Thursday, November 28, 2024

Thankful!


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I know that today's celebration is an American holiday but being thankful should certainly not be confined to only one day a year, and gratitude is good for all of us regardless of our age, gender, or nationality!  I love this particular holiday and appreciate it more and more the older I get!  I have been missing my parents this week, but especially my mom (she passed in 2014) as I've spent the last several days preparing "heritage family favorite" recipes, and we're saying our thankful prayers as we also just celebrated Patrick's mother's 90th birthday!  We're so grateful to have Matthew with us this year for the holidays!  My gratitude list could go on and on...


Today's card celebrates the vibrant colors of Fall in all its glory!  I wish you could see this card IRL...it is so shimmery and sparkly and very simply elegant.  The camera just doesn't capture it.  


I used copper metallic card stock and a crackle texture sheet of designer paper from Craft Consortium Test of Time for the card's background.  The tag was die-cut from plain white card stock that was inked with Delicata silver and copper inks and spattered with diluted distress inks/distress oxide inks.  That made a bright, shimmery background for the colorful Boho Fall Leaves.    

The inside was kept clean and simple, spattered with silver and copper shimmer and topped with an accent panel of the same metallic and crackle texture papers.

All of the stamps used in this project are from one stamp set, Boho Fall Leaves, which is available individually or as a bundle with its coordinating dies.

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I hope that you enjoy this Thanksgiving Day and the coming weekend!  As it ushers in the remaining holiday season, I hope that you find moments of peace and contentment during this, the busiest and most hectic and often quite stressful time of the year!  Holiday blessings to you and yours!  

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Thursday, November 21, 2024

Tri-fold Pocket Card


Hi everyone!  

In the last week two of my spinning friends (one in Utah, the other in the Netherlands) posted photos of their cold and snowy-white back porches, and that's what inspired today's card.    

Often when we exchange Christmas gifts we include cash or a gift card...it's a preference for some, and easier for travelers than having to transport a gift back home.  So each year when I'm making cards, I always make some sort of gift card wallet to make the presentation more special.  


This one is a tri-fold made from a 5.5 x 11 inch piece of card stock, scored at 4 1/4 and 8 1/2 inches.  I used Spellbinders classic circle dies to cut a window into the card front.  That's a sheet from Craft Consortium Brick Textures there in the background.  The images I used are from a couple of stamp sets from our Christmas collections.    


The right half of "positive" piece from the card front is attached to the flap so that it is visible from the outside.  I stamped the deer directly onto a piece of designer paper from Test of Time.  The stamped images and sentiments were under-stamped with distress inks and then over-stamped with Delicata Silvery Shimmer, so IRL this card is quite shimmery, sparkly and elegant!  I under-stamped the tree with Iced Spruce to give only the very palest hint of green. The deer was under stamped with Hickory Smoke distress oxide ink topped with the Delicata.


I love how the various Craft Consortium papers work so well together.  With the right side of the card opened, the cash/gift card pocket is visible.  It was made from the remaining piece of card stock, accented with designer paper, with a thumb hole cut out using small circle dies.  (Just be sure to only glue it down on three sides!).  The Tim Holtz die cut greenery helps bring the tree theme from the card front to the inside.

The center and innermost section of the card is a sheet of "damask" from Craft Consortium Baroque with one sentiment stamped directly onto the paper and another that is die-cut.  


Both sentiments peek through the window when the card is left partially open for display.

The images on this shimmery but clean-and-simple card would work for either a masculine or feminine recipient.  Without the pearl it could be mailed without requiring hand cancellation although it will likely require extra postage, and sending cash through the mail is considered risky business!  

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Thursday, November 14, 2024

Silent Night "Dutch Door" Card

Hi y'all!  It has been a really busy week here, with chorale dress rehearsal and then two concerts over the weekend.  Between all of that I have been working on Christmas spinning and knitting.  I've finished Mila's hat and have about half of James' done too.  Looks like I'm gonna need to spin a little more green yarn before I can knit his green and white stripes.  I'm really getting impatient to get them finished, and when they're done I'll mail them so that they can open them early and get some good wear from them this winter.  

I had seen variations of these (what I'll call a sort of Dutch Door card) on Pinterest, and since then the idea for this card has been kinda simmering in the background.   I had made a vertical half-front card about a month ago, so it was only logical to make a horizontal one too.  I just had to find the right stamps and dies, and I think these are perfect for it!      

I used the trees die from our Country Church stamp/die set to die cut the trees from the card front, and used scissors to snip the rest of the card front away.  Diluted white acrylic paint scraped along the edges of the card stock and tree branches give the illusion of accumulated snow.  

The star was stamped with Memento ink, colored with Copic markers, given glittering accents with a clear Wink of Stella glitter marker and a sparkling jewel center.  


The starry night background is a combination of translucent distress inks in a variety of colors including pale green, light blue, dark blue and black.  The sentiments were stamped with silver Delicata ink.  

Finally everything was given a liberal "snowing" of diluted white acrylic paint and silver ink.  I love how soft and fluffy some of those snow flakes turned out to be!  

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Thursday, November 7, 2024

A Christmas Cardinal


Hello friends!

On Mondays I facilitate a ukulele group at Shepherd Center and this week, in the adjacent classroom the flower arranging class had beautiful red faux cardinals to include in their floral arrangements. They were SO pretty.  When I sat at my desk to create this week's project, they inspired me!  

I love the symbolism of the cardinal.  They're often associated with messages of love and hope, of remembrance of a loved one who has passed on, or the presence of angels.  Some say that the red signifies the blood of Christ and that cardinals are a sign of divine intervention.      


I combined our Vintage Christmas background stamp with one of our older sets, God Will Take Care of You, to create this project.  The background stamp and the branch were stamped onto some pale grey card stock, colored with Copic markers, die-cut, distressed and heavily inked with tea dye distress ink.


For the inside I stamped the bird and branch directly onto a piece of designer paper that had enough of a design to be interesting when viewed through the card front but was not so busy that it would detract from the stamping.  Here I added just a hint of black to the stamped image because I wanted the cardinals markings to be black rather than grey or brown.  Once again, the edges of the paper were inked and distressed, and the entire card front and back was generously splashed with diluted acrylic paint "snow."  (In all the years that we have lived in Florida it has only snowed once or twice, so here we are, "living vicariously!"  I'm not good at cold, so I'm ok with an only occasional experience of the real thing.)

There are other snowflakes in the store that one could use, but this little snowflake is a tiny little surprise that is not visible when the card is closed.  I added a bright red pearl to its center, but if you're mailing this card you could leave that off if you'd rather.  I kept the embellishments for this one really simple but if the recipient were a girlie girl, it could certainly be blinged and bowed up, especially if it could be hand-delivered!  

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Friday, November 1, 2024

Hot tea and a good read! Well wishes for a sick friend!


Hi y'all!  Happy November!  Wow, time is absolutely flying by! Christmas is not far away!  If you're making cards and hand-made gifts, seriously, it is not that far off!  

And if you're here for the coffee lover's blog hop, a special welcome!


Illness seems to go hand-in-hand with this busy season.  My friend recently tested positive for Covid, so I decided to make a little tea-inspired "well wishes" tea bag/gift card holder for her.  The project has two criss-cross pockets that are perfect for filling with a folded tag, gift cards, tea bags, etc. 

While shuffling through stamp sets I discovered that the verse from one of our other sets would fit perfectly onto the front of this no nonsense mug, which is just the ticket for a not so frilly or frou frou friend.  This verse seems so appropriate for the circumstance, and I'm so grateful that the more recent versions of this virus seem to be less threatening than the original.  It was really scary at the beginning of the pandemic.  


Here is what it looks like from the back side.   


Ironically, the whole thing is tea-bag shaped when viewed from the side! *wink*


I included some soothing hot teas and a bookstore gift card for some sick bed entertainment.  Warm drinks help a sore throat, and curling up with a good book will help the down time seem to go by faster and maybe provide a mental/emotional escape!  I even stamped some eucalyptus silhouettes on the folded tag insert, because it's so often used for coughs and in breathing treatments.    

It would be really easy to convert this project to be coffee themed for a book-and-coffee-loving friend who is not confined to home!  


Making this project is actually pretty simple!  It is basically an 8.25 inch square of card stock scored at 2 3/4 from each long edge with the outside corners cut off (so it is shaped like a stop sign) and then the two outside middles are cut out.  Finally, the center/bottom is scored to fold in half and if desired, notched and tapered just a little so the corners don't show from the front when it's assembled.  

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Thursday, October 24, 2024

JOY of the Season


Are you one of those clever stampers who have been making Christmas cards all year long already?!  That is sometimes a challenge for me as I *really* need to be in the mood for Christmas stamping.  I am a "keep Christmas in your heart all year" kinda person (I keep up a small pencil tree all year!)  but still, for the most part I like celebrating each holiday one at a time and in the correct order!  Therefore, gearing up to stamp Christmas cards before it is even Halloween is something I find difficult but necessary!  Looking at this sunny photo might give you another inkling why stamping early for Christmas is challenging around here!


This warm plaid flannel print goes a long way toward establishing the right ambiance for Christmas stamping, especially for a masculine card using vintage imagery!  I decided to keep things really simple, using a unique fold and only a very few embellishments.  In fact, without the bow and pearls, this card would be a perfectly flat card that would be excellent for mailing without having to be hand-cancelled.    

Instructions for the fold:
  • cut 9 x 5.5 inch card stock, score at 3 and 6, and adhere designer papers if desired
  • cut 3 x 9 inch piece also score at 3 and 6; stamp or adhere images/sentiments
  • fold all, align and adhere to make 4.25 inch wide x 5.5 inch tall card (be sure to only glue half of the front and back panels to accommodate the overhangs!)
  • embellish as desired 

I chose to use a couple of die-cut shapes to embellish the center panel.  The stamped image and sentiment are both from the same stamp set.    


I distress inked and then spattered the entire card and tri-fold panel with "snow" (diluted acrylic paint or Snow Tex, etc). 

Super easy and fun and a great way to use up some smaller than standard card sized scraps!  And it makes me think of my dad and my brothers, especially my brother Jerry!  ❤️

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Thursday, October 17, 2024

Thanking God for you! (so many linemen to the rescue!)

 

Hi everyone!  Thanks for visiting!  

People in Florida and North Carolina are still reeling from the damage done by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.  At the time of this writing, in Florida alone there are still over 100,000 people without power.    

For many, power loss after a hurricane is a hot, muggy, uncomfortable inconvenience, but the closer one lives toward the eye of the storm, having power to begin clean-up, restoration and reconstruction is really critical.  

Seeing linemen in their trucks driving from near and far across the country ahead of the storm so that they can be immediately deployed to those critical areas is one of those things that restores one's faith in humanity!  What a sweet sight for sore eyes!      


Those linemen...over 50,000 of them...have been faithfully working so diligently in not just un-fun but very dangerous conditions to restore Florida's electricity, and we all want them to know how much they are appreciated! So my card for today uses designer papers that establish that "soggy sheetrock" and "missing dock" atmosphere along with a power pole fashioned of card stock and twine.  

The sentiments are from one of our pastor/ministry appreciation sets, but as you can see, this set could work in many situations beyond the traditional interpretation of church ministry.  

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Wednesday, October 9, 2024

You rule over the surging sea!


Hello everyone!

Here in Florida, hurricanes have dominated much of everyday life for the last week or two!  First Helene and now Milton.  So when it was time to stamp, I was thinking of the developing storm, the turbulent ocean, and so many of my fellow Floridians storm prepping, putting up storm shutters, gathering the supplies they will need as they "hunker down!"  Food, water, wine, flashlights, batteries and chargers, power failure entertainment, etc.  So here's the card I came up with, because I am praying that He will indeed still the storm (lessen the wind speed, the rain, and the surge)!


This is just a standard top-folding card with a portion of the card front cut away so that the papers on the inside can show through.   LOVE Love love the new paper pad from Craft Consortium and how it works so well with their earlier designs.  Here it is paired with Beach Hut.   


Here's the inside with the half-front flipped out of the way to reveal the scripture inside.  I love these passages of scripture and added the background stamp with a verse from Psalms which is along the same theme.  

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I hope you will please continue to pray for all of the folks in the path of Helene and now also Milton.  This is a big scary storm so here in northeast Florida we are hoping to stay safe and sound as the storm makes its way from west to east across our state.  Also hoping to emerge on the other side healthy and whole, without major damage to life, limb, or possessions.  Definitely praying for all of the folks further south throughout  the Florida peninsula.  Sharing so much gratitude for all of the first responders, linemen, and all of the people behind the scenes who do all of the necessary things to keep things running smoothly.  Y'all are amazing!

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Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Fill Up!


Hi friends!  

It has been a very stressful week for the entire southeastern portion of the US, from Florida up through the Carolinas.  Thankfully, in spite of several fallen trees in our neighborhood (two just a few doors down in either direction from our home which rendered our cul de sac inaccessible to traffic in or out for the better part of Friday) we made it through without experiencing any damage.  Our power only blinked and then came right back on, but for many others, of course, things were drastically different.  💔

Unfortunately I remember what it is like to be on the receiving end of hurricane damage.  The following photo was taken during Hurricane Jeanne in 2004, the year so many storms criss-crossed over the Florida peninsula (a year before Katrina ravaged New Orleans and Rita decimated my hometown of Westlake, Louisiana). We were out of our home for six months while the entire master suite was taken back down to concrete and rebuilt.    


Last week's Hurricane Helene came ashore exactly on the 20th anniversary of our "ginormous tree" incident.  Incredibly, Helene's effects extended deep into the interior, even as far as Asheville/Hendersonville NC, where I have extended family who have been affected.  

It might seem ridiculous, but let me tell you from my own personal experience:  a simple cup of coffee is such a comfort when one has suffered this kind of trauma.  It's partly because it's something so much a part of everyday life at a time when absolutely nothing feels normal and Life has completely deviated from routine.  It's also something much SO much more than that...it represents generosity and compassion and camaraderie, when small gestures mean everything!  They help to restore one's faith in the world, hope for the future, and confidence in the goodness of humanity.

And so, today's card is shared with a prayer for all of those across the southeast who are without power, water, food, transportation and other resources, who are overwhelmed and running on empty on so many levels.  Many have even lost loved ones.  May there be someone in their midst who can refresh them...body, mind, and spirit...with a hot cup of coffee (or tea if that's their preference!) and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them to help them and their families start on the road to recovery, someone to pray with them, to share their burdens and understand their sorrows.  🙏🏻   

If you're someone who is able to contribute money, resources or time to help, I hope you will do so!  So many people are in need!  There are lots of good charities out there to choose from.  Listen to your heart!  


Now, about today's project!  The design and colors were inspired by our new (and very first) Stamp Simply designer paper pad, Coffee or Tea?!  These colors are bright and cheerful and a pleasant departure from the drab neutrals of so many coffee-inspired papers.  I stamped various cups from our Have a Cup on Us set and colored them in Copic colors to match the designer paper.  With a tall card (8.5 square scored and folded in half for a 4.25 x 8.5 inch card) there was room to stack lots of cups!    


This paper is a really fun mix of vintage images and more modern ones too, with lots of mix & match options.  I love the little wispy leaves and flowers in the background of the dp and decided to mimic those with ribbons, lace, cheesecloth, and paper flowers.  


I kept the inside really clean and simple, using a scrap of the designer paper for a gift card pocket stamped with a sentiment.  I will have to make a coffee shop run to purchase a gift card to put inside. 


Speaking of gifts...be sure to take a look at our coffee themed products in the store, and also take a peek at the Stamp Simply blog.  Check out Sharon's blog post for the National Coffee Day blog hop and leave your comment to have your chance to win a $25 gift code!  Thursday, October 2 is the last day to do so! 


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Thursday, September 26, 2024

Thank You, With Gratitude


I had a regular dental check-up last week (yay for clean, healthy teeth!) and they gave me a bag of dental "goodies" so I immediately thought of recycling it.  If you're looking for a project that is super fast and easy, then this is IT!  


This border stamp was just perfect for this project and made a beautifully bright, colorful accent for this basic kraft paper bag.  It took just a few minutes to color with Copics.  The "with GRATITUDE" sentiment was stamped directly onto the bag, carefully aligning it to avoid the bumpy handle attachments and the bottom-of-the-bag folds so that it would stamp clearly and cleanly.  


I used a Tim Holtz tag stamped with a sentiment from the same stamp set, set atop a Spellbinder's heart die cut from Craft Consortium's Ink Drops Sunset designer paper.  I love that this die looks pretty even from the wrong side!  The kraft colored seam binding and jute thread allow the heart and the leaf border to remain the star of the show but still balance the color scheme.  

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Please say a prayer for those in the path of Hurricane Helene!  We have done as much hurricane preparation as possible as we "Plan for the worst and hope for the best!"  Now all we can do is "hurry up and wait!"  
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