Puttin’ on the Glitz

Ach! You’re going to have to use your imagination to “see” all the sparkle. As I was posting my first sympathy card last night, I looked at that patterned paper and had a light bulb moment, wondering what those outlined flowers, stems, and leaves would look like if filled in with glitter. A few minutes later, I had my answer. Even the husband said, “Wow!” A word he seldom uses when looking over my shoulder to see what I’m doing in my corner. Again, a single sentiment stamp and a few gemstones. Kind of fun, something different, and definitely a card for a happier occasion!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy cardstock; DCWV La Creme Matstack; White Daisy Pigment ink pad; Close To My Heart For Every Occasion stamp set; Gemstones from Wal-Mart; Liquid Glass (used as glue for the gemstones); Glitter Stack; Quickie glue pen.

Happy Friday! The weekend officially began when I arrived home from work at 4. Home alone until Sunday, I’ve got several projects planned – some fun, some not-so-fun but necessary. For now, I’m off to find some supper and then maybe, I’ll do a little stamping.

Do you have plans? Whatever you are doing, I hope you are healthy and happy. As always, thanks for stopping by. I’ll check in again on Simple Saturday. Between now and then, take care!

Two More …

Here’s a 10-minute (or less) card made with pretty paper and a sentiment stamp. The border along the bottom is a scrap from the same paper pad. Although I don’t usually add sparkles, I think the three little pink stones I added to this card are OK. As for my photo, I apologize. Black on black doesn’t photograph very well.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy cardstock; DCWV La Creme Matstack; White Daisy Pigment ink pad; Impression Obsession Sympathy Sentiments stamp set; Hero Arts Pale Pink Gemstones.

I love the sentiment on this card, and it is perfect to use with my favorite silhouette stamps. With three new cards added to my sympathy stash, I have to say I hope I’m covered for a long, long time.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Desert Sand cardstock; Paper Garden paper packet; Desert Sand and Bamboo ink pads; Close To My Heart Treasure Life and Impression Obsession Sympathy Sentiments stamp sets; Gold mini brads; Stampin’ Up Word Window punch; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide and Mat.

Friday tomorrow! Woo hoo! A mess in my corner to clean up tonight! Thanks for stopping by. I hope yours was a wonderful day. Later…

For Those Not-So-Fun Times

Getting older seems to mean one needs a lot more sympathy cards. Recently, I ordered this set of stamps with thoughts that the sentiments are all lovely and not only are there nice stamps for the outside of the card but the inside as well. When making sympathy cards, I almost always opt for the serenity of green, and I tend to keep them relatively simple – like everything else I do. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Olive Cardstock; Studio 45 Times Nouveau Collection Wallflower; Olive and Bamboo ink pads; Impression Obsession Sympathy Sentiments stamp set; Stampin’ Up Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon; Corner rounder; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide and Mat; Sponge dauber.

I had a great day at work and had a good time at bowling as well. I hope your day was a good one, too! We’re experiencing some mild, very welcome weather with bright sunshiny days and temperatures near 50 degrees. To be this far into fall without having yet worn a winter coat is quite remarkable in the frozen tundra.  I’d love to be able to “hold out” until the first of December. Enjoy Thursday, friends, and thanks for stopping by!

Snowy Snowman

So enthralled I was with my speckled snow, I wanted to try it out on some dark blue paper. Nice, I thought, but now what? I ended up paper-piecing my snowman on a speckled/snowy Crystal Blue background. I used a white gel pen to color in the stamped snowflakes and to finish it off, added some homemade Flower Soft. Simple and fun.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Moonstruck, Crystal Blue and Cranberry cardstock; Black and White Pigment ink pad; Cranberry, Orange, Baby Pink, and Grey Wool markers; Snow Friends stamp set; Retired Speckled Background stamp; White gel pen; Styrofoam (faux Flower Soft)

How was your day? I went to work late and came home early. I’m still feeling a little punk. A good night’s sleep will help, I’m sure. Prior to crawling between the sheets, I’m going to see what I can make happen in my corner. Enjoy the evening, and like always, thanks for stopping by!

A Couple More Challenge Cards

 Here’s my take on Unscripted Sketches # 31. I’m thinking that the card is pretty straightforward. Either that, or I just can think of anything to say about it. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock; Emporium paper packet; Honey, Olive, Cocoa, and Bamboo ink pads; Chocolate and Crystal Blue markers; You’re a Hoot and Happy Birthday stamp sets; Gold Bitty Brads; Cocoa grosgrain ribbon; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Mat and Guide; 1 and 1-1/4-inch circle punches; Sanding block; Sponge dauber.

 

This second card is what I came up with for this week’s A Sketch for You to Try on the i{heart}2stamp blog. Again, I’m not coming up with a lot to say with the exception that the center circle on the sentiment piece has foam mounting tape beneath it.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Chocolate, and Sorbet cardstock; Twitterpated paper packet; Chocolate, Sorbet, Sweet Leaf, and Bamboo ink pads; Desert Sand marker; Grown with Love stamp set; Sorbet mini brad; Flowers from my stash; 2-inch scalloped circle punch; 1-3/4 and 1-inch circle punches; Sponge dauber; 3M foam mounting tape.

I don’t know if I’ll get this post up tonight or not, as I haven’t had any Internet service for the past three hours. Wow, if anything frustrates the heck out of me, it’s Internet problems. Of course, I think that might mean I have a problem. LOL. Other than this minor inconvenience, it’s been a good day. I hope yours has been as well. Thanks for stopping by. Later…

Snow Friends

While I can’t say I’m all excited about living with the fluffy white stuff, which is sure to come our way one of these days, I love Snow Friends. Have since the first time I laid eyes on them and am pretty sure I always will.

I’m also loving this color combination – Heavenly Blue and Holiday Red. The card is my take on Weekend Sketch Challenge #106 as featured on the Fresh & Fun blog. I was at a loss as to what to do about a sentiment until I punched a 1-inch circle and realized it “fit” inside one of the embossed circles. Just right!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Holiday Red, and Heavenly Blue cardstock; Black, Holiday Red, and Twilight ink pads; Grey Wool, Heavenly Blue, Holiday Red, Goldrush, Orange, and Baby Pink markers; Snow Friends and Say it in Style stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-mart; Diamond Stickles; 1-inch circle punch; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Dove blending pen; Cuttlebug w/Snow Dots embossing folder.

Why stop when you’ve got a good thing going? LOL. Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #91 provided yet another opportunity to make a card with my beloved Snow Friends. For the snow, I tried my hand at making faux Flower Soft. My sweet friend Jeanne sent me this link she found on the Hog Wild About Stamping blog. The Styrofoam I found at Wal-Mart, however, was extra hard, and I kinda ended up with what I’ll call Flower/Snow Dust. On the card, it created the look I was hoping to achieve though, so it was worth the effort/mess. Thanks, Jeanne!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Holiday Red, and Heavenly Blue cardstock; Heavenly Blue Gingham paper (retired); Black, Holiday Red, and Twilight ink pads; Grey Wool, Heavenly Blue, Holiday Red, Goldrush, Orange, and Baby Pink markers; Snow Friends and So Sweet Seasons stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-mart; Red mini brads; Small white pompom; Diamond Stickles; Dove blending pen; Cuttlebug w/Snow Dots embossing folder and Nestabilities Classic Circles set.

I had so much fun making these cards on Friday evening. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, isn’t it? As for the rest of the weekend, I haven’t enjoyed much of anything – having spent at least 85 percent of my time in bed. I was fine yesterday morning. By early afternoon, however, I had a very sore throat, the chills, and a headache that made me feel like my eyeballs were going to pop out. I finally got up and had supper tonight and am feeling somewhat better.

What a waste of a weekend … I certainly hope yours was better. I’m about to go check out my favorite blogs and find out for myself. Then, I’m going to put myself back to bed with hopes of getting up and going to work tomorrow. Take care, and have a great week!

Very Simple Saturday

My vision for this card was quite different from what you see. What I imagined was more colorful with ribbon and brads and whatever other doodad struck my fancy as I put it together. Instead, the tiny red bird is the only spot of color against the snowy background, which, I thought, best conveyed my simple, albeit impassioned, sentiment. Further adornment would have only distracted from the peaceful feeling I hoped to impart.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Chocolate, and Stampin’ Up Kraft cardstock; Cranberry, Chocolate, and White Daisy Pigment stamp pads; Impression Obsession Birds of a Feather and Close To My Heart Say it in Style stamp sets; Retired CTMH Speckled Background stamp.

I’ve been up for a couple of hours already after having gone to bed early and then, my sleep disturbed by my hunter who showed up at home at 3:30 AM for the purpose of retrieving a set of keys. I don’t know what his story was and wasn’t in the mood, at the time, to ask. He said something about having locked his keys in his pickup. Good grief…

With that, I’m going to go have some breakfast and find some chores to do. I have a feeling a nap will be in order by mid-afternoon. LOL. Have a great Saturday! Later…