I used Papertrey Ink stamps for this project with Close-to-My-Heart papers and inks. The image, from Autumn Hills, was colored with CTMH alcohol markers and highlighted with a Spica gel glitter pen. There is a lot of dimension and texture to this one - I love, love, love the way the layers came together - in real life this card is so rich looking! Products included: Twilight cardstock and ink, Aspen papers, and the houndstooth was from Dakota. The sentiment inside says simply Happy Winter Birthday.
We did get out to see The Hobbit - and the weekday matinee is absolutely the way to go - I believe there were less than 12 people in the theater! I loved parts, didn't like parts, and look forward to part 2 as they only did half of the story. I wasn't expecting that - but I've been ignoring the publicity on the story since I knew how it goes already and I like to make my own opinions on the "artistry" of the productions.
I have Physical Therapy again later today - wish me luck!
As often happens, once I pull out an old favorite stamp set I use it over and over again! I was totally smitten by this darling gift card holder that Anna Wight made (here). She even includes the cutting / scoring instructions which worked perfectly! *grin* I used a tiny velcro dot to hold the flap down. Inside I tucked a little surprise for someone dear to me. I think on this photo you can even see the Spica gel glitter pen that I used for the snow. Very sparkly in real life.
Last night Steve took me out to dinner with four of our friends. It was lovely to see them and spend a few hours laughing and talking over good food. I even put on eye make-up for the first time in over a month! Being an invalid has made me lazy, I'm afraid! Anyway, I enjoyed the evening!
We are hoping to go see The Hobbit today at a matinee. :-)
Hugs!
I took a break from valentine cards to create some tags to use on gifts this year. I was especially happy with these little snowman tags. The last time I used this stamp set, I colored the image with dye ink and a water brush. This time I used the new CTMH alcohol markers and let-me-tell-you, the markers are awesome! Much easier!
Last week (Thursday) it began to rain in the Phoenix area. We haven't had rain since August so it was a blessing! Usually rain here is hard and fast - most of it running off in flash floods that travel away from the soil and do nothing for the plants. The typical rains are over in an hour or two and come with strong, damaging winds. This rain was gently and lasted three full days and nights. My yard is sighing in relief! The plants actually look happy! The large pine trees in my back-yard are twinkling with dew drops! The pitter-patter of raindrops have been nightly music for the best sleep! I'll miss the rain - and I hope I can remember how wonderful it was for a little while!
I know we all have heavy hearts following the most recent massacre in Connecticut. You are not alone in your grief.
Hugs.
This card is a great example of how flexible some design layouts and even design papers can be. Remember the Valentine I posted here? Well, I selected this valentine for my friends at Open Stamping to make when we met this past weekend. They seemed to love it - but I had prepped a few more cards than we used so I took the extra packets and made . . . 3 sympathy cards! Instead of the CTMH stamps Bliss I used PTI stamp Autumn Abundance found here. I colored the image with CTMH's new alcohol markers (golly - they are wonderful to use!). The sentiment was from another set, Craft's Meow Hope Blooms (here); created by the uber talented Karen Baker of The Bald Dragonfly blog. I stamped it with Olive pigment ink from CTMH. I've learned that pigment is better than dye ink when stamping over design papers because it is more opaque. Since the pieces were cut, these were fast to make. It's a good thing because in my busy physical therapy life I had only an hour to work on this and Steve needed two cards.
I cannot believe how fast the time is passing. Tomorrow will be four weeks. I'm discussing with my doctors how soon I might be allowed to drive, and am trying to wean myself off of the codeine pain meds. That's going fairly well, not perfect. By the time I've finished all my exercises, I'm just flat worn out. Sunday was an example of how little stamina I have and I am reminded that a total knee replacement is a major surgery.
Steve is taking me to see Adams Family at Gammage auditorium tonight - I'm looking forward to it! I am almost at a point where I can sit still, too, which will help. LOL
I've been visiting even if not posting. I love the work you are all doing - my creative, artistic friends! HUGS!!
Wednesday - 3 week anniversary of my total knee replacement, and I'm doing great! Yesterday the staples were removed. I had been anxious about the procedure - but honestly it didn't hurt. Some of them felt like a pinch, but none of them "hurt".
The photo above is the re-make of the card with the tulle skirt. I love this version - the small hearts are a design paper that I found on-line as a free digital design. I will need to find more red tulle to prepare for 20 cards, but it's do-able!
I hope your week is going well. I have made so much progress this week - it feels like I'm transitioning to a place not only better than pre-surgery, but better than I have been in 40 years! Faster, simpler, better! LOL
Hugs!!
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