If You're Lucky Enough to Be Different - Greeting Card

Do you ever sit down to make something and end up making something else?  (All the time, right?)  Well, that's what happened with this card.  I was trying to make a couple of cards using some monoprints I created (I'll talk about them in a different post), and they just weren't coming together.  So I switched gears and made this card which I plan to send to a friend.  She loves the color purple and I know she will get a kick out of the little girl on the front.  I've nicknamed her Celie, after the character in The Color Purple.

The background started with my monoprint.  To that I added a strip of vintage sheet music (my friend is a classically-trained vocalist) and a circular graph cut from a vintage engine manual (just guessing here, but my friend probably knows little about vintage engines, or modern engines, for that matter).  The sentiment and the Celie "paper doll" are Tim Holtz products.  The butterfly is a rub-on by 7 Gypsies.  To age the papers, I sponged distress inks around the edges.  A dark charcoal pencil was used to outline the sentiment and Celie; a blending stump and my fingers helped to smudge the charcoal.  Because of the charcoal, this card got a quick spritz of acrylic sealant as a final layer.

Thanks for stopping by!  If you haven't already done so, hop over to this blog post and enter to win an original piece of mail art.  You have until July 13, 2018, to enter.  (That's Friday the 13th.  Ooooooh...)

Supplies:
Purple and white cardstock by Bazzill; monoprint on Strathmore bristol vellum paper using purple acrylic paint; vintage sheet music and graphic illustration from my stash; sentiment and paper doll by Tim Holtz; butterfly rub-on by 7 Gypsies; mustard seed and walnut stain distress ink; dark charcoal pencil.

New Job - Thank You

I interviewed for a job last week and planned to send a thank you card to the manager.  Before I could even mail the card, she called to offer me the job!  I start next week and I'm excited to try something new after being in the same field for many years.

I started with the patterned papers by Teresa Collins.  The flapper image by Hampton Art Stamps was stamped on vanilla cardstock and colored with Prismacolor Premier pencils to coordinate with the violet and yellow color scheme.  The card needed a little bling and after digging around in my stash, I found this black rhinestone flourish by Recollections.  I cut it into three pieces before adhering it.

I can't believe October is here already!  It still feels like summer because it's been unusually dry and warm here in the Midwest.  For once, I'm kind of ready for autumn.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Black cardstock by Bazzill; naturals ivory and very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by Teresa Collins; woman by Hampton Art Stamps; Ranger Archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; antique linen distress ink; scallop border punch by EK Success; adhesive rhinestone flourish by Recollections (Michaels); foam tape.

A Lady Never Reveals...No. 2

I had so much fun with this envelope that I decided to make a similar one as a greeting card for another friend celebrating a birthday.  Since I had a duplicate sheet of the red patterned paper, I was able to make a matching envelope as well.

These patterned papers from Stampington will make a 4.25 x 5.5 inch envelope, so my black cardstock base was a quarter-inch smaller than that, or 4 x 5.25 inches.  I cut the patterned paper to fit the front of the base and adhered my lovely lady (also from Stampington).  I added some squiggles to the background using a white gel pen and a black PITT pen.  The words were computer generated.

So, what won't YOU reveal?  Inquiring minds want to know!  Have a fabulous day.

Honor Flight Thank You Cards

The U.S. Postal Service should be loving me today:  I dropped 25 pieces of first class mail into the system!  No, I didn't take their advice to mail early for Christmas.  Instead, my dad and I are finally sending thank you cards related to our Honor Flight experience in May.

At the World War II Memorial with the young man from the U.S. Army Band who sang the National Anthem for us.

The majority of the cards went to friends and family who responded to my Honor Flight Letter Project prior to the trip.  They really came through for me, and my dad had a big stack of mail to open on the flight home.  He wasn't expecting anything, so was he surprised!

At the World War II Memorial.

I had a special thank you card to send to my friend Julia in Washington.  She, her husband, and their twin sons were among the group of locals who met our flight when it landed at Reagan National Airport.  It's one thing to be greeted by a cheering group of flag-waving people.  It's another thing to have your name called out and to receive a big hug from a lovely woman! 

At the Lincoln Memorial, with the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument in the background.

We also wanted to thank the Eastern Iowa Honor Flight staff and volunteers who did a phenomenal job organizing and executing this once-in-a-lifetime experience.  They really know what they're doing.

At the Marine Memorial.

I kept the cards simple.  I had Dad select several photos from that day and printed them on lightweight photo paper.  I bought dark blue cardstock for the base, but I had enough red scraps in my stash for the mats.  I decorated the envelopes with patriotic images stamped in blue and red ink and used U.S. flag postage stamps.  (I forgot to take a picture of the envelopes.)

I'm glad to have these cards completed and in the mail.  It reminded me of how grateful I am that Dad had the chance to participate in the Honor Flight, and that I got to experience it with him.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day.

Cheerio!

I know that "Cheerio" generally means good-bye in Great Britain, but in my case I'm using it to say hello on this greeting card.

To create the background, I randomly stamped a collage image from Artistic Outpost's Loverly London set onto vanilla cardstock.  I blended scattered straw and gathered twigs distress ink around the edges and sponged on barn door distress ink through a piece of punchinella.  For the focal image, I stamped the Big Ben images onto the same vanilla cardstock and then die cut the oval.  My top hat guy was stamped separately and trimmed closely before being adhered.  The sentiment is from Artistic Outpost's London Underground set.

Thanks for stopping by.  Cheerio!

Supplies:
Blue cardstock by Bazzill; black and very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; images from Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival black and watering can ink; barn door, scattered straw and gathered twigs distress inks; punchinella; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; pop-dots.

Hi!

I thought I would be sooooo smart and make a quick, simple card by combining the scraps from my mom's Mother's Day card with a stamped image found during one of my recent cleaning sessions.  Yeah, not so much.  Several hours later (I did take a break or two), I finally had a card that was neither quick nor simple.  But just like life, art is a journey.  And I love a good road trip!

The first bump in the road occurred when I decided that my stamped image wasn't large enough.  I dug through my stash and chose this Tim Holtz image instead, then ended up cutting it down anyway so I could double-mat it.  And of course it just had to be colored with Prismacolor pencils.

So now I found myself down a back road where those bright patterned papers by My Mind's Eye didn't fit in, so I took a detour and antiqued those papers with acrylic paint and distress inks.  I got back on track by cutting and adhering the background papers.  A quick right turn to diecut and doctor up the sentiment got me headed toward home.  Before pulling into the garage, I used a tinted charcoal pencil to add some quick shading.  Whew!  I finally reached my destination after an unexpected but enjoyable journey.

Have a great weekend, and take a detour!  You may enjoy it more than your usual route.

Supplies:
Green cardstock by Bazzill; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by My Mind's Eye; Tim Holtz image; Ranger Archival jet black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; titanium white acrylic paint; frayed burlap and broken twigs distress ink; crackle background stamp from Stampin' Up; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; Derwent peat tinted charcoal pencil; punchinella; label Nestabilities and border die by Spellbinders; sentiment diecut by Little Yellow Bicycle; pop-dots.

Holiday Greeting by Western Union

As usual, I'm still working on my Christmas cards just days before the holiday.  Better late than never, I always say!

For this card I combined vintage images from two different Oxford Impressions stamp sets.  The little girl was stamped on white cardstock and colored with Prismacolor Premier pencils.  The Western Union image was stamped on vanilla cardstock and colored with distress inks.

I used a green color scheme for a second batch of cards.  The December 25 postmark was stamped in barn door distress ink, and the bow on her hat is red Stickles.

By the time I came along in life, not too many people were sending telegrams anymore.  I had never seen a real one until just this year.  I bought a 1940s scrapbook at a flea market in the spring, and it contained two telegrams sent to a woman by her husband when he was in the service.  The one above was obviously sent at Christmastime, due to the "Holiday Greeting" and Santa image across the top.  During World War II, telegrams were often the bearers of bad news, informing families that their beloved son or husband had been killed or was missing in action.  I'm glad to have found one that would have brought comfort to a lonely spouse.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day.

Supplies:
Blue and green cardstock by Bazzill; Teresa Collins and Graphic 45 patterned papers; stamps from Oxford Impressions; Ranger Archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; old paper, antique lace, pumice stone, gathered twigs and barn door distress ink; red and green Stickles; vintage book text; crackle background stamp unknown; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; Color Box frost white pigment ink.

Yuletide Greetings

Usually by this time in December, my parents have been in Arizona for more than two months, enjoying the sunshine and warmer temperatures.  However, due to my dad's cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment, they have had to postpone their departure date.  You wanna talk about two people being bummed out!  But on the bright side, my mom and I have been able to do some things together that we haven't done in at least 15 years.  That has included putting up Christmas decorations and doing some baking.

I also suggested that we make Christmas cards to send to their friends in Arizona.  Well, we ended up making quite a few cards because once we got going, she decided she wanted to send cards to a bunch of other friends and relatives, too.

I kept the design fairly simple and used a variety of patterned papers from my stash.  The cute focal image is by Inkadinkado.  At the last minute I added some gold Stickles to the lantern for a little sparkle.

We had a lot of fun sitting around the kitchen table working on these cards.  We made two of each design above and in the end, my mom took all but three cards!  So now I'm working on a second batch of cards for myself.

I hope you're enjoying all the holiday festivities.  Thanks for stopping by!

Arab Scarab #2 and Artistic Notecard

I've been working on some things but I can't share them with you yet because I don't want to spoil a surprise.  In the meantime here's a picture of my second scarab ATC and a quick notecard I made to send it in.

I used more purple on this scarab in order to distinguish it from the first.  I just love this color combination.

For the notecard, I stamped the main image by Artistic Outpost on heavy cardstock then dipped it in some distress stains, being extra careful so the girl's face didn't get covered.  I added the small foliage images along the bottom to fill in the space, "stamped" on some faded jeans distress paint using a piece of punchinella and that was it!  These two items are going to an artist in South Carolina who requested the scarab after seeing the first one I made for the Spring in Egypt swap.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous day.

Pod Collage

Over the weekend I traded my Arab Scarab ATC with an artist in Norway.  In order to protect it on its journey, I created this greeting card.

The background was made on watercolor paper using distress stains and distress paint.  I heat-embossed the pod in black to help it stand out among all the other elements.  The numbers and letters were applied through a stencil using modeling paste and then heat-embossed with gold powder.  The background was adhered to black cardstock to make an A2 card (4.25 x 5.5 inches), but I think this would also make a great postcard.  So you may see other variations of this in the future because I really like how it turned out and it took only 15 minutes to make!

Have a great day!  Thanks for popping by.

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; festive berries and wild honey distress stain; antique linen distress paint; vintage sheet music; washi tape; pod image from Stampington and Company; Versamark ink; black embossing powder; Golden modeling paste; Tim Holtz letter stencil; gold embossing powder; vintage postage stamp; postal cancellation stamp by Stampa Rosa; black soot distress ink; black cardstock by Bazzill.

White Poinsettia

As much as I was enjoying the snowman cards, I was ready to switch things up.  I get a little bored making multiples of the same card, so for Christmas I generally make several designs.  I did decide to stay with a mostly white card, however.  My eyes are appreciating a rest from all of the heavy layering and colors I tend to use.

I used the poinsettia die-cut by Spellbinders as my focal image, sponging a little gold ink around the edges of the petals.  I used gold Stickles for the centers.  In order to maintain the clean and crisp look of this card, I decided to put the sentiment on the inside.

Thanks for popping by!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
White cardstock by Bazzill; poinsettia die by Spellbinders; falling snow embossing folder by Sizzix; gold ribbon from Michaels; corner rounder punch; galaxy gold Brilliance ink pad by Tsukineko; gold Stickles; Scotch foam tape; Glue Dots; Glossy Accents.

Big Oak Sympathy

I took a break from Christmas cards to make this sympathy card.  Until a few days ago my mom still had three uncles living (my grandma's three youngest brothers), now there are only two.  I'm sending this card to my aunt and cousins to express my sympathies.

This oak tree is from an older set by Stampin' Up called Lovely as a Tree.  It must be one of SU's most popular sets ever and for good reason: the images work on a variety of cards from autumn-themed to Christmas, from birthday to sympathy.  For my card, I stamped the oak on very vanilla cardstock and colored it with Prismas.  That bit of blue under the tree was an experiment at first, but the more I played with it (with odorless mineral spirits and a blending stump) the more I liked it.  It almost looks like there's a range of misty mountains in the distance.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Have a great weekend!

Supplies:
All cardstocks by Stampin' Up; tree from Stampin' Up; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; circle and scalloped circle Nestabilities by Spellbinders; Sizzix embossing folder; Provo embossing folder; Cuttlebug; Martha Stewart border punch; Scotch foam tape.

Simply Scrappy Christmas Tree Card

This is a Christmas card idea that I've seen numerous times over the years since I started stamping, always thinking "how cute!" and "how simple!" and "what a great way to use up all those tiny but pretty paper scraps!"  Well, this is the year I finally make some of my own.

I embossed the swirled frame on kraft cardstock, then cut the trunk and branches of my tree to fit.  I used a combination of old patterned papers by My Mind's Eye and vintage book and sheet music scraps.  The star was punched out of gold cardstock for a little pizazz, but since I like the rustic country look I didn't add any other bling or embellishments. This card is going to Pennsylvania with my Winter Morning artist trading card.  'Tis the season!

Have a fabulous day.  Thanks for popping in.

Supplies:
Brown cardstock by Bazzill; crumb cake cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned paper by My Mind's Eye; vintage book pages and sheet music; embossing folder by Provo (Cuttlebug); gold cardstock; star punch.

Thank You

For the second year in a row, some friends of mine held a "Pre-Independence Day Throwdown" the evening of July 3.  The challenge this year was chicken breast:  bring a dish to grill and win prizes.  The party was a lot of fun and you find out who really has a competitive streak.  I'm proud to say that my tandoori spice rub chicken with herbed basmati rice took second place in the best tasting (homemade sauce) category.  I received a fabulous prize: a set of four button steak thermometers and a bag of Dove chocolates.  First prize went to an appetizer consisting of chicken wrapped in bacon.  Who can beat bacon?! 

I created this card to thank my friends for a lovely evening and for my prizes.  I thought about using a chicken image or a patriotic scheme, but in the end decided to go with a cute card in colors that I know the hostess will enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day.

Supplies:
Ivory and yellow cardstock by Bazzill; patterned papers by My Mind's Eye; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; stamped image by Stampers Anonymous (Tim Holtz collection); Stazon black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; vintage photo, Victorian velvet, and antique linen distress ink; rectangle and scalloped rectangle Nestabilities by Spellbinders; paper flower; copper brad; corner rounder punch.

Quick "Play it Forward" Notecard

Ten minute cards are not in my DNA.  I can spend two to three hours (or longer!) making just one card.  But let's face it, some days I don't have that kind of time, and not every card has to be a "masterpiece."  Sometimes, like today, I just want a simple but artsy notecard to send with a Play it Forward art trade, and the beauty of making my own cards is that I can do that, and fairly quickly (even for me).

I stamped the girls from Artistic Outpost, masked them, then stamped the buildings.  I sponged on distress inks for added color.  The background is a Tim Holtz embossing folder, highlighted with distress ink.



Besides being quick and cute, this card scores points in my book because it was made entirely with scraps from my paper bin.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Supplies:
Black, very vanilla, and naturals ivory cardstock from Stampin' Up; brown cardstock by Bazzill; black Stazon ink; frayed burlap, vintage photo, and stormy sky distress ink, Tim Holtz (Sizzix) embossing folder; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities.

Iris-Inspired Sympathy Cards

While driving around this past week we saw the prettiest bearded irises in bloom.  The petals were pale lavender and a deep, rich purple.  I decided to use those colors, with plenty of warm white, to make some sympathy cards.

I used Marvy Markers to stamp the flowers, stamping off once without reinking in order to get the lighter flower.  I also used a paler shade of green on the stem, to make it look like it's behind the two darker flowers.


Thanks for dropping by.

Supplies:
White (orange peel) and purple cardstock by Bazzill; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; rubber stamps from Stampin' Up; black Stazon ink; Marvy markers; Sizzix (Tim Holtz) embossing folder; square Nestabilities; corner rounder punch; pop-dots.

Vintage Botanical - Poppy

I made this simple card to send to a mail art friend with one of my spooky bat ATCs.  I think I need to make several more for myself; I love how the poppy looks against the vintage German text.

The frame is stamped directly on the German page but I stamped the poppy on a separate piece of vanilla cardstock, colored it with Prismacolor pencils, and trimmed it carefully before adhering it on top.



I hope you have plans for a wonderful weekend.  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Black and orange cardstock by Bazzill; vintage German book text; frame stamp by Hampton Art; poppy stamp from Oxford Impressions; black Stazon ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; walnut stain distress ink.

Simply Wonderful

I created this simple but lovely card to send to a friend for her birthday.

Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:
Blue cardstock, patterned papers, and sentiment from Stampin' Up; black Stazon ink; white cardstock by Georgia Pacific; die cuts by Nestabilities; Martha Stewart border punch and butterfly punch; Dew Drops; self-adhesive rhinestones; corner rounder punch.

Happy Day To You

I've been meaning to send some "just because" mail to some friends, and I wanted to use the bright, new papers I received recently from Stampin' Up.  The weather may have turned cold and blustery again, but I am still feeling spring!

I used Prismacolor Premier pencils to color one of my favorite images from Hampton Art Stamps.

Thanks for dropping in.  Have a great day! 




Supplies:
Poppy Parade, naturals ivory, and very vanilla cardstock, and Everyday Enchantment designer series paper from Stampin' Up; image by Hampton Art Stamps; Stazon black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Martha Stewart border punch; Prima flowers; mini gold brads (Recollections brand from Michaels); pop-dots.

Radiant Light Sympathy Card

My parents needed a sympathy card for a friend whose mother passed away, so I inked up some brand new stamps from Stampin' Up to create this simple card. I used Marvy markers to color the flowers.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Wisteria wonder and whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; gray cardstock by Bazzill; stamps from Stampin' Up; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; Memento black ink; Marvy markers; corner rounder punch.