Wedding Card!

This card was for my new hair stylist in the North.  She is getting married this week and I thought that was a good excuse to make a wedding card!  I had fun - and sorta copied the second card from this post by Melissa Phillips.  I find her cards way over my head, but sometimes I try them anyway!  *giggle*

Amanda was pleased!  

The papers, inks, and stamps were all Close-to-My-Heart.  The bag/envelope was embossed in the Cuttlebug and the cool doily that holds the glassine envelope bag closed is actually a drip-collar for candles used in church!  ( I found a bag of them in a drawer and my Beloved said I could have them for scrapping!!  :-D )  

We may be starting our travels tomorrow!  We've both been putting things into the suitcases all day and asking each other, did you pack the "xyz"?  It's really quite entertaining!  I'm fiddling around on the computer now while he naps.  Only fair since I slept in late when he got up for Rotary at 6 am.  

Hugs!!

Anniversary cards!

I've been playing with my color pencils and odorless mineral spirits lately and created these cards.  The HUGE challenge for me was actually punching the white mat.  I have a set with corner and straight punches but still have a hard time getting the alignment right.  Any tips would be appreciated - perhaps I should look for a You-tube instructional video?!  Which ribbon treatment is your favorite?

Hugs!

Finally, a happy card!  This one was super easy with two purchased design and textured papers, and a little piece of washi tape (under the ribbon ). The sentiment is Close to My Heart.  I'm starting to get excited about the new catalog coming out this summer!  It will be bigger and items in it will be available for the entire year, although we will also have some supplement smaller catalogs along the way to bring seasonally fresh materials!  

I'm also getting excited about my travels coming up - Steve is taking me on the trip of a lifetime!  He has planned the whole thing - so we will be able to take things at our pace and not be held to a tour schedule.  We have several parts that are pilgrimages and one in particular that is with a private guide.  Very exciting!  I don't know if I'll have access to Internet much, but if I do, I might post now and then.  We'll have to see! 

One thing - I will miss the 4th of July in the USA.  So, you'll all have to celebrate for me, okay?!    

Another Sympathy Card

There have been a lot of starburst patterned cards lately!  I was putting together a card from pieces already cut (leftover from another project) and came up with this one.  You can still see my pencil marks to guide the markers (honey and creme brûlée) but I liked them so didn't try to erase them completely.   Unfortunately, I've needed a slew of sympathy cards recently.  You know you're getting old when . . . .

I'm pretty sure I never said that I'd be bored in retirement - at least not after falling in love with Steve.  We have been so busy!  There have been fishing tournaments, out-of-town guests, and travels to serve in rural churches in mostly Northern MN.  We just got home (9:30 pm) from little league baseball where Steve's grandson was competing.   

I am very happy!!  

Hugs!

Soar

This was a clear embossed image with colors sponged over.  I forget how pretty this can be! I first learned this technique before I became a Close to My Heart consultant.  The company was still called DOTS back then! It was that year when I realized that I was not stamping impaired, I just had never experienced good quality stamps nor had I been shown the one or two tips that change a messy stamped image into a nice one.  But I digress . . . One of the first tricks I learned was heat embossing.  The fibers are long-discontinued chenille. I found a package of them when I was splitting my AZ studio to sent toys up to my new MN studio. 

Hope your weekend is wonderful!  Happy Flag Day to my friends in the USA!

Birthday cards without bling

Another masculine birthday - this guy is all grown up, though!  My first attempt on the inside said something like "another successful 365 days around the world" but then it occurred to me that I meant to say " . . . around the sun"!  Easy to fix - I just created a little design paper mat and put the correct greeting over it inside the card!  I fell in love with these boot-prints when they first came out in a set I called "not all who wander are lost".  Not sure that was the real name of the set!  LOL

How is everyone?  I see fabulous work on your blogs!  I am beginning to panic about packing for our trip.  We will be gone a month!  Yikes and Yippee!

Hugs!!!

Boy Birthday

One of our Grandsons turned 9 this week!  I tried to create a fun, but masculine, card that was a little more grown up than my previous ones! I'm happy with how this turned out!  I find that once I get ink on stamps I usually discover all sorts of things to do with them!

This photo was the inside of the card before we wrote in it!  You can't tell from the photo, but I used the Spica stardust pen on the flames and some other parts to give it a little shine.  

We enjoyed a great family party together and this coming weekend our Grandson will be joining with three other friends with birthdays this week to have a combined giant blowout!  Isn't that a great idea?!?  
Hugs!