Snow Friends

While I can’t say I’m all excited about living with the fluffy white stuff, which is sure to come our way one of these days, I love Snow Friends. Have since the first time I laid eyes on them and am pretty sure I always will.

I’m also loving this color combination – Heavenly Blue and Holiday Red. The card is my take on Weekend Sketch Challenge #106 as featured on the Fresh & Fun blog. I was at a loss as to what to do about a sentiment until I punched a 1-inch circle and realized it “fit” inside one of the embossed circles. Just right!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Holiday Red, and Heavenly Blue cardstock; Black, Holiday Red, and Twilight ink pads; Grey Wool, Heavenly Blue, Holiday Red, Goldrush, Orange, and Baby Pink markers; Snow Friends and Say it in Style stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-mart; Diamond Stickles; 1-inch circle punch; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Dove blending pen; Cuttlebug w/Snow Dots embossing folder.

Why stop when you’ve got a good thing going? LOL. Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #91 provided yet another opportunity to make a card with my beloved Snow Friends. For the snow, I tried my hand at making faux Flower Soft. My sweet friend Jeanne sent me this link she found on the Hog Wild About Stamping blog. The Styrofoam I found at Wal-Mart, however, was extra hard, and I kinda ended up with what I’ll call Flower/Snow Dust. On the card, it created the look I was hoping to achieve though, so it was worth the effort/mess. Thanks, Jeanne!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Holiday Red, and Heavenly Blue cardstock; Heavenly Blue Gingham paper (retired); Black, Holiday Red, and Twilight ink pads; Grey Wool, Heavenly Blue, Holiday Red, Goldrush, Orange, and Baby Pink markers; Snow Friends and So Sweet Seasons stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-mart; Red mini brads; Small white pompom; Diamond Stickles; Dove blending pen; Cuttlebug w/Snow Dots embossing folder and Nestabilities Classic Circles set.

I had so much fun making these cards on Friday evening. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, isn’t it? As for the rest of the weekend, I haven’t enjoyed much of anything – having spent at least 85 percent of my time in bed. I was fine yesterday morning. By early afternoon, however, I had a very sore throat, the chills, and a headache that made me feel like my eyeballs were going to pop out. I finally got up and had supper tonight and am feeling somewhat better.

What a waste of a weekend … I certainly hope yours was better. I’m about to go check out my favorite blogs and find out for myself. Then, I’m going to put myself back to bed with hopes of getting up and going to work tomorrow. Take care, and have a great week!

Very Simple Saturday

My vision for this card was quite different from what you see. What I imagined was more colorful with ribbon and brads and whatever other doodad struck my fancy as I put it together. Instead, the tiny red bird is the only spot of color against the snowy background, which, I thought, best conveyed my simple, albeit impassioned, sentiment. Further adornment would have only distracted from the peaceful feeling I hoped to impart.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Chocolate, and Stampin’ Up Kraft cardstock; Cranberry, Chocolate, and White Daisy Pigment stamp pads; Impression Obsession Birds of a Feather and Close To My Heart Say it in Style stamp sets; Retired CTMH Speckled Background stamp.

I’ve been up for a couple of hours already after having gone to bed early and then, my sleep disturbed by my hunter who showed up at home at 3:30 AM for the purpose of retrieving a set of keys. I don’t know what his story was and wasn’t in the mood, at the time, to ask. He said something about having locked his keys in his pickup. Good grief…

With that, I’m going to go have some breakfast and find some chores to do. I have a feeling a nap will be in order by mid-afternoon. LOL. Have a great Saturday! Later…

Wisdom Begins in Wonder

I love this quote. As for my card, it was inspired by items laying out on my desk and the direct to paper background technique I used in my “Pretty Paper Makes Stampin’ Easy” post below. I sometimes forget what I can do with plain paper, a stamp pad, and maybe a sponge or two. It’s fun to create your own when that perfect piece of pretty paper is devoid from one’s collection.

Here’s a close-up of my sparkly butterfly, which was created by “painting” the wings with Orange Peel Stickles and attached to the card with foam mounting tape. The sparkle made all the difference.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Vanilla Cream, Black, and Stampin’ Up Creamy Caramel cardstock; Black, Brown Bag, and Bamboo ink pads; Goldrush and Autumn Terracotta markers; Close To My Heart and Wordsworths Men Collection stamp sets; Black mini brads; Round sponge; Sponge dauber; 3M foam mounting tape.

Happy Friday! I’ve got lots of projects lined up for the weekend. Activities will include my Stamp Club meeting on Sunday night and time with family – the details still yet to be worked out. How about you? Anything fun planned? I’ve noticed a few fun-looking sketches in today’s blogosphere and am hoping to try a few. Check back.

Thanks for stopping by! Your comments and support warm my little heart … Talk to you again on Simple Saturday.

Inkspired

You know? As much as I don’t like to miss a day of posting, I think I’ve finally figured out I can’t be everywhere all the time. Last night was my bowling night, and the little boys stayed with us. Thus, when I got home at 7, I opted to spend my time with them instead of rushing to create and post what very well might have been a sub-standard card. The good thing is I’m happier and feeling more creative tonight because of it.

This evening’s card was inspired by this very pretty card on Karla’s Life is Good blog.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Twilight cardstock; Grace Paper packet; Twilight, Cocoa, and Bamboo stamp pads; Close To My Heart Solo “E,” Renaissance by Design Darling Damask, and Waltzingmouse Stamps Blessed by You stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Stampin’ Up Build-a-Brad; Sponge dauber; Sanding block.

One more day, and the weekend will arrive. Hooray! Marv left for the hunting camp today, so I’m on my own again for a few days. As much as I like having him around, it’s amazing how much I can accomplish when he’s not here. As for this evening, I’m going to make myself a bite to eat, take a nice relaxing bath, put on my favorite flannel pants and a T-shirt, and clean up my corner in preparation for some creative time in the coming days. Sounds good, doesn’t it? I hope you are having a great week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pretty Paper Makes the Stampin’ Easy

Here’s my card for Mojo Monday Week 112. The card didn’t require much stamping but rather a lot of fooling around to try to get my cardstocks to coordinate with the patterned paper.

The piece the sentiment is stamped on is Vanilla Cream. I used my Brown Bag ink pad to distress it. I also stamped up the background with a butterfly stamp, stamping it off first on a piece of scratch paper. Stampin’ Up’s Creamy Caramel worked well for the matting with the exception of the scalloped piece I used to back the sentiment. It needed something more. The best match I could come up with was New England Ivy, sanded and then distressed with Brown Bag to tone it down. Very simple but to my way of thinking, the best card I’ve come up with in a while. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Vanilla Cream, New England Ivy, and Stampin’ Up Creamy Caramel cardstock; Studio 45 Botanicabella Collection Eden’s Symphony paper; Cocoa and Brown Bag ink pads; CTMH Butterfly Kiss and Wordsworth Men Collection stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Pewter Bigger Brads; 1-inch circle punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Sanding block; Sponge dauber.

I hope life is treating everyone well. I’m busy these days no matter where I’m at, which is a good thing. It felt good not to struggle so in my corner. Maybe my mojo is making a comeback … No, I’m off to do a few domestic chores before calling it a night. Take care, friends, and as always, thanks for stopping by. Later…

ABC …

It’s still no mojo for Kathi. This is a card I made last week. While it’s not the worst (they’re in the trash), it’s nothing great. The stamps are from a cute little set, “A is for Apple,” from Renaissance by Design.

Materials & Tools: Stampin’ Up Kraft and Black cardstock; Black, Holiday Red, Cranberry, Topiary, and Brown Bag ink pads; Renaissance by Design A is for Apple stamp set; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch.

How was your day? Mine was great … for a Monday. LOL. Before it’s time to go to bed, I’m going to go take residence in my corner and see if I can make something happen. Oh, and if you’re interested, I finally got my hands on a few wedding photos and posted them on my This is the Day blog. Have a great Tuesday, and thanks for stopping by!

Simple Saturday … on Sunday

I’m a bad blogger and for the past few days, an even worse stamper. And, it’s not for a lack of trying. The wastebasket in my corner is lined with my Friday and Saturday attempts to create something.

This morning, however, I spotted this week’s CPS sketch and Angie Hagist’s great sample (the top one) and thought, “I can do this.”

Materials & Tools: Stampin’ Up Kraft cardstock; CTMH New England Ivy and Naturals (retired) cardstock; Graphic 45 Botanicabella Collection Eden’s Symphony paper; Black, New England Ivy, and Bamboo ink pads; Brown Bag marker; Walzingmouse Peace and Plenty and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp sets; Corner rounder; Sponge dauber; Sanding Block; 3M foam mounting tape.

Besides being creatively crippled, I’ve been busy this weekend. Yesterday, I went shopping in Grand Forks with a friend, and I’ve got a major kitchen-cleanup project I’ve been working on.

I hope you’re enjoying the weekend! Now that I’ve finally created a card I deemed acceptable enough to post, I’m hoping my mojo draught is over. We’ll see …