Pine Tree Christmas

This card was fun putting together. It all started with the pine tree dsp left over from last year. Since I wanted to emphasize the pine tree theme, I ran a piece of metallic brown cs through the Cuttlebug with a Fiskars wood grain embossing plate and cut it long and narrow to simulate a tree trunk. After tying some green embroidery floss around it, I taped it to the left side of the card.

For the greeting, I stamped the sentiment on white and ran it through the CB with a Nestabilities oval die. Then I sponged some green ink on the edges before removing it from the die, leaving a white border. Using two of my peg stamps, I added the pine and pine cones to the bottom center, then popped it up with dimensionals.

I love how the peacefulness of this design reflects the sentiment.

Christmas Lace

Here's another easy Christmas card which is also postage friendly.

After stamping the Bible verse on Very Vanilla cs, I ran it through my Cuttlebug with a Nestabilities oval. After taping the dark green dsp onto the Sage Shadow cs base, I added the lace and secured the oval over it with double-stick tape.

For the flower, I used one from a Hero Arts flower packet and added a red center with one of the shapes from the SU Boho Blossoms punch. A Stampendous dot sticker adds some glimmer.

This card is destined for one of my friends whose house is Victorian and reflects her style. I hope she enjoys it!

FROM MY FILE--Sunflower

Here's another card from my Pre-Stamped Images file that I stamped years ago!

The petals were done with SU markers, the center with chalks. The leaves and stem were colored in with markers also. The seeds on the border were enhanced with a black Gelly Roll pen. For a final touch, I used Inkessentials "Glossy Accents" for the dew drops.

The image is mounted at an angle with dimensionals over a yellow sun dsp on kraft cs. The raffia adds a hint of Autumn to the card.

Kinkade Scene

This could be a Christmas Eve scene, done beautifully by the artist. All I added was the "light" from the windows--talk about easy!

After taping the image to the back of the overlay, I stamped the sentiment above and mounted it onto the card with SU dimensionals. Done!

Takin' Care of My Peeps

We're off to visit our daughter and family in Prague again! This time, through the "miracle" of blogland, I've already scheduled some posts of cards every 2 or 3 days for you to enjoy while I'm away. Please leave your comments--I can access my emails and blog posts from my daughter's flat and look forward to your remarks.

Be sure to scroll down for any cards you may have missed. Now that I'm back on track, I've been posting every 2 or 3 days. And, of course, you can click on them for a closer look at the details.

November should be a fun month for stamping--lots of Fall colors and images, Thanksgiving cards, and more Christmas card designs to try!

FROM MY FILE--Cardinal

Talk about easy! This one was so simple, it hardly took any time at all.

Using Sage Shadow as the card base, all I had to do was color in the image with markers, add a touch of black Stickles for the eye and mount it on a scrap of dark green cardstock.

For a little glimmer, I added a bow of red metallic twine.

After adding the greeting, it was done!

OLW--Birds and Trees

Some of the details on this card did not photograph well, unfortunately. For instance, the border I did with my ScorePal stands out better IRL. So does the Spica pen enhancement on the owl's eyes and the pine cones. So what looks like kind of a dull card, actually has some sparkle to it. (If you click twice to enlarge, the sparkle shows up better.)

It was fun getting out my peg stamps for this one. I started with the pine needles, added my own "branches" with SU markers, then stamped the pine cones. The owl is from Hero Arts.

Thanks, Jennifer, for another great challenge!

FROM MY FILE--Squares of Holly

After coloring in the image with markers, I used various scraps to put this card together.

Starting with a Crumb Cake card base (formerly Kraft) I added a piece of red cardstock that I ran through the Cuttlebug for some texture and taped it on the left side. Then I taped a piece of Christmas ribbon to the textured black cardstock and taped that on the right. After securing the square with dimensionals, I found a metal ornament in my stash that was just perfect for the center of the squares. I tied some red metallic twine through the hole on top and used a glue dot to adhere it to the card for a nice postage-friendly embellishment.

Next, I stamped "Merry Christmas" on white cs, taping it to a red oval scallop and placing it as shown with dimensionals.

Using pre-stamped images from years ago is getting to be fun!

OLW--Non-traditional Christmas Colors

First of all, recognition is in order for Susan Raihala of Simplicity. Not only did Susan start our weekly challenges, but she has done a wonderful job of managing it and visiting all our blogs to comment on our entries. Kudos, Susan, for a job well done and appreciated!

The real challenge, however, is in knowing when to withdraw from something even when it is going well. I had to learn this myself several years ago, and I know the agonizing that one goes through when making this kind of decision. After all, there's a time to move on in order to pursue other things in life.

One Layer Wednesday will continue for a time with Jennifer Styles partnering with Susan to keep the challenges going. Jennifer's challenge for this week is to create a winter holiday card without using Cream, White, Red or Green cardstock for the base. I can't think of anything more non-traditional than Soft Suede, which is how I came up with the start of this card. After embossing the poinsettia in gold, I colored in the flower with a peach chalk, with black chalk toward the middle. I then added black sparkle glitter in the center. The sentiment is done with black embossing powder which also helps to make it a little more readable against the dark cardstock.

Thank you Jennifer for volunteering to help keep One Layer Wednesday going!

From My File

I have a file marked "Pre-stamped Images" where I keep them for future use. These are stamps that were either borrowed or used when a bunch of us get together to share sets around the table for just this purpose.

These birds were from several years ago, and I forgot I had them until today when I opened up the folder. I used this set originally for a beautiful card and matching bookmark for someone special. That card also featured a single bird inside that I cut out from the right side of a duplicate copy.

The chickadees are watercolored with dark and light grays, the leaves with a grayish green. I used markers for the berries and branch. The hardest part was the layering which required precise cutting and mounting. I used a combination of green embroidery floss and gold metallic twine for the bow.

Getting together with other stampers to share stamps is a great way to expand your supplies with only having to spend some ink, cardstock and time. Each of us brings white cardstock, some inks and several of our sets to share. We spread the stamps around the table, stamp 5 or 6 copies of images we don't have and save them for future use. It's also useful for sentiments to put inside future cards.

Hero Arts and SU are sure not to like this idea! (...sorry...)

Something New from ODBD

Our Daily Bread Designs released a new stamp set with matching die and template, and I love it! After stamping the poinsettia and coloring it, all I had to do was place the clear template over it, mark the two holes provided and line up the cutting die accordingly. Then I ran it through the Cuttlebug, which cut the flower and all the intricate cutouts around the leaves. Can you imagine trying to cut all that out with scissors??? Thank you ODBD for coming up with such a time-saving idea!

Check out all the possibilities in the ODBD gallery HERE. They also have a snowflake set that works the same way.

(Don't forget to click on the photo for a larger view.)

One Layer Wednesday--Heavy Metal

It wasn't easy getting this one photographed so that the gold embossing would show, but here it is. Thanks, Susan, for another great challenge!

Since I also like to keep my cards mailable, I made this one postage friendly by avoiding all that extra "stuff" that makes the envelopes bulky. For handouts, I can splurge; but I've come to prefer the clean and simple look anyway.

For the sunflower and leaves, I used a retired SU set (Sketch It) that I just bought last week and have been using a lot since. First I stamped with VersaMark and chalked the flower. The leaves were stamped with Autumn Leaves rainbow dye ink pad. The greeting is a Hero Arts clear stamp, inked with Versamark and gold embossed. I also embossed the flower center.

Enjoy!

Special Fold Card CASEd

I recently received this lovely birthday card from a Silver Stamper, Mary McMillan (Glitter Grammy blog on sidebar.) It was so nicely done, I decided to CASE it as a Fall card. Hers is vertical, but I decided to make mine horizontal.

Later, I used the same pattern for a Christmas card (not shown.) It was a lot of work, but well worth it.

Thank you Mary for a crisp, bright birthday card!

Halloween Card

UPDATE: Here are some of the moms with their finished cards. Do they look proud!

For Mothers Class (now Moms Club) this week we'll be using "Spidey," an old D.O.T.S. stamp from my stash. We used him last week for a spinner card which came out cute; but I forgot to take pictures -- as usual. This time, I remembered!

After embossing the spider web on black cardstock, I punched out a circle in the lower right, then attached the web-printed ribbon. Spidey was stamped in the opening, then the black was mounted on the card with double-stick tape. The letters were stamped on purple cardstock, punched out and attached with glue dots and dimensionals.

For the inside, there'll be a row of pumpkins below the greeting. A fun card to make!

HAPPY WORLD CARD-MAKING DAY!

How will you be spending this day? Stamping? Hiking? Gathering new ideas?

I'll be hosting a Stamp-a-stack workshop today with six stampers around my dining room table. We're making the Christmas card shown in a previous post (scroll down to Sept. 3rd.) Included in the group are three beginners and one new stamper.

UPDATE: The Workshop went very well! Everyone got their 8 cards done, and even added a Christmas star on the envelopes--all in an hour and a half. One woman who came had never stamped before and is looking forward to attending another workshop.

OLW--Inspired by Nature

I can't think of anything more inspiring than autumn leaves!

After stamping the basket with brown ink and coloring in with a SU marker, I used peg stamps to "fill" the basket. I used my Scor-Pal to make a square around it, then outlined it with a marker. The embroidery floss bow is attached with a glue dot.

DE-CLUTTER DE HOUSE--Kitchen

Having your microwave struck by lightning isn't always a bad thing. It forced me to finally get this part of the kitchen under control. In fact, I like it much better this way:

First, there is now a "Coffee Station" where the old microwave used to be. The shelf above, which used to house all manner of clutter, is now perfect for boxes of the Tassimo discs used in the coffeemaker below. I also rearranged the shelves to the right so that they're no longer stuffed with "stuff" that was hard to get to.

Across the kitchen, on the counter next to the stove, the new microwave now sits. Not only will it be more convenient to use there, but the plug is now accessible (which it wasn't before.) When there are t-storms in the area, I can now unplug it before any damage is done. The mixer that was in that corner has been moved to the other end of the counter in place of the bread basket which is now on the table.

That was a lot of work, but that's not all. What you can't see is that I also de-cluttered all the outdated meds and vitamins, consolidated them into one drawer instead of two, and cleaned out some of the other cabinets. I plan to do more as time permits during the next few weeks.

What have YOU de-cluttered lately?

SEPTEMBER 19th--A Special Day

That's the day I was born, many years ago. I'll be spending the day relaxing, doing the Sunday Times crossword and maybe even catching a catnap. At my age, I keep the celebrating down to a dull roar...(lol). My DH is taking me out to dinner in a few hours with our son, DIL and 2 grandchildren. We'll have champagne and snacks here before we go--that's excitement enough for now!

Next week I'll drive to Long Island (2 hrs. from here) and celebrate with my sister and Dad who are taking me to dinner there. If my sister gets Friday off, we'll meet in NYC at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (my favorite museum in NYC) and then I'll drive us to her house from there after lunch.

Since this is not one of those dreaded "milestone" birthdays, a nice quiet celebration will be just fine--especially with no dishes to do!

SIMPLE SATURDAY #18 (on the 18th!)

De-Clutter De House--Paperwork

Okay, now that summer is over and school is back in session, it's time to get things back in order. Let's start with collecting all the paper piles, so grab a large garbage bag and start sorting.

You decide what categories will work for you, such as magazines, bills, tax receipts, to-do lists, catalogs, etc. Handling each piece only once, divide into separate piles, discarding unnecessary papers as you go. Place the bills into a container or drawer that you can keep within easy reach so they don't get mixed in with other things or forgotten.

Toss outdated catalogs or give away older magazines as the newer ones arrive. Storing like things with like in a specific place makes them much more manageable--a stylish bucket for catalogs or a sleek magazine holder, for instance, help define the allotted space.

We'll be getting a lot of Christmas catalogs soon, so I keep a large decorative basket specifically for those. When I'm ready to start ordering gifts, I just pull out the basket and start shopping. Once the buying season is over, I toss the catalogs and use the basket for decorative paper goods (fancy napkins, paper plates) for holiday entertaining. After the holidays, the basket goes back in the closet until next year.

Don't let those papers pile up--be creative with ways to deal with them and go for it.

Leave a comment and share ways you've found to tame the paper tiger in your house!

ONE LAYER WEDNESDAY--3 OF A KIND

It's definitely getting Fall-ish around here, so pumpkins are very appropriate. Since we couldn't add a layer, I used my wavy scissors at the bottom and sponged the brown ink onto the inside bottom of the card. It really is a challenge to keep to only one layer!

DE-CLUTTER DE HOUSE IS BACK!

Isn't that crisp Autumn air invigorating? Dontcha just wanna get your house back in order after all that hot and humid weather? It's de-cluttering time again!

I've been drawing inspiration from a new TV show on HGTV called "Get It Sold" which offers ideas even for people who aren't planning to sell or move. The only thing I want to move is the clutter. Here's a picture of my dining room after de-cluttering and rearranging some of the furniture to make it look more open and roomy.



I wish I had taken a "before" picture so you could see the difference. The left wall had two of the chairs up against it, one piled with "stuff". There was also a small cabinet, which I moved out to another room where it was actually needed. The wine rack (foreground left) was centered under the pictures, which made it feel crowded when people were sitting on the left side of the table.

According to "Get It Sold," there should be 3 feet of space between the table and other pieces for people to walk around it comfortably. This is not always possible, but you can give it that look by removing pieces that are "just there" taking up space. If my house were on the market, I'd remove the table and lamp in the back and replace the candle chandelier with an electric one. Then I'd also remove one of the table leaves to make it look even roomier.

Since our dining room is separate from an eat-in kitchen, there's no excuse for the table to become the usual catch-all spot. It never ceases to amaze me how much bigger a room can look once the clutter is gone and the floor is vacuumed!

(After taking this photo, I used some coupons to buy a new set of matching light brown cushions for the chairs.)

SIMPLE SATURDAY #17

ONE LAYER WEDNESDAY--B&W with one color

I just KNEW I'd find a use for that Marvelous Magenta marker someday! The cat images were stamped with a roller I pulled from my stash.

Thanks for the challenge, Susan. It truly is a challenge to use only one layer.

OLW--Trees

Susan Raihala (of Simplicity) has issued a One Layer Wednesday challenge using trees. Here's my take on it!

The verse from Isaiah seems to fit Autumn perfectly, just as it's also meant for each of us who will wither and fade in turn.

The tree stamp is from a set by Paper Trey Ink, and the verse is from a wonderful Scripture set by Our Daily Bread designs.

P.S. After taking the photo, I added some white gel pen on some of the branches and under the trees. What a difference!

World Card-making Day

Did you know that Sat., Oct. 2nd, is World Card-making Day? In honor of the event, I will be hosting a workshop where each stamper will make 8 of this design.

All stamps and supplies are from Stampin'Up, featuring one of the new Christmas sets in the Holiday catalog. The card base is Crumb Cake, the image will be stamped on Very Vanilla with Soft Suede dye ink and mounted on Soft Suede cardstock. The verse is mounted with SU dimensionals.

Torn edges add a little texture, although I plan to redo it with the torn side a bit more parallel with the curved image. The only embellishment is some gold glitter gel pen on the 3 halos.

I kept the design simple to reflect the simple Birth of our Saviour.

RETURN TO STAMPING!

Now that my daughter has flown safely back to Prague and I've caught up on restoring the Stamping Tower, I'll be stamping up a storm--especially since I have to stay indoors with the A/C during this latest heat wave. I must say, we had perfect weather during their visit, though. The last few days were in the 90's, but the humidity didn't start up until today; so it was still comfortable.

Joan and Jackie will be stopping in tomorrow to play with the two new stamp sets I got that haven't even been opened yet. Watch for some new posts coming SOON!

SPECIAL VISIT

Now that my daughter and her family will be here Friday for 10 glorious days, I'll be taking a break from my blogs until after they leave on the 31st. Unless, of course, I post a photo or two!

Check back for the latest news on our activities!

Basic Black

This card was sooooo easy to do!

First, I swiped across the white cardstock with 4 SU Craft spots from the Regals collection. Then I stamped the butterfly, embellished with Stickles, and put the card aside to dry.

Next, I ran the black cardstock through my Cuttlebug with a new embossing plate from Nestabilities. Then cut out the scalloped square with a Nestabilities die. After attaching it to the card with SU dimensionals, I added the embroidery floss, greeting and button filled with Stickles.

Easy to do and colorful too!

INTERACTIVE CARD

I just love to send cards that are interactive because they have such a nice surprise for the recipient.





Thanks to the video on Beate's blog HERE, Aug.9th post, this slider card was easy to do and will serve as a nice thankyou.


This is also my first card where I deliberately omitted any embellishments that would add to the postage. Check back next week for my new series on Postage-Saving Embellishments!

STATE FAIR SWEEP!

Rick and I just got back from the NJ State Fairgrounds where I looked to see if I got a ribbon for any of my three cards. What a surprise to see that all three took first class in each category!

Best of all, there was an additional "Special Award" ribbon for my Christmas Distress card in the Professional category--I could hardly believe it!





This was the first year I had to compete on the "professional" level (for teaching classes,) so I wasn't too sure how my cards would stack up against other professionals.

Several thanks are in order. First, to Susan Raihala of Simplicity for her advice on moving the greeting further down on the Christmas card for better balance. I'm sure that helped sway the judges!

Second, to Dawn Lusk for her birdseed shaker card that I CASEd HERE (Feb. 1 post,) which proves she's a winner too!

Finally, to Our Daily Bread Designs and Flourishes for making such beautiful stamps to use. Winners all!

MAKING FRIENDS

On our family trip to New England, we drove to Boston and stayed two nights there. We spent one whole afternoon at the Science Museum where I was able to make friends with this Lily the Bear look-alike. What a great museum for kids! (and grandparents, of course...)

For more photos of our trip to Boston and Mystic Seaport, check out my Fox Mtn. blog HERE.

(For more on Lily the bear, check this out.)

VBS Fun

The men in our church all seem to have a great sense of humor. One of our "greeters" in the parking lot adorns his hat with a different animal each day to start everyone off with a chuckle. With over 200 children in attendance (plus 65 teachers and helpers) we really are blessed to have so many men willing and able to help.










After the initial gathering inside the church, crafts are held one class at a time under the pavilion outside. The theme this year is "rain forest," reflected by the gecko clothes pin project we did yesterday.

Since thunder storms are forecast for tomorrow, the theme may become all the more relevant!

VBS STARTS TOMORROW!

In case you're wondering why I haven't posted in so long, it's because every available minute has been spent getting all the crafts ready for this week (except for a brief vacation.) We start tomorrow, and I'm so glad the heat wave broke this afternoon. With 200 kids coming, it would have been less fun in 90 degree heat. A line of showers came through today, pushing out the hot muggy air, reducing the temps by 10-15 degrees. Yay!!

Meanwhile, in spite of the oppressive heat and humidity in Boston last week, we had a great time sightseeing with our son and his family on our 4-day trip there. Hopefully, I can post some pictures one afternoon when I get home from VBS.

Hope you're getting some relief from the heat where you are too!

SILVER STAMPERS

There's a group of us called "Silver Stampers" because we are over 50 (silver) and stampaholics (stampers) from all over the country. Should any of you be interested in joining, you can contact our present leader at her email address below.

The dues are very low and entitle you to our latest mailing list, newsletter and email updates throughout the year. Whether a beginner or more advanced stamper, all card makers are welcome to join in the fun of exchanging birthday and/or holiday cards at your own pace. I joined in 2002 and have loved corresponding with other stampers, just like when we were kids writing to pen pals! (only better...)

If this sounds like fun, contact our president via email at silverstamperbiz@att.net and tell her I sent you!

I'M BACK!

This past week at my sister's with my grandkids was a blast! The temps were hovering near 100 under clear skies every day, which made her pool and household a/c very refreshing. The heat was so oppressive Tues. and Wed., we had to take an a/c break inside between 12 and 3 pm. We watched a movie, "Racing Stripes", and played Mexican Train dominoes until it was time to go back in the pool. My sister and I, when we weren't in the water playing volleyball with the kids, did NY Times Sunday crosswords together on the deck under her shady umbrellas.

Rick, meanwhile, spent most of his week in our a/c with the cats. Even they didn't want to stay out more than 15 minutes at a time in the heat!

We were all having such a good time in the pool and on the deck, I didn't even get stamping withdrawal!

FELINE SMILES

Sometimes I could swear my cat is smiling at me, just like this one!

Basic Grey's "Max and Whiskers" paper is just right for all my cat stamps. This pad has a wonderful selection of images and coordinating designs in beautiful colors--an outstanding collection! Some of the patterns (plaids, stripes, polka dots, solids, etc.) can be used for other themes, such as florals. So versatile, I may just pick up another pad before they're gone.

The cat stamp is from a foam stamp collection by All Night Media. The twine is actually heavy embroidery floss which I tried for the first time and like it enough to buy in a few more colors.

This card would be great for lifting someone's spirits, don't you think?

(This post is pre-scheduled to appear while I'm at my sister's on Long Island for a few days of pool fun with the grandkids in 95-degree heat! "See" you when I get back on the 16th!)

CAT DREAM

What do cats dream of? Catching mice, perhaps? Or would it be catnip pouches? or a sunny spot to nap in? or how wonderful their owners are?

The main image is just one of the cats from this Basic Grey designer paper mounted on black cardstock and popped out with a dimensional. The mouse was stamped on a cloud diecut which I stressed with my fingernail for some texture.

The metallic "dream" eyelet has been in my stash for years. I padded the top with a few layers of scrap papers to protect it from the pressure as I attached it to a piece of black cardstock with my Crop-a-dile. Then I trimmed off the black edges and mounted it to the card with double-stick tape.

Inside this card, I have a stamp that says "May all your stamp dreams come true"--just the thing for a stamper's birthday!

BIRTHDAY CARD

While I had my fern stamp out, I also made this clean and simple birthday card.

After stamping the fern on a white cardfront, I also stamped the SU Happy Birthday on off-white cs with the same Olive Green Colorbox chalk ink. Next, I used a Nestie scalloped square to cut and emboss the greeting and "rolled" it on the ink pad to give it a shadowed effect against the white. Then I attached it with a few dimensionals.

For embellishments, I used a Hero Arts flower overlapping the fern and greeting. Using a Hero Arts small flower stamp, I added a circle punched from a piece of olive green cs scrap and added the three gold beads for a little glimmer.

This actually sounds more complicated than it was to make!

FINAL SHINGLES UPDATE...

...I HOPE!

Although I still get very tired by the end of the day if I overdo, I'm feeling much better. No more pain or itching. There are still occasional twinges now and then, which I've been told is normal for a few months after the symptoms recede.

I never thought I'd be so happy to be able to do housework and errands again! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayer support.

NOTE: BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO MY LAST THREE CARDS NOW THAT I'VE BEEN BUSY STAMPING AGAIN!

DIORAMA CARD FOR THE FAIR

With Vacation Bible School coming up at the end of next month, I'll be busy getting the crafts ready for 130 children. Since I wanted to enter something in the State Fair again this year, I had to get ready way ahead of VBS preparations!

I came up with this Diorama card for my entry. The stamp set is "Swan Lake" from Flourishes and it's really a pretty set. It was a lot of work doing the cutting, especially around the leaves in the upper right corner. The leaves were colored with a green Spica pen to add some glimmer. I also used a sparkle Gelly Roll pen on the water and the feathers of the swan. I didn't want to overdo such a delicate image with anything too elaborate.

Whether or not it's a winner, I'm happy with the way it turned out.

COLOR CHALLENGE

Here's my take on the Color Challenge posted HERE.

Using yellow, gray and white, a summery color combo, I used my sunflower stamp from Inkadinkado (a gift from my friend, Linda) and some dsp in my stash. The petals are colored with a Barely Banana SU marker, and the center is enhanced with some fine white glitter.

Enjoy!

FIRST MARQUEE CARD

When Jackie came over to stamp in the Tower last week, one of the cards we worked on was a Marquee card from instructions in a book. If only we had Jan Tink's video (HERE) it would have been a snap instead of a 3-hour trial and error marathon. Somehow, we just couldn't figure out how to attach the "curtain" so that it would open and close properly. Once we finally got it, though, we realized it should have taken less than a half hour to do.

Here's the one I came up with. Using stamp pegs of leaves and blossoms, I decorated the inner circle. The punched-out circle came in handy as a mask, although the inks probably wouldn't have shown up on the black anyway. The dsp scrap came in handy as a cover over the white cardstock of the base card. Then the leftover pieces were used to decorate the corners of the inside.

When opened, the curtains part to reveal a Hero Arts flower that was stamped on a scrap of dsp and glued in position.

After all the work that went into the making of this card, it will indeed be a special card for a special person!

FINAL DESIGN

Thanks for all your votes and comments on the Christmas card post. After some minor changes of Card #2 suggested by Susan Raihala of Simplicity fame (in a private email) here's what we came up with.

First, by restamping the greeting on lighter dsp and mounting it over the green, it's much easier to read. Using the BOHO Flower punch, I added some red in the center of the flower to make it more Poinsettia-like and added some dark green ferns. I also chose deeper colors of embroidery floss for the bow.

Lowering the whole greeting line down to the bottom third of the card made it more visually pleasing. It's amazing how minor changes can make such a major impact!

Tour of Our Yard

For a look at all the colorful flowers in our yard, click HERE.

WATERFALL CARD

I finally got around to trying a waterfall card, and it was fun! The pictures show the card closed and pulled down to reveal the message underneath. Dawn's video tutorial made it super easy. Check it out HERE. Click on Dawn's video links and scroll down to Waterfall Card listed at 5-10-08.

For my card, I used two shades of green to match the colors in the dsp and two coordinating SU markers for the flowers.

(The flowers are from the Hero Arts clear stamp set, "Big and Small Flowers." The stamp used on top is from Endless Creations, Inc. The hidden birthday sentiment is from SU "Whimsical Words.")

CAST YOUR VOTE

Which of these three Christmas card designs do you like best?

#1 is stamped on lightweight white cardstock, distressed, sponged and mounted over hunter green cs. The ivory Hero Arts flower has a gold embellishment which I colored with a red marker to match the red embroidery floss on the side.

#2 is also stamped on lightweight white cardstock, distressed and sponged, mounted over SU poinsettia dsp. The flower is ivory and the two-tone embroidery floss matches the colors of the dsp underneath.

#3 is printed on vellum (using my printer), then mounted over dsp that was distressed and sponged on the edges with Tea Dye distress ink. For a brighter look, I used a white flower with a gold embellishment.

The inside stamp says, "Let the song of Christmas fill your heart." All stamps used are from the new Flourishes "Christmas Music" stamp set.

Please vote for your favorite and add any suggestions you may have for improvements! (Don't forget to click on each for a closer look at details.)

Make a Wish

This dandelion stamp takes me back to my childhood days when we made wishes as we blew dandelion seeds off their stalks and watched them float away, like blowing bubbles. Later on, when weed-free lawns became more important, bubbles eventually did replace the dandelions!

Somehow the colors don't show up well here. The card base is from a package of Hero Arts Yellow cards and envelopes, much brighter than it looks, like the dandelions that pop up every Spring!

KING OF THE CATNIP

During the rain delay at the Nascar race in Pocono (only an hour from here) Archie decided to mellow out on catnip and rest up for the restart. The storm is headed in our direction and should be here within minutes. He'll probably continue his catnap right through it. Notice how tightly closed his eyes are!

(Click to enlarge.)

Shingles Update

I'm happy to report that I seem to be improving slightly. Yesterday afternoon, I drove to the post office to pick up my mail (3 miles) without as much pain as even earlier in the day. Today I'm going to try grocery shopping (16 miles, round trip)--what a thrill! (I mean that literally!)

For any of you who haven't had a Shingles vaccine, I strongly recommend that you get one ASAP. You don't want this, and I don't want it again. As soon as I'm over it, I plan to get vaccinated before it has a chance to return.

Thanks for all your comments and prayers--I cherish them all.