Christmas hugs to you

Hi everyone. I hope you've all made it through the rush of preparation and are ready for Christmas. I have just a bit of baking to do and I'm done.

This morning I checked the ways to use it challenge on SCS and it was to use backgrounds. Well, you may not know it, but I'm somewhat of a background junkie. I have lots and lots of background stamps. I will reach for a background stamp way more often than a piece of designer paper. I especially like the large ones that cover the size of a card. So even though I knew I had some baking to do, I wanted to play with my backgrounds.

I fiddled around with a few before I decided on the ones that I used on this card. I ended up using three different background stamps on top of each other. First I used creamy caramel ink on French Script (SU) and just finger walked to stamp it on vanilla cardstock. Then I inked up French Filigree (SU) with brocade blue and stamped over the first one. Then I inked Print Pattern (SU) with elegant eggplant, stamped off once and then stamped over the first two. Then I sponged chocolate chip ink on all the edges as well as dragging the sponge across the cardstock, completely changing the color. I layered this piece on vanilla and eggplant and a brocade blue card base.

The lacy trim is actually machine made bobbin lace, but is sold as crocheted ribbon.

I pulled out a new SU stamp set called Vintage Vogue (available Jan. 5), which I fell in love with the moment I first saw it. I stamped several of the large flowers in brocade blue and some of the small ones in elegant eggplant and cut them out. I sponged the edges of the petals with not quite navy. The large flower is three layers, with each of the petals rounded slightly with my fingers and then each layer is separated with foam tape. I cut a very narrow strip of eggplant cardstock and threaded it through the button in the center. The smaller flowers have half pearls in the center. The leaves are stamped in always artichoke and cut out.

For the sentiment piece, I used a Hero Arts stamp (eggplant on vanilla) and then die cut the layers in my big shot with Spellbinders dies (labels five and six). Each layer is sponged with not quite navy and popped up. I added a few more tiny pearls. I really like how this turned out.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I want to wish each of you a wonderful and blessed Christmas.

my Christmas card

Hi bloggers. I finally finished all my Christmas cards and have them mailed. I decided to go 'green' this year, so I used some brown paper bags on my cards.

The dove (Stampington & Co.) is embossed in white on brown paper bag and then die cut with Spellbinders Labels Nine. I used my white gel pen to do some faux stitching around the edge.

On the card base, which is a really rich cranberry color, but is showing up kinda funky in the photo, I stamped both flourishes from Priceless (SU) in white pigment ink & heated it to dry it.

The sentiment strip is also paper bag, stamped with Making Memories magnetic letters in black, with some faux stitching on the edges. The little bird is a Martha Stewart punch. All in all, a pretty easy card.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Be blessed.

the quilt is done!

Hi bloggers,

A few days ago I finished the quilt that I dug up before Thanksgiving, but only got around to taking a picture today. I know it's nicer to hand quilt, but I really just wanted to get this one done, so I just tied it with yarn. Enjoy the pics. Thanks for stopping by today.

oh, the busyness...

Hi everyone. Happy new week. Is your life as busy as mine feels? This week I have two classes, so lots of preparation. My Tuesday class will be my last one for that group. I've been teaching this class for four years! How time flies. I had no idea it was that long ago that I started teaching this wonderful group of ladies.

I've also been working on a quilt -- the one I 'found' that was all layered and waiting to be finished. I tied it with yarn and put on the binding. It feels really good to have one more UFO (unfinished object) completed. The only thing left is the label. As soon as I that's done, I'll show you the quilt.

The card I have for you today has a 2-fold purpose. I made it for yesterday's inspiration challenge on SCS and will also use it as one of the projects for Thursday's class. Here is the piece I used as my inspiration. I tried to get this card done yesterday, but it was one of those days where mojo was missing or hiding somewhere and I just couldn't get things to work together, so in frustration, I set it aside and sat down with a book instead. I guess sometimes you just need to sit and relax.

I decided to pull out my stamps again this morning and managed to pull this together - yay!

The flower (Fabulous Flowers - SU) is stamped in versamark on glossy white and embossed with clear ep. Then I brayered over it with rich razzleberry ink. I used a sponge to get the ink to fill in between the embossed petals of the flower. Then I thoroughly wiped it off with a tissue to bring out the embossed flower. Then I ran it through my cuttlebug in a labels four die (Spellbinders). I stamped Picotage (Cornish Heritage Farms) background on whisper white in perfect plum ink and ran it through my cuttlebug with the largest labels four die. I then sponged the edges with rich razzleberry. I glued the two labels together and lightly drew around the smaller one with a rich razzleberry marker. I added 6 punched holes (1/8") and added some ribbon.

For the card base, I stamped a phrase from Heard from the Heart (SU) in razzleberry on pale plum. Then I backed one edge with a scalloped punch piece of white and glued these to a razzleberry card base.

The main image piece is attached with dimensional foam tape.

Thank you so much for visiting today. Have a wonder-filled day.

inspired trees

Hi everyone. This morning I checked today's inspiration challenge on SCS and decided to use one of the samples given rather than look through the webside. This card was rather fun to make. So not my usual style.

I selected several colors of cardstock and ink for the trees. With a wood grain stamp (Hero Arts), I inked the following: really rust ink on really rust cardstock, always artichoke on mellow moss, creamy caramel on creamy caramel, and chocolate chip on cranberry crist & chocolate chip. Then I punched different sized circles from the pieces and cut narrow strips for the tree trunks. Then I arranged them on the cool caribbean cardstock. I stamped the little bird (A Muse) on top of the tallest tree and again on really rust and cut out the rust one, leaving off the legs, and gluing the body over the first one.

I rounded the corners with a punch, added a strip along the bottom with some brads and a computer generated sentiment, which I punched out with a word window punch. Then I glued everything to a chocolate chip card base.

Thank you so much for stopping by today. Be blessed.

Sweet!

Hi again. I certainly didn't expect to get any stamping time in this morning, but I checked the ways to use it challenge on SCS and just had to... KWIM? The challenge was to use something sweet. I'm not sure I have any food stamps, so I went in a totally different direction. Sweet smelling roses. Using a favorite set and mostly scraps, this card took less than 30 minutes.

I used Roses in Winter (SU)... colors: regal rose, melon mambo, rose red, certainly celery & old olive. I masked over the flower when I stamped all the green. The sentiment is stamped in black stazon. And then over the top I stamped Linen (SU) in creamy caramel. A bit of distressing and sponging around the edges. Layers: melon mambo, basic black & certainly celery under the white. I already had the melon mambo card base cut and folded as a hinge card, so I just went with that. The ribbon runs between the layers, but that part is glued together, so it doesn't show on the inside.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Be blessed.

thankful

O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 107:1

When I went to bed around midnight last night, I looked out the window and the grass was all W-H-I-T-E!!! Yikes! I know it's late November, but I am just NOT ready for that yet. Thankfully, it has all melted by this morning. Now it's just raining.

We always get together for Thanksgiving dinner at my oldest sister's house with as many siblings and their families that can make it. She lives just a half hour away for me, but others come from greater distances. It's really a great time and everyone contributes to the meal, sharing in the preparation and making the work lighter. My contribution is normally cheesecake and green bean casserole. I made the cheesecake last night and will do the other this morning, wrap it up to keep it warm and join everyone for the noon meal.

After the big meal is all cleared away and cleaned up, we settle in for some crafting. We're making apple cider this year and after that, I haven't figured out what to take along to work on. I went digging last night, hoping to find some quilting that was small enough to work on. I haven't worked on any quilting in such a long time, and with tapering off my stamping class schedule to just a couple a month, I've been hoping to be able to spend more time getting my hands on my fabric. So as I was digging and searching, I came across a quilt top that I'd forgotten about (one I made when I was teaching quilting - 4 years ago). But that wasn't all --- I found another which is all layered and spray-basted that I had completely forgotten I'd even made! If I didn't need a lot of room to spread out for that one, I'd take it along. Or maybe I should take it and get help tying it. Ha!

Well, enough rambling. I just wanted to come post a Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I am thankful for each one of you. Have a blessed, safe and wonder-filled day.