More Grid Cards!

Me again. 😀  Two posts today!  I had this saved in drafts too.  Months and months ago, I had stamped images and then used square punches to highlight them.  I used Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen Distress Inks to give the edges a bit of interest.

On the first card, I also used the Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch with pearls, of course.

On the card below, I pasted the squares on to an old diary page (blank) that I stamped over for a collage look.  The green leaves in the background are from Papertrey Ink Meadow Greens.  Sentiment is also PTI, from Words of Comfort.  The butterfly sticker is from DCWV and it's got a great glossiness to it.

Okay!  Off to do other chores on this holiday.  I had just visited my mom in Texas, got home yesterday, and there's much laundry etc to do.

Take care, God bless!

Lemons, Lemons

Hello everyone!  

I had to pop in to Blogger for an unexpected reason, and I thought maybe I should post a card that I had saved in my drafts.  This is definitely a summer card, using Life, Love & Lemons by Flourishes stamps, and the matching patterned paper is older Stampin' Up!.

I hope all is well in your little corner of the world!  And Happy Memorial Day weekend to those in the USA! 

Orange Lilacs

Hello friends!  This is a bit different:  orange lilacs.  Here's how this came to be.  I had purchased this PSX Lilac stamp from an online sale site, and when it arrived, I wanted to test it to be sure it stamped well.  I chose a cardstock color that I don't use a lot of, in case the stamped image was less than desirable.  Then I wouldn't feel badly about tossing it, if it was no good. 😊

But, the lilacs stamped well so I saved the image.  I trimmed it out, and added it to a gardening book page (fitting!) and added a strip of orange patterned paper plus a few other elements.

PSX Lilacs; Stampin' Up! Fancy Fibers; pearls; old gardening book page

My daughter saw it and loved it.  This gave me the confidence to go ahead and post it, even if it is a bit different.

Thanks for your visit!

A Quartet of Birds

Hello my friends,

It's been a while. 😀  Had not intended for so much time to pass, but life kept me oh-so-busy, and I was tired.  And then it became busy in a different way, and I am still tired.  LOL

I have been making cards so frequently, mostly on weekends.  The process of getting them nicely here to the blog is a process that I've had no energy for.  So glad I have several drafts lined up so I can pick from them, add supply lists and hit "publish".

K & Co. bird, flowers, eggs stickers; Martha Stewart Branch punch; Papertrey Ink Choose Joy sentiment 

K & Co. bird, nest stickers; Martha Stewart Branch punch; My Favorite Things Inspired By Spring sentiment; Stampin' Up! Decorative Label punch

K & Co. bird sticker; My Favorite Things Pierced Traditional Tags die, Traditional Tags die; button; twine; Papertrey Ink Tiny Tags die; Martha Stewart Modern Garland punch; The Greetery Sentiment Suite: Birthay sentiment

K & Co. bird sticker; Hug Snug Ash Pink seam binding; button; lace

These K & Co. bird stickers are beautiful, and easily dress up a card.  I have a stash of them and parcel them out a little at a time, as they are hard to find (or impossible?).  

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. ~ Matthew 10:29 BSB

Thanks for your visit today! 😃

Cristabel - and Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue

Hello my friends.  I just haven't felt up to being here on the blog for a while.  We had to say a very, very difficult farewell to our beloved cat Cristabel on January 13th.  She had been an asthmatic cat for years, and we made sure she received the bimonthly medicine she needed to keep her airways clear.  In December, she seemed off, and that medicine did not help her.  After a visit to the vet on 1/4 with antibiotics that did not help, we took her to the hospital on 1/11 (same day I started radiation treatments), and discovered that her lungs had worsened badly, very rapidly.  The vets were not sure if it was pneumonia or cancer, or maybe both.  None of the treatments she received helped.  Oh how our hearts broke to watch her labor to breathe, and to know it was time to say goodbye.  She was a good friend and companion, and a special family member to us. 💔

Here's my card for today....

Precious Remembrance Happy Mail envelope, postage stamp; Flourishes Roses Are Red rose, sentiment; pearls

And a couple more of our precious Bel...

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

Very Victorian

Happy Friday!  Popping in real quick to share a card with a Victorian flair.  I'm entering it over at NBUS Challenge # 34 -- I used a new-to-me-but-really-old gardening book to create my card.

Anna Griffin flowers in urn; Inspired By Stamping Vintage Postcards postmarks;
paper flower; brad; pearls

The gardening book was a great deal (maybe $3) and will provide a lot of fun 'patterned paper' for the days to come.  

Our Christmas decorations are still up.  Last night we took the ornaments off the tree, so that will come down soon.  Slowly I will put away the other things.  Life is going to be especially busy the next month and a half, and my energy may wane.  Have to remind myself to take it easy, take it slow, and rest often.

Hope to be back here on the blog again very soon with another card or two!

God bless you! 

Bird in Branch

This little bird has my heart!  He's from a Wplus9 set called Vintage Ephemera, and I think he's the sweetest.  I had to pair him with musical notes, and even a little scrap from a vintage hymn book.

Wplus9 Vintage Ephemera bird; Inkadinkado Manuscript (don't know if this is the real name, can't find this on the internet!); Skipping Stones Designs Timeless Textures Backgrounds music notes; My Favorite Things Bold Greenery; Prima flower

Although this is not a Christmas card, it does remind me of caroling.  I've not done that in a SUPER long time.  When I was in high school in Texas, my German class went to a local senior citizens home.  We sang Christmas carols in German.  So cool!  That's a nice memory that still makes me feel warm inside.

Bucket of Lavender

Yesterday was hydrangeas in December; today is lavender in December!  Why not, right?  I've got a backlog of cards to share.

This is a Power Poppy bucket of lavender, colored with Tombow markers.

Power Poppy Lavender; Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch; Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Accents flower punch; pearls

Short and sweet today.

Wishing you a beautiful day! 💜

Blue Hydrangeas

Hello friends!

Life has been busy, and of course it's close to Christmas so there have been additional things to do.  I am popping in with a hydrangea, in December! 💙

Altenew Paint-A-Flower: Hydrangea; Papertrey Ink Tiny Tags sentiment, die; white cotton thread; yellow Stickles; Stampin' Up! Very Versailles script stamp

I have some good news to share:  no chemo is needed!  I will begin radiation treatments soon-ish, no date set yet.  But, praise God I don't need chemo!!  

Sending hugs your way,

Planted In My Heart

When Papertrey Ink was discounting many of their stamps and dies months ago, I bought quite a few things.  Among my new goodies is Garden Variety stamps and dies.  I keep meaning to play more with the suite of items, because they are so charming!  I created just one card so far.  My intentions are good, I promise!

Papertrey Ink Garden Variety stamps and matching dies; crochet lace; Stampin' Up! ribbon; pearls; Market Street Stamps Gingham Background

I'm going to enter this at Word Art Wednesday, challenge #517-518.  "Anything Goes"!

While I was visiting over there at W.A.W., I noticed this card of mine made it into the Top 3!  That made my day much sweeter!  Thank you all at WAW!

Thanks for your visit today 😊

A Day for Groovy Guava

Hello again!  Yesterday I posted a card that featured Groovy Guava and mentioned I had a fun time making a few cards with that retired In Color from Stampin' Up!.  Here are the other two!  All in the same color scheme:  Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Groovy Guava, Certainly Celery.

They're simple cards, but I wanted to share just so I could say hello to you all again.  😊

Stampin' Up! Simply Scrapping kit (Secret Garden?), Touch of Nature butterfly; Papertrey Ink Love Lives Here sentiment and house; Inkadinkado Chandeliers flourishes; gold sequin

Stampin' Up! Simply Scrapping kit from years ago!  Secret Garden?; gold sequins

Thanks for joining me again!  God bless you!

Succulents, two ways

Happy hump day!  Halfway through this chilly week, and we might have to turn on our heat.  We like to wait as long as possible to save money, but it's going down to 37 degrees overnight tonight, so...that's pretty cold.  LOL

I've got two similar cards to show today, both featuring succulents.  My youngest daughter, who is away at college, likes to grow succulents in her apartment room.  When my friend gave me these two stamp sets -- HoneyBee Stamps and Photo Play -- I knew they were just right for my special someone! 💕

Honeybee Stamps Stick With Me and Photo Play Stuck On You plants; Gina Marie Designs Big and Little Chain Rectangles die; My Favorite Things Stitched Sentiment Strips die; Glossy Accents glue 

Honeybee Stamps Stick With Me and Photo Play Stuck On You plants; Gina Marie Designs Big and Little Chain Rectangles die; Glossy Accents glue; The Greetery Sentiment Suite: Love sentiment

Not sure if the above photo better shows the Glossy Accents glue on the plants, but, it is there.  So shiny in real life.  I layered two of the plants on dimensionals too.

Thanks so much for joining me today.  You're the best!

Dublin Door revisited

Years ago, I made this card, and I was so proud of how it turned out.  I held on to the card for a long time, knowing eventually it would go to the just the right person, for the right occasion.  This did make its way to that special person earlier this year.  

I had been inspired by the famous doors of Dublin, Ireland.  This one is of course not brightly colored, as so many of theirs are.  As a side note, I sure am glad my husband and I got to visit Ireland in 2019, before the craziness of 2020 ensured.

The awning stands away from the card, best seen in the photo below.  The 'brass' doorknob is a brad, and the door was constructed from two different shades of gray cardstock.  I added little lines with a marker at each corner.

I even created a sidewalk for the potted topiaries (Flourishes DIY Topiaries) to stand upon.  I used Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Backgrounds to get the mottled concrete look, then drew the slab lines with a marker.

Proverbs 14:1

The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

Thanks for taking a walk down memory lane with me today. 😀

Irish Proverb

I cherish the Verve stamps I have, and rarely do I see any for sale on the internet.  So, I'm guessing I am not alone in my sentiment!  

I used a stamp from the Verve Blessings set, which is an Irish Proverb.  It's such a happy thing!

Verve Stamps Blessings sentiment; The Greetery Fleur Impressions flower stamps (on green panel), Nordic Frames die; fabric panel; sequins

I used an item for the first time that a friend gave to me a few years ago; it's an adhesive-backed piece of floral fabric.  It's pretty, so I did not want to cover up too much of it.  

Linking up to Darnell's NBUS challenge with this card.

"Live every day as if it were your last" is the last line of this Irish proverb on my card.  What a great reminder.  Some days I remember this, and other days the chaos of life makes me forget.

I hope your day is a beautiful one!

Herbed Chicken

Good morning!  I'm learning how to import email subscribers to a new service called follow.it, which I've seen other card bloggers use recently.  Hope to have this nailed down very soon, since Feedburner email subscriptions are going away in a matter of days.  Ugh.  

In the meantime, I'm popping in with one card, which used a piece of a pretty calendar my mother-in-law no longer needed.  The calendar panel has the words 'herbs' and 'rose(mary)' on it, along with a little illustration in the corner of a green herb.  I added more to it by stamping the names of herbs in Antique Linen Distress Ink.  Was happy to have a chance to use that stamp set for a change!  (see caption)

Inspired By Stamping - Spice Jar Labels herb name stamps; Stampin' Up! Flower Trio punch; yellow rhinestones; Graphic 45 patterned paper

The patterned paper is by Graphic 45; one side has the muted bold floral and the other side has chickens and roosters. 😀  I trimmed one of the roosters and added him to the herb panel. The final touches were a row of little punched flowers and gems.

Okay!  Back to figuring out this email subscription thing.  

Have a wonderful weekend!

God bless you! 

Shabby Chic Traveler

Hello!  It's so nice that, as we emerge from the pandemic, people are traveling again.  So many travel plans had to be put on hiatus last year, including our own family trip.  We'll get back to it maybe next year.

So in lieu of actual travel, here's a travel card!  Ha!

Our Craft Lounge Vintage Traveler Eiffel Tower, ticket stamps; Inspired By Stamping Vintage Postcards all other stamps used; Gina Marie Designs Big and Little Chain Rectangles die 

The blue rectangle does stand out against this mostly neutral card.  In retrospect, I wish I had added something else small and blue on the card to balance it all, but it's too late now!

Do you have any plans for a vacation this summer? 

These pics are from our trip to Ireland (a slice of heaven!) in 2019:

Blarney Castle

Me in front of Blarney Castle

Dublin University - and notice how sunny it was that day!

Thanks a bunch for coming by.

God bless you!