Thank you for Kitty Sitting

A friend of the family volunteered was suckered into taking care of Mr. Bilbo Baggins while we were on our Holy Land pilgrimage.  She was very, very good to him!  

My card uses World Traveller, Around the World, Hello Life Scrapbooking and Hello Life Cardmaking stamp sets all from Close to My Heart.  The colors of ink were Lagoon, Pacifica, Ruby, Saddle, Slate, Black, and Saffron.  The paper pack is Florence.  

The measurements are a bit off - I could have moved the whole thing down 1/2 inch.  As it is, it measures 6 x 6 and doesn't fit into any envelopes that I have!  LOL  Live and learn.

Thank You Notes

My friend, Kim Heggins, sent me these wonderful dry embossed kraft cardstock pieces and some coffee themed washi tape (golly, I love that tape!).  I made this card with an "ancient" Close to My Heart stamp set. This is one I had that was wood mounted and I had removed the stamps and converted them to "cling" mount.  It's not quite as good as acrylic, but almost!  The ribbon is from my stash.

Our teen-age pilgrims have "left the building" so our lives might stand a chance of getting back to "normal".  LOL  What is normal, anyway?

Sympathy (this is getting ridiculous!)

Same stamps, this time I used the Florence design paper and zip strip.  The inside of the card is a repeat of the front (bottom portion) and has a sentiment stamped inside.  We whisked it off to a Celebration of Life service this morning while the ink was still wet.  

Sympathy (again!)

This one uses Close-to-My-Heart paper, embossing powder, Cocoa ink. The stamps and dry embossing folder are all "contraband" (Verve stamps, Cuttlebug folder) and the ribbon is May Arts.  Problem with it is that the acetate I used is too thin and the card is too wobbly.  I love the look, just not the execution, so I'm keeping the photo for a day when I might feel like making it with the proper materials.

Another sympathy card - less severe

This one is more of a "thinking of you" and sharing in your sorrow - but my aim was to bring a smile and brighten the day of the recipient.  It was a lot more fun for me, let me tell you!  I used CTMH Happy Days paper, and the Hot Chocolate stamp set.  I stamped the solid cup on the back side of the pattern papers and cut them out.  I made a small slit in two of them so insert the cups in a stack and added some ink lines to give the images a little more definition.  The sentiment is another from my stash - I think it might be Verve.  

We had fishing friends here for a few days - it was so much FUN!  I don't fish, but I sure did enjoy the big family meals at the table (or on the patio) and sipping wine and chatting into the late night hours!  I will miss our guests!

Sympathy card

I found that I need sympathy cards - several (!) - when we returned from our trip so I opted for a relatively simple design.  This one used a large rubber stamp of script in CTMH Champagne color ink on the card base, then the flourishes and sentiments from a Waltzingmouse Stamps set.  Juniper and Cocoa inks.  Not the best, but my heart was in it!   

Thank You Kindly

This card is for a blog-friend!  I used the Happy Times papers (CTMH seasonal special), a wreath I can't remember where I got it - and the Thank You Kindly is one from Waltzingmouse Stamps.  The ink colors are Juniper and Slate.  The card base is Slate cardstock. Below is the inside of the card.     

I used CTMH Hot Chocolate on the inside of the card and stamped the solid cup image in 2nd generation Juniper ink.  It sure feels good to make something again!