JUST A NOTE

 

 

It's a lovely day in Florida, but I must say, it is EXTREMELY warm for this time of year. The thermometer just showed 90 degrees in the sun. Now, that's just too hot for April.

 

I've been busy making cards and having a blast. Lately, it seems, the mojo is really flowing. Or it could be an escape from all the 'stuff' that is going on with my friends. Too many have fallen ill in recent months and I'm just waiting for them all to get well and get back on track.

 

Here's a card I cased from Glenda Caulkins, and this is for all of you that I don't see regularly.

 

 

This next card was made with my Granddaughter in mind. She is in 8th grade and just made the track team. She had her first meet and I'm waiting to find out how she did. She has a great love of animals and would love to have a horse.

 

 

I've been thinking about doing cards for an organization called Operation Write Home. This organization has specific guidelines to follow and sends homemade cards to troops that are deployed so that they can then send them home to family, friends and loved ones. The following two cards were made with this in mind.

 

I'll keep you posted regarding OWH and if I decide to participate. With that, I'll sign off. Have a wonderful week and keep crafting.





 

 



SEASIDE GREETINGS

I just realized that I was going to try posting once a week and here it's been three weeks already. Where does time go? I guess the saying "how time flies when you're having fun" must apply.

I've been busy making cards, as usual. Quite a few years ago, I purchased a set of 24 "designer" cards made by K & Company. I seem to remember using about half to make Christmas cards one year. What is unique about these particular cards is the size. They fit in a business size envelope, so they are long and narrow.  Well, I finally decided to use these cards and made a couple with a nautical theme.

I used a Close to my Heart "Seaside Greetings" for this first card with Stampin' Up designer series paper for the background. I'm very please with the results.

 

I wasn't as happy with the results of the second card but it will have to do. I put clear embossing powder over the image to make it appear to be behind glass but I think I should have stamped the images a little bolder. I used Stampin' Up "By The Tide" stamp set for this card. 

 

 

 

That's it for this session. Have a wonderful Easter everyone and happy stamping.



THE "LAWN" RANGER

It has been a long time since I posted on my blog. I think it's time to start again. I've been on a card making role lately and thought it might be time to share some of the cards I've been having fun with.

I decided to use some of the wonderful Art Impressions stamps I've recently purchased, along with a few other "comical" stamps I had in my stash.

My brother-in-law has a birthday coming up in April and I made this card for him. He has a large property and does a lot of mowing in the summer, so he'll appreciate this one. Hope you enjoy it as well.

See you soon, folks. I won't wait so long, next time.

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.

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.

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.

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.