I'M HOME

I realize you didn't even know I was gone.  We took a trip East to Charleston SC and lots of stops on the way to and from there.  (And YES, thankfully we were home before the bad weather moved into Charleston.)  Before we left I scheduled posts for the last two weeks.  Now I don't have anything new to show you so I will just give you a couple of pictures from our trip.

Our first stop was in Louisville KY and we enjoyed a tour of Churchhill Downs where the Kentucky Derby is held.

Barbaro was a beloved race horse and is buried under that statue.

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We took the tour that included going to the back where the horses are kept and saw how they are exercised and bathed.  They are such beautiful animals.

Our next stop in Louisville was where they make the Louisville Slugger bats.  Coming from a small town where baseball plays an important part we had to stop there.  Pictures were not allowed on the tour so this is all I can offer on that.  This was not a real person standing there.  

I hope to have some new cards to post soon.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

GOD BLESS OUR MILITARY - PRESENT AND PAST

We must never forget all of the sacrifices you and your families make to keep our country free.  THANK YOU!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, PAM AND ALLAN!!!

My best friend from high school is celebrating their 51st Anniversary on Sunday.  We graduated 51 yeas ago today and they got married two days later.  I sent the card early since I was going to be away for a few days so I know they have gotten it by now.  We have remained friends all these years and have had some great times together taking trips and last fall planning our 50th Class Reunion.  

I saw a card using this layout recently.  I don't remember the last time I cut a "notch" out of a layer like this.  I used Copic markers to color the design and was able to choose a color for the largest flower that went well with the Stampin' Up! dp that I used.  

Thank you for stopping by today!  Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!!!!

POPPY STAMP DIE - Bellina Corner

I lucked out on a recent sale from one of the Internet sites and bought this die along with the one I used yesterday.  I did remember to use Ken Oliver's "Stick It" double sided adhesive on this die cut.  It's a lifesaver!!!  The sentiment was stamped with VersaMark and then heat embossed with white powder.

Thank you for stopping by today!

POPPY STAMP DIE - Bellina Butterfly Stem

This is one of my most recent purchases.  Can you tell by my recent posts that I really love dies?  I cut this piece with white and then colored the piece with SU markers.  I prefer to have embossing not show on the inside of the cards I make, so I trimmed this piece to about 4" x 5 1/4" and then embossed the left hand side with a border folder from Darice.  I popped the piece onto the white card base using foam squares.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

STAMPIN' UP! - Happy Watercolor

I prepared the background for the flower using the shadow stamp from the Happy Watercolor stamp set.  I then stamped the flower with black ink over the top but wasn't satisfied with the look so I stamped the flower bud onto Melon Mambo dp and trimmed it to adhere over the stamped image.  The frame around the design was made with a Rubbernecker Freehand stamp.

The stitched piece of Melon Mambo card stock was cut with a new Spellbinders die.  I didn't realize that it would cut out the center as well.  So I cut a second white piece and used it as an insert in the frame.  The frame is slightly smaller than an A2 card base so I added it to a base of white.

Thank you for stopping by!

STAMPIN' UP! - Botanical Bundle Dies

The dies were still on my craft table and the piece of dp with the leave.  I just knew that the Blackberry Bliss card stock would really look great against the leafy dp.  I'm loving that die set!!!

Thank you for stopping by!

STAMPIN' UP! I Like You

I started off by preparing a white card base.  The edge of it was die cut with a Penny Black die.  I decided to use the stamped design from the Stampin' Up! "I Like You" set.  I added the little extra sprig of tiny flowers on the top side.  After coloring the stamped design with Copic markers, I cut the piece out with a Spellbinders die.  It was just too plain to add to the white card base as is, so I ran the red Copic marker around the edge to set it off.  I really like this card.

Thank you so much for coming by today!  Have a great weekend!!!!

MEMORY BOX SMALL ALDER TREE

I saw a card like this on Pinterest and had the right dies to make it.  With the right papers it would be a great card for Easter but since that season has passed I added the little Happy Birthday.  The dp is from Stampin' Up!.

Thank you for coming by today!

STAMPIN' UP! - Botanical Bundle Dies

I had this Washi Tape from SU on my table and decided to make flowers with the new Botanical Builder dies.  If you have any questions, just let me know.

Thank you for coming by today!

BIRTHDAY CARD

This was a fun card to do.  I used three different dies.....one for the three sections of the tree, one for the little bird and one for the squirrel.  It would have been a lot easier if I had remembered to use "Stick It" double sided adhesive especially for the delicate tree pieces, but I was able to get tiny dots of glue in enough places to make it stick to the card.  I sponged SU Soft Suede ink onto the tree and stamped the sentiment in the same color.  The squirrel was cut from Soft Suede card stock.  I think I'll actually keep this card until November and use it for my husband.  He takes good care of the squirrels in our yard.

Thank you for coming by today!

A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME

I love this die.  The bird is so cute!  I actually cut the entire thing with white card stock and then cut a second piece in just the blue to fit into the open area.  I was having a hard time doing that so I just used the outline piece and adhered it over the white piece. (Does that make sense?)  The sentiment is from an SU stamp set.  The lacey border was made with a Martha Stewart punch.

Thank you for coming by today!

NOTE:  I just wanted to add that the die is either from Poppy Stamps or Memory Box.  Sorry, I'm not at home right now to check it out.

GRADUATIONS ARE COMING

Our local school colors are Blue and Gold, and I always try to make graduation cards more personal by using the colors.  We have two graduation invitations for local graduates so this is the design I used for them.

We are also invited to a graduation party for the daughter of one of our nephews who is graduating from a neighboring school district.......Black and Gold school colors.

The granddaughter of one of our best friends is also graduating this year.  We will miss her party but this is the card we'll send to her.

And just when I thought I was done making graduation cards, we got a 5th invitation. The school colors are Green and Gold but I haven't gotten that card made yet.  I'll never forget the year that our oldest daughter graduated.  We were invited to 17 graduation parties and weddings that year!!!!  They nearly broke the bank.  :-)

It's Friday again, so I'm sending wishes for all of you to have a great weekend!

THINKING OF YOU

Just a very simple card today using a dimensional sticker that I have had for too long.  I buy these things and then hesitate to use them - like there aren't going to be new beautiful dimensional stickers in the future.  

Thank you for stopping by today!

CHERRY BLOSSOM TIME

This year Cherry Blossom time in Washington D.C. came early I think.  When we went and enjoyed the beautiful trees, we saw them in May of that year.  This branch is from the retired Stampin' Up! "Easter Blossoms".  For the shadow I cut a circle from a piece of card stock and then used the negative as a mask to sponge in the light pink background.

Thank you for stopping by today!

STAMPIN' UP ROSE #5

I had cut and added the die cut to a mat which had been embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder.  Once again I forgot to cut the design with card stock that had been adhered to a double sided adhesive sheet.  I was going to just add it to a white card base but really wasn't impressed on how it looked.  I still had the negative portion of the card stock which was cut away and had seen some cards on Pinterest that I really liked.  I realized that I could do that with this piece............and here is the end result....................

What a difference!!!!  I REALLY LOVE this card!  And I like the embossed portion under the rose.  I didn't realize that the "label" stamp was slightly smaller than the matching die but I love the result.  The sentiment is also from the same stamp set.  This is going to make a great card done in a variety of colors.  I had debated about purchasing but so glad I did.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  Tomorrow will be a completely different style of card.

HAPPY RETIREMENT, JIM

My friend Lynette's husband retired from work last week.  I know how much they were looking forward to that day so I decided to send him a card.  The designs from 6 different Impression Obsession die sets.  The scene is created from a combination of two different cards I saw on Pinterest.    I used a white gel pen to make little waves in the water.  The cardstock, and inks are from Stampin' Up!  This was a really fun card to make. 

Thank you for coming by today! 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

This is the card I made for my mother this year.  With all the cards I do, I usually end up buying a special Hallmark card for her.  This one turned out so pretty, that I decided to give it to her instead.  She always loves the cards that I make for her to use.  The addition of the pearls on this one really makes it more special.  

The dies I used are both from Memory Box.  The sentiment is from a Stampin' Up! set.

You don't have to have your own children in order to be "motherly" so let me wish all of you Mothers out there a very Happy Day!  

STAMPIN' UP! ROSE - #3 & #4

When I cut this white Rose, I had intended to paper piece it.  I found that there were way too many pieces to try to figure out where to go.  It was already on the white card base so I decided to make it into a sympathy card.  The sentiment was heat embossed with gold powder.

I still had the outlines from the pieces I had cut for the paper piecing, so I trimmed the appropriate areas and used the outlines instead.  I added the die cut pieces to an embossed 4" x 5 1/4" white layer.  The sentiment is from the coordinating stamp set and cut with one of the dies.  To make the sentiment stand out a bit, I lightly sponged just the ends of the piece and then added it to the card with foam dots.  I don't think I'll be paper piecing the rose any time soon.  

My only thing I would change is remembering to use the STICK IT on the back of the card stock to make it much easier to add to a layer.  I forgot to do that on all of the cards I made with this die.  I used the Stampin' Up! Fine TIp Glue which works but needs to be used very carefully and then recapped quickly so the tip doesn't clog.

Thank you so much for coming by today!  HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

STAMPIN' UP ROSE #2

Yesterday's card used a die to create this beautiful Rose.  Today's card uses the coordinating Rose stamp.  It was stamped with VersaMark and then heat embossed with gold powder.  I colored the areas with Copic markers.  In order to get a little shading I went over edges of the petals a second time with the same marker.  After mounting it on a black mat it was added to the card base.  The final touch was adding the three flat gold metal pieces which tend to sparkle in the picture.

Thank you for stopping by today!

STAMIPIN' UP! ROSE #1

Sometimes I have cards picked out ahead of time to include on my blog for certain days but then forget to post them.

I used ink to sponge around the areas for the rose and leaves but I think chalk or chalk ink would work great too.  In order to get the color in the appropriate order, I placed the die cut on the white layer and then lightly penciled  around the area hoping that I'd be able to later erase the pencil marks, which did work.  Tomorrow I'll have another card with this die but a different method of coloring.

Thank you for coming by today!

WITH HEARTFELT SYMPATHY

When I sat down to make a card, I realized I already had a card base started on my craft table.  I had a "thoughts and prayers" type of sentiment already embossed inside with silver powder.  That set in motion the rest of the project.  I cut a piece of white card stock to 4" x 5 1/4".

I stamped the Inkadinkadoo image with VersaMark and heat embossed with the silver powder.  I then colored it with Copic markers.  I really like the sentiment stamped and embossed with the silver as well.

Sympathy cards are not something I usually have made up ahead of time, but I'm glad that one more card part is used up from my table.

Thank you for stopping by today!

PENNY BLACK - Metropolitan die

The first thing I did was to cut the buildings with the Penny Black die.  I used the negative portion of the die cut to sponge grey ink onto the white layer.  Since I had sponged the building background high enough for the die cut piece to be added, I also had to sponge addtional grey along the bottom of the shadows.  The black die cut piece was added and I used a yellow marker to the windows.

The rest of the top layer was white and it needed something.  I sponged a "sun" into the area for the sky.  I wanted to be able to get some of the "blue sky" down between the shadows so I masked them off and sponged the blue ink.

I had the card sitting on my table and was so pleased and honored when one of my granddaughters saw it and told me she liked it.  Thanks for coming by today!