Rock'n Scissors n' Paper

Starting Early

2012-01-30T21:47:00.000-08:00

The sketch challenge this week at 365 Cards, again lived up to the name challenge.

I was not sure what to do with the shapes, had trouble with the layout, and don't even get me started on the ribbon. I think it is time for bed. I will try again tomorrow. Sometimes you beat the challenge and sometimes the challenge beats you.

KISS

2012-01-30T20:57:00.000-08:00

Keep it Simple... The challenge from 365 Cards was to keep a simple 2 word sentiment. This is my first effort. There may be another one later.

I have long loved this paper and the combo of pink, orange, green, and brown is so fun. I just don't do well with designs that are so large. I am afraid to put things on top of the design because it will lose something. I used brown ink for the border of the tag and for the brown sentiment. I actually use that stamp a lot, now that I think of it. I think it is from a Fiskars set.

Worth the Wait

2012-01-30T20:48:00.000-08:00

The challenge from 365 Cards was this sketch.

I started the card for Allison's birthday in 2 weeks but I decided to wait to finish it. Why, you may ask? 'Cause I picked out some fabulous new Kraftin Kimmie Stamps as a Valentine's gift from my husband. I only wanted one or two but he bought FIVE!!! I can hardly wait.
The tiny white circles in the sketch are little square brads. The pink line is a black grosgrain ribbon, The white oval is a piece of vellum and the grey circle is Marie Antoinette!

Here is the final product...

Allison is so awesome, of course she gets an Easel style card. And we are having her birthday at the Renaissance Festival so this will be super awesome. Okay, I can't wait two weeks to give it to her. I may need to mail it now!!

Momentous

2012-01-30T20:38:00.000-08:00

The challenge at 365 Cards was to show how you are feeling at this moment. I am floating on air. I am held up in suspense waiting to hear about a job change within my district. Suspense. I am suspended in air. How is that?

This might have gone better for last week's Breezy challenge... but here it is.

Covered

2012-01-30T20:31:00.000-08:00

The challenge at 365 Cards was to use 2 patterned papers.

I used black dotted papers with 2 different sizes. It also follows the Prickly Pear Stamps sketch challenge for the month.

Tropical Colors

2012-01-30T20:27:00.000-08:00

The challenge at 365 Cards was to use a color palette.

I called the first two colors aqua and light aqua, the third color salmon, the fourth light lemon, and the last fuchsia. It helped me find them in my stash as I was talking to myself.

Have you noticed my new Kraftin' Kimmie stamp? LOVE!!!

Small World, After All

2012-01-30T20:22:00.000-08:00

These are inspired by a challenge from 365 cards to make it small. I used a scrap of green paper for the base of all three cards and they are 3by3. The pencil is there for scale.

I love the green apple Bazzil paper.

Sometimes, I get a GOOD feeling, yeah.

2012-01-30T20:17:00.000-08:00

The challenge from 365 Cards was to use the word good in a sentiment... but not Goodbye.

I bought the stamp at a garage sale for an old (ye olde) Renaissance Faire friend.

I colored the image with colored pencil and marker. Then I added a layer of Liquid Glass, which seems appropriate for a stained glass style image.

The texture as it is starting to dry reminds me of a fresh tattoo. A little raised and bright.

Nearly Nautical

2012-01-25T20:25:00.000-08:00

The challenge at 365 Cards was to make it nautical. Immediately my mind went to sails, life preservers, knots and the colors white and blue. This one is a little more pirate nautical and it has a nautilus! That seems nautical to me! The sentiment and shells were from Prickly Pear Stamps. I am waiting (impatiently) for new stamps to arrive. Come on order!!

Big Banner

2012-01-18T22:13:00.000-08:00

This challenge from 365 Cards gave me some trouble at the start. Sometimes I stop when things don't start smoothly but I think my efforts paid off tonight. I picked the yellow paper and the patterned paper. When I cut the yellow paper I made it a bit too short so I had to fix it with a little strip on the right. There was a teeny gap between the yellow patch-up. I covered the gap with ribbon but it was too neon. That is when I decided to fill the gap with a scattering of white flowers. I had trouble with the sentiment too. I started with black stickers but they were too stark so then I used white rub on letters which were a bit too pale. I outlined the letters to help them pop and I outlined the yellow background with a black line. I tried adding a birthday cake to give the impression of Happy Birthday but the candles looked like they were going to burn the banner so I just went with the happy. This went through MANY trials and errors before I got it right. I feel like it is stronger than the first several drafts of the card.

Mixed up

2012-01-18T22:07:00.000-08:00

The challenge at 365 Cards was to use retro images and keep it simple. This is a card for a non-traditional friend who recently got married. The top image is pretty simple. I added a touch of fancy with the ribbon and rhinestones. I think I like in more fancy than simple. I purchased the digital dirigible image for another wedding that made stationary for. A favorite picture for sure.

Extras

2012-01-18T22:01:00.000-08:00

The challenge for 365 Cards was to use scraps. These scraps have been hanging around my craft area in a zipper bag. Even the lacy doily was a scrap. I added lots of glitter to the cupcakes too!

Birthday Stars

2012-01-15T17:08:00.000-08:00

The challenge at 365 Cards was inspired by an ad. The image shows layers of heart out of different print but I needed to make a birthday card for our dear friend. I used a star punch and then hand cut out different layers around it. The cupcake stamp is wee. There is a star brad at the top of the cupcake serving as the cherry on top. I think I like photos of cards on our new desk! The red is fabulous!
-h

With an old Sticker

2012-01-15T16:44:00.000-08:00

The card challenge at 365 Cards was a recipe and here are the ingredients

4.25x5.5 card

Stripes

Stickers (any amount)

Stamped sentiment

1 additional embellishment of your choosing

The striped paper was slightly sanded. The leaf sticker has been in my stash forever! The sentiment was from my first Stampin' Up set. And the embellishment was blue brads. I got the layout from a sketch book that I recently received. The lighting in the photo makes the dark brown look a bit deeper than it actually is.

Candyland Girl

2012-01-15T16:43:00.004-08:00

The 365 Card challenge was inspired by Candyland. I remember playing Candyland with my kids and there was a time when they would try to cheat by finding all of the double colored cards or try to stack the deck with picture cards. Fun candy colors!

DMFP

2012-01-15T16:43:00.002-08:00

The challenge from 365 Cards is to use a monogram. The DMFP will be getting this one as a Valentine's day card. The grey Bazzil behind the elephant is one of my favorite papers. The red and black paper reminds me of my sister.

The Boy's Birthday

2012-01-15T16:43:00.000-08:00

The challenge from 365 Cards was to add 2 types of fringe. The boy turns 18 (I can't believe it) in February. He is going to a birthday concert next week with Dad. This may be too somber of a card but I adore the fringe.

Hello Shadow

2012-01-15T16:42:00.004-08:00

This was a tough challenge for me. The 365 cards challenge was using shadow. I am not an expert with shadows. I doubled both the sentiment and the flower in black and turquoise. there are dark blue accents and the punch is from Martha Stuart (Stewart).

Serious Flower

2012-01-15T16:42:00.002-08:00

Up and Away

2012-01-15T16:42:00.000-08:00

The 365 Cards Challenge for today was a sketch. I started with the green paper and started layering with ripped plaid that matches and tied the blue ribbon. I pulled the blue paper and two brads from the plaid colors. The sentiment is from a rub on that I outlined with pen. The balloon is a digital that I printed out a few days ago.

Paisley Cat

2012-01-09T20:45:00.000-08:00

The challenge at 365 cards was Paisley and Yellow. Now I have paisley and I have yellow... but nothing in my stash really has both. This rock and roll paisley has a yellow green fade to it so I stretched it to yellow. I will probably make the cat again with a different colored stamp. Maybe white cat on pink paper. This was all done with scraps!

Checkerboard!

2012-01-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

The challenge at 365 Cards is black and checkerboard and although I immediately thought of the Twilight book cover with the chess piece, I resisted the temptation.

Shh, this card is stamp free! I mostly cut out some shapes from a DCWV alphabet book and added some extra glitter. I tipped the star and outlined the heart with silver glitter Stickles. Waited overnight for it to dry and attached the pieces to the card. Oh yeah, and there are mini button brads in Grey! Hearts and Stars for Valentine's Day.

The Year of Glue

2012-01-07T12:52:00.001-08:00

In 2012 I am going to make more cards but not purchase more paper. It is the year of glue. Stay tuned for the progress through 2012.

Pink and black

2012-01-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

The challenge at 365 Cards is pink and Damask. I had two or three types of paper to choose from and this is what I came up with:

The dots on the cake are larger than I would have liked. It looks like a cupcake wrapper.

Red and Yellow

2012-01-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you add bright colors and your favorite stamp of all time? Fabulousness! I usually enjoy coloring the skirt of this stamp (Kraftin Kimmie's) but today I just stamped the head to finish off this card. She is slightly off center but darn cute! I need more of these stamps. (Hint hint for you Valentine's Day Shoppers!)

The challenge at 365 Cards was Red and Gingham. Check and check!

Green Times 3

2012-01-04T13:04:00.000-08:00

The challenge for today at 365 Cards was Green Stripes. Since Green is my favorite color I could have gone on for days with this one. I picked three fabulous green papers and stopped there.

This one has the fabulous apple green paper from Bazzill! The stripes have been in my stash for ages. the little mini button brads are from making memories.

This one has a pale green striped paper and more of the mini button brads. The stamp is a Stampin' Up quote set. I love green and brown and would probably add more brown- if I was buying paper this year!

The last green and striped card has yellow green and brown. The stripe is very subtle. The stamp in the middle is made up of two circle stamps set inside of each other. The pale green ribbon is a bit brighter than I would like, but what can ya do?

Just Do IT!

2011-07-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

The 365 Cards challenge for today was a color scheme. The red, white, and blue plus yellow.

My favorite Gal

2011-07-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

The 365 Cards challenge was a sketch. As I was coloring and paper piecing this young lady, my husband came in and commented that I get a lot of use out of this stamp. It is true. She is one of my favorite stamps. Today I cut her head off and re-attached it. A bit Frankinstein-like! Hee hee.

Sketchin'

2011-07-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

The 365 Cards challenge of the day was to take a sketch from a card. I used the one that was posted on the site.

This was a lot of fun to distress. I sanded all kinds of paper! I inked the edges of the torn flower. The giant yellow brad is Bazzil.

I also packed up a bunch of my recently created cards to send off to charity. My good friend Hyd is a web designer for Gray Matters Foundation and they support and encourage brain tumor patients and their families. The cards will be used to put a little cheer in someone's life. I made sure that they were moderately flat so that they would hold up well in the mail. It feels good to lighten the horde and help others. I give out plenty of cards to my friends and I never sell my cards so they start to pile up.

And that is all the linking I can do for one day!

-etch

Silly Sentiment

2011-07-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

Okay so this card is kinda plain. I know that. I will add the stamped image photo later.

The challenge from 365 Cards was to make a card with a silly image or sentiment.

How fun!

-etch

Swap - Fall cards

2011-06-30T17:35:00.000-07:00

I signed up for a swap on SCS. I know that I had decided not to participate in the swapping world but when I recently cleaned out my scraping room, I realized that I had a ton of cards and they all had the same feel. I want to try new styles and push myself. Maybe the challenge of making something worth trading with other card makers will propel me to use advanced techniques. Receiving cards from others should give me new ideas or at the least, make me feel good about the work that I do.

Here is the submission for the Fall cards swap.

First I stamped and embossed the flower 9 times. I have to send out 5 to swap +1 for the hostess who gathers the cards and mails them back to the swap participants. I wanted to have extras for myself so I made 3 to keep.

I paper pieced the leaves and flowers by re- stamping 9 times on each of the different colors of paper. For the green leaves, I just cut them in one layer. For the flowers I started with the outer edge of flower then cut the stamps in concentric(ish) layers and stacked them like a topographical map or wedding cake.

I matted the flower images and added designer paper for the side. Each card got a brown ribbon. Can you see the one that is not like the others? Oops!

For the ones that I kept for myself I added a layer of liquid glass on the flower and stem images so that they are shiny!

The cutting of so many little pieces of paper took a whole afternoon. I watched 3 movies while I did it and my hands hurt. I got 9 cards that turned out superb!

Spinnin'

2011-06-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

The challenge from 365 Cards was to make a spinner card. A spinner card has a trench in the middle that holds a penny-dimensional-penny sandwich. When you tip the card side to side, the sandwich spins along the trench. This is the front of the card with the pennies in the trench.

I modified the front a little bit and put the penny back in the new trench. The whole front piece is raised with dimensional dots so that the pennies don't get stuck when they spin down the trench.

I wonder if it would be easier if I had made a video of the spinner doing it's spinning. Hmmm?

Wedding Card

2011-06-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

My best friend through high school got married last weekend. This is the card that I sent her. Her wedding colors were patriotic.

It was an easel card and when propped up the tag on the horizontal says "Congratulations" It did not show up in the picture. I guess I was too excited to mail it out to see if it was a good shot or not.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Day!

-etch

A birthday card

2011-06-25T13:03:00.001-07:00

This layout comes from Mojo Monday blog.

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Blues

2011-06-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

My favorite stamp embossed in blue. There is something peaceful about a monochromatic palette.

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Peachy!

2011-06-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

This layout is one that I am really enjoying. I have made several cards using it within the past week! The stamps and the sketch both are from prickley pear.

This one is made up from scraps that I had laying around. I am surprised how much peach paper is in my horde. I should pull it out more often. It was fun playing with this color thanks to a challenge at 365 cards.

-etch

Penguins in June

2011-06-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

The challenge at 365 Cards was inspired by the movie poster for Mr. Popper's Penguins I used a sketch from the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps blog The blue card was the first one that I did and then I came up with the red card.

Moody Movie

2011-06-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

The 365 Cards challenge was the Judy Moody movie poster.

The orange ribbon at the top is inspired by the roller coaster and the colors are drawn from the poster.

Thinking Green

2011-06-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

The 365 Card challenge is the movie poster from The Green Lantern.

The bamboo on the top and bottom of the buddha make the Green Lantern symbol! The green background on the card is a versa magic stamp pad that I dragged across the page.

Honey!

2011-06-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

The challenge for 365 Cards is the Pooh movie poster.

Transform

2011-06-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

The challenge from 365 cards was based on a movie poster. I truly thought about making a complicated fold card that would open up to a robot or something. Instead, I took the easy route. Looks like a boy's birthday card, just needs a message.

-etch

Sketch on Sunday

2011-06-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

The 365 Card challenge today was a sketch. Let me tell you I have a love-hate relationship with sketches. Sometimes they make card making easy and other times they frustrate me to no end. The sketch today was simple and didn't make me want to take a hostage. :-)

I flipped it but it is basically the same as the sketch.

Frosted!

2011-06-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

I started with the white stickers and decided to top a tiered chocolate cake with them! I added the backing paper because it looked like a wedding. The red flower pulls out the flourishes from the paper! Love this challenge from 365 Cards!

-etch

Classy

2011-06-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

Today's assignment from 365 Cards was to add lots of elements but not let them overlap.

I thought that I would have more trouble with this challenge since I am fond of stacking items next to each other. I resisted my natural inclination to put elements on top of each other as much as I could and I am quite happy with the end result! There are many items on this card... grossgrain ribbon, ecru lace, a stamped Martha Stuart flower with a brassy eyelet, a making memories clip, a fancy brad, 3 self stick pearls, a sticker, the quote, and some glue on corners. They all pull together rather nicely.

Happy Buddha

2011-06-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

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A teaching message

2011-06-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

This is a stamp that I don't often use. I like the way that it is colored on the stamp front but the actual stamp itself doesn't lend itself to coloring in because there are no outlines. Just solid stamp.

The quote is a classic for teachers. Hopefully you can make out the words in the close-up.

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Lucky 13

2011-06-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

The challenge from 365 Cards was to use 13 of something. Who knew that happy birthday was made with 13 letters?!?

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Summer Time!

2011-06-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

The 365 Cards assignment for today was a sketch. This is what I thought of since I am on summer break.

The stamp set of summer images and sentiments is from the dollar bin! Way to scrap on the cheap! The paper is from a DCWV Citrus stack.

-etch

Butterfly Rainbow

2011-06-04T16:09:00.000-07:00

The 365 Card challenge was based on an ad. I only wish that the gold embossing showed up better on this photo.

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Mixing it Up

2011-06-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

It is ages from Halloween time but I came across a pile of Halloween papers and stickers. The 365 Card challenge was to use 4 ways to add a sentiment to your card - I used stamping (Happy Haunting) alphabets (BOO), designer paper (spooky), and stickers (tricks & treats) With all of those sentiments there was no need for more details!

-etch

Buttons and Butterfly

2011-06-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

The 365 Cards challenge was to use 20 buttons but I used MANY more!

I thought this might make a nice wedding card. It didn't even dent my white button collection. There are a few buttons there that I adore! The square one and heart one really make me happy!

-etch

Flavor Card

2011-05-31T16:23:00.000-07:00

The Challenge from 356 Cards was to make a card inspired by your favorite flavor of ice cream. There is a tie in my mind between Cherry Vanilla and Chocolate Brownie. The card has a taste of both!

I used Bazzil paper and a dot of Liquid Glass in the center of each flower. It is a clean and simple card and I may go back and add a sentiment and a little more "flash" soon.

-etch

Stamp Free!

2011-05-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

The sentiment is from a vellum booklet of sentiments found at Office Max! The layout is from the 365 Card challenge. The striped paper is The Citrus Stack from DCWV.

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Tropical Taste

2011-05-29T16:24:00.000-07:00

The color challenge came from 365 Cards. The layout is based on a sketch from Splitcoast. I stamped the hummingbird more than once but I am still not sure if the blue was right.

-etch

Steam Punky

2011-05-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

Still trying to work out this layout. I know someone who is going to LOVE the purples in these gears.

Father's Day

2011-05-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

This simple 365 Cards layout asks to leave a lot of white space. Dad is not a big fan of ribbons, flowers, and fluff so this seemed like a perfect time to keep it simple.

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That's another challenge!

2011-05-15T16:38:00.000-07:00

Every once and a while I get a layout that I can't make work for me. I let it ruminate a while and try it a few different times. This one from 365 Cards was one of those.

I haven't got it yet, but I will!

-etch

Late night crafting

2011-05-01T00:53:00.000-07:00

The 365 Card challenge was about stamped or digital frames. Maybe I am tired. Maybe this was a poorly thought out card. Regardless, it is my least favorite this week. Except for the mini buttons. They are so cute I want to hug them. Really. They are Making Memories brads and the package has two sizes: wee and itty bitty. I dropped like three before these guys made it to the page. I guess I should go crawl under my desk and find them.

Then I decided that it was too simple. I went back and added designer paper, glitter, a more advanced layout and this is the final product...

-etch

Sparkles

2011-05-01T00:50:00.000-07:00

The 365 Card challenge was about sparkle. I have been working on my Christmas cards through the year and this stamp works great with a bit of a'la mode silver embossing powder and a quick shot of heat. The gem is a rhinestone that I picked up a bargain bin at the scrapbook convention. That particular light blue one is Bling by Jolee's. 25 various colors and shapes of rhinestones for $1.25 can't be beat! Expect to see more sparkles!

-etch

What kind of crafter doesn't have kraft paper?!

2011-05-01T00:46:00.000-07:00

Okay. The challenge said use kraft paper. I have textured Bazzil...not Kraft color exactly. It will do for today. So I stamped the butterfly and the background 3 strips looked plain. I got the great idea to give them some ink but I did it the hard way. Instead of stamping the big image one time and cutting it into strips, I stamped the strips right on the card. I took the butterfly off but not the strips. Because I was too lazy to stop what I was doing, I made the project more complicated than it needed to be. By the time it was all stamped I was too tired to add any extras. It is pretty simple. I modified a splitcoast sketch for the layout on this one too.

-etch

Yummy!

2011-05-01T00:40:00.000-07:00

This one was from a 365 Card challenge. I finally got to play with my "Close to My Heart" Liquid Glass. I picked it up at the Mesa Scrapbook convention, *swoon*, about 2 weeks ago. This is the first time I have made cards in ages! I took an old cranberry printed paper...yes a page made of cranberries, and put the liquid glass on it to make the cherry on top of the cupcake. I pieced the cupcake using the stripe paper and a discontinued shade of Bazzil textured cardstock. If I do this again I wouldn't use textured brown paper for the chocolate frosting. I would keep it smooth.

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Subtle

2011-05-01T00:35:00.000-07:00

The 365 Card challenge was to create a general purpose card. The idea is to create a card that you could give to pretty much anyone you know (male/female, co-workers, family members, friends), so it can't be too personal and it can't be gender-specific -- but of course there's a catch. It must have a sentiment on it, and it cannot be a thank you note. Otherwise it can be of any theme.

Everybody likes a puppy card, right?

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Announcing

2011-05-01T00:33:00.000-07:00

From the 365 Card Challenge and Sketch Challenge 21 from Splitcoast.

Sometimes you have exciting news to share, and you just have to do it in a big, big way.
That's what this challenge is about - just sayin' it right there on the front of your card.

I like the idea of having a card ready to say anything that needs to be said... Congratulations, Happy Birthday, thinking of you... I can think of lots of reasons to use this one!

-etch

A Very Angry (Birds) Easter

2011-04-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

Angry Birds Angry Birds Angry Birds!!!

We used some empty boxes and covered them with romaine. The backdrop was a few sheets of craft paper.

We made the red bird and the black bomb bird out of brown eggs. If only we had dyed duck and quail eggs as well as hen eggs... maybe next year.

I can hardly contain

2011-04-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

As inspired by the bride and groom... Purples and a bit victorian/steampunk. The RSVP card is currently killing me. Softly.

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Guess that is why they call it a challenge!

2011-04-02T17:27:00.000-07:00

This card is my second attempt at the Sunday sketch challenge from 365 Cards. There is not a lot of stamping here. I made the sentiment stamp and stamped the edges of each sheet of paper. I fliped the sketch trying to get a handle on it. I had the hardest time with the rectangles in the sketch and I am not sure why!
The first attempt was using a blue patterned paper that I have had for a long time. I used 3 shades of blue (none of which made me truly happy) and I stamped the sentiment in black on the lower right corner. Not sold on the idea of stripe going across the front of the whole card. I need to breathe, interpret it in a way that makes sense to me, and let go of my perfectionism.

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Say it, Sister!

2011-04-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

The coloring on the skirt looks brighter than it actually is. I am not sure if I want to add more details/distress to this card or if I should leave it alone. The two toned hair is my favorite!

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Inspired by You!

2011-04-02T15:55:00.000-07:00

There is this young lady that I know who has made her signature colors apparent in her recent hair choices.

She reported that the card was, "Awesome!" (Her signature exclaimation.)

Airship

2011-03-27T22:18:00.000-07:00

You may be thinking, "Why Orange?" The answer to that question is, " because I was too lazy to thread my machine with white, black or cream." Consequently, the sentiment is also on an orange circle that almost matches the thread.

The 365 Card challenge is

S as in Stitching

T as in Toile

and

W as in White

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A bit steampunky?

2011-03-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

The sketch is from 365 cards. Kind of on the simple side. The stamp is inkadinkado with gold a'la mode embossing powder. I ripped and inked the edges of the stamp. I can't decide if I should add some butterflies to give it more (something) or if it is fine just simple. Eh, I can always add more later if the spirit moves me!

-etch

Love this stamp!

2011-03-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

Her name is Lavinia. She is a Krafin' Kimmie Stamp. And I love her.

I colored her with colored pencil and 1 fine tipped brown marker. I added some copper and gold ink and crumpled and inked the circles to distress the card a bit. The little star embelishment on the upper left is from makingmemories and the gears on the upper right were a stamp that came with Lavinia. I stamped them in gold ink and then colored them in.

The 365 Cards challenge was alphabet! This one is for

A as in Alphabet Stickers/Stamps

B as in the color Blue

and

C as in Circle

I want to get a stamp with gears so that I can "Steampunk" up some more cards.

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Friendly Fringe

2011-03-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

The 365 Cards challenge was

D as in Distressed

E as in Envelope

and

F as in Fringe

I can't believe how much fun I had making fringe. It seems like such a tiny thing but it was incredibly fun. The "So Tweet Birdies" paper is charming. You may notice that the button is wrecked (it came that way) and the stitching on the fringe is not perfect. That is completely intentional. I think it adds a bit to the distressed nature of the card. I usually send blank/boring envelopes but I took a little time and stamped the birdhouse on the envelope too.

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Baby Boy Blue

2011-03-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

The challenge at 365 Cards is

G is for Grosgrain

H is for Heart

and

I is for Ink

So I pulled out my box of ribbon and chose a Grosgrain (not to be confused with Gross Grain) ribbon for the start. The hearts were easy to add after that. I decided to use one color of paper. For the top 1/3 I stamped a flourishy stamp and overlapped it. I also stamped a bit of the flouish at the bottom. Lots of monochromatic ink!

I was originally going to say "Welcome Baby" but misjudged the amount of room on the bottom. I am sure the co-worker will understand what the sentiment means when she opens this at her shower next week.

Not pictured in the shot are some additional white dots that I added in with jel pen once I took the picture. There was not enough white for my taste and I put some white dots in the flourishes and added some flourish details to the hearts. I guess I don't like monochromatic as much as I thought. And now it is ready to go!

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Orange you glad?

2011-03-26T16:13:00.000-07:00

The 365 Cards challenge for today was

M as in Marker

N as in Number

and

O as in Orange

I couldn't get that old "orange you glad I didn't say banana" knock-knock joke out of my head while making this card. ( Too long to explain but if you have kids, you know this one. It's a classic.) I have a freind with a birthday next weekend and thought this would make her smile.

The flower is a bit distressed to match some of the other elements more closely. The little winking skull is Creative Imaginations. The stripes are from FancyPantsDesigns called rough and tough by lili. By the way, I love folks who don't capitalize their own names. I know it is conventionally incorrect... but who wants to be conventional.

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Challenge 365 Cards Day 25

2011-03-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

The challenge of the day from 365 Cards is
P as in Polka Dots
Q as in Quilting
and
R as in Red

The quilting is from a tutorial pattern on Splitcoast. It uses a piece of graph paper as the base of the quilt. Each square starts out as 3/4 inch. It is easy to lay out this way. I added a flower with Polka Dots! and a sentiment on vellum so the recipient can still see the quilting.

I feel like I have every supply that I need for card making. I own the embosser and the Cricut and the stamps and the paper. Ready to rumble! I am trying some new things.

Just because I couldn't help myself, I made this sweetie pie too. She sure has some attitude! It is just the best stamp!

Hooray crafting~

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Getting caught up

2011-03-19T00:05:00.000-07:00

It may seem a little early for Christmas cards but since I make them all I need to start early. I am considering some of the events that will take place later this year and getting ahead. The vintage style is not really me, but Christmas is a traditional time so I am hopefully making the vintage more contemporary. If that makes any sense at all.

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Let it Snow

2011-03-19T00:02:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, I live in Arizona. Mesa, to be precise. The chances of snow are slim to none. This set of cards is for a monthly Christmas card challenge. I pledged to make 6 per month and I am a bit behind.

I stamped the snowflake pattern and then embossed it with a' la mode silver embossing powder. The silver paper was purchased after Christmas last year in a bargain bin. I think I paid 90 cents for a package of 50 sheets. The dark blue was picked for the contrast with the silver flakes. The light blue paper and blue ribbons were a last minute additon because the card was so plain.

The font used was from d'font and printed in blue ink. I wish that I had made the sentiment smaller since the snowflakes are so delicate and detailed.

I may make another half dozen of these with black and grey papers (for the goth friends) and I will be more than ready for Christmas. In March!

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Wearin' of the Green

2011-03-18T23:53:00.000-07:00

How can you not adore this little gal?

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3x3 inspired

2011-03-18T23:47:00.000-07:00

3X3 cards was the challenge from 365 Cards.

What a lovely way to use up extra bits from a project!

I have been wondering what to do with these buttons for ages.

And while I like the stripey paper, it has such muted shades, it doesn't go with most of my collection!

Oh, and by the way, the 365 Cards site picked these darlings! I feel so special!!! See 'em here!

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A dry spell

2011-03-18T23:05:00.000-07:00

After a lengthy haitus I am again interested in making cards. I don't know how long it will last but I have the bug, for now.

This card was inspired by a daily challenge blog. I love the DCWV citrus stack and chose little slices of it for the left side. The sticker is a journaling sticker from Making Memories. I ripped paper to form the rose and added a GIANT peach button in the center.

You may be wondering why it is stitched all around. First of all, I was going to use an orange marker and make fake stitches but the first dot that I did was a mess. It tried to cover it up with hand stitching embrodery floss around it, but that was a mess because the needle was too narrow and the floss kept getting jammed. Additionally, the green flower print paper has a glittery texture to it so consequently nothing sticks. The stitching also serves to keep all of the layers attached to the card because they want to slide off the glitter background.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to write on the sticker so I just went with a general purpose "Happy Birthday"'cause there are plenty of gals that could get this in the near future.

That's all for tonight.

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Christmas in progress

2010-11-13T14:06:00.000-08:00

Saturday wide open

2010-11-13T10:31:00.000-08:00

I put a turkey in the oven. It is clearly not Thanksgiving but at 37 cents per pound, I couldn't pass it up at the grocery. I will do it all again in 2 weeks for Turkey day.

Now what to do with my day? I am going to go to 365 cards and some other challenge sites for inspiration. I am going to mix up a mojito and enjoy the day while the turkey cooks.

By the end of November I want to have person specific Christmas cards for my friends as well as a collection of generic cards for work and such.

And away we go!

Purples Get Well

2010-07-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

This color challenge was a real challenge for me. I tried a few different papers and stamps before I settled on this card.

The black is represented in the machine stitching, the ribbon, and the stamped sentiment.The dark purple is the base of the card as well as the eyelets. There is also some dark purple on the flowers. I tried a new technique with the flower stamps. I added a shiny purple pigment to the embossing powder before heating it. It gives the flowers some additional depth. If I had thought about it I might have masked the flowers to be a bit neater. The lighter blue is a tad lighter than the sample colors but it worked for me.

From a set of colors that I initially found frustrating, I made a card that really makes me happy!

365 Cards Day 128

Even more cards

2010-07-06T12:44:00.000-07:00

I used a two sided paper to make the roses above. I inked the edges of the roses with cranberry and Dew Drop Galaxy Gold.

More paper roses. The flourish was a die cut from the local scrapbooking store on Bazzill paper.

Again used the rock-n-roll technique with two colors of ink for the Martha Stewart stamp. I made the stripes on the paper by hand cutting some paper.

Martha Stewart stamp repeated 6 times. So CAS simple simple simple.

This was a sketch challenge. The Martha Stuart stamp again.

June Cards Continued

2010-07-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

How is that for Orange! This designer paper is pretty spiffy! No stamping at all on this card. It was given to my husband's boss for her birthday. Inside - I cut out some of the flowers and glued them on a white inset on the orange card base for all of his co-workers to sign.

Monochromatic theme. Stampin Up stamp. Some distressing. The butterfly was part of a set that my sister gave me last October for my birthday.

Love making these spiral roses. My husband thinks they are too tall for cards but I don't care. Simple red buttons. I would probably go back and texture or layer those leaves to punch it up a notch.

I think this was a SCS color challenge. I made a different style of flower with distressed layered circles and a Bazzill big brad. Rick-rack and a sentiment stamped in cranberry. Everything on the left is raised on dimensional dots.

July cards

2010-07-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

A little baby penguin... yes, I know it is July. I came across the stamp and had to make a few cards with him. I will take more pictures of his cuteness. The paper is Paper Pizazz Green Plaid. So simple!
I have been looking at SCS layout and sketch challenges this week during my vacation. I have checked off the first 16 Clean and Simple Challenges.

This is a technique challenge CAS11- Rock and Roll as well as a layout sketch.The stamp is from Martha Stuart inked with berry and crimson inks. I made the leaf by hand and cut the edges to give it texture.

I am making sets of Halloween cards for my friends. Shh. I am making a unique card design and packaging the set to give to them in the middle of October. The Jack o' lantern is made with the Cricut "Stretch your Imagination" cartridge and he is sitting on dimension dots with a little touch of black grosgrain ribbon. His eyes hypnotize you!!! The designer paper is from Cosmo Cricket and I adore the little skeletons! I used black thread on my sewing machine to zig-zag around the card. I also added a beige distressed panel to the inside so that the sender could write on the black card base.

This card was made with paper from DCWV Citrus Cardstack, eyelets, ribbon, and the stamp is a Martha Stuart set with yellow and brown ink. I am loving this stamp set lately. More to come!

365 Sketchy Sunday Snow

2010-07-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

It is Christmas in July at the Etchy house. How adorable is this little guy? The baby penguin stamp is a Prickley Pear stamp and the hat is colored blue with colored pencil. My husband says that the penguin should have a touch of yellow colored on his neck but I am opposed because it clashes with the blue theme! :-)

I used a designer paper, some Bazzill paper, Fiskars snowflake punch, rhinestones, and a touch of ribbon.

I decided to try this sketch specifically because I am a fan of the Prickley Pear Stamps that are providing the prize. It is a great sketch that I can see myself using often.

May creations

2010-06-03T22:25:00.001-07:00

I bought new flowers last weekend and tried a recipie challenge. It didn't feel like me.
I also tried a color challenge. Yes, the photo is sideways. Deal.
I tried a layout challenge and it looked crap too.
My favorite. Also from the color challenge. The sentiment is lovely, miss you.

Has it been years?

2010-04-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

It feels like it has been years since I posted. Let me see how many cards I can post before lunch to make up for the recent lack of cards.

The sentiment is cut from green paper using the Cricut. The dotted paper in the background is from a DCWV citrus stack. Three buttons to finish it off. And by the way, this is another card that I did not turn around! Lazy, girl.
Using my distressing kit... I tore the heck out of these papers before putting them together. I believe the dot paper is from the same citrus stack above.
An easel card for a friend in California who had surgery. I like the look of the card in my front yard.
This is an "out of the box" technique that I learned. The idea is to stamp an image then cut a frame around it except for one part of the picture. In this card it is the wings of the dragon that hang outside the frame. The dragon stamp is huge and the card is almost double the size of my standard cards. Also, it took forever to color. I used colored pencils and watercolor pencils, chalk, and glitter powder for the smoke.
This is a mother's day card made with Cricut flowers, ribbon, a brad, and my new favorite paper. The paper has a striped pattern on one side and flowers on the other. Yay reversible!!
The new favorite paper again. It is overtaken by a giant flower in the corner. I like the yellow stitching but the weight of the lace on the embellishment distracts me.
Clean and simple. Brown craft paper. Three cricut cut apples, rick rack, and 3 coordinating buttons. Since it was so simple I turned it into an easel card. I made three of these cards for the administrative secretaries in our office. This one has some tiny glue mistakes between the apples. sigh.
A friend's very gothic birthday card. He wasn't sure what to do with it and actually untied the bow. The sentiment, "surprise, you're old" had doug and I in stitches.
The monkey birthday card is in an envelope. I have to dig up the address of the recipient. Again, an easel style. The finished card has more buttons and another layer behind the sock monkey to help him pop out. Love this bazzill paper that coordinates. A nice Michael's find!
This was the valentine card that I made for my sweetie this year. It is, as you may have guessed, sideways because I was too lazy to turn the photograph before I inserted it into the blog.

That's it for today, friends. Time for a bike ride and lunch!

I have been busy

2010-01-19T21:11:00.000-08:00

Splitcoast stampers gallery for ME!
I made a few of these tonight based on challenges for specific colors. I like them a lot!

New toy!

2010-01-03T15:42:00.001-08:00

I got a Cricut for Christmas! I spent the day today cutting out letters and shapes with it. This was inspired by the Splitcoast Stampers "Clean and Simple" challenge. The brown ribbon with presents on it is from a set of Christmas ribbons but the colors seemed to be unChristmassy to me. The cartridge used was called "Beyond Birthdays" but I decided to make a birthday card anyway!
Holiday card using Cricut lettering and the brown, pink, and green Christmas ribbon. That is a pretty simple layout.
I was trying to make a curve with the snowflakes since there was a curve challenge on SCS. I might add more dots or snowflakes to make the curve more obvious. The sentiment was pre-printed from a DCWV paper.
This was based on Saturday's inspration challenge. There was a fantasic Etsy artist who goes by the name of designspirt. She makes clocks and other pieces that inspired the layout. This was based on one that was primarily green and had a clock face in the middle although I changed the colors to make it Christmassy. (Yes, that is a word too!)
This was also inspired by her Etsy site. I used the Cricut to make the flowers and leaves using the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. I added the swirls, dots and details on the flowers to match the original piece. I surrounded the square with silver to imitate the border of the pendant. The borders were inspired by some of her other pieces. Not the best photo ever... but I looked at the pendant so long that I decided to spend the money and buy it. Now I can give the card and pendant as a birthday present.

Holiday cards

2010-01-03T15:27:00.001-08:00

This is a fairly girly Christmas card. Notice the liberal use of pink...
Almost the same but the trees have changed.
Some of these cards may look the same because I made them at the same time with a batch of black, white, and grey supplies. I can only look at red and green for so long before I vomit.

I like the layers and the texture of these papers. It looked pretty flat until I added the star. The star is a rhinestone that I got from Jo Ann's. The ribbon sentiment was from a supply swap through Splitcoast Stampers.
Added a little color but mostly the same.
This one has a bit of red. I think the bird needed something in his mouth!
Less red but still not all black and white.
Almost the same but my favorite of the black and whites.
The sentiment in the middle was a Cricut (yes, that is how it is spelled) cutting. I had not yet figured out how to glue down the tiny letters that the device is able to produce.
The star in the middle is a button that reads: believe. There is a small green stamp. The large white flourish was cut out at the scrapbooking store a few months back.
The bird was from the Cricut.
The stamped sentiment is Celebrate the season.
The ribbon on the side is from a set of Christmas ribbons that I picked up over a year ago at an after season sale. Again with the cricut lettering.
I have been keeping these under wraps since they were being sent out to friends and family and I didn't want to spoil the surprise.

Finished with swapping

2009-11-07T21:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I did about 4 card swaps over the past few months and I was hellishly disappointed with the cards that I got back from other card makers across the country. Now, I am usually modest about my work but I am starting to believe that I am pretty good at card making. About 1 in 5 cards that I got back from others came to me worth sending to a friend. I have doctored some of the cards and then given them out. But for the most part the cards are not to my taste. I put a lot of effort into a bookmark swap and the level of workmanship that I got back was craptastic.
So, instead I will move on to challenges. That way I can only be disappointed with myself and less inclined to slam other crafters.

Mini Notecards

2009-08-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

What do you do with an hour, a 12X12 sheet of cardstock, some stamps, and some scraps? Make cards, of course!

As a bit of a personal challenge I decided to make a set of 8 general purpose simple cards. They were all cut from the same sheet of 12X12 beige paper. First I cut it down the center making 2 6X12 strips. Then each strip was cut at 3 inch intervals to make 8 3X6 rectangles... I should make a diagram someday... but not tonight! Fold the rectangles in half and you have 3X3 cards!

To keep them simple I limited the number of embellishments. Most of them feature a stamp from my prickly pear stamps. I used colored ink for the stamps but did not emboss them.
One eyelet, a blue stamped owl, striped paper, punched trim and a circle sentiment.
Brown stamped sentiment, blue stamped owl, strip of brown paper, scrap of blue paper, brown grosgrain ribbon, and a fantastic button.
Dotted paper, pink ribbon, and premade sentiment. Possibly my simplest card ever.
Purple scrap, tag, and ribbon bow. (2nd runner up for simplest card ever)
Blue stamped birds, blue paper, white bazzil cardstock, brown grosgrain ribbon, blue button, tag popped up.
Brown stamped sentiment, tag with blue ribbon, two colors of paper.
Striped and solid paper, tag, small button, sentiment and image stamped in plum.

Using Prickly Pear Stamps

2009-08-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

This stamp is inked in blue and embossed.

The card is simple and uses a scrap of orange and blue wrapping paper, 2 square brass brads, ribbon remnants, Bazzil paper and other scraps. The buttons are raised.
This stamp is inked in hyacinth ink! It even smells good. Then it is embossed.
You can really see the sheen of the sentiment here. The flowers on the left are punched from paper that coordinates with the ribbons. I popped them up with a dot and then added seed beads. I put a dot of glue in the center of each flower and then sprinkled the beads on. I shook off the beads that didn't adhere to the glue.
The black textured paper is from Bazzil and the printed paper is from DCWV. I think the overall effect is fun and festive. I used squares from the paper as background for the flowers. I think I need to pick up a cake stamp next!
This is a close up of a fish stamp that I am using for a unique purpose. Can you guess what it is? There are three teal brads and two white buttons with embroidery floss used here. I stamped the fin a second time on textured paper and popped it up for dimension.
Here is a hint about what I did with the fish!
Here is my first use of pins. My husband said that they made the card look unfinished. Sort of a work in progress. I like that they match the card.
The grosgrain ribbon has white stitching on each side. The lighter yellow paper is a textured handmade paper.

http://www.prickleypear.com/

One Sheet Wonder

2009-08-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

I found a link to a pattern called a One Sheet Wonder. The instructions call for an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. I raided my scrap box and my box of bits and came up with some interesting combinations. I used yellow checked paper and turned it into 10 different cards. I don't usually think of yellow as a neutral but in some cases it was.

We could play a game with these pictures, find the yellow checked paper...
I love this button and I was glad to be able to use it in a card. I tied the ribbons to the button and then raised the button up.
The Happy Birthday is embossed with black ink.
The button has different colors of stars!

Stampin' up flower overlapped in hot pink, purple, and yellow. Mounted on yellow checks and then pink. The two round dots to the right are hot pink as is the grosgrain thin ribbon at the top.
The flash didn't seem to treat this card kindly. The black oval was from my stash of bits. The red rose was a pieced sticker that was part of a birthday pack.
The sentiment here was pre-printed on vellum and I attached it with eyelets. The tiny polka dot black paper in the back is one of my favorites.
This is a close up detail of the next card. I stamped in blue and embossed the stamp shape. Then I mounted it on blue cardstock and the yellow check paper. The buttons have a piece of embroidery floss and are attached with dimensional dots. It looks a little bit country.
This is the whole card.
A christmas rub-on sentiment, a scrap of red ribbon, and a leftover felt tree made for a complete card.
A trio of rhinestone flowers and a bright green bow.
Another vellum sentiment attached with yellow mini brads. The flag is made with white, yellow ad black ribbons and is raised.
I colored the thank you stamp with gel pens and mounted it on a pink circle.
The small flowers are from a punch and are attached with brass mini brads. The black stripe on the side is done with a border punch.
This is my least favorite. I just ran out of ideas... The flower brads on the bottom match the flower paper and the trio of ribbons on the top. The flower in the center is double embossed with light yellow and bright yellow ink. The card just seems too random for me.

Halloween Swap (part 1)

2009-08-01T22:09:00.001-07:00

The only stamp that I have that is remotely Halloweenish is this owl. I stamped it in black and embossed it, then re-stamped it in blue-grey and re-embossed it. The second embossing enamel was extra thick and gave it a lot of depth and shine. I considered several ways to decorate the background of the owl but didn't like any of them.
To cover up my tries I colored all of the backgrounds black. I made frames out of orange and black paper and my oval cutter.
This is the peach paper that I used for the main body of the card. You can see that in this photo I have two strips of dotto glue ready for the left side.
I stacked a thick green paper and a narrow orange paper then placed them on the glue line. The green paper has a subtle white grid.
I trimmed the end of the paper and rounded the corners.
I tied an orange bow around the card. Considered using black but I have a metric crapload of orange ribbon in my stash and no reason to use it... It contrasts a bit more in real life.

Halloween swap part 2

2009-08-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

This is the basic card that I made for the Halloween swap. The paper is a light peach Bazzil card stock. The oval is a bit off center so that I have room for more decorations on the right.
On the upper right I added 2 metal stick on dots. You can see the shine of the embossed owl on this picture.
This is a ribbon trick that I picked up at the scrapbook convention make and take... Use the reverse action tweezer to hold the ribbon while you staple it where you want it. The ribbons can't run away and I have extra hands to manage the stapler or camera!
Here the ribbon flag is stapled to the black Bazzil cardstock oval. I added 2 pop dimension dots on the back of the black oval so that it stood up on the page.
The stamped sentiment in the oval is one that I made up... Let's Talk was a pre-made stamp. I added the word candy below in all caps. So now it says "Let's Talk CANDY"

Card Swap for Thanksgiving

2009-08-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

I am working on cards for a swap on Splitcoast stampers. The cards are seasonal and the first one due is Halloween... so of course, I am working on the Thanksgiving cards first.

First I made some embellishments that seemed to have fall colors. The ribbon bows were premade and have 3 seed pearls at the center of each. I embossed stamp style squares with brown ink and mounted it on brown paper. I made a total of 8 of these.

I had some cardstock rectangles that were left from another project. I think they were part of a packaged wedding set and these were intended to be the response cards. It is off white and yellow. There is a slight brown marble color to the paper. It seemed to be fall like...

It didn't match the flower paper that I wanted to use so I started modifying the paper. I stamped and smuged it with brown ink until I had the effect I was looking for.

This is what the paper looked like after all of the abuse.

It matched the flower paper much better. The sentiment is a tiny Stampin' Up stamp. I added 2 brown leaves popped up with dimensional dots around the sentiment.

After looking at the first one for a few minutes, I decided that the inking technique was not making me happy. I ended up just using the cardstock squares the way they came out of the package.

Catching up

2009-08-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

I made this card this morning for my grandfather. He is in the hospital recovering from hip surgery. The fall colors of this paper are a favorite.
Here is another view. If you zoom in on the punched flowers you can see that they are two toned just like the flowers on the paper. The flowers are held together and attached to the page with gold mini brads. This is a larger card and I wrote a poem in the inside to wish him a speedy recovery.
This is a sympathy card that I made for my boss. Her grandfather just died... also broke his hip but he declined.
My first version of the sympathy card had a red rose and a black background but it was too dark. This is more muted in color and more calming. It doesn't scream out DEATH!

I went on a blog hop this morning for Verve stamps 2nd anniversary and I decided that my blog needs some bling! The blogs were lovely and the cards were inspiring. Makes me want to play with all of my toys.