Wondering Where I've Been?

Well, it's not that I haven't been making cards. It's just that I reached a halting point because I couldn't work under the conditions I'd created! Check it out! This afternoon I determined that nothing else would happen in there until those spaces were cleared or at least organized. About 45 min. later, I had a clean desktop on which to photograph lots of cards I'd created just for you!



This first one is one I made last night, when I was completely unsure I would have 5 designs for this weekend's Stamp-A-Stack. I've had this card by Nancy Riley stored in my Google Reader favorites for 3 months, and it was just the inspiration I needed to get my creative juices flowing. (Props to Karen Giron for the sketch!)

The base is More Mustard and the 1.25" squares are from the Autumn Vine Designer Series Paper pack. This is retired, but I want to use up my stuff, so I'm making a little dent, 1.25" at a time! There are 8 total. The center square features more of the DSP, the larger pattern of the same one used in the smaller squares becomes the focal point matted on Chocolate Chip card stock. There's the sentiment "you're so thoughtful" from Absolutely Fabulous stamped in Chocolate Chip there amidst the leaves and vines. The ribbon is Sage Shadow .25" grosgrain, and I cut a slit in the fold of the card base to thread it through to tie a knot.

More cards forthcoming, now that they're all photographed! Posts for days! Thanks for sticking with me through the periods of silence.

Welcome, little Amos!

A friend of mine and his wife had their first baby a few weeks ago. I wanted to do something special for this event, but I was not inspired. I think it was because I don't have a "go to" set that I use for making this kind of card, so I was stumped.

I had this tri-shutter card base sitting around that I'd decorated with retired Autumn Vine DSP, and I began playing with it last Saturday to see what I could come up with that would honor this little boy's birth. The nursery's colors are green and brown. Check. I had seen a picture the proud papa had posted on FB where Amos was wrapped in a blanket covered with elephants. AHA! Wild About You was the set I grabbed and began inking!

The colors of the DSP were Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Sage Shadow, and Really Rust. So I stamped four elephants in those colors. I paired them with a sentiment stamp from a retired Hostess set, the name of which escapes me. "It's a boy!" was quite appropriate, and set the tone.

The other sentiment I employed in my design is from God's Blessings. I think it's intended for a wedding, but I like it for a new baby. For the proud parents, there's a new hand to hold, a new heart to love, and a new life to lead. What a joy and what a responsibility! I inked up each phrase separately and positioned them a bit more spaced apart than the original stamp design. I'm a person who revels in symmetry, so instead of using another verse on the panel on the other side of the little boy's name, I repeated the sentiment. I like how it frames his name, which I stamped using my Jumbo Outline Alphabet and then colored using my CC Stampin' Write! Marker. The other animals on the card are also from Wild About You, and I like how they complete the look and establish the theme.

I dropped this off today and got a text message several minutes later, exclaiming how fantastic it is and how he couldn't wait to show it to his wife. This is why I craft, friends! The opportunity that that little investment of ink, paper, and time afforded me to bless someone is the best feeling. Try it this week. Give one of your cards away, and tell me about the reaction. Spread a little love, friends...

While You Were Away...

After a quick pizza dinner, your heroine returned to her craft room to continue the work at hand. I enjoyed the process of creating last night like I haven't in awhile. Bob was at rehearsal--the band is singing "Grand Illusions" by Styx to open the service, to set the tone for the sermon series called "Illusions"--and Michael was practicing piano, so I had the evening to do what needed to be done.

This card came to be because I was captured by the whimsy of the dot design in the Autumn Vine Designer Series Paper. I was about to completely detach the circle I'd cut with the Coluzzle, when the idea of a little window occurred to me! BTW, that is Groovy Guava as the card base because it's clearly there in the design. Who said InColors retire? I think they just go undercover...

In my last post, I didn't specifically identify the name of the set that has this sentiment and a few others in it. It's called Best Yet and is, as I mentioned, a Level 1 Hostess set. This and all other hostess sets will go away soon when we get another new catalog, so be making a list and checkin' it twice so you don't miss out on the sets you want before they disappear.

The last card I made last night was helped along by the fact that the main panel was already completed and staring at me from my craft table. Leah, the PakMail manager, was completely wowed by this card when I showed her some samples, so I adapted that layout for this quickie. I'm showing you the envelopes because I'm photographing everything I'm selling so that I can remember what I did if someone wants a duplicate! The ol' memory ain't what it used to be! This uses Pocket Silhouettes and the color scheme is Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, More Mustard, and Very Vanilla. One of my favorites, for sure.

After a good night of sleep, I woke naturally at 5:30 this morning and came back to the table to work on thank-you cards. I'm not going to end up showing you all the cards I'm selling her in these and subsequent posts because I'm using some from my stash that you've already seen. This card reprises another favorite combination from this fall, Upsy Daisy and Urban Garden DP. I also used the layout I created the first time I made this card, so that helped move things along. I really like Baja Breeze much more than I expected to, and it pairs so well with that DP! The little white satin ribbon and silver hardware flower add just the right accents to spruce up this addition to the pile.

Last but not least is my CASE of Amy's card I showed you yesterday. I used the Autumn Vine DP again, and went with So Saffron for the inked images in order to use every color of the DP on the card. I really like the Sage Shadow ribbon. It brightens up this fall card. Again, you'll recognize Pocket Silhouettes. I think it's interesting how different the same stamps can seem when used in different layouts!

Well, I'm going to try to tackle 2 masculine birthday cards before I head into work, but I'll be continuing this morning and evening crafting routine until I get all of them done. It's going faster than expected, and I may be done by my SAS on Saturday! That would be a relief, because I still have to type up some sort of small labels for those cards that have interior sentiments, since the cards will be sealed in plastic bags to protect the art from fingerprints. Never a dull moment around here, that's for sure! Have a great day...

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.