Saturday, June 8, 2013

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Good evening. I hear thunder rumbling in the background and am wondering if we're going to get more showers. Tropical storm Andrea blew through here a couple of days ago. We had some real gusty winds and lots of rain, especially late in the afternoon. A real tropical downpour. Since our craft group opted not to meet that day, I spent the day doing a craft project and making a few cards.

I'd like to share a couple of the cards with you. This first one is using a Stampin' Up stamp from Summer Sketches and their Cloudy Day embossing folder. The palm tree is also embossed using a new folder by Darice that I recently purchased.



I would love to send this card to my son for Father's Day, but alas, he has two amazing daughters and this isn't quite appropriate. I do like the way this card came out, however.

The next card was made today after I received the Bumble Bee stamp from Close To My Heart. It just said "use me for a Father's Day card". Something totally different. I used the Stampin' Up Woodgrain embossing folder for the background.


I even stamped the inside, which I don't always do. These stamps came from a place in Maine called Repeat Impressions. (I think that's the name.) I thought the sentiment was so appropriate....



Finally, I wanted to do a comparison by stamping an image with Tuxedo Black Memento vs London Fog Memento and coloring it with Copic markers.



The first card was stamped with Tuxedo Black and the second was stamped with London Fog, both Memento.

As you can see, the first card looks very vibrant while the second is much softer. It looks like I used different Copic's but I colored both cards simultaneously, using the same color markers on each image. Amazing, right?

I got the idea to use London Fog from a birthday card I received from a member of our Thursday craft group. When I first opened the card, I thought "what? did she go out and buy a card?" But then I saw she had made it. It took a little while to figure out what was so different. In fact, she's been with us for less then a year and does amazingly well. I'd love to hear what you think.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and I'll be back soon.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

BY THE TIDE

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there. It has been forever since I posted on my blog and what better day to do a post than today!

It's a lovely day here in Florida. It feels more like Arizona weather then Florida because it is hot and very dry air.

I've been making cards like crazy and taking pictures, so maybe I'll get back into  posting now and then. Todays card uses all Stampin' Up products except for the embossing that I did on the coral. In fact, I incorporated the latest "Paper Pumpkin" kit with one of my favorite stamp sets called "By The Tide".


Can you believe I had to "google" sea horses to find out their color? I found that in most of the pictures I saw, they are a vivid yellow with tiny black dots. I did see some green and almost a white colored ones, however. 

We shall see what I can come up with next but for now, have a wonderful day.


Tuesday, February 5, 2013

BALLOONS AND SPINNERS

It's a bright, sunny winter day here in Florida. I even got to put on a "winter" jacket when I went outside early this morning. Well, it was nearly eight o'clock, but that's early for me to be out. What a great time of day to hit the super- market! Hardly anyone there.

Anyway, I'm going to spend some time today on getting our taxes ready. Ugh!! Oh well, I'm not alone in that chore, for sure.

Todays card was sort of inspired by pictures that my son takes each summer. He goes to a balloon-fest and takes loads of marvelous pictures. I wanted to incorporate some of the new products I got from Stampin' Up, like the Clouds embossing folder and the Sizzlets pinwheel die. The balloon was from Collage Curios, but I've since found a bigger balloon.





I made this a 5" x 7" card so there would be room for everything I wanted to use. Besides, sometimes I just like to send a larger card. It was fun making the card, even if I did find that making the pinwheels was a little challenging. But I finally got a system going that worked for me.

You all have a wonderful day and I'll be back soon.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

FEELING SENTIMENTAL

Hello out there ~ it's been awhile since my last post. I'm just beginning to be able to sit for longer "spells" since my knee surgery three months ago. Therefore, I've been making more cards.

I love the "Feeling Sentimental" stamp set from Stampin' Up. It makes for a wonderful  "man" card. I struggle with card designs and use sketches and challenges for my inspirations. Mojo Monday is a great one that I use frequently.

Here's one of the cards I made using the stamps from the set. I had some "newsprint designer" paper that I used for the background.

 
 
Here's another that one could send to either a man or woman. Aren't these stamps great?

 

 
When I made a card using the last image, I thought the card was too "busy",


so I changed the card design. In hindsight, I think I should have left it alone because I like the first card best.


Live and learn. That's it for today. I plan to make some more cards today using some of my new supplies and stamps. You all have a wonderful weekend.