happy spring!

This winter has been arduous to say the least. I am so over cold, and snow, and 6 foot snowbanks. I find myself, more often than not, Dreaming of sunshine, and digging in the dirt, and green things. I know that spring is on its way. We've had a few days where I could almost smell it. But I needed to see a little bit of spring. The easiest way to do that, was to make a card!

I absolutely love this card. The colors make me smile, remind me of the promise of sunshine, and lift my spirits. 

I used a simple technique that I had almost entirely forgotten about. I inked the edges of the So Saffron card stock with Pumpkin Pie ink. It gives the look of an extra layer without adding the bulk. 

Happy sping and happy stamping!

at last

I have drooled over Lovely As a Tree for years now. But for some reason, I never bought it. I earned a free stamp set and now I finally own it! When it arrived, I could not wait to use it! And for some reason, the image that was calling out to me was the large maple tree. At least in my mind it's a maple. And for some reason, the season just had to be fall. My favorite season. I know summer is preferred by most people, but summer is just plain too hot for me. I'll take the crisp air and gorgeous colors of fall any day over the humidity and heat of summer. 

I used black StazOn ink for the tree image. I stamped it onto water color paper and then used the Scallop Tag Punch and made a tag. Then I got to work with my AquaPen. I started with Cherry Cobbler. Added a bit of Pumpkin Pie and Crushed Curry. A tree wouldn't feel right to me without a bit of Old Olive. And the trunk is done with Soft Suede. Then I pulled a little of the trunk's color down and painted the ground and finished that with Old Olive. A wash of Soft Sky finished the background. 

Texture was the next element I wanted, so of course I put my embossing folders to work. Woodgrain and Square Lattice. Gorgeous Grunge provided some visual interest. And I popped up the greeting twice with Stampin' Dimensionals. And voila! My first card with a stamp set I have admired from afar for so many years. 

Happy stamping!

it's the little things

Stamping can be such a fun thing to do! And sometimes, not so much. Like when you've been staring at an image and know that it's not quite right, but can't, for the life of you, figure out what is making you uneasy. And so it was with this card. I needed a masculine, thank you card. I had finished stamping and coloring in the goose image from Wetlands. But it just looked flat and boring. Lifeless and bland. I couldn't figure out exactly why is wasn't sitting right with me. 

First, I tried walking away from the project for a bit. Sometimes that works wonders! But not this time. No new ideas were flooding my brain. Next I sat down with Pinterest, hoping for a little shot of creative inspiration. Even Pinterest failed me. Gasp! Unheard of! 

I was ready to ditch the silly goose and start from scratch. So I picked up my stamp binder. Every time I get a new stamp set, I grab my binder filled with copy paper, and I stamp all the images from the set into it. I add the stamp set's title, how many stamps are in the set, and what type of set it is; clear or wood mounted. I was flipping through the pages looking for a different, masculine focal point for the card. 

And they I saw Gorgeous Grunge! My new favorite stamp set! It is SO versatile! There is a simple little stamp that has lightly sketched parallel lines. And I instantly knew what my goose needed! He was just floating on a Whisper White page! He needed to be grounded. So I grabbed my Soft Sky ink pad and stamped a sky all around him in the background. Somehow, that tiny, subtle detail changed everything for me! I fell in love with the goose, slapped him to my card front, and smiled. 

Happy stamping!

the ocean is calling

It's 26 degrees. It's March 26th. Strange, no? It's officially spring! But my backyard is covered in snow and ice. We try go south for February break, but that didn't happen this year. I have been dealing with snow since December. December through March with nothing but snow, and ice, and cold, and wind. Four very, extremely, agonizingly slow months.

I dreamed of the ocean last night. Of sandy shores, seagulls, surf, salty air, and sunshine. Sunshine! Imagine that! And I dreamed in color, because I couldn't wait to get to my craft table and make a card with yellows and blues and greens. And so I did. I even used a tropical looking flower as the focal point.

Could someone please send me a one way ticket to Florida? I'd like to set my eyes upon this view for real. Paper versions don't smell salty. And they don't radiate sunshine. I need some of that. Don't you?

Happy stamping!

just wing it

Sometimes when I sit down to make a card, I can get wrapped up in the creative process. I might have a layout that I really want to try. I may have a stamp set that I've been meaning to work with. Or I might want to try out a new color combination. Lots of people can work like that. I usually end up spending more time frustrated and annoyed when I try to force myself into a preconceived idea of what I want to create. For me things flow best when I just wing it.

Recently, my mother-in-law passed away. I loved her dearly. She always treated me like her daughter. Not a transplant. It has been a testament to her life to see how many people have poured out love and help to my family over the past month. Prayers, and meals, and flowers, and kindness has been lavished on us all. So lately, the only creative constraint that I have put on myself is the making of "thank you" cards. It's been therapeutic thinking of the wonderful people that loved my mother-in-law as I create each card. And the only rule I have for myself when I make the cards is that I use a "thank you" stamp of some sort. Simple. Easy. I've been winging it. 

A little patterned paper, some texture from an embossing folder, a unique use of a woodgrain stamp, and voila!

Happy stamping!

Nothing is perfect

My Stampin' Up Stamp Club is challenged each month to come up with a card based on a sketch. Of course, I can't enter the competition, but I do join in on the fun and design a card or two. This is the card I came up with this month! 

The sketch was all straight lines, but I wasn't in a straight line kind of mood, so I took creative license and adhered most elements a bit cock eyed! And I love the sense of playfulness it gives an otherwise serious card. Had I adhered everything with straight lines, I think it would have been a stuffy card. That's why I chose "thanks" intsead of "Thank You". The more casual greeting helps to take the edge off too! 

Those are the things that I love about this card. But there is one thing that is driving me crazy as I write this post. Now that I'm looking at it again, I should have matted the main image in white. What do you think?

Happy stamping!

Double inspiration

You might remember this card from the post "The ocean is calling". It's a card I designed for Stamp Camp. And I adore it. 

Stamp Camp was yesterday and the ladies and I had a fabulous time being creative. Some of my girls carefully read the instruction sheet that I print out for each project and produce a perfect copy of my sample. This makes me happy because they enjoy having a cute card to send to a loved one. 

Some of my girls don't bother with the instruction sheet and quickly bust out a card that kinda looks like my sample. This makes me happy because they enjoy winging it and seeing what happens. 

And some of my girls take a look at my sample and decide to turn it on it's side! They change up the layout, switch around the colors, and end up with something totally different from my sample. This makes me do a little dance of joy! They enjoy the creative process and aren't afraid to take a chance and get their hands dirty. 

Today when I was unpacking my Stamp Camp supplies, I discovered that I had an extra card kit. So I decided to get my hands dirty and make something entirely different from the original cards! Here's what I did with the ocean inspired card. 

It's still based in nature and uses a bit of  wood grain, but other than that, this card and the original have nothing in common! This time I used VersaMark ink and embossing powders on the main image. Some tearing and the Woodgrain embossing folder lends a bit of texture. I am in serious love with this version too!

Happy stamping!

Obsessed with Serene Silhouettes

Clearly I have issues. I made three cards before the one I've posted for you. I was disappointed with all three! And I can't quite put my finger on why. They were OK. Just a little meh. Maybe the colors were a little off. The stamping was a bit messy. I don't know.

But I couldn't stop making cards until one made me a tad giddy. The minute I picked up Stampin' Up's Serene Silhouettes, something clicked and all made sense in the world! I LOVE this stamp set. And if course this set is just begging for a sponged background! Which is fine by me. It's my go-to technique of late.