More Paper Bargello

After I posted the paper bargello card on Monday, I pulled out another sheet of striped DSP I had laying around (from retired Cutie Pie, if you're interested), and tried this technique again.

I think making bargello with paper works best if the stripe pattern is simple and repeats exactly. The one I used didn't do that, and it made things more challenging. The exercise in pattern matching was a stretch for my brain, though, so it's all good.

This card was patterned after someone's layout sketch I saw this week, and I liked that it was simple. I'm not one for a ton of layers. I wanted the bargello to shine, so I used a sentiment instead of an image so that the focus could remain on the pattern.

I pulled out the very old Art of Life set because I wanted to create a pattern on the strip of Wild Wasabi and because I love the sentiment included with the images. If you hadn't guessed already, I'm a words person, and this statement by Thoreau is fantastic.

I stamped it in all three colors that the DSP contained: Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, and Bashful Blue, and finally chose BB because it didn't dominate everything else going on. The ribbon is some I've been hoarding since WW retired, so I'm thrilled that it's back in the core line of colors so I can put it to use and not worry about not being able to get more!

This card served as a belated birthday greeting for my friend Pam (please forgive the horrible photo--I need to go see her again so we can get a better one), who personifies Thoreau's words. She gives so much of herself to others through her hospitality, time, and listening ear, and I wanted the card to be an affirmation of this quality that I see in her.

Have you missed someone's birthday? Why not send them a card that encourages the qualities you see in her life that she may not see in herself? You never know what kind of effect on her day you might have. Happy Saturday!

The Overnight Report...#3

When I last reported in, there were 7 cards left to make. This post is long, but there's plenty of eye candy, so enjoy! The descriptions are to help me remember what materials I used, so you can read the narrative or just view the pics. I'm going to drop off all 30 tomorrow after work.

This one is one of the female birthday cards. I used a favorite retired set called The Art of Life. The color scheme is Sahara Sand for the card base, with Sage Shadow and Cameo Coral and Mulberry paper.

The area near the store is horse country, so Leah asked if I might be able to do something with horses or a western theme. I went with the Wanted set and chose to incorporate some Pretty in Pink with Sage Shadow and Creamy Caramel and the retired Outlaw DP. This turned out cuter than I expected, and I hope it makes some cowgirl happy.

Then I went back to the bridal category and chose a classic black, white, and silver color combination. I heat embossed the hearts from the Always set on the silver metallic card stock and used a fitting sentiment from God's Blessings for the interior message.

This was a bit difficult to photograph because the heart closest to the black card stock was picking up that color and the other side was picking up the white of the table. They really are the same color! I used the stamp-a-ma-jig to "split" the heart in half on each side. Two hearts becoming one; get it?

Leah had also mentioned that she'd like something with pink and brown, so I used the Doodle jumbo wheel inked with waterproof Basic Brown for this last bridal card, and colored the flowers using the Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose. I used the sentiment from Full of Life stamped on vellum and popped up on a double layer of dimensionals to create this look.

I needed to create a second Thanksgiving card, which was a bit of a stretch, since I don't own any stamps that say "Happy Thanksgiving". I pulled out one of the first sets I bought as a demonstrator--Gorgeous Grapevine. I inked up the main leaf image in Cranberry Crisp, Old Olive, So Saffron, and Pumpkin Pie. I stamped a second leaf in SS and popped it up on dimensionals to give the card a bit more visual interest. The sentiment is from Best Yet.

Making two Christmas cards meant that the finish line was in sight, and I was happy to pull out Peaceful Wishes and make use of a mat that had been laying around on my craft table for weeks. I heat embossed Always Artichoke craft ink and added some pinecones and one that was embossed with Copper Embossing Powder (which is retired). The Copper Metallic paper is also retired SU! product, and I can't understand why it was removed from the product list! It's so stunning! I stamped the sentiment--Peaceful Wishes--with the copper EP as well, and it looks so good against the AA card stock.


I pulled out a set of DSP from last year's Holiday Mini catalog--the name of which escapes me--and found that I'd stored some snowflakes with it. These snowflakes are made using both sizes of the tag punches and mulberry paper, and I just love the focal image they create! I put two on the card, paired it with a snowflake patterned piece and a Handsome Hunter mat, which is a coordinating color with Sage Shadow. Snowflake Spot snowflakes for the envelope and I was DONE!

In Sympathy

I told you last week that I made a sympathy card because I knew I was going to need one soon. Well, the death I've been expecting hasn't happened, but one I wasn't did. One of my stampers, Christy, is saying goodbye to her mother-in-law tomorrow. She died suddenly, and I just heard about tomorrow's funeral this morning.

I've had this image laying around on my craft table for about 10 days now, ever since Kristina Werner's color challenge for So Saffron, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, and Bashful Blue. I decided this was somber enough to serve my need.

The watercolor paper adds some nice texture, and it's hard to tell, but the flowers (from retired Art of Life set) were colored with markers, misted with water to blur them a bit, and then stamped. I also created a grid pattern on the paper to give further visual interest. The ribbon on the left creates balance, since the paper is significantly smaller than the standard 4.25" x 5.5" frame of the base.

The saying is a random stamp I've had for years and years, and it's my favorite to use for sympathy cards. For me, turning to God is natural during times of trouble, and it comforts me greatly to view God as a refuge, as this verse in Isaiah says. It's from a company called PrintWorks (don't even know if they're still around) and Annette Allen Watkins is listed as the designer. By the way, I had to peel the price tag off the side to obtain this information, and I paid $7.20 for this single stamp.

I don't like how life doesn't stop when someone dies. I want things not to be normal for awhile, but, of course they are. I don't want to follow my regular routine; it somehow seems disrespectful of the one who died. How do you feel when someone dies? Do you alter your day in any way in light of what you know someone else is experiencing?