Running With Scissors…

Just as I am celebrating the beginning of a new life with Wally, a friend is mourning the loss of her family’s beloved furry companion.  As I was making this card for her, I was reminded of my own family’s past losses — so difficult to bear.  Some folks don’t venture lightly into that relationship again…it took me 16 years to welcome another dog into my heart, knowing how completely I would give myself over.  It’s so true, though, that it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

I pulled stamps from all over my collection to put this card together — they’re listed in the recipe.  I stenciled clouds behind the doggie and cut out a layer of clouds for the foreground of the image.  The coloring was done with Copics.  I felt sad making this card, even though it’s meant to convey reassurance that all is well and good.  You can’t dispell the sense of loss no matter how you rationalize the quality of life you gave the one who loved you so unconditionally.

I think I’ll go give Wally a hug now.  Take care…

Stamps:  Doggie stamp from Walmart (unknown vendor), SU! Polka Dot background, Rubbernecker dog-theme background, sentiment from Kitchen Sink Stamps 3-Step Daisy  Paper:  Bashful Blue, Whisper White  Ink:  Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, Bashful Blue, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Taffeta ribbon, cloud stencil, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Editing to add:  Sorry, this is a little late due to blog failure (grrrrrr…)

Today, the Flourishes team is sharing samples created with the masking technique.  You can find Cindy’s article and demonstration using Eclipse Masking Tape –> here on the Flourishes Newsletter.   It’s easy to create a scene with the Beach Life set I’ve used today, even without masking, but I did mask just the tiniest bit of the chair where it overlaps the palm tree. 

Eclipse Masking Tape has been one of my favorite stamping tools ever since I purchased the one roll which will probably last me the rest of my life.  It’s very thin, adhesive-backed, peel off paper.  Stamp your image on the paper, cut it out and peel it off, then place it over the matching image and stamp right over top of it.  Peel off the removable adhesive mask and see what you’ve created.  This is a scanty explanation, I know, but Cindy demonstrates the technique thoroughly on the Newsletter.  It’s very easy, and the resuts are quite fun!

You can probably see from my choice of subject matter that I’m still in the summer mood.  Oh, these lovely August days!  For more masked samples, please visit:    Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, and Latisha

Have a beautiful summer weekend!

Stamps:  Beach Life  Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes), watercolor, Bermuda Bay  Ink:  Palette Umber, various SU! for watercoloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, Cuttlebug Mesh embossing folder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape, Eclipse Masking Tape

Flora

Fauna

Flora

Fauna

The flora is Oriental lilies in my garden.  The fauna is, of course, Wally.  He’s been in our family for a week now and it’s as though we’ve always been together.  I don’t think he misses his siblings at all.  Today he had his second play date with his 11 week old yellow lab friend, Magnum.  They get along famously.  Magnum, being especially sweet natured, brought Wally a stick to play with on their first visit.  Today, he brought a bigger stick.

I can’t tell you how happy I am to have Wally in my life.  Have a great day!

Good Wednesday to all!  I just have one simple card to share today.  I’d planned to spend a little more quality time with my barely used SU! Embrace Life set but the truth is, I’ve rarely felt more abandoned by my imagination.  A temporary lull, I hope.  Perhaps it’s because every morning, lunch hour and evening is spent helping my Wally puppy burn off energy (in between smooches, of course).  Or maybe it’s just the approach of summer’s end that has me wanting to lounge on the deck with a good book, soaking up the sun while it’s still available.  Funny how the desire to stamp is still there, but the get-up-and-go-for-it is trailing behind.

I sat in my stamp room for the longest time, looking at my card parts, trying to figure a way to make this composition more interesting.  After a spell, I realized I was attempting to force something that just wasn’t there.   So why not keep it simple?  I have some pretty flowers and pretty paper, a length of ribbon, and a friendly sentiment.  I also have a card that, in the end, is as satisfying as any elaborate construction I’ve made in the past, and it’s an easy mailer to boot.

I’ll admit, I’m drawn more and more to clean and simple these days.  It has occurred to me that there’s less that can go wrong with clean and simple — fewer crooked layers, badly placed embellishments, or unbalanced compositions.  Sometimes you’re really “feeling it” and it all flows together effortlessly, but when in doubt, clean and simple gets the card done.

I colored the flowers with Prismacolor markers — Blush Pink, Cherry, and Tuscan Red.  The image panel is popped up on foam mounting tape.  And that’s all there is to it.  Gosh, I could have had this card done in a jiffy if I hadn’t been so unnecessarily determined to do more.  It’s a learning experience.

I appreciate your taking the time to drop in on me today.  I feel like I’ve been a little scarce, both in my posting and my visiting.  Again, sometimes you just have to let things flow with the current.  Enjoy your day!

Stamps:  Embrace Life, All Year Cheer I  Paper:  Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Wild Asparagus designer paper  Ink:  Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, Chocolate Chip, Prismacolor markers for coloring  Accessories:  Bashful Blue taffeta ribbon, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Hello!  Happy Friday!  Today the Flourishes gals all got together and did some distressing.  Well… we didn’t literally get together, though that would surely be fun, but we’re all sharing cards which feature distressing in the design.  Be sure to check out Stacy’s article on the Newsletter where she shares her ideas on distressing.

I paired Sweet Violets and Basketweave to create my main image.  The Basketweave was stamped in Versamark on Classic White and embossed with brown embossing powder.  The Basketweave image is etched in such a way that it gives a nicely shaded effect with classic inks but, when embossed, you get an image with a lot of texture.  I colored all the spaces with a black marker, then used an oval Spellbinders die to cut the basket shape.  You can either slice off the sides of the oval to attain this shape, or let the die overlap a rectangular panel of cardstock and then cut.

The violets were colored with the Copics Collections, Hydrangea and Evergreen.  After coloring, I used a craft knife to slice along the lower leaves, then slipped the basket under them and glued in place.  With all the distressing, the ribbon, the textural basket, and the overlapping leaves, the image is quite dimensional even though no part of it is popped up.  Makes it an easy mailer with a smooth surface and no extra postage required.

I’ll leave you with the recipe now.  I need to go puppy proof the bedroom…  Thank you all so much for giving Wally such a warm welcome yesterday!  For some distressed samples that are sure to delight and inspire, please visit:   Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, and Stacy

Have a great weekend!

Stamps:  Sweet Violets, Basketweave  Paper:  Classic White, So Saffron, BasicGrey Perhaps designer paper  Ink:  Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, Palette Noir, Versamark, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, Spellbinders oval die, SU! small oval punch, brown embossing powder

Our eyes met across the crowded yard.  Lovestruck, we fell into each other’s arms.  He went home with me that night, and the rest… well…

I’d like to introduce you to my new best friend, Wally:

Isn’t he a handsome feller?  He was a little sleepyhead in these photos because my husband had him all tuckered out from playing “big mean sock”.  By the time I came home for lunch wanting to take pictures in the daylight, I had a squinty-eyed puppy for a subject.

Wally is a 7 week old Golden Retriever with the sweet nature inherent in the breed.  We’ve been together for three days and he owns my heart, utterly and completely.  I might add, he’s captivated my husband, as well – putty in his paws, I tell you!

So… we’re just at the start of something beautiful, and I think he’ll be worth every moment that goes into his care, exercise, and training.   I’m looking forward to it.  Thank you for being here with us today!

It’s a good thing I have a few cards made up for sharing because I can’t see finding much time for stamping, considering my new love interest wants to cuddle all the time.  He doesn’t have much stamina, though.  Perhaps I can stamp when he falls asleep.  I’ll see if he’ll let me share his picture tomorrow.

This card was made with Flourishes’ new Cherries & Peaches set.  I was thinking Ranier cherries when I watercolored this, but it would have been nice to have just a tad more yellow in the cherries.  I can color these cherries many more times, though, and will, I’m sure.  It’s a sweet set!  I matched the papers to the inks after I colored it — Rose Red, Saffron, Artichoke and Mellow Moss.

Ingredients are listed below and probably pretty well explain the card.  I need to be brief because it’s been a busy day and I have another busy one tomorrow, starting very early.  Stay tuned as the story of my love life unfolds in my next post.  Have a great day!

Stamps:  Cherries & Peaches from Flourishes  Paper:  Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, watercolor, Mellow Moss, retired Stampin’ Up! designer paper  Ink:  Palette Umber, Palette Noir, SU! inks for watercoloring, Craft White  Accessories:  Ribbon, pearls, SU! eyelet border punch, Inkssentials white opaque pen, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Today’s cards are all about the matter of breaking into my new SU! colors and Razzleberry Lemonade paper, using a stamp set that hasn’t seen the light of day for a while, and getting a wedding card done in the process.  I put together some layouts hoping to make good use of the paper and stamps, and used one main image on the first card, a pair of images on the second, and a group of three on the last card — hence, Stamping 1, 2, 3.

These cards really didn’t take long to make since the stamping is so simple with the solid images.  I’m going to need to learn how to stamp more quickly or make simpler cards.  You see… I have a new man in my life and he’s a sweetheart.  He will require some attention, though.  More about that soon…

But first… this is a wedding card.  I thought I’d do something young at heart for the young couple.  It may not be the type of wedding card I’d ordinarily make but, after all, it’s for them, not for me.  The stamp set on all three cards is Priceless.  The sentiment on the wedding card is from the retired set, Happy Harmony.  Colors are Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo.

There’s more of the same colors and papers on this card, but with the addition of Rich Razzleberry for the flowers and card base.  The sentiment is from the Smarty Pants set:

The third card uses some of the more muted papers from the collection, as well as Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie ink in addition to the Rich Razzleberry.  Cards 2 & 3 were made with easy mailing in mind.  They’re not too lumpy, and will require no extra postage to mail.  They’ll go into my little “cards for sale” basket at work.

Well, that was fun!  At least it was for me…  I hope you enjoyed it, too.  See you again soon!

Hello! Just one more quick post sharing a simple card with the Cherries & Peaches set…

This set is so sweet and versatile and I love the small images as much as the larger.  I colored these cherries with regular SU! markers in Rose Red and a little Bravo Burgundy for shading.  The highlights were added with the Inkssentials white gel pen.  The layout was inspired by a card I received from Gabriela.  Very quick and easy, nicely balanced, and one I could repeat often.  Thank you, Gabriela!

I hope you enjoyed the flurry of Flourishes peeks the team has shared this week.  The new releases are now available in the store.

Have an absolutely fabulous weekend!

Stamps:  Cherries & Peaches, Sweet Violets (sentiment)  Paper:  Memory Box Dill, shimmery white, BasicGrey Lemonade designer paper  Ink:  Palette Noir, SU! markers for coloring  Accessories:  SU! eyelet border punch, ric rac, brads, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Today’s Flourishes preview introduces Gerbera Daisies.  Have I mentioned how excited I am about this month’s releases?  These are some of the easiest flowers to color because you can do just about anything you want with them.  Oh, how I love this stamp set!  At last, all the new sets will be available in the store after the release party, Friday night, Aug. 14.

Just a quick reminder:  Visit the Flourishes Newsletter today to see how you can have a chance to win this set, and to read up on the rest of the release details.

Today I’m having a little extra fun by participating in Sharon’s Stamp Simply Birthday Celebration.  Many of you are familiar with Sharon’s weekly Stamp Simply Challenges.  Well… today marks her 100th week of challenges!  So Sharon’s having a party, and everyone’s invited.  As part of the festivities she’s gathered up a group of designers who will share birthday ideas — cards, recipes, gift sets, all sorts of things.  Blog candies, too!  It’s all happening today.  For a complete list of links, please visit Sharon’s blog –> here.

I’ve made a gift set with the Gerbera Daisies as the focal point.  They’re such cheerful flowers, and perfect for a “happy” birthday gift.  The altered tin held a Fossil watch in its former life, and required only a new cover for the top and a band around it’s middle to cover the logo.  The existing colors of the tin were a perfect match for the card — lucky for me because I’d already made the card and then designed the rest of the gift set as an afterthought.

• I used Mod Podge, applied with a small foam brush, to adhere the papers to the tin (BasicGrey Urban Prairie).  I cut the paper for the top to the 16th of an inch and punched with a regular corner rounder — a perfect fit.
• I sanded the edges of the paper to transition it smoothly to the top of the tin.  See the divit around the edge of the lid — I sanded it down to bare metal to remove the existing painted-on pattern.
• I stamped the daisies on a square of Classic White cardstock, colored with Copics, and cut out all but the two sides that join at the corner.  The corner of the daisy image was then punched with a corner rounder, and the image was adhered to the top of the tin with Mod Podge.
• A final coat of Mod Podge was applied to all the paper surfaces after they were adhered to the tin.
• Note:  I did isolate the paper pattern for this composition with the daisies.  See how the butterfly hovers over the daisies?

I made simple bands for the soaps and stamped the butterflies on Classic White, punched with a Stampin’ Up! label punch.  The soaps are an exact fit in the tin when laid on edge, lined up in a row.  Had I known beforehand I was going to make the tin, I would have used matching silver embellishments on the card.  Here’s a closer look at the card with those fabulous Gerbera Daisies:

I think I’m in Heaven!  Wait till you see what the other designers have done with this set:  Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, Stacy, Nancy

So… just to sum it up…

• Flourishes’ new sets will be available in the store tonight after the release party.
• Visit the Newsletter for details on the party, to have a chance at winning this set, and to hurry for your last day to participate in the pre-release challenge.
• Visit Sharon for lots of links to all kinds of fun things to see.

And one last thing:  If you played Flourishes’ Fit for Royalty challenge, be sure to check the Newsletter Saturday at noon for a little something extra.  You won’t want to miss it

Whew!  Lots going on!  Oh, and by the way… TGIF!  Have a great weekend and I’ll see you again soon!