Giving Thanks

I don't think I will ever be one of those bloggers who has their act together enough to post a card before the actual holiday it was made for. I'm lucky these cards even got mailed before Thanksgiving! So, it may be a day late, but I have a lot to be grateful for including a house full of loved ones on Thanksgiving and lunch with high school friends today! And here are the Thanksgiving cards I made this year. They all use the same basic design and an old Simon Says Stamp card kit. (I also incorporated a Hero Arts background stamp into the one design.)

Here is the first design:

A variation:

 And, a close-up:

Guess it's time to start making Christmas cards!

Supplies:

Simon Says Stamp Card Kit; Hero Arts background stamp; Lawn Fawn stitched dies; Zig embossing powder; Simon Says Stamp inks.

#ShareHandmadeKindness

Have you seen Jennifer McGuire's Share Handmade Kindness Challenge? This week's challenge was to make a little something something for a family member or friend. Using Jennifer's card as inspiration, I created a small stamp background.

Here's Jennifer's cards that I used as inspiration:

And here's my card:

A new challenge is set to go up tomorrow, and I can't wait to play! Why don't you join in too!

Supplies
Cardstock: Neenah Solar White; Simon Says Stamp (black):
Stamp: Simon Says Stamp (Sending Happy Thoughts)
Ink: Simon Says Stamp (Hollyhock); Hero Arts (Soft Cantaloupe; Butter Bar); Versafine;
Misc.: Clear Embossing Powder

Halloween Mask

Happy Halloween! I have a card to share tonight. This one is inspired by Kristina Werner. I love the colors she used on the Tim Holtz mask so I did something similar. Only, instead of adding white, I added Perfect Pearls. Here's my card:

 And here's a close-up so you can get a better look at the shimmer.

Hope you all had a spooktacular Halloween. Best costume goes to the two-year-old Donald Trump who came to my door!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Neenah Desert Storm; Papertrey Ink

Stamps and Dies: Lawn Fawn (Booyah)

Mask: Tim Holtz (Batground)

Inks: Ranger Distress Inks; Colorbox (Frost White); Copic Markers

Perfect Pearls

Happy World Card Making Day 2015!

It was a happy World Card Making Day for me because, in between doing laundry and helping Melissa with her college applications, I found time to make a card! Here it is:

There's a lot of techniques on this one. First I stamped a mask onto scrap paper and cut it out. After positioning the mask of the car onto the water color paper, I pulled out the Tim Holtz Dot Fade stencil and applied distress ink --Weathered Wood on the top and Bundled Sage on the bottom. Next I stamped the car using VersaFine ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. I prefer this method to using black embossing powder, which seems to have a mind of its own and wind up all over the card, no matter how careful I am. Next, I used Laura Basson's smooshing technique to add more color around the car. I still felt that the car needed to be grounded more so I used grey Zig Clean Color Real Brush pen and water to add a shadow under the car. Next, I used the Tim Holtz Distress Marker Spritzer Tool and a Black Soot distress marker to add some additional distressing. When I was done inking, I die cut a stitched rectangle using one of the Lawn Fawn dies. Finally, I used VersaMark ink and white embossing powder for the sentiment. I told you there were a lot of techniques!

Thanks to Scrapbook & Cards Today for this sketch, which I used as inspiration:

I'd love to see what you made on World Card Making Day. Leave a link!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Tim Holtz Water Color Paper; Simon Says Stamp (Black; Olive)
Stamps: Tim Holtz (The Journey); My Favorite Things (Chalkboard Greetings)
Inks: VersaFine; Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Weather Wood; Bundled Sage); Zig Clean Color Real Brush pen (grey); Tim Holotz Distress Marker (Black Soot)
Die: Lawn Fawn (Stitched Rectangles)
Misc.: Hero Arts Embossing Powder (Clear; White); Tim Holtz Distress Marker Spritzer; Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher; Tim Holtz stencil (Dot Fade); Lawn Fawn 

Challenged by Challenges

I love challenges. They are so inspiring and are often a great jump start to getting my mojo going. However, I have to admit, that I am more than a bit challenged by challenges--or at least the time frame given to complete them. I admire the card makers that can complete several challenges in a single card...especially when I can't seem to complete one. That doesn't mean that I don't continue to use challenges for inspiration.

With that said, this is a card that was inspired by Papertrey Ink's release week Create Along With Us challenge, which calls for using one of the design team's amazing projects as inspiration for a card you make using the older stamps you have on hand. This month, Betsy Veldman's card spoke to me. Instead of the new Brushed Strokes stamp set, I used PTI's Watercolor Wonder. The sentiment is from PTI also too. I simplified the design by using only four colors of ink, and added sequins as an embellishment. Here's my card:

In the spirit of full disclosure, I did add Brushed Strokes to my recent PTI order. Now I will have two great options to create a water-color look on my cards.

If you are looking for more challenges, check out Papertrey Ink's Stamp-a-faire 2015 for inspiration!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink

Stamps, Ink: Papertrey Ink

Additional Supplies: Simon Says Stamp sequins

I'm Back...Again

It's been almost a year -- well nine months to be exact -- since my last blog post. And, I miss blogging. But, life gets in the way. Work has been extremely busy and one of my responsibilities is writing my company's blog. So, between my regular writing deadlines and blog deadlines, I find that there's very little creativity left over to make something...let alone blog about it.

Then there's the picture taking. I always seem to miss the perfect natural light that will make a project pop right off the computer screen. Or, I am all set to take a picture and my battery is dead.  Or, I don't have the time to upload pictures. Frustrating, right?

So, I've decided to take a new approach to my blog and use edited photos off of my phone. GASP! This may be sacrilege to some but it's a matter of convenience. And, hopefully it will eliminate some of the roadblocks that have gotten in the way of me spending time here.

Today's share is a quick card I made using the July 2015 Simon Says Stamp card kit. It went to our friend Paul who, together with his family, joined us for a very memorable cruise to the Bahamas last Christmas.One of our favorite memories of the trip is of our Christmas Day excursion. We chartered a private boat for the eight of us, and went snorkeling and then anchored off a deserted island for some swimming. I hope this card brings back memories for our friend.

Here it is:

I used Tim Holtz water color paper, stamping my image on the smooth side. The waves are water colored with distress markers. (I inked just two random lines in the waves and then spread the color with the brush. The clouds were colored with a cool grey Copic and a blender pen.

And, just for fun, here's our view from that boat on Christmas morning. Who needs presents?

So, what do you think of my new approach to blogging? Leave a comment to let me know.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Tim Holtz Water Color Paper

Patterned Paper, Stamps, Die: Simon Says Stamp July 2015 Card Kit

Additional Supplies: Copic Marker, Distress Marker, Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangles