MOTHERS CLASS CHRISTMAS CARD

This should be an easy card to do in class.  First, we'll stamp the image in Versamark and gold emboss it.  Then with just red and green markers, we'll color in the word and the holly leaves, mount it on a green panel and attach it to the card base with dimensionals.

This is the original card I came up with but later modified it a bit to improve the scale.  The card base is a side fold, and the stamped panel is cut smaller.  I also rounded the bottom right corners of all three layers instead of using the diagonal strips.  One strand of red embroidery floss is wrapped around the left side of the top panel with a small bow at the top, allowing the image to stand out more. 

For the inside, we'll be stamping "Wishing you all the blessings of this happy, holy season."

Mothers Class Cards

This Christmas card is a great way to use up some scraps.  Using a hexagon die, I brought a batch of pre-cut hexagons to class for this simple card..  I got the idea from Kim Singdahlson's blog, September 8th post.  Be sure to visit her HERE!

The Fall card was very easy to duplicate also.  The leaves were inked on a Kaleidacolor pad, fussy cut and mounted on the card front with ds tape.  Twine was wrapped around the panel before mounting to the card.


TIP:  When wrapping twine or ribbon around a panel, start with a small piece of ds tape on the back to hold it in place while you tie it on the front.  Most of the time, it will be looser on the front than you'd like.  Just turn it over, snip the twine or ribbon and tape it down again with regular Scotch tape.  Then adhere the panel to the card.  Easy!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

When I walked into the dining room earlier, something caught my eye.  It was Jenny!  She had climbed into the gift bag on a chair and was quite happy with herself. 

BACK FROM MY BIRTHDAY TRIP

Just got back this morning from an overnight birthday trip with Rick to Mystic Seaport in Connecticut.  The weather was just perfect for walking around outside and watching the sailboats go by.  Our room at the Steamboat Inn was delightful, except that the bed was a bit scary being 4 feet high!  Dinner at the local pub down the street was wonderful.  We even got home in time this morning to get all the garbage out for pickup as the truck was making its way toward our street.  Even though we were only gone a total of 30 hrs., the cats were delighted to see us back so they could go out.

I'm looking forward to getting some cards done later on today before "Stamping Withdrawal" sets in!

FINALLY BACK IN THE TOWER!

To bring you up to date, here's what's been happening since my last post:

First, I was able to "erase" the damage to my car on my own with a spray bottle of Orange Blast and a paper towel.  All that's left is a tiny scratch or two that need some touch-up paint.  This is after 2 estimates of $1200 and $1400 from the collision repair shops--what a rip-off.  No wonder our insurance rates are so high.  I also saved the $500 we would have had to pay as our deductible--that's a LOT of stamps!

Sunday (the 8th) we were able to get to church, and I'm so glad we didn't miss it.  We usually go to the early service, so we don't often get to hear the choir.  They sang four times during the early service, which was just beautiful; and the sermon was outstanding.  It felt really good to be back after missing 4 in a row because of my fall and being on vacation.

Speaking of vacation, here are a couple of pictures:  The first sunrise from our bedroom windows and the pool the next day.  The house was very comfortable for all 10 of us, and we already reserved it again for next year!

Back at home, we are having a new heating and A/C system installed, so the house was "invaded" by workmen for the week.  We still have one more installation to go, and then we can get back to normal.  

BUT, the "fun" really started Thursday night with a line of violent storms that came through and knocked out power for two days.  Thankfully, the generator enabled the workmen that were here to keep going the next day.  We had heat overnight on Friday, and we could see a huge improvement over the old system!  Saturday we still ran the generator (on and off) all day, but went to our daughter's house for a hot dinner and some laughs.  By the time we got home, the power had come back on.  Yesterday was bright and sunny in the 70's with no wind, so I was able to sit on the deck with the Sunday Times crossword and enjoy the weather one more day before it gets too cold.

Stamping has resumed, so check out my next post! (below)

FOUR MORE PASTOR CARDS

Autumn is in the air, as you can see by these designs.  (Please click to enlarge!)

The green one was pretty straight forward and took very little time to make.  The red leaf one was also quick to do, using a piece of dsp from my stash.  The other two took a lot longer.

The "faith" card started out with the letters mounted individually over the leaf pattern on another card front; but I couldn't get it to work.  After scrapping the original card I intended, I came up with this one using the negative strip and a piece of neutral background paper with a lined texture to it.  The orange leaf is from a set with the matching dies by Papertrey Ink.  After using some matching embroidery floss to highlight the verse,  I like how it turned out.

The striped cardfront was even more of a design challenge, but I also like the way it finally turned out after fussing with it for over an hour.  The verse on that card was curled to give it some depth, attached with ds tape on the left side only.

Thanks for stopping by!

BACK FROM VACATION...

...AND STILL CATCHING UP...

We had a wonderful time at the beach house we rented on the Outer Banks of NC for the week of Aug. 25.  All ten of us went; and the grandkids had a ball going from surf to pool to hot tub and back again each day!  Can't wait to do it again next year.

Meanwhile, after resting on Labor Day from the 9-hour drive, I drove the 100 miles (each way) to visit my 96-year old Dad who is still doing amazingly well.  Unfortunately, I had a minor accident on the way home from there, so I've been busy getting repair estimates for the scrapes on my car.  No injuries, thankfully.

Stop by later for vacation pictures!  Hope to be stamping again soon...

GETTING READY FOR A NEW YEAR OF CLASSES

I thought it might be fun to start off a new year of Moms Club with a One Sheet Wonder project using some 12" x 12" double-sided autumn cardstock from my stash.  The first step will be cutting up the sheet according to the pattern I came up with for their projects.  Then we'll use the Cuttlebug to die cut some leaves and make a few cards there.  Should be fun!

I'll try to remember to take photos of their accomplishments when we start!  It probably won't be until the 11th or 18th of September.

NEW SNOWFLAKE DIE

Don't you just love the dies that are coming out now?  This snowflake is so delicate, yet easily released from the Memory Box die.

I started out with a piece of white cs which I watercolored with 3 Distress Inks (Pumice Stone, Broken China and Tumbled Glass.)  I used the pine sprig stamp from the SU Autumn Days set and the sentiment from the ODBD Cardinal Ornament set.

With such a delicate snowflake, I kept the card as CAS as possible.  After assembling this one, I made a second card using the negative cutout and scrap of dsp.




Enjoy!

FALLing Is In??

One of my fellow Silver Stampers (a club for stampaholics over 50) also had a nasty fall, so I made this card to cheer her up.  Inside it will read, "...but not my favorite activity!"

The torn strip is from a pad of Core-dinations in Distress colors by Tim Holtz and Ranger.  The core is kraft, which shows up when you tear it.  I'm going to get a lot of use from this pad!

No more "fall" cards, though... I hope...

Christmas Angel

Sometimes simple is best, which is what I thought for this card.  After clear embossing the angel on white textured cs, I sponged some Distress Inks over it and spritzed with water.  To keep it simple, I wound a silver cord around the panel twice with no bow or knot, then made the musical tag shown with a silver "pearl" on the end.  After adding three more tiny pearls on the right bottom, the card was done.

Inside will read "Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King."

(Click to enlarge for a better view of the texture.)

HAPPY TO BE STAMPING AGAIN!

The pain in my back has lessened enough for me to sit in my chair and stamp awhile--yay!  I'm so thankful that nothing is broken, although I'm still very sore.  Rick says I probably have an internal bruise.

Although I worked on a Christmas card today and cleaned up my table (again!) I thought I'd post this one which I finished last week just before my fall.  It will go with three others to my pastor.

The card is textured cs and is a pale green.  The dark layer under the white watercolor paper is a scrap of Soft Suede, which goes just perfectly with the tree trunk which I colored with a brown marker after stamping it.

ABSENTEE STAMPER

Thanks to a nasty fall in my bathroom, I'm too sore to be sitting up for very long and stamping. I slipped on the wet tile and hit my back on the tub as I crashed to the floor. Thankfully, nothing is broken; and once the swelling goes down in a few more days, I should be back online. Meanwhile, I managed to stamp a few images on white cs to color in for some Christmas cards. I used another new stamp I had purchased at the stamp show last Spring and have colored them in while recuperating on the couch. At least I'm getting something done! I still haven't come up with a design for the image, though. When I do, you'll be the first to know!

SUMMER CARD CAMP WEEK 3/DAY 4

 Our challenge for this class was to try a different technique or look.  Since I usually don't do a lot of layering or edging, I decided to try the vintage look by distressing the panel and sponging the edges.  I meant to crinkle the paper before sponging, but forgot--that's how new this style is for me!  The same color combo of 2 shades of brown, aqua, and 2 shades of purple have become easier to use.

Following one of the sketches for this week helped me break out of my usual pattern.  There are also a lot more layers on this card, thanks to my scrap drawer.  I even dug out my button maker for this one, too.

I like how this turned out and will probably try to incorporate more of these techniques and styles in future cards!  (Once in awhile...)

A LITTLE BOLDER

Now that I'm getting used to this color combo, I'm finding more ways to use it.  Using two shades of purple and a darker turquoise on the kraft card base works very nicely I think.

The jute matches the card base, and the white flower centers match the white embossing for the greeting.  This was a very simple card to assemble, thanks to the die cuts!

Summer Card Camp/Week 3, Day 3

I'm finally liking the color combo for this week.  This card went very fast, mainly because of the die cuts I used.

First, I stamped the flower in purple and put the turquoise centers in.  Then I sponged 2 shades of purple and some turquoise on a scrap of white cs and die cut the butterfly; then I die cut the black overlay.  After adding the purple embroidery floss to the panel, I attached it to the card with ds tape.

Next, I white embossed the greeting on the turquoise banner and added it to the card; then I a attached the butterfly with foam tape.

I'm much happier with this card than the previous one.  I just wish it would have photographed better!

Card Camp Week 3/Day 2

The color combo for this week is two shades of purple, two shades of brown and turquoise--not a favorite combination for me.  However, it does make me stretch!  This card features a new stamp set from Paper Trey Ink which arrived here yesterday.  I also ordered the matching dies, so of course I'll never need another floral set (HA!)

I started by stamping in white ink on Crumb Cake cs, then overstamping the blossoms in purple.  After stamping the inner lines of the flowers, I highlighted the centers with a light turquoise marker.  The sentiment is from the same set, and I stamped it in Wisteria chalk ink.

Once I established the colors needed for this challenge, I added the dots around the leaves and stems with a Picket Fence Distress ink marker.  One word of caution:  when you first apply the pen to the paper, it looks blank for a minute or so until the white appears.  At first I thought it was out of ink; but it just takes time to show up.

The colors on this card look a little stronger in real life, but I think it would be much better on a darker Kraft cs.

 Since this card was too pale for me, however, I cut it down and remounted it on an Early Espresso z-card.

Before attaching the front panel, I ran the left side of the "z" through a Cuttlebug folder for added interest.  I also edged the sides of the panel with my turquoise marker.  (Part of the problem with this card is the camera shot itself.  It's not this pale IRL.)

If you click on the photos to enlarge, you can see the details and colors much better.

Happy Shaker Card

One of the nice things about signing up for Summer Card Camp is that you can go back to catch up if you miss a class or two.  During Week 1, I didn't miss a day; but last week I had a hard time keeping up because of the oppressive heat wave.  So here's the shaker card I would have done for Week 2, Day 3.

Using an oval shaker from Impression Obsession really makes it easy.  All I did was add some beads and sequins for the shaker, with a scrap piece of dsp for the background.  The rest is pretty straightforward.

TIP:  Before adding the shaker contents, use an embossing buddy or brush to eliminate static.

Summer Card Camp/Week 2, Day 5

There's a lot going on here, thanks to our classes this week:  the color combo, the fancy fold and overlap, the ink carving and the base.

Starting with the blue flowers, I inked them on a blue Kaleidacolor pad so that the centers would be light and the edges dark.  Then I "carved" the ink to create the white lines radiating from the center. (Sorry, you have to take the class to find out how...)  I used Versamark ink on green cs for the leaves.  The greeting is from my pre-stamped folder, and was just the right color for this week's assignment.

Next, I chose the dsp from a pad of recycled paper by DCWV.  Using the red for a background on the top part, I also cut out two of the circles for the flower centers.  After assembling the upper part of the card, I cut a strip for the bottom which included the cute little beaver and snail.  The red bird was cut out separately and attached above the greeting.

As you can see in the next photo, I added a stem and flower that would show up on the inside.  When all was done, I mounted the card on a gray base.  Lots of new ideas were used on this one fun card!

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN

Our challenge in the Summer Card Class was to take a Christmas stamp and make a non-Christmas card.  I thought the SU Cardinal stamp would do the trick!

First, I masked off the word "cardinal" along the bottom of the stamp and used Versafine Smoky Gray ink.  Following a bird book that I keep in the Tower for coloring birds accurately, I used colored pencils and the color palette for this week.

This "Z-fold" card will make a nice masculine birthday card for someone this summer!


(Click on image to enlarge.)