When I Said It Would Be Awhile...

I really didn't intend for a week to pass between posts! We've just come off one of the busiest weekends in a long time, and, on top of that, I'm struggling a bit with my creative muse. So, thanks for your patience, and here are few cards!

Sometimes it takes a few tries to get what you want when you're working with new materials. In the case of this card, I was working with a new stamp set called Party Hearty. I used it to make the party hats into Christmas trees in this post, but I hadn't tried putting all the elements to use for a traditional birthday card.

I also have this new Designer Series Paper called Autumn Vine, and I wanted to try to incorporate the two. Wow! This was harder than I thought, and it's because Party Hearty is such a playful, whimsical set, and that's not really my style.

This card, however, shows that it pays to persevere! The color combination in Autumn Vine is Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, Really Rust, and More Mustard. As you can see, I pulled out all the stops and used each one. While cutting out the "celebrate you" from Party Hearty (which I colored using each of the colors from the combo), it occurred to me that I could have the SS layer that was mostly hidden underneath the MM and AV DSP layer show more if I cut a hole in it. I love how it turned out, and I also like the SS 1/4" grosgrain ribbon ties on each side. That panel is popped up on dimensionals. This layout was inspired by Wendy Janson's card in the SCS gallery. Isn't that a great card for a guy? You really should take a minute and follow the link to view it.


The next card was a take-off on the one sent to me for my birthday by Connie. I think it was designed by her demonstrator, Laura Barto, who is also my upline, but if I'm wrong about that, Connie, please speak up so I can give you your props! It featured Bold Brights, which is Connie's favorite color family, but I wanted to turn the layout 90 degrees and try it with different colors.

I don't know why I can't leave well enough alone and just CASE something! I have a knack for making things harder than they need to be, and this card is a case in point. I thought the "party hearty" was a bit small, so I wanted to use the "celebrate you" sentiment. THEN I thought about a really cute card I saw where the gal had a comic strip like thing going on where the cupcakes were eaten by a mysterious someone, and I tried to incorporate THAT! The end result is not jazzin' me, but I'm putting it out there for public digestion.

One more thing...A few weeks ago, I posted about my customer and friend Rocky. The reason it has taken me this long to report is because her doctor sent her for the bloodwork and then went on vacation for a week!!! He's entitled, I know, but when you're waiting for news about whether or not you have cancer, being put "on hold" for 10 days was very hard. BUT good news is worth waiting for! While he was thinking what he saw on an MRI looked like cancer, the bloodwork didn't match with his hypothesis! They're going to biopsy the "growth", but the big "C" word has not been mentioned again. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers for her. She is very appreciative, even though you'll probably never meet.