Lotsa Links

First, this is my card for Jen Del Muro's A Sketch for You to Try on the i {heart} to stamp blog. It was inspired by this beautiful card by Lisa, which was posted recently on her awesome Lisa's Creative Corner blog. Finally, I believe it meets the criteria for the "Unconventional Christmas" challenge on Allison's Stampin' When I Can blog. Wow! I almost feel like I'm multi-tasking here! LOL.

I stamped the tree on white cardstock and used a round sponge to add the background color. Following Lisa's lead, I outlined some/most of the branches with a white gel pen, which, by the way, was not very cooperative this evening and did not yield the best results. I used Diamond stickles, which you can actually kind of see in the photo, on the snowflakes. To make it "pop," I mounted my stamped image first on white and then on Jasmine cardstock and sponged a little more ink on the embossed background piece. The snowflake, with a clear Sparkle in the center, was made with a new (to me) Martha Stewart punch. That's it . . . I think.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Juniper cardstock; Perfect Day paper packet; Juniper ink pad; Four Seasons and Peace on Earth stamp sets; Sparkles; Martha Stewart Snowflake punch; Diamond Stickles; White gel pen; Round sponge; Cuttlebug w/Snowflakes embossing folder.

Did everyone have a good Monday? My day was OK, although with temperatures in the 60s, I seriously wanted to play hooky today. Instead, I settled for a couple of breaks and lunch outdoors. It's supposed to be warm until Saturday, although there is rain in the forecast, too. Considerably cooler weather is forecast for the weekend, which is favorable for deer hunters. Speaking of hunting, guess who's going to be alone this weekend and the better part of next week? I laugh at all the young wives at work who are all sad and/or mad about being deserted during hunting season. "So, did they hunt before you married them?" I ask. I shouldn't make fun of them. I had a couple of sad/mad years myself, before I started liking (loving, actually) the "time off." What surprises me is how many women (including my daughter-in-law-to-be) that engage in the activity, too. Not me. I shot a gun once, and it knocked me flat on my butt. No thanks.

Well, now that I've carried on about hunting, I'll close and go see if I can't engage the hubby in a Wii bowling series. He caught on to the game, so we're competitive these days. Enjoy the rest of the evening, and while I don't think I need to remind anyone, exercise you right to vote tomorrow. Take care.