Not Just Another Thursday . . .

My card tonight is my first-ever stab at Beate's Be Inspired challenge. I don't know enough about flowers to know if mine looks like a poppy or not, but I'm sure happy with the card. I colored my images with a blending pen and ink from my ink pads. For the flowers, I used Goldrush, Orange, and Holiday Red. Then, I used a Holiday Red marker to intensify the color a bit. When I decided to go around the image with Goldrush, I didn't know if I was going to ruin it or not. I deemed I liked it and then used my speckled background stamp to tie in the gold and soften the image. I used an Edge Distresser around the edges of the image only. The "stripes" on the embossed red piece were created by swiping it with same-color ink.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Holiday Red, Goldrush, and Black cardstock; Black, Goldrush, Orange, Holiday Red, Olive, and Brown Bag ink pads; Holiday Red marker; Whipper Snapper Designs Blossoms & Butterflies and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp sets; CTMH Speckled Backgrounds stamp (retired); Black mini brads; Ribbon from Michael's; Dove blending pen; Stampin' Up Horizontal Slot punch; Cuttlebug w/Distressed Stripes embossing folder.

When I turned the page on my inspirational flip book this morning, the following words by Ruth Alla Wager aptly appeared for August 28: "Sunset, The day is done, The sun has set, Yet light still tints the sky; My heart stands still in reverence, For God is passing by." On a Thursday, 11 years ago today, my dad's journey on earth came to an end. Simply stated, I miss him and wonder what life would be like if he were still here. As it is, I have a lot to tell him when I see him again, and in the meanwhile, I will remember him with a warm heart and a smile on my face.

My day was a good one, and I hope yours was, too. Tomorrow night, we're going out for that postponed birthday dinner with Dustin and Miranda. My youngest son is quite the entertainer, so it will be fun. Most likely, I'll tell you about it. Between now and then, take care and as always, thanks for stopping by.