I am still here!

I realize it has been a long time since I posted anything new, so decided that it is about time.  So much has happened since I last posted, and it seems like I have lost an entire year.

But, I never quit making cards!  I even have all of my Christmas cards done and ready to go into the mail right after Thanksgiving.  I will not be showing them on my blog until after Christmas so that I don't spoil it for anyone.  This year I made them all the same.

Here are some of the other cards I have been making though:

This one was done for group swap.  The theme was "Music".  I had the background paper, and I decided to make a tent card.  I muted the background behind the Beatles by putting an overlay of vellum on it.  I fussy cut around the band and they are on an accordion folded base so they stand out from the background.  The tea bag medallion was made using the inside of an envelope that I stained with Distress Ink to colorize it. 

 

 

This card was made for a friend using a rubber stamp from Northwoods Rubber Stamps. It is colored using Twinkling H2O's.  I just love using them and the sparkle that they add.  I also enjoy this stamp.

 

 

The next 2 are cards I made to thank our Realtor for all of the hard work she has done for us the past 11 months.  I colored the background using Distress Inks, stamped the images in black and added some tea bag medallions.  I am quite pleased with the way they turned out and hope she likes them.

 

This card is my first attempt at Zentangle.  The rooster is a digital stamp.  After doodling him in, I fussy cut him out and then popped him up off the page with adhesive dots to give the card some depth.

 

Sorry to have been away for so long...I hope to find more time to post after the holidays.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

In loving Memory

In loving memory of my sister Barb.

Time flies

My, how the time has flown.  I didn't realize I haven't posted in such a long time.  I have been creating but not thinking about posting.

My year started out with a huge (almost disabling) event for me.  My older sister had been battling cancer for about 3 years, and the end of January she called me to tell me that her liver was shutting down.  2 short weeks later, she passed away and went to live with our Lord.  Even though we did not talk often, we frequently emailed.  She lives in NY and I am in WI, so we didn't see each other often (and now I realize not often enough).  This has truly shaken me to my core.  I have been trying to throw myself into my card making and Barb always told me how much she loved my cards.  Every year for her birthday, I would make her a packet of 12 cards or so that she could use to give to friends.  Barb always told me she had a hard time using them as she enjoyed just looking at them.

Here are some of the cards I have been making to help me deal with this huge hole in my heart:

You should know that Barb left us full of grace and dignity.  She was not afraid of dying because she knew she was going to be with her Lord.  She was a wonderful woman, sister, mother, and friend and I miss her more than I can express.

Hold your loved ones close and never...ever...take them for granted.





Crafter's Companion Blog Candy winner

Back in August, I won this wonderful stamp set from Crafter's Companion called Christmas with Barkley Let it Snow.

Here is the card that I made with it.



 

I heat embossed the entire image twice.  I colored both images using Distress Inks and then fussy cut Barkley from one copy.  The red background is a Spellbinder's Die.  I used a Spellbinder's oval die for the first image and mounted it on the red die cut.  The fussy cut Barkley was popped up on 3-D dots so that he stands away from the background.  I used Tulip Puffy paint to add the snow.  The snow flake background paper is from My Mind's Eye 6x6 Winter Wonderland Designer Cardstock Paper Pad.

It won't be long and this will have to go in the mail!

A Wedding Card

I was asked to make a card for a wedding reception that is being held a month after the wedding took place.  Here is my result.

This card is done in 3D so that the swans pop off the page.  I used a Cuttlebug folder (Kassie's Brocade) for the embossing and a Martha Stewart hearts punch for the band over the front.



Distressing without the stress these days

I am back again.  I made this card for my Mom using distress inks to color in the image.  I also used Distress Ink on the paper flower that adorns the front.



The edges of the card were distressed using Peeled Paint (one of my favorite colors).

 

Here is the card with the flap opened.  I used a Spellbinder Die (Scalloped Ovals) to cut the openings.

 

And with the inner flap opened, you can see the inside of the card where I stamped my sentiment.

 

Now this card was inspired by Splitcoast Stampers, but I did not have the large dies that they use, so I used squares and rectangles and put it together that way.  I made a teabag medallion to put on the front.

Thanks for looking.  I hope you have a great day!



Of Die cuts and flowers

I wanted to share another card I have made.  This one used a different way to use Spellbinders die cuts.  For this card, I used Contemporary Hearts, and Parisian Accents and Foliage.  I also used a punch for the pine bough leaves and some paper flowers that I colored using Distress Inks.

The centers of the flowers and the 3 little gems on the top right of the card are actually "pearls" but don't show up so well in this photo.

 

When the card is open, it looks like this on the inside.

 

Here you can see the pearls better.  And you can see that inside there is another die cut that does not show when the card is closed.

 

I am entering this card in the following challenge:

 

http://robynsfetishchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/challenge-163-die-cuts-or-punches-692014.html