deer.  I added three rows of narrow ribbon to finish off the scene. 

Groupon

i guess that’s the trend these days!! Groupon!!  I’ve never used it but thought it made a good title for this group of cards i decided to post together.  Thanks for stopping by.

MFT Color challenge 55

Once again these MFT color challenges work best for me if i pull out small bits of scraps in the colors laid down.  That’s how this sweet card came about.  I also used Blueprints #15 for the dies and the layout.  It’s truly the easiest way to make a card.   Grab the dies, grab the sketch, pick a stamp and GO!  From start to finish including coloring this took about 20 minutes.  I love that kind of time.

copy cat #714-715-716

My friend Angie sent me the cutest card that was so much like this one, i had to copy it.  I needed a one layer though as this is going into the prison mail system.  I stamped the little fox then used ink a dinka doo masking paper to cut out a mask for him.  then i layed wide frog tape spaced so i could sponge the blue stripe.  After removing the mask and tape i added the leaf images from SU and inked them up with my Spectrum sunset pad.  Tombow markers colored in the Unity mr. fox stamp and i love the little sentiment that came with it.  Thanks Angie for sending me such a sweet card. 

#713

it’s been a while since i’ve done emboss resist and it’s always so much fun to sponge around and see the image come to life.  I used this large daisy from Close to My Heart for this Simon Says Irrestible Wednesday challenge.  The cardstock is a semi gloss piece.  I then stamped with distress inks for a back ground.  Using white embossing powder i embossed the sentiments.  After drying all with a heat gun i used my Viva Pearl Pen in walnut stain to add the seeds to the flowers and a bit under the LOVE word.  Thanks for coming by.  Oh it feels good to stamp again. While visiting relatives is fun I do miss my stamping when I’m gone.

new technique

who ever thought of this technique has my stamping blessing.  isn’t it great to make a scene behind the embossed trees???  the possiblities are endless.  Find out how to do this HERE but use the right orientation for your embossing folder.  I stamped mine on the bottom edge of the top panel, you’ll see what i mean if you watch the video.  Anyhoo…I liked the MFT Sketch Challenge this week for it’s simplicity and this is what I came up with.  Trying a new technique and playing in a challenge, two of my favorite things.  Sizzix embossing folder, old SU pine trees stamp, light sponging with Steel Gray MFT ink on trees MFT sentiment from Essential sentiments set, tag from MFT Blueprints 3.   I popped up the senitment tag with extra deep pop dots because i really wanted it to be the focal.  Thanks for stopping by.  I can’t wait to do more of this technique.

i won i won

My first Unity stamps and now i have purchased more.  There was a face book challenge to leave a comment and the lucky winner would receive some stamps.  They drew my name. What a wonderful prize.  I always love sentiment stamps but check out that water color daisy, that’s my favorite though i am quite sure i will use every single one.

#712 sympathy

I’m playing catch up.  I made quite a few cards before we left on our vacation and didn’t have time to blog them.  I love how this one turned out.  Loose watercoloring for my nephew who lost his wife far too early to the cancer demon.  this is simple but impactful with the white embossing. This is a  sweet Penny Black stamp I recently ordered.  The card bae is a pearlized shimmery soft ivory color.  Very elegant.

Stamp 711

I am loving this flower garden set from Stampendous created by Tim Holtz.  I’ve wanted this set for quite awhile and mostly because of this cool cone flower.  I used a soft hand and distress inks and sponge for the background.  Flicked some paint spots and started coloring with my Tobow markers.  I added some white dots with a gel pen to the pod part of the flower.

The back ground is light embossing paste through a MFT stencil called broken bars or something like that. The sentiments is embossed with SU embossing powder Blushing Bride.  It’s beautiful.

hurry scurry

didn’t this guy turn out so cute???  I used a sketch from the blueprints and just love how it came together.  That is the fun of stamping, right?  we never really know how it’s going to turn out.  I admire those stampers that do videos cuz i never know where i’m going with anything.  I did learn from one of my classes if you use a striped paper you can pick colors out of there for your image and that makes it go easier and coordinates the image with the rest. The little candies were the finishing touch on this.  While i liked it, it seemed something was missing.  Brads didn’t look good, buttons…nah….eyelets?? hmmm can’t put them on after everything is glued down already.  Candies…perfect solution in the perfect color.  thanks for stopping by today.  Appreciate all my stamping friends.

Stamp 710 & 711 mum’s the word

i don’t know if this really is a mum or a zinnia but with all the mums sitting on peoples porches this season i thought i would go with mum!  trying out my Tombows on 110 lb. cardstock instead of watercolor paper.  it turned out not so bad.  I saw a video for how to emboss a small piece of cardstock with a regular size embossing folder and thought i would give it a try.  it’s a nice way to expand the use of supplies.  I used a SU large BG stamp with versamark to add some subtle movement to the purple piece.  The piece looked a little flat until i added the viva pearl dots in gold.  ahhh, now that looks better.

stamp 709

for the Simon Says Monday challenge TRAVEL….this card was inspired by a long ago trip to Colorado where we saw the balloons rising in the valley. We were up in the mountains.  The balloon and cloud image is cut from an old Simon Kit DP that i still have parts of.  The background paper is an old Afternoon Muse pack that conveniently had the flags and world grid lines on it. I added a die cut pine bough not sure if it’s memory box or impression obsessions.  I love how this turned out.  Would never have really thought to put these elements together without the challenge.  Thank you Simon.   It’s a guy card for a former Colorado resident.

Stamp 707 & 708

Hmmmm….maybe i should have put a green strip across the bottom?  oh well, i can still change it but somehow think the reciepient will like this bright golden yellow.  I stamped the candies across the strip to give some movement to the card.  This is an old MFP stamp that is retired.  I don’t have too many halloween stamps unless they are hiding somewhere.  i was thinking i had bought some.  Just getting back into stamp room after a two week trip and it takes a while to get back in the groove.  Thought i would play in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is Halloween.