A Winter Scene

I don’t make a lot of wintry cards, leaving the pretty snowflakes and cute snowman scenes for those of you who don’t have to live in the frozen tundra.

I’m making an exception for the Mojo Monday 123 sketch, however. We had a few very nice days last week. With temperatures in the high 20s and mid 30s, we enjoyed several winter wonderland-type days with frosty trees and glistening snow – a sure sign that the sentiment on my card is true. Just like some of the tough times we face throughout our lifetimes, no winter lasts forever.

Oh, and while I don’t need to tell you… I could just let you think this card was the original … I will tell you that I performed major card surgery this evening, replacing the original focal point image. For my first attempt, I used a different tree stamp, stamped in cocoa on Juniper cardstock. The “snow” on the bottom was torn pieces of white cardstock. It was ugly right from the get-go. My attempt to “fix” it involved Stickles. With sparkly tree branches and gloppy snowflakes, it was still ugly.

Tonight’s surgery amounted to starting over. I stamped a different tree with Juniper ink on Colonial White cardstock. I tore a piece of cardstock to use as a stencil along the bottom before sponging a Juniper sky. Snowflakes were added with my Speckled Background stamp – first using Juniper and then Colonial White Pigment ink pads. I added a little Colonial White ink around the edges, too, and finally, outlined the tree branches with a white gel pen. And, the end of this card saga is that while this may not be the greatest card I’ve ever made, tonight’s “facelift” was a big improvement.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Tulip cardstock; Treasures of the Heart paper packet (2009 Heart of Winter special); Juniper and Tulip ink pads; Renaissance by Design Roots & Wings and CTMH Four Seasons stamp sets; CTMH Speckled Background stamp (retired) Buttons from my stash; Papertrey Ink Sorbet grosgrain ribbon; White gel pen; Ecru crochet cotton, 3M foam mounting tape.


After that long story, I’ll keep the rest of this short. The wind gave up, making our sub-zero temperatures easier to take. My workday was busy and productive. Tonight, I’m going to wash a couple more loads of clothes and clear some clutter here in my little den before turning in early and making an attempt to recover from last night’s rather fitful sleep session. My computer is acting wonky, giving me an occasional weird “memory kernel” message and requiring me to reboot – each time with my fingers crossed that it comes back to life.

I hope your day was wonderful, and as always, thank you for stopping by! Later…