Tucan on an Elephant!

I have been crazy busy, sick with allergies or ???? and my daughter and her husband came for the holidays.  I forgot to post this card made mid-December for a baby shower.  I haven't been in the studio for anything other than wrapping gifts - but my plan for New Year's Day is to get busy creating something again!  

I hope you like this - it has really grown on me!   I used older CTMH stamp sets and paper-pieced the Tucan and Elephant.  I used a zip-strip for the words - and created an easel card that can be displayed.  It was for a baby shower / gender reveal.  I love how this turned out!!!

Baby isn't here yet but they believe it's a boy and have chosen a very special (family) name for him.  

Happy New Year!

Writing an Icon

I signed up for a 4 day retreat to begin to learn how to write an Icon.  The instructor was Brenda Fox - a well known Iconographer (internationally) who teaches retreats and is also board certified in Art Therapy so she is really good at helping people who don't have any experience!  On the first day, we began our work at by the end of the time we had traced our Icon image onto the "plate", which is a solid wood with a wash of off-white and yellow acrylic paint.  

You can probably detect my pencil drawn border (lower left seems strongest).  You'll see why later in the process. At the end of the second day we had reached this stage:

When you write an Icon, you are silent and you pray.  We had different prayers although Brenda suggested a couple of "breath prayers" for us such as "Come, Lord Jesus".  I used the time to pray for the people I have promised to pray for, including myself.  End of the 3rd day we were here:

There is a lot of symbolism in Icons.  I believe we all know that Jesus was the "Good Shepard" and that we are the lost/found lamb.  But did you know that the red robe symbolized his "royalty" and the green highlights (folds and places where his skin might touch the robe such as the elbows) are green, which is the color for humanity.  I can tell you that the Sankir based paint we used for Jesus' skin has at least 15 layers of paint.  It took a long time!  At the end of the 4th day, we were finished our Icon and were exuberant (although very tired!).  

I know this has been a long post, but the last thing I need to say is that I have had the most wonderful sense of peace, and it has stayed with  me a week now.  I hope it will last forever, as I feel so changed and different!  So, "may the peace that passeth all understand be with you". 

Pet Sympathy

Most people with pets would agree, they become part of the family and when you lose one, it feels so terrible!  I had a friend lose her little dog recently (after a long life) and so I made this card for her.  

The trick with the ribbon is that this ribbon has two threads that decorate the edges.  If you pull on them, the ribbon crinkles up like I have it here!  What a cool trick!

Thinking of You

This card uses one of the 3x4 water coloring cards from Taylored Expressions.  I used some red liquid pearls to make the small dots, and added some beautiful red beads to the bow.  NOW I remember why I don't use beads more often!  I can't see well enough to thread them!  

The paper was from CTMH, the crinkle ribbon is something I bought on Etsy from a very nice little store!crinkled-seam-binding-15-yards-vintage  It's time to write our Advent newsletter and address envelopes for the cards that are mailed.  I'm looking forward to decorating the house for Christmas now that the kids are coming!

A Christmas Hedgehog

My goodness, I do love the Penny Black hedgehog stamps!  Isn't this little guy adorable??  I fiddled with the sky watercoloring so much I started to pill up the paper!  So, this is as dark as it gets!  But my hedgie is so sweet!

Inside - the ribbon is just something available to hold the card open while I photographed it.  Hope you like it!  The size is 5 x 5.

Bunches of Love

For some reason I NEEDED the new (may be going away end of December) stamp set called Bunches of Love.  I random stamped with only the shading stamps and left out the outline stamps.  I used Peach, Sage, Juniper, Lilac, Sugarplum and Mink.  There is a strip of rose gold foil tape to anchor the sentiment, and another on the inside with a single flower. 

Dark sympathy card

This was an attempt to copy an idea I saw on one of the stamp company blogs.  Her example was better.  I used a stencil and pigment ink (flaxen) on the dark paper to give a hint of swirls.  The flower bouquet is from a retired CTMH stamp set - it came with thin cuts and may have been the first set we got that had that option!  Anyway, I colored it fairly neutral with peach on the big flower and some raspberry on the small one.  

It is made as an easel card.  This is the card all closed up. Below is the card on the inside.  

Open stamping this weekend and then my schedule accelerates!  (well, it is that time of the year, I guess).  I have all sorts of Advent commitments, including a 4 day retreat (I hope I'm not repeating myself).  I'll share more about that as I go.  Hugs!!

Open Stamping - (Nov. 4)- shaker card

I discovered this card on the consultant web-side and borrowed it! I loved that she used the Grateful Heart papers to do a shaker card! I changed several things, but to be honest, it still looks very much like her design so if I can find her post I'll edit this one to let you know who made it! All CTMH products. I made the dark pearls by using the ShinHan alcohol marker to color a white pearl. (neat trick!). I ran out of the red design paper (and pomegranate cardstock!) so I used a piece from BoBunny for the large mat. My card is on a white card base - the original was on Pomegranate. In the second photo you might be able to see the shimmer pen I used on the center of the flower. A subtle touch.

After the stamping day, I used the leftovers that had been prepped to make some Happy Birthday cards!  Very useful!

This close up "may" show the shimmer brushwork on the center of the flower.  Also, I love that the CTMH thin cuts for the shaker window include little inserts that make hearts or stars!  You can coordinate anything!

BIG NEWS!!!  My daughter and her husband (my son-in-law) are coming for Christmas!!!!  I haven't had her in AZ for 3 years and I'm very excited!  They live across the country in North Carolina, and surprised me with the news for Thanksgiving!  Woot!!!! 

Stay Balanced!

I got this Yoga lady from Art Impressions because I love doing Yoga and I wanted something to send to my Yoga friends!  I used CTMH papers (all retired - I think the color was Outdoor Denim - not sure)  I had fun paper piecing her top with the same as the background paper.  Since the cardstock base was so dark, I used a white paper and some design paper inside to create a place to write a note.  

I used this to give two bars of chocolate to my yogi.  She is amazing; she has taught me much and helped me avoid injury.  She has been through some difficulties recently and I hoped my card and small token gift would lift her spirits - knowing that there are people who care.  

I'm sure I'll use this image a LOT - it resembles me (especially with the red hair!).  I wish I could reach my foot, however.  LOL

Plump Birdie sings Thanks!

This was a quick card just I made just before closing the studio in MN and I forgot to post it!  You'll recognize the sweet birdie, the sentiment on the file label is a CTMH stamp set.  I don't seem to use that one much but it is really useful!  I had a small piece of the patterned paper left so I created a pretty scallop on the smokey plum cardstock and added the design paper over it.  Purple hearts, of course.  

I've been super busy in AZ - the house (yard mostly) was a wreck without our property manager.  My goodness!  I've done more in the past few weeks than I've done in the past few months, I believe!  But not much of it has been in the studio.  That's changing!  My friends are coming over on Sunday afternoon for our Open Stamping.  I'll get to see them, help with make-and-take cards, and probably won't make anything else because I'll be so glad to see my friends!!  Tonight is Halloween - I hope you will be safe and have fun!

Thinking of you card - Psalm 55:22

This is one of the 3x4 watercolor cards from Taylored Expressions.  I used my watercolor pencils and a new one that is Altrecht-Durer in the palest blue!  It's so pale you can't even tell (hint:  background). Anyway, the design paper is a current one from CTMH.  The big flag piece under the focal image is an ombre paper from an autumn paper pack that CTMH had two years ago.  Gotta use up those scraps!  Steve really liked my choice of message for the card.  That's always nice!  

More tags for Christmas

I haven't even unpacked my studio when my Beloved tells me he has used up all the 4 dozen tags for Christmas packages for our family in MN.  (What????)  So, I made another dozen.  Do you remember the CTMH stamp set called "Snow Friends"?  I still cherish this set!!  I don't think you can see the wink of stella on the snow in the air or on the ground.  In real life, these are sweet and simple.  

I'm back in AZ and working hard (but in small pieces) on getting the house and yard back into shape.  The person we hired to tend to our homes this summer is MIA.  I pray he is okay; he is a friend who we've known for about 6 years and this just isn't like him.  

Happy Anniversary card

I fell in love with this dragonfly!  Partly because ever since I've met Steve, I've seen a lot of them and have been told that dragonflies are the fisherman's friend.  He has given me beautiful dragonfly jewelry, too!  So they seem to be about connecting.  And in real life, they are incredibly beautiful!!!!  For this Anniversary card I random stamped the dragonfly image and then used a border die to cut part of the card off!  The die cut "Celebrate" is actually on the inside of the card!  The black/white color choice is softened by "wink of stella" on the open parts of the wings.  I don't think my photos capture the sparkle quite.  

Halloween treats for the little girls

I love Halloween - the bright (traditional) colors, and the whimsy of the stamps (like mis-matched socks!).  The papers are always interesting, and even the tissue comes with sparkle!  So I decided to decorate these simple small gift bags for the little girls in our family.  My Beloved said that they wouldn't notice, and wouldn't care (which might be true) but I said I was doing it for me and for them.  Not much to tell you about how these came together.  I colored with watercolor pencils, and stamped with a Unity stamp Itty Bitty set and a borrowed bit  of sparkle in the air from a CTMH birthday sparkles set.  The cardstock and design papers are all CTMH.  Here are some close up views!

Christmas gift tags

It's the time of the year for me to make a pile of gift tags for my Beloved to use.  He leaves MN after I do - so he takes care of wrapping and labeling all the gifts.  These are so much fun to make - I'm sure I'll be doing it again when I get to Arizona!  We're into the countdown now!  

Bilbo and I fly on 10/10.  

September Stamp of the Month - example

This little 3X3 card was ALSO inspired by another CTMH consultant!  I confess that I looked at this stamp set and thought - "nah" - but then I saw what people were creating with it and my eyes bulged out!  It's easy to use, fantastic results in very little time.  This card was for a birthday gift, but the set seems to be primarily holiday and Halloween!  There are all sorts of little decorative elements!  

The design paper mat was one from two years ago when I was in Hawaii.  That brings back memories!  First of all, that I was SILLY enough to think I could be gone 2 months without doing any stamping!  Good Golly Miss Sharli!  That lasted about 2 weeks and I was ordering supplies from CTMH and Amazon!  LOL  I certainly don't create every day - but I think about it every day!  

PS - if you want this SOTM - you've got to act fast!  It's only available until end of the day today, Sept. 30th.

Autumn thanks

This sweet card was also inspired by another stamper, this time on Stamp Junkies.  She used a 5X5 square format, different leaves that were cut from design paper and "antiqued", different music, a different sentiment, and a different ribbon.  Other than that . . . .  Hahaha.  So, I used CTMH's retired Flourished Blessings.  The card base was white daisy cardstock and the rest is from my stash.  I used Goldrush and Sunset inks for the leaves (using the Rock-n-Roll technique).  The sentiment was stamped in Espresso.

I am hoping to get creative today sometime - I need some more thank you notes in my stash!  

Scandinavian Wishes

I was inspired to get ink on this retired stamp set from CTMH by another CTMH consultant who created a similar (but portrait) card.  I changed several things, so I hope it doesn't count as stealing!  I used my embossing buddy to wipe down the kraft cardstock first, then stamped with clear versa mark ink, used fine white detail embossing powder and heat embossed.  The heart in the middle was created out of a piece of glitter tape.  I made a negative by cutting a heart out of a scrap of kraft - then I traced the heart opening onto the back of the tape and cut it out with my detail scissors.  It was fussy work, but I couldn't find just the right size of heart shape punch or die cut.  Good stuff to do while lounging in front of the TV.

The inside has a white daisy piece added with simple washi tape (red/white) decoration.  Hope, Love, Peace.  A very good Christmas message!

Happy Birthday to You

Do you remember Dew Drops?  Do you still have any?  I do!!  LOTS of them!! I was smitten with them and bought them by the bottles.  They look great on these cards - the light shines through them a bit.  The HAPPY is from a scrapbooking special (retired) and the rest of the sentiment is from one of the Birthday Sparkles.  Have you ever tried to mask a sentiment by putting washi tape over the word you don't want, inking the stamp up, pulling off the washi tape (carefully) and then stamping?  It works!!!!  The color was Espresso and the YOU is filled in with Sapphire.  I laced up the card with another oldie-goldie, the waxed twine.  These could be masculine cards, too!

Bird - Masculine Birthday

The bird here is another retired CTMH stamp.  I was inspired by another CTMH Consultant to try to copy her card.  I changed the ribbon/twine, changed the color pallet slightly and the underneath focal piece (dots on the left, woodgrain on the right).  I added sequins that are dark gray.  The image was stamped with Momento Tuxedo black and I did some hand drawing on the edge with a Faber Castell Pitt artist pen in "M".  I use these pens a lot for writing and journaling because they don't bleed through the paper and they are very smooth and clear.  

Birthday Stars in Grateful Hearts

The Grateful Hearts paper has a splash of Sapphire in the design papers - making this combination almost look like a 4th of July celebration!  Everything except the smallest black stars were cut from the design papers or matching cardstocks.  The little happy was cut from a birthday sentiment for use here - stamped in Pomegranate ink.  The new Candy Apple red cardstock is shown in the actual color as the mat on the front, and on the slightly paler red on the star upper right.  

Sunflower Garden in Lilac/Pansy inks

This Anniversary card is so pretty in real life.  My photo is all off on the colors and I couldn't figure out how to fix it!  The above one is pretty true to color but the bottom one makes the card base look pink and the flowers look orchid!  The inks used were Lilac/Pansy for the flowers and Mint/Sage for the leaves and made up design paper.  The purple silk ribbon is from my stash.  Sunflowers are favorites of mine and this stamp set is a really, really old one!

Birthday in Grateful Hearts

Grateful Hearts - from the new Holiday catalog - is not just for Thanksgiving!  This paper is so lovely and it's finally available!  

I used the chubby birdie that I love so much (paper pieced) and another birthday sentiment from Papertrey Ink on the inside stamped with Pomegranate ink.  

A2 stand up card - Happy Birthday!

This is another "stands up on it's own" card!  I like that it folds up to an A2 card size, although it does have a weight to it that might require additional postage.  

I used Fundamentals papers and some design paper (all retired) and stamped the sunburst from a 4th of July stamp!  The embellishments cover up the stars for the most part!  The butterfly was from last spring - a beautiful creature that I stamped on white cardstock then sponged with Sunset ink.  I hate photographing my fingers - but my wedding ring is pretty, huh!  (LOL) Most of what I've been making recently has been in sets of two.  

Happy Birthday cards with Grateful Hearts

September brought a need for approximately 20 birthday cards!  YIKES!  So I go busy playing with the new design papers from CTMH.  The Grateful Hearts paper is a favorite because I adore fall colors!  The bird is from a retired set (Happy Birds - I think) and on a whim I had it stand on top of the word!  *giggle*

The dark color is actually Sapphire - a deep blue.  I love that addition to the traditional fall colors!  

Grateful Hearts papers - AVAILABLE NOW!

The Grateful Hearts paper pack is so pretty.  I am SO partial to the autumn papers.  I know I'm going to LOVE them every year - especially when the palette is this rich and warm!  

I had a little image from House Mouse that I couldn't decide what to do with - was he playing hide-and-seek and he was the counter?  Was he so ashamed that he forgot someone's birthday that he covered his eyes?  I decided he was shielding his face from the huge butterfly!  

Someone on Stamp Junkies was asking if anyone decorates the inside of the card so I thought I'd include this photo today.  Not much, just a little something to connect it to the front!  Ink color is Pomegranate.

This little house mouse is really a spring card, but I thought perhaps it could also be a "get well" or "thinking of you" card!  I wanted design paper for the background - but didn't see anything I liked in my stash so I pulled out a plain gray/white pattern and started coloring it!  I've never tried that trick before and am pretty happy with the result!  Of course, the big soft silk bow makes the whole thing!  LOL

Birthday double point card

Another double-point fold card - it occurred to me that I could use shapes other than the curvy die cuts.  I pulled out some circles and went to town on this sweet card!  I had this little birdie fluttering around on my studio desk all ready to go somewhere so I added her to my card, added happy birthday to the inside and used Grateful Hearts (available NOW!!!).  All CTMH product except the birdie stamp.