FAITH IN NATURE

I've never really considered myself very good at coloring and shading images.  Honestly, I tend to shy away from open image stamp sets but I really am drawn to the stamp images in Stampin' Up!'s Faith in Nature hostess set.  This is my first attempt in inking up this set.  I sat down with my trusty Aqua Painter and my Stampin' Up! Watercolor Pencils.  Instead of filling my Aqua Painter with water, I used mineral spirits.  (A nice tip I learned from one of my customers.  Thanks, Dee!)  The mineral spirits work better for me.  Who knew???

I designed this card to be a masculine get well card.  I'm not sure why, but designing masculine cards always throws me for a little loop and creates a bit of a challenge for me.  Why is that???  I guess the challenge explains why I went a little "overboard" with the distressing elements of the card.  Sigh!

Believe it or not, I have quite a few more projects to share with you.  We're in the hurry up and wait stage of my father's battle with esophageal cancer and I have an immense amount of nervous energy right now.  I'm not sure how much time I'll have to create once his chemo and radiation treatments begin.  As I've said before, that's a part of the journey I'll have to wait to travel.  Thanks for all the kind words, encouragement and prayers you've said on his and my behalf. 

Thanks for peeking in on me and thanks for your patience during my father's illness.

Supplies: (All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless noted)  Stamps - Faith in Nature (Hostess set) and Sincere Salutations; Ink - Jet Black Stazon, Basic Gray Marker, Watercolor Pencils; Paper - Neutrals Collection Patterns DSP, Play Date DSP (retired), So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Watercolor Paper, Basic Black, Old Olive; Accessories - Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Antique Brad, Sponge Dauber, Color Spritzer, Cutter Kit

CASING THE OPEN SEA WITH A TWIST

I found the neatest card in the Splitcoast Stampers gallery by n2scrappin and was just itching to case it.  You can view her original card here.  I knew from the moment I saw it that I wanted to put my own "spin" on it so I decided to make this a tilt card of sorts.  I found directions for making this type of card in the resource section of Splitcoast Stampers.  Instead of just making the wheel tilt, I cut my hole a little bigger than the directions so the wheel could turn completely around to mimic the wheel of a real ship.

I used The Open Sea stamp set from the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalog along with the sentiment from the Bring on the Cake stamp set.  I paired my image with the matching Nautical Expedition Designer Series Paper also in the mini catalog.  (You just have to love matching designer series paper and matching stamp sets.  It takes the guess work out every time!)

I know it's hard to tell from the picture to the left, but if you look really hard you can tell that the wheel turns.  Notice how my stamped image is off center?  I won't even tell you how long it took me to complete this card.  Let's just say that it took far more time than it should have.  It's been way too long since I've stamped and I am extremely rusty.  Despite the length of time it took to create this card I can honestly say I'm very pleased with it.  I intend to give it to my father-in-law for his upcoming birthday.  Let's hope he likes it!

Thanks for peeking in on me today and for being patient with me during my extremely long absence.  I do have more stamping creations to share with you so please stay tuned!

LIFE'S MOMENTS

Life truly is a matter of moments, isn't it?  It's amazing the twists and turns our lives take and to our amazement somehow we get through.  I'm sending this card to a retired co-worker who has sure had his share of ups and downs since his retirement.  I just want to remind him that his old co-workers have not forgotten him.  We even reminisce about the good old days, tell stories about him and even chuckle at some of the humorous "moments".

I used the Nature Walk stamp set and the Botanical Gazette Designer Series Paper on this card.  These items are available from the Occasions Mini Catalog now through April 30th. The sentiment is from the Elements of Style stamp set located in the Idea Book and Catalog.

It's a quick post for me today as I head out for work this dreary and soggy morning.  I'm looking forward to sunnier days ahead!  Thanks for peeking in on me!

ALWAYS ON OUR MINDS

If you're like me, you struggle making masculine cards.  Why is that?  Today's card was no exception.  Thank goodness I have the Sense of Time stamp set to help me out.  It is absolutely perfect for making masculine card. 

Even though I've been in a stamping rut, I am pretty pleased with the outcome of this card.  I decided to take out my distressing tool and rough up the edges a bit.  Of course I couldn't just stop there.  I had to sponge the edges a bit to give them a more weathered look.  You may be wondering what those funky little circle button things are doing at the bottom.  Well, the simple truth is that I forgot to put the brads on my patterned paper before adhering it to the card base.  Oops!  (There are no mistakes in stamping, right? )

I will be sending this to a retired co-worker of mine who is battling cancer.  My friend, Teresa, and I have been sending him cards just to let him know that he's never far from the thoughts and prayers of his old co-workers.  He has called to thank us for all the cards and well wishes we've sent.  It truly makes my heart happy to know that a simple card brightens his day a little.  I highly recommend you make a card and send it to someone.  You'll never truly know how much it means to them : )

Thanks for peeking in on me today!  School starts tomorrow and I'll be sending my "baby" off to his freshman year of high school.  I can't believe how time has flown.

OH, MAN

I know - lame title for my post.  Sometimes it is just so hard to come up with a catchy title and today was no exception.  Today's card is intended to be masculine.  Sitting here as I type, I realize that maybe I missed the mark a little.  Well, I'll just have to work on it and get better with the manly man cards.  My card was inspired by this card created by Mercy Kerin.

That's it for me today.  I gotta run and get ready for church.  My sister-in-law, Ellen, is bringing her boyfriend over for a visit later today.  My husband and I met him briefly over Christmas.  It will be nice to actually sit down and get to know him better.

Supplies:  Stamps - Circle Circus, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Sanded Background; Paper - Basic Gray, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Whisper White; Ink - Basic Gray, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Old Oilve; Accessories - Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Big Shot Machine, 1/2" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch,

1 3/4" Circle Punch (All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless noted.)

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