Three Anniversary Toasts

Hello there!

In my stash of cards, my "Wedding / Anniversary" category is really slim.  So one day I got out a few stamps and made three anniversary cards with those same supplies, changing the patterned paper for each card.

Papertrey Ink Propose A Toast glass stamp & matching die, Inside And Out: Love sentiment; rhinestones; Rubber Stampede grapes rubber stamp

Bizarro grape cluster; Papertrey Ink Propose A Toast wine glass,Inside And Out: Love sentiment; Hero Arts Old French Script Background stamp; ivory dots

Bizarro grape cluster; Papertrey Ink Propose A Toast wine glass,Inside And Out: Love sentiment; Hero Arts Old French Script Background stamp; ivory dots

Definitely need to make more, but goodness, there are only so many hours in a day and so much energy in this girl!!  LOL

Thanks for dropping in!

For the Guys

Hello again!  It is Tuesday April 7, 2020 as I write this.  It's time to get ready for bed, but I wanted to put together a post to share for tomorrow.  😀  I just took a walk to get some fresh air, because it is supposed to rain overnight and for at least part of the day on Wednesday.  It was SO QUIET outside as I walked.  So quiet.  It's peaceful, and weird. 

So today I'm sharing some cards that have a masculine touch.  Always one of my tougher categories to create.  In fact, when my husband's birthday or our anniversary rolls around, I get so nervous, and procrastinate making his card because I think it won't look 'good enough'.  He tells me he always likes my cards, but you know how we are each our own worst critic. 

My Favorite Things Cheerful Blessings sentiment stamp; Bizzaro Fish stamp; L'il Inker Designs Stitched Rectangles dies; Stampin' Up! Paper Pumpkin You Are My Anchor sailboat, anchor, wheel stamps; Kat Scrappiness Stitched Postage Stamp Edge Rectangles die

Stampin' Up! Hardwood background stamp, Paper Pumpkin You Are My Anchor anchor; black twine; My Favorite Things Pierced Traditional Tags die; Papertrey Ink The Skinny sentiment stamp; vintage thread

Stampin' Up! Paper Pumpkin You Are My Anchor anchor, wheel, sentiment stamps; woven ribbon; twine; My Favorite Things Slanted Sentiment Strips die

After work this evening (as I write this on Tuesday), I polished more silver.  LOL  Why not, right?  I have a collection of baby cups, and they needed to be shined up.  One cup is my husband's, two belong to my daughters, and the rest I've just collected from antique and vintage shops.  It's not a big collection, but to me they are sweet little treasures.  One has the name 'Warren' on it.  Another more ornate one has the initials 'E.M.' engraved on the side.  I'll have to take a picture of them in the daylight to show you.

God bless you all, and I pray you remain healthy and safe.
xo

A collection of cards

Hello again!

With a few hours of free time today to photo-edit these pictures, I am happy to share these cards I've made in the past several months.  Thanks for looking, and enjoy!

Butterflies by BoBunny - flowers by Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch - sentiment by Momenta 'Hello'

So Sweet and Donut dies by Sizzix 'Donut Phrases' - sentiment by Papertrey Ink's 'Just Desserts' - polka dot paper by Stampin' Up!

sentiment and house stamps by Stampin' Up! - Spellbinders Fleur de Lis die - Martha Stewart hydrangea punch

Love / anniversary card using coffee cup sleeves & heart dies by My Favorite Things

Collage card using Altenew 'Label Love' sentiment, Stampin' Up! 'French Script Background' - leaf by Top Dog Dies - clothing tag

Papertrey Ink 'Keep It Simple: Home' & 'Home Made' stamps, 'Topiary Trio' die (for a bush) - Unity Stamps 'Helping Me Grow' (hydrangea seed packet stamp used as background)  

Power Poppy 'Olive & Oak Expanded' sentiment - Top Dog Dies 'Fall Foliage' leaves & acorns

Bizarro 'Fish' - glittered chipboard star made from cardboard - sentiment Inspired by Stamping 'Chalkboard Birthday'

Thanks so much for taking a look today, and visiting me!  God bless you, have a wonderful day!

Can you stand a few more Father's Day cards?

Alas, I was unable to get these posted before Father's Day last weekend, so here are my stragglers.

This card base is a weird color to me.  You might think it was Soft Suede by Stampin' Up!, but it's not.  I've had it in my stash since I served on the Mark's Finest Papers team a while back.  No idea what the color is called.  There actually IS some Soft Suede on here; the larger die cut frame.  Quite a difference, huh?

Stamps: Masculine Tags, Background Basics II - Inspired By Stamping Paper: brown pattern, green pattern - Old World stack - DCWV; Soft Suede, Going Gray, kraft - SU; brown base - Mark's Finest Papers Ink: black - Rubber Stampede; Early Espresso - SU; Walnut Stain - Ranger Fibers: cotton twill, jute ribbon, vintage thread Accessories & Tools: corner rounder punch - Fiskars; brown corduroy button - SU; Bronze Distress Glitter glue - Ranger; Fancy Labels 2 die - IBS

The next one is a go-to card for Father's Day for me.  I've had it pinned almost 400 times on Pinterest, from an old post of mine from 2010.   I remade it for the shop, and added a sentiment on the front this time.

I did make several to sell, and so my hand was a-hurtin' after cutting out all those fish!  I used an old, old stamp from Bizarro.

Stamps: sentiment - Cherish - Inspired By Stamping; fish - Bizarro; Print Pattern background - SU Paper: Close to Cocoa, Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Naturals, Ivory - SU Ink: Close to Cocoa - SU; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Fibers: cotton twill, twine - SU Accessories & Tools: circle punches; black fine-tipped pen

The next card was inspired by this card.  I did not want to outright CASE every detail, so I changed it up to feel more masculine and earthy.

All of the stamps are from Inspired By Stamping.  On the harlequin border, I used a new-to-me Distress Embossing Powder from Ranger.  Pity you can't really see it in the photos.  It's something with a sandy texture.

Now, I'm notorious for reading directions, er, um, not very thoroughly.  Just ask dear hubby.  So, I went about embossing this image for the first time with the Distress Embossing Powder, and I thought I was doing something wrong.  It kept crumbling off.  I thought I had not heated it enough.  Kept hitting it with the heat gun, burning my fingers and all.  Then, I checked the package, which reads "To distress, emboss image and allow to cool for a few seconds. Lightly rub embossed image with your finger or Cut n’ Dry Foam to remove the special release crystals. Some colors release more than others, so don’t worry if some rub off more or less …it’s part of the “aged” look."  (You can read the rest of the instructions here if you want.)  Ahhh!  So, I was doing it right all along! (shaking head)

I added splashes of Khaki Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels on the card to 'mess it up' a bit, and you can see it best below:

Since my husband turned the card this way (see below) when he opened it on Father's Day, thinking this was the proper orientation, I wanted to show you what it looks like in a horizontal format.

Had I not already filled in the inside of the card, I would have just twisted that fleur-de-lis around and kept the card horizontal.  I like it better!

Stamps: father's day - Happy Occasions, wishes - Chalkboard Birthday, fleur-de-lis & harlequin border - French Country - Inspired By Stamping Paper: River Rock, Soft Suede, Basic Black, ivory - SU Ink: Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko; Chocolate Chip - SU Fibers: chocolate twine - American Crafts Accessories & Tools: Khaki Glimmer Mist - Tattered Angels; circle punches and dies; chocolate pearl - Recollections; Corduroy Distress Embossing Powder - Ranger

Thanks so much for visiting today!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Summer Fun, as seen by an 8-year-old

This is my eight-year-old's idea of Summer Fun, the Stampin' B's Challenge #64.

Kerry occasionally loves to stamp with Mom. I get excited when she joins me, because I am eager to share my passion for this hobby with her.

Yesterday we had some down time when a storm blew through (and I do mean 'blew': my patio umbrella went up, up and away! I had to chase it down in driving rain, blowing winds and a fierce lightning storm - yikes). Kerry wanted to participate with me in the Summer Fun challenge and asked me what kind of summery stamps I have. I actually don't have all that many. (gasp! A reason to shop for more stamps!) She chose Medallion background as a sun (so clever of her!) and tried to create a picnic scene with a picket fence. She used watermelon and lemonade stamps from SU (I have NO idea what set they came from; they were sold loose at a yard sale), grapes and a lady pointing from Bizarro (these two are at least 20 years old, wow!), and a butterfly and flower from SU's Cause for Celebration, an older retired set. Her fence and cup of lemonade are popped up on dimensionals. A girl after my own heart...I can't LIVE without dimensionals!

Thanks so much for visiting. I hope you've enjoyed seeing a budding artist's work!

Happy Stamping,
Colleen

Stamps: Bizarro - lady, grapes; Stampin' Up! - Cause for Celebration, Medallion, unknown set

Paper: Close to Cocoa, Whisper White

Ink: Summer Sun, Basic Black, Pixie Pink, Sage Shadow, Orchid Opulence

Punch: MS Picket Fence

Other: dimensionals, marker, Stampamajig

Fishy Father's Day

The other day I posted a golf-themed Father's Day card for my husband and his dad. This card is for my husband's non-golfing step-dad, John. He does like to fish, though, and as I am quite lacking in masculine stamps, I thought this would be so apropos.

The fish stamp is, like, 20 years old. It is from a company called Bizarro. I just found out today that they are still in business! Good for them. Way back when I got the fish stamp, they used to include a free stamp in every order over a certain dollar amount. Don't know if they still do, but my fish was free! He's been sitting in my stamping supplies for way too long, uninked. I am so glad to have used him.

Rather than color in these fish images, mostly because I think I could not do them justice, I decided to leave them looking like pen illustrations. When I arranged them on the vanilla cardstock layer, there seemed to be something missing. I used my Stampin' Up! journaling pen and a ruler to create a fine, thin border. I also punched 1/16" holes where their mouths are and threaded them onto twine. Knotted the twine, then fed it through tiny holes punched through the cardstock layers. On the back, I used Scotch tape to secure the ends of the twine. Then I arranged the fish, which have dimensionals on the back, in fanned-out positions.

I usually decorate the inside of my cards, and I did a little bit of something on this one. Just another fish in black, and a Father's Day sentiment in Chocolate Chip to give it simple flair.

Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps: fish from Bizarro; Teeny Tiny Wishes, Linen background, Print Pattern background by SU

Paper: Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla, Old Olive

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black

Other: twill tape, twine, 1/16" hole punch, dimensionals, Stampamajig, Scotch tape