Finally, Time For Card Making!

I haven't had much creative time lately.  I have a lot of home projects in the works as well as end-of-the-year busy time at work.  This week I was able to make a pair of cards for very special occasions.

The first one I am sharing is a card I made for my sister to give a friend who gave birth to a precious little boy.  I thought it would be fun to use the Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous stamp of the alarm clock.  I added the baby sounds coming from the clock! Small touches like blue gingham and safety pin were added to embellish the card.

The second is a card I made for a co-worker to give her daughter for her 16th birthday.  She asked that I use dark purple and gold as that is her daughter's favorite color combination.  The stamps I used on this are from a new stamp set I picked up by Dina Wakely.  The butterflies were heat embossed using Ranger Gold powder.  I think they really stood out great against the dark purple.

We are in the midst of a bathroom remodel at the house.  So a few more weeks of disarray and I will be back to crafting and blogging more regularly.  I sure miss it, and all of you!

On its way to lovely!

Hope you have a fabulous day and get to spend some time doing what you enjoy!

Love and Encouragement

I have been making cards for many years and for many situations and occasions.  Most of them are happy and are easy for me to embrace, but some, like sympathy cards, are harder for me.  This week I was asked to make a special card for a friend to give.  You may recall I lost my first husband to cancer and when I hear the word I feel overwhelmed with sadness.  I was asked to make a personalized card for a young man (37) who is losing his battle with cancer and will be with the Lord soon.  My friend asked for a card of encouragement and love for this young husband, father and friend.  This card weighed on my heart and soul this weekend and this is what I came up with.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampers Anonymous
Paper: Gina K Designs, Watercolor
Ink: Distress Stains, Distress Ink, Archival Black
Misc: Clear Embossing Powder, Ribbon, Tim Holtz Index Labels

Bible verses and words of love and encouragement were included inside.

My thoughts and prayers go out to this young man and his family and friends.  I hope this small card shows him how much he is loved by so many.

Until next time!

Tea Time Tuesday - Floral Power

This Tea Time Tuesday I am sharing a piece of my tea cup collection with you.  This bright floral set was a gift my husband gave me when we were dating as he knew daisies are my favorite flowers and they are depicted on the cup.  He bought it at the florist shop we eventually used for our wedding.  I love the shape and the happy bright colors, too.

Since I shared a floral tea cup with you, I thought I would share a floral card I made.  This card had a heat embossed image on watercolor paper, and the background was various Distress Inks and a pearl colored mist.  This card was made for someone who is sick and has a long recovery ahead of them, so I wanted it to be colorful and happy.

I think you can tell by all these florals that I am really anxious for Spring to arrive!  This week we are expecting continued frigid weather.  I hope you are experiencing some nice weather where you are!

I am sharing tea today at:

Tea Time Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Silent Night, Holy Night

Hi, guys! Hope all is well!  Today I am sharing a Christmas card I made for a friend's son.  I knew I used my nativity stamps the last few years on her cards, but I wanted my card to reflect the birth of Christ, so this is what I came up with.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts, Papertrey Ink
Paper: Gina K Designs
Ink: Versamark
Misc: White and Silver Embossing Powder

I thought using the Star would be a perfect way to make this a Christmas scene. I really love when I can make scenes using stamps from different lines together.  It really is a fun way to get more out of your stamps.

The use of the white and silver embossing really stands out nicely against the navy background.

I am entering this in the following challenge:

http://www.wordartwednesday.blogspot.com/2013/10/challenge-101-anything-goes.html

Until next time!

Glad Tidings of Great Joy

Hi, guys!  For today's card I made a religious themed Christmas card.  I was asked to make a special card for a friend's husband with a religious theme.  I started going through my stash, and decided it would be fun to incorporate a lot of images from different companies.  I always love this self-imposed challenge!

Supplies:
Stamps: Simon Says Stamp, Stampers Anonymous, Craft Smart
Paper: Gina K Designs, Stampin' Up retired patterned paper
Ink: Versamark
Misc.: Ranger Holographic Embossing Powder, Ranger Gold Embossing Powder, Gems


I originally was just going to use the embossed nativity stamp, but remembered the beautiful angel stamp from Stampers Anonymous and thought it would represent the angel of the Lord looking down on baby Jesus.  What you can't really see in the photo is the angel is done in Ranger Holographic Embossing powder, so when you see the angel in real life you see beautiful colors of pinks, purples and gold.  Just lovely.  Thanks to one of my favorite bloggers Anita for pointing me in the direction of that powder last year.  Anita's art really rocks and is so amazing!

I am entering this card in the following challenge: http://www.wordartwednesday.blogspot.com

Wishing you all a very good day!  Until next time!!

Distress Stain Sympathy Card

Hi, guys! Today I am sharing a sympathy card I was asked to make.  A coworker needed a card for her child's teacher who lost her husband suddenly.  When I hear stories like that it makes my heart ache.  I was told my coworker really didn't know the teacher well yet, so kept it simple and went with nature as I was not sure of their faith or beliefs.    I did decide to make it more bright in color than I normally do, because I thought it may lift her spirits a bit (especially coming from a young student).  I did the background with various shades of Distress Stains and black heat embossed the image and sentiment.

You will notice that I used my Lovely as a Tree Stampin' Up set for the main image.  I find it is perfect for so many occasions.  I used watercolor paper for the panel, as I love the way it works with Distress Stains and water, and there is a lot of color play and little warping.

I am submitting this card to the following challenge: http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com

Wishing you a good day ahead!  Until next time!

WOYWW #205 Working on Baptism Card

Hi, guys! Today is Wednesday so I am sharing what is on my work desk!  Currently, I am working on a special baptism card.  Friends of mine are going to be godparents and so they wanted a personalized card.  The baby is named Francis in honor of the new Pope!

I will be personalizing this card tonight.  I embossed the cross in copper and used matching copper cord on it as well. You will see I am a big tea drinker, and I was enjoying my Earl Grey while creating.

In my studio, I have a few "boxes of bling" and you will see below that I was busy digging though it to find the right accent for the cross!

Thank you, Julia, for this fun sharing of desks worldwide!  I plan to visit a bunch of you throughout the day to see what you are working on!  I highly recommend you join in! Visit Julia here, and you will have a lot of fun!

Until next time!

It's A (Baby) Shower!

Hi, guys! What is more fun than a baby shower?  The anticipation, the adorable decorations and lots of happy, excited family and friends.  I was asked to make a baby shower card for a co-worker.  We aren't sure if it will be a boy or a girl, so I went with a neutral color palate of green and yellow.  I am entering this card in the COLOR CHALLENGE over at Simon Says Stamp & Show.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampendous, Kolette Hall
Paper: Gina K Designs, DCWV
Ink: Memento Black, Versamark, Versafine (Black), Copic Markers
Misc.: Clear Embossing Powder, Metal Tab, Bakers Twine

I heat embossed the sentiment with clear embossing powder to make it stand out against the patterned paper.  I found a metal tag in my stash that I thought would look cute on the card as well.

Hope you have a great day, and find a few moments in the day to do something you love!

Floral Thank You Cards

Hi, guys! Hope all is well! Today I am sharing a pair of thank you cards I was asked to make for a co-worker.

This first one features a Papertrey Ink stamp.  I liked the color combination when I was finished.  I kept it simple, but I think it looks very clean and neat.  The image is heat embossed using Ranger Silver embossing powder.

Supplies:
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Paper: Gina K Designs, Stampin' Up
Ink: Versamark
Misc.: Ranger Silver Embossing Powder, Stampin' Up Flowers & Brads, SU Silver Cord

For the next one, I decided to use one of my older stamps that I hadn't used in a long while.  It is by Anna Griffin.  I love her work and style, and am glad I took it out to use!

Supplies:
Stamps: Anna Griffin, Stampers Anonymous
Paper: Gina K Designs, Stampin' Up, Tim Holtz
Ink: Distress Inks, Stampin' Up,Versamark
Misc.: White Embossing Powder, Tim Holtz Banner Die

I heat embossed the image with white powder, and colored it using my favorite Springtime colors.

I hope I have inspired you to look through your stamps and use a few that you haven't used in awhile -  it is so much fun!

Have a great day!