July 4th

Candee's Card - side 1

 Hello again. I have another card to share that I received today from another very talented "blog buddy", Miss Candee of http://cardcornerbycandee.blogspot.com/.   I think this is what is called a spinner card. The circle image is two sided, with a string inserted in the middle. It is placed in a circular cutout, so that when the card is opened, another image appears. Neat! And I've never done a card like this. Candee always has the neatest techniques to try...and she explains the details so clearly, even an amateur can try it. I included both sides of what we saw when we opened her beautiful card. Needless to say, we were so happy to receive it in the mail today. Bad me, cuz I haven't made any 4th of July cards, but Miss Candee is very organized and on top of everything. If you have never visited her blog, I strongly urge you to have a look, and browse all her different creations. (By the way, in case you can't see in the picture, this side of the image with the star-flag motif has been embossed at the outer edge).


Candee's Card - Side 2

Birthday

Gloria's Birthday Card

Good evening, and Golly Gee, was it hot here in Upstate SC today. At 4:15pm, I was cruising south on I-85, after a lovely afternoon with my friend, Gloria, and my car temp showed 106 degrees. This evening about 7:30, I was going out to water some potted plants, and it was still 103 according to our temp gauge. So I waited until about 8:30, and it had cooled off ...at least a little bit. Here's a beautiful card I received from my very talented friend, and the colors here just do not do the card justice. It is so dramatic, with the sophisticated coloring of light blue & black, some sparklies added to the flower centers. The flowers were stamped, then stamped again, cut out, popped up. It's really a work of art, and I was so pleased she thought to make me such a beautiful card. So I hope wherever you may be today and this weekend, you are able to stay inside & be cool. Thanks for visiting my little corner of blogland.

Class Cards

Flowersoft Class Card

 Hi and thanks for surfing by. Thanks also to my new followers...I hope you will enjoy what you see here, and please feel free to leave a comment if you have the time.

Here are the other 2 Flowersoft cards I made in Saturday's class at Scrapbook Creations, with Deb Thomson (http://debspaperjourney.blogspot.com/). She has some new samples posted if you have time to check out her blog. She's a great teacher if you are in the area to be able to take a class with her. We had a great time making these cards. I had a terrible time with the glue, and Deb showed me some of the things I was doing wrong (for one thing, not storing it properly...upside down. I thought I had placed it upside down, but evidently I had not done so!)

Our area got quite warm this afternoon. I understand the Upstate area of SC is bracing for an extremely hot Friday. Talked with a friend in Oklahoma this afternoon, and he said it was miserable out his way, and that his weather people advised the heat front was moving Eastward. Oh air conditioners: Please keep working. And if you are in an area where it's so unbearably hot, remember to try to stay inside when it's the hottest, and drink lots of fluids. Catch you tomorrow, and have a good evening.

Flowersoft Class Card

Friend

Di's Card

Hi, and welcome to my little corner of blogland. Yesterday I mentioned a surprise I had in the mail from a British blogger friend. She very kindly sent me a totally gorgeous magazine about the Diamond Jubilee celebration. Let me say I sat and thoroughly enjoyed reading it last evening. However, as I was getting ready to throw the packing envelope away, I realized there was something else in the envelope. (And I shudder to think I nearly tossed it). There was this lovely handmade card. So simple, yet so effective. The score lines - top & bottom, do not show up as well in the scan, so I darkened the contrast. That made a little darker 'blob' around the flower image - which is not there IRL. The focal image is so sweet, colored beautifully too. Such a lovely card and it is now placed with the birthday card I also received yesterday. Anyone who comes to visit, can admire & appreciate the lovely cards I've received. As I do each time I pass by. Thanks so much, Di. (http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com/)

Birthday

Julie's Birthday Card

Hi again. I wanted to share this birthday card that came in today's mail. My niece, Julie, shares a birthday with me. (many years apart of course!). Julie is married to my nephew and we are so glad he met her and showed the good sense to get her into our family! I don't think Julie will mind if I say that she battles Multiple Sclerosis..and has for some years now. She doesn't let it get her down, does Marathons to boost awareness, get contributions, and all manner of activities in that vein. She also is a quilter, card maker, and heavens, I don't know how many other crafts she does. I just wish they lived closer so that we could 'create' together. I was so pleased to get this card in the mail from Julie (and of course my nephew...but he didn't have anything to do with making it!). I expect most wives can identify with that. This card just about made my day. One other lovely surprise was a gift from a British blogger who sent me a magazine about QEII's Diamond Jubilee. This blogger has never met me, yet she has been kind enough to send me encouragement when I was trying to get this little part of blogland set up, and when I try to do  some linking (and frequently don't get it right!), she has fixed my mistakes - which take up her valuable time. My thought when I saw these sweet surprises in the mail today, was: the world still has wonderfully, caring people in it. Sometimes I forget that when I see the tv news, the headlines on MSN and all the dreadful things that happen all over the world. Man's inhumanity to man, as it were. Makes you wonder sometimes. Then a totally unexpected and kind thing happens that restores your faith in the goodness of people.

Class cards

Hello Bloggers, and Happy Monday. Thanks for surfing in. Here are 2 of the cards I made in the Flowersoft class I took Saturday. I won't go into descriptions of the 'how to-', but you can check this link (http://debspaperjourney.blogspot.com/) and if you scroll down Debbie's blog, you can see the class samples posted there. Mine look just a little different due to placing of some of the elements...but essentially it's the same card.  Debbie was a wonderful teacher, and we had lots of fun. She seemed to be having fun with the class too, and oh my, did she ever have patience. Surprisingly, I was able to complete all 4 cards in the time alloted, which is not the usual for me.(I work slowly!)  Flower soft has been a product I've tried to use on my own, and have never been totally satisfied with the results. Needless to say, I purchased quite a few of the 'kits', which have the toppers (the focal image). Debbie cut the doilies, I believe she said using her Cricut. Aren't they pretty? All supplies were provided as part of the class cost. It was real good value for money spent on the class fee.There were a lot of products included in the class kit leftover to make quite a few other cards.  Hope you enjoy seeing these. I have 2 more I'll post tomorrow - at least that is my plan at the moment! Have a great afternoon.

From Flowersoft Class



From Flowersoft Class

Anniversary

Hi Bloggers. I've had a wonderful day at a Flower Soft class at Scrapbook Creations, Spartanburg, SC. Great teacher, Debbie Thomson. http://www.scrapbkcreations.com) . Our 49th wedding anniversary is coming up, and here is the card I've made for Mr. DH. He likes old cars, and this is a stamp he picked out several years ago, so I thought I'd use it for his card. It's by Art Impressions, G333, colored with Copics. The image was diecut with a spellbinder label, sponged while in the die, then matted with a dark blue scrap that just happened to be within reach. I didn't want to go to the next size up die, so I traced the outline of the die and handcut to give me just a slip of matting. Then I edged the blue mat with a gold Krylon pen. The wainscot background was from a Gina K technique,  seen here (http://stamptv.ning.com/video/wainscot-background). I used the Scor Buddy to get the raised lines, then used a Distress Ink pad- probably Vintage Photo (this was a snippet too, made a few weeks back). Did direct to paper in one direction, then turned and swiped the pad down the opposite, going top-to-bottom each time. Turned the bkground sideways, instead of top-bottom. The borders are diecut with Memory Box Tessatina Border, in the same blue as the mat. Sentiment was computer generated, diecut with Spellbinder Standard Tag. I had used white cardstock, which was way too white for this card, so I used the Judikins brushes (like little old fashioned shaving brushes) to distress the tag with Distress Ink Pumice Stone, then Vintage Photo. Edged again with gold Krylon pen, put 3 blue rhinestones on. I'm thinking I should have colored these rhinestones with some copics to better match the car colors, but alas, they were glued down when I noticed that the color could be a little more 'turquoise'. Didn't want to destroy what I had already done, so leaving it alone!!! DH will like it...and he won't notice the color discrepancy!!!!

Birthday

Good afternoon. We have a very hot & humid day here in the Upstate. I've been trying to do some 'weekend housework chores', as I have a Flower Soft class tomorrow at my favorite stamp store, Scrapbook Creations, in Spartanburg. Today I'm sharing a birthday birdhouse card I made for a friend. The image is a Penny Black stamp - colored with copics, diecut with a Spellbinder, sponged with Distress Ink while still in the die. Somehow I got something right around the chimney, so I used a glue pen, sprinkled a bit of MS very fine crystal glitter on the area to cover it. The design paper background was just straight-cut with my Genesis paper cutter (LOVE IT!), used a Fiskars corner punch to embellish. Design paper adhered to Kraft cardbase. I cut a slit in the cardbase fold with the Tim Holtz exacto tool so that I could thread the red grosgrain ribbon through & behind the focal image. Sentiment was computer printed, then diecut with a Spellbinder label die, sponged with Bundled Sage (to match the focal image sponging color). Added some red rhinestones, 2 buttons that have twine threaded through. Maybe after my Flower Soft class, when I use this image again,

I'll add some Flower Soft to the sunflower centers. I'm never very pleased with my Flower Soft efforts, so I'm hoping the class will have some tips I can use to improve my skills. Have a great afternoon and thanks for coming to visit.
Edit: I am trying to 'schedule' posts, and thought I had this one set up. It posted, but the image was not placed properly, so I don't know if I goofed up, or it was blogger. Think I'll blame it on blogger, but I think I have it looking the way it's supposed to now! Thank you also, to my new followers. I hope you will enjoy the cards & ramblings that get posted here. As always, I appreciate any feedback.


Miscellaneous

Hello Bloggers, and thanks for stopping by. Yesterday I posted a Hang In There card for a friend who is having some health issues. I was hurrying to get the card in the day's mail. Therefore I didn't take the time to link to a site where I'd read a blog about handling life's difficulties - which had prompted me to think of the special theme I wanted for my card. Here's the link, and I would recommend this as good inspirational reading: http://www.djkardkreations.com/2012/06/one-layer-wednesday-92-on-edge.html
You hear the expression, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Well, this gifted blogger has an even better expression, about the layering of an onion, and how it is a good analogy for the trials we sometimes face in life. After you read this blog, check out some of her cards. Really pretty cards.
And thanks Darnell, for the wonderful way in which you expressed these thoughts! Catch you later folks and have a Blessed day.

Thinking of you

Hi Bloggers. Hope you are having a grand day. Here's a card for a friend who is having a bit of a rough patch lately. I hope this little Koala Bear will cheer her up. The stamp is from a Hang in There set, (Gina K), created by Theresa Momber I believe. I colored him with copics, cut out, popped up on the background. The kraft background was embossed with Sizzix Branches & leaves folder, and I used a small sponge dauber to shade the leaves. Use some Pebbles chalks for the branches, then sponged Distress Ink Vintage Photo around the edges. The blue is paper from Authentique Collection Gathering. The sentiment is also from the Hang In There set, diecut with S/Binders Labels Trio, stamped with Momento Northern Pine, edged with Vintage Photo. I took 2 pictures of the card, one using a white background, one using a black background. I think I like the black background best, but I'd appreciate your comments on this. I think I'll see if I can share this at Pixie's Snippets playground, (http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com/2012/06/pixies-crafty-snippets-challenge-25.html) as the Koala was an image I had colored months ago, but thought it might cheer my friend. The kraft background was also a snippet, just handy on my desk, waiting for me to use it!

Birthday

Happy Saturday afternoon. It's been quite lovely around our area, a little on the warm side, but the humidity is lower, so it doesn't feel muggy. Here's a card for a dear friend who will be 91 years young at the end of the month. A very dear lady, and I wanted something special for her. The image is from Inky Antics Clear Sets - Daisy Bouquet - purchased from Scrapbook Creations in Spartanburg, SC (http://www.scrapbkcreations.com). Colored - of course - with copics in shades of blue, green and yellow oranges. I used Spica pens on the little trim under the cup rim, and IRL it's a bit glittery. The image was diecut with a Spellbinder Circle die, sponged with Momento Summer Sky while still in the die. I had some cardstock handy which I had been experimenting with some H20's and different sprays in shades of blue & gold. So I used that to diecut a mat with a S/Binder scalloped circle that fit the image. The background is a Darice EF, Argyle. The blue ribbon is adhered around the EF layer & a dark blue cardstock. These layers were affixed to a light blue textured Bazzill  card base. The focal image is popped up. The sentiment was cut with a SU oval punch, stamped with Momento Sky Blue, adhered flat. I hope our friend will enjoy it, and know we were thinking of her on her big day.

Operation Write Home

Here's another Operation Write Home card to add to the bundle. (If you double click on the image, it will enlarge, just in case you didn't know about that little feature). The background was created with sponging Distress Ink Scattered Straw over a white c/stock. Then I did some stamping with an Inkadinkado Clear set, 30-574762 (no name can I find on the set). It has some pretty florals & leaves in the set. I was remembering the Gina K. technique from her video, but I wasn't as happy with this one. So restamped some of the images on another cardstock, cut out & popped up. I liked it better. I used an EK Success punch to do the Hello label, and the stamp was just one in my collection, probably from the Michael's Dollar bin. In addition to the Distress Inks I used, I also did the popped up florals and leaves with Colorbox Fluid Chalk Inks. They give a delightfully smooth stamping...but you have to be careful to let them dry. These inks are great for overstamping to create backgrounds also. Thanks for visiting. Have a great day.

Operation Write Home

I'm using one of my favorite Penny Black floral images, Aspire, on this card. I had been experimenting with some pens on a leftover heat embossed image (so I hope this qualifies as a SNIPPET!) The image was handy when I brought home a few Marvy Le Pens, which have a very fine tip, more like writing pens. I decided to see how these pens colored over embossing. I think it worked quite well, and will use them again. So...I diecut the image with Spellbinder Label Four, die #4, used Distress Ink Antique linen to sponge while still in the die. Didn't like that look with my image colors, so sponged back over the Antique Linen with a Sage green, using a very light touch. Liked that look better. I also used the Out-of-the-Box technique when diecutting the floral image, so I didn't lose the tops of the stems. Used Label Four, #6 size to cut the medium purple mat from design paper. I used an MS punch on some dark green - another SNIPPET that was just handy in the scrap pile to cut the loopy background. I had some cream colored lace that I airbrushed with the Copic airbrush system, using V04 and then some BV colors to get the lace as dark as I wanted. As you can probably see in the picture, I had cut the lace, but it seemed to shrink a bit in the airbrushing. I had measured before cutting, and it was a perfect length. Called lesson learned, to remember next time. Adhered that to the loopy border, popped the image up. The cardbase is a sort of lime green textured Bazzill.  I have a new McGill punch set (Silhouettes & shadows) that I used to make the small purple shapes. Colored some Prima paper flowers with copics, added a pearl to the center. Used a small circle punch to cut the Happy Birthday Sentiment, which is stamped with Distress Ink, Concord & edged with the same color. I think this is going in the Operation Write Home bundle, and I'm hoping the playground swings will be free so I can play over at Pixie's. http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com/2012/06/pixies-crafty-snippets-challenge-24.html

Anniversary

This little hedgie is such a cutie. Penny Black hedgie is one of my favorite images to color with copics...I guess because I felt my first 'successful attempts' happened trying to render the hedgehog. This one just appealed to me because it is so laid back, it just looks like summer. Of course it was colored with copics. Then I decided to make a shaped card from the image, so used the S/Binder Dahlia, #6. This was the largest image in the set - so it would have been a little harder to mat it. Thus the idea to make the shaped card. I took some lightweight green c/s, used the die to cut the same dahlia shape, without cutting through the top hinge. Adhered the previously diecut image onto that cardstock. Used a text wt. white piece to cut a smaller insert, also leaving a hinge at the top, for the inside sentiment. This is going to be an anniversary card for one of my brothers & sis-in-law. I think they'll like it. (Hope so, anyway!). Have a great day. See you soon.

July 4th

We usually travel to New England during the last part of June to attend a July 4th celebration held by very good friends. We received our invitation last week. We can't go this year, so wanted to send our RSVP in the same type of theme. I used the Tim Holtz embossing folder on kraft cardstock. Then used Distress Inks Barn Red and Faded Jeans to highlight the embossing. No white in Distress Ink, so I found a nice Colorbox white pigment for the center stripe. Used Distress stickles in Diamond to highlight some of the letters on the embossing. This was a fast card, and I may use this same design to make some more Operation Write Home cards for the effort in which our Thursday stamp group is participating.

Operation Write Home

We've had some lovely rain today...the gentle, soak in kind that does the dry ground so much good. It was a bit overcast yesterday also, with a few drizzles. Lazy, napping kind of weather. Here's a card to share that I plan to donate to Operation Write Home (IF it's acceptable). I have a few more that I must add blank inserts and then deliver to the coordinator. This one has a kraft cardbase, then cut strips of different design papers from the Paper Studio Vintage Nation paper pack (local Hobby Lobby). I didn't really measure the strips, just 'eyeballed' to see what looked ok in the placement. After cutting to size, I used a corner punch to cut the vee's at the bottom. Added some rhinestone stars which & small round rhinestones colored with dark copic blue markers. . I'm noticing in the photo, the stars look a bit on the 'green' side, while the round rhinestones look bluer. Actually they are identical colors when you look at the card! My goodness, the sun is coming out this afternoon, so I guess now it will get very muggy after our nice cool rain. See ya next time.

Graduation

It's that time of the year when schools are having  graduation ceremonies. We have a lovely great niece who will be participating in her graduation in the next week.  I remembered a cute Maxwell House Mouse stamp that I had in my collection. When I went looking for it, Mr. Maxwell was nowhere to be found. Happily a fellow Thursday stamper loaned me her stamp so I could get this card done, and I ordered - A-NOTHER one - from Simon Says. The order shipped very fast too.  I expect the missing one will turn up now.  This young niece worked very hard in school and we are so proud of her. Early on, she was having difficulties with a lot of her subjects, and I'm pretty sure her self-esteem took a terrible beating. My personal feeling was always that she didn't have the right teachers who had the patience & training to help her in the ways she needed. Thankfully as time passed, she continued to work hard - when it must have been so difficult for her to keep forging ahead. One day, she made it on the Honor Roll. This was a real big deal, and all the family were so proud. It seems that once that barrier was passed, things got better for her. I think it boosted her confidence so that she realized she was quite capable of doing her studies, so didn't get test-fright as much as earlier.  She's a beautiful young lady, a hard worker, very intelligent, certainly not a quitter, and we are all So VERY PROUD of her. I expect great things from her as she continues her journey in life. She has shown that she doesn't give up & that she's not afraid of hard work! It paid off! On to the card specs:

Florals

Hi there. Hope you are having a wonderful day. Gina K. of Stamp TV inspired another card for me, and I'm sharing it today. Here's the link to her video: http://stamptv.ning.com/video/hello-sunshine-clean-simple-bright. I didn't have the same stamps used in the video, but went a-hunting, as I knew I had some stamps that would work well to do this technique. I started to stamp on white c/s, but then I saw a piece of c/s that I had tried to do the wax paper emboss resist technique. Well, first try, didn't go so hot! (I did try again, not finished with that effort yet!) Anyway, I thought "Hmm, bet it would be pretty to do this on that blue goof-up piece", so here I go ...inking my stamps. Generally just placing them where I liked. Yes, you can see the overstamping of the green leaves over the orange flowers (I didn't do any masking except with the leaf stamp)..but Gina says "That's ok", so I thought..."if it's good enough for Gina, heck, it's good enough for me!". Actually I was experimenting, and I rather liked the look, so I finished the piece as a card. I rounded the edges and matted on a c/s similar to that used in the video. I had been wondering how to use this bright c/s. It came in a pack of other brights. I liked the look on the light blue Bazzill textured c/s. My flower image was not quite long enough to be positioned well on the card, so I used an extra piece of the bright blue, cut a border using an MS deep edge punch. I attached the punched border to the back of the matted image, adhered the whole to the blue cardbase; called it done after I cut a sentiment with the S/Binders label trio, using #2 & #3 dies. This was a much faster card than I usually do. Once again, a big thanks to Miss Gina K for her great videos. They surely help ME out a lot!!! :-)

Fathers Day

Good evening. Here's a Father's Day card to share and it is made with a really cute Penny Black Slapstick stamp, called Toadily Happy. My DH loves frogs. I could easily pass on this fixation, but as long as it is a cute frog, I'm ok with it. This one's a cutie, colored - of course - with copics. I tried to do the 'reflections' in the water bit, not sure how much it shows up in the picture. Cut the image with a S/binder, Labels 23. I had to use the 'out-of-the-box' cutting technique in the top part. This one was a bit awkward to use that technique, but I didn't want to lose any of the image. I embossed the blue mat, which I just cut straight, so as to fit the die-cut image. I neglected to write the folder company or specific name, but it is a swirly one - probably C/bug. Thought it looked sort of 'water-like'. I used some sparkly stickles to add some shine, rubbing it on different raised areas with my finger. The additional butterflies were from an MS punch, on some scraps that I had used TH Distress Ink to do some sponging for another project. (guess this counts as a snippet for the playground). -   The layers were adhered to a yellowy-green piece of Bazzill textured cardstock. Then I used another little snipped to stamp the sentiment, which I also heat embossed after inking to add a bit of shine. Then I crumpled the tag after cutting a V at each end, popped up on some pop dots. There, it's done, and he won't see it until he's supposed to. I'm off to see if the ladies will let me in the playground. They seem to be having so much fun. Here I go...wish me luck http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com/2012/06/pixies-crafty-snippets-challenge-23.html

Thinking of you

A friend is going through a tough time health-wise at the moment, undergoing lots of painful & scary tests. She's a member of our Thursday stamp group. I wanted her to know that DH & I are thinking of her, sending up many prayers that all her tests are fine, and this rough patch will soon be in the past. The card specs are: Stamp-2002 SU rose, colored with copics...various pinks and greens. Diecut the image with S/Binders Petite Ovals Small, die #6, sponged with Distress Ink Tumbled glass while still in the die. The mauve mat is a Bazzill textured c/stock, diecut with S/B Labels 10, die #5. The lacey background was cut with the SU Lace punch, on Coordination White Wash paper, sponged with D/Ink Tumbled Glass. (I believe this particular SU punch has been retired this last go-round, so I'm happy to have it. It's quite versatile, and I think it is extremely elegant. I see a lot of cards on Pinterest that use this punch.) The sheer mauve ribbon was a bit I found in my stash. Then all of the elements were adhered to a Bazzill textured pink c/stock base. After adding the pearls to trim up the focal image, I decided I really ought to add a little sentiment, so I diecut a Labels trio, die #3, stamped with MFT Clearly Sentimental All Smiles clear stamp; using Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Maroon, then sponged around the edges. I sort of think I liked it better without the sentiment...but...

After the card was finished, I added a bit of Glossy Accent on some of the petals & leaves. I used the Copic Xpress paper in creating the image..it is my favorite paper to use, especially if I am using any shade of the reds. It is like coloring on the smoothest of silk, and even though I use Neenah also, I prefer the Xpress.

Sympathy

Here we are at Monday once again. This year has totally flown by. Here's a sympathy card that I did quickly last week after watching this video at Gina K's Stamp TV (http://stamptv.ning.com/video/laced-sympathy-card). She does THE best videos..very clearly ennunciating the directions, keeping her hands from blocking the camera, etc. I didn't use the same stamps, but the focal stamp was from one of her sets, just not the one used in the above video. The lace border stamp was probably from Michael's bought with a coupon, but I thought it looked well here. I diecut the image using S/Binders Lacy oval, sponged it with the same technique demonstrated in Gina's video (stamping in Momento, stamping off), then sponging on the image. I used the C/bug Emb Folder- dots- in the upper part of the black mat. Then used versamark & white emboss powder, heatset - for the lace trim.  I used popdots to pop up the focal image; matted on black, then white, with a black cardbase. This was one of the fastest cards I've done - I'm a Slowww cardmaker. I had just watched this video in the morning, then found I needed a card midafternoon. Because I was able to make this one quickly, I made one posted earlier & used that one. Having one on hand really takes the pressure off! So thanks Gina K! I hope you have time to check out her video and there are lots of others at the site to enjoy.

Birthday

Hello. I'm sharing a card I created based on a video I saw on Gina K (http://stamptv.ning.com/video/wainscot-background). I didn't have the same stamps or paper colors, but I had similar items, so CASEd the card. It was a fast one. Actually the card IS on the cardbase evenly, although this picture doesn't appear so...it's operator error with the scanner!. I used an Inkadinkado stamp - probably from Michael's with a coupon :-) . Colored with copics, then masked, and airbrushed the background using different shades of blues; attempted to give the illusion of some clouds, and also some waves in the water. The image was cut with a S/Binders deckled oval, the largest in the set. Then I found some light blue, lightweight c/stock. Used the Scor-Pal to add some scoring 1/2" apart. Next, take the 'embossed side' of that paper, drag a Momento London Fog ink pad, direct to paper, dragging from the top down. Once You've covered the blue scored paper, flip it around, drag in a similar fashion from the other side. This looks much better IRLife than it does in the picture. I was so pleased with the effect I did a couple of other backgrounds, using some browns in different shades. Image was adhered to the 'wainscot' bkground, adhered to a piece of Kraft color c/stock, and the card base is black. I have a lot of birthdays in the next months, so this will probably get a Birthday sentiment...but for the moment, I've left it open. If I need a "Cheer up" card quickly, I have one. Sigh...always feels good to know one is prepared! Thanks for visiting.

Birthday

Happy June and thanks for coming by to see me today. Here's a cute little Penny Black stamped card, that will probably be a birthday card. I haven't decided on the sentiment as yet, but it just looks as though it should be a Happy something or other to me. This little mouse is SO cute! It's PBlack Scented Garden, colored with copics. Used a Viva Decor gold pen for the flower centers. I diecut image with the S/binders Petite Ovals, die #5, then sponged around the edges with Distress Ink Wild Honey. Used a snippet for the scalloped mat, cut with the matching #5 Scalloped Petite Ovals, which I edged with DInk Tumbled Glass for a little definition. ( I just read on a blog somewhere that some of the S/binder ovals shapes are being retired. Bummer. Those are some of my most used dies.) Back to the card: I colored the image with copics. Used Coordination cardstock from a Vintage pad to cut the Persian Motif accents - top & bottom. I sanded the Coordinations after I diecut, but you can't really tell this in the photo. Then used a scrap of Design paper to cut the trim for the Kraft cardstock base. Hope you're having a pleasant Saturday afternoon. It's very lovely here in our area. We didn't get any of the predicted thunderstorms - ok by me. It is a bit cooler today, lower humidity. Hope to have another card to share tomorrow. Until then, God Bless.