Silent Night

Hello Peeps! I have never called you that before, but today's my birthday and I just feel friendly!

This card is very simple - All Stamps from SU! - I stamped the brown trees, stamped snow flakes all over and around in white craft ink, wet embossed in clear embossing power and then sponged Night of Navy over the top of them to make it look like a stormy, snowy day. I used the snowflake Cuttlebug folder for the background and some Night of Navy narrow grossgrain ribbon. The bow needs work! I might need to "adjust" it.

Thanks for looking. I had such a wonderful birthday, with friends and family remembering this old girl. What a blest life I have. Thank you. Lord! I know it is from YOU!

TTFN!

Artha

Christ is Born! Hallelujah!

Hello! Hope your week is winding up swimmingly! I have had a pretty good week even though it is a pretty harsh climate in my end of corporate America. I AM ready for the weekend though!

This card is a leftover from last year - sorry, but I am still not caught up from being away for 2 weeks helping out with the birth of my third little granddaughter.

All stamps are SU! Very simple card which can be put on the assembly line to make your entire Christmas list.

I always love this time of year. I have a birthday AND Christmas and for my birthday I love having dear friends over for a cookie/ornament exchange. They are like my best birthday present EVER! I put on a pot of Christmas Tree soup and we all bring a few dozen cookies to eat and share. After dinner, we do an ornament exchange. We draw numbers and #1 gets to pick the first wrapped ornament. Then #2 can pick a new wrapped ornament OR take the one #1 opened......and so on. The ornaments are always beautiful!

Last year for some reason, I could not get my act together and everyone seemed so busy and just piling on one more occasion seemed unkind. So I waited until after Christmas and we had a calendar exchange! Great fun! I just pretended it was my birthday again and celebrated having such good friends and co-workers. This year yet again, I have a little too much on my plate; but I got all the materials to MAKE them all handstamped calendars. We will see if I can make good on my intent since we are headed back to Texas the day after Christmas. I have some business travel to deal with, an external audit which I am NOT ready for, so I am trying to pedal as fast as I can.

Have a great Friday! Blessings on you!

Baking Carissa!

Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend and were able to smoothly get back into your groove today. This card is in the mail to my daughter Carissa. Middle Child extraordinaire, military wife and mother to Iyla, she is truly an amazingly gifted young woman and absolutely the best young mother I have EVER met. Iyla is 2 and can already spell her name. Carissa runs a tight ship in consistent disciple and structure and Iyla has just blossomed. She is a beautiful 2 year old and happy and well adjusted. Last year they were in Korea and it is now a blessing to have them in TX - alot closer!

Carissa is so creative and she and Iyla have so many art projects, cooking projects, outdoor projects. They are always busy and always learning something NEW. She has degrees in marketing/advertising and journalism. You should see HER blog - Domiciliary Artillery. http://domiciliary-artillery.blogspot.com/ It's amazing all she does!

Well, since Carissa makes everything from scratch and is baking DAILY and trying new recipes by the minute, when I saw this new image from My Favorite Things, I just had to get it. It even LOOKS like her - she wears YOGA pants for cryin' out loud! Her favorite color is purple so I used my Copics on the image, scraps of So Sophie and PTI button, Martha Stewart ribbon.

Thanks for looking! Have a great week!

Abby

Hello! I am so bummed that my 4 day break from work is over, so I have been pouring in the overtime on both fun things and needful projects this weekend to see if I can make it last. This card is one I just made this afternoon for my 5 year old granddaughter Abby. It looks JUST like her! I thought you might be skeptical so I added a photo of the Abster beneath it so you could vote!

She is a gem that Abby! A new big sister to Alivia too and a great help to her Mama. I am so far away that I am almost no help at all and things are a bit of a struggle right now; but I know I can count on Abs to be right there trying so hard to help!

The paper is Basic Grey's Jovial prints, the stamp is Stampendous' Cozy Cutie aka Abby, and the snow flake is a retired SU! stamp which I trimmed to go over a boo-boo the stamp left (don't you just hate that when it leaves an impression in the air space of the stamp? Shoot!) I colored "Abby" with copics (the hat is fuchsia and teal, and I swear the pink background paper matches in REAL LIFE!); ribbon is Martha Stewart. I used some "foaming" applique to make her "fur" collar and the tassel on her hat. This is going into the mail to surprise Abigael LeeAnn (the Ann is for ME) in her mailbox! Grammy loves you Abby!

The 3 little Divas

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! I hope your day was filled with things you love to do with people you love! My day was just about PERFECT! Jeff and I were on our own here at home in Oregon. Another plan was thwarted with bad weather and cancellation, but no matter. We were together and just hung out here at home, working on some projects. reading and finishing up the day with a homemade turkey dinner with all the trimmings - just a little on the smaller than usual side is all. The only thing that could have made it better was having family in, but alas, grown children have their own families and activities and our 3 grown children are spread all over the US. Of course, it would have been ABSOLUTELY PERFECT if I had the 3 little Divas in house. You may have read that I was MIA a couple of weeks ago when Alivia Grace was born in OK. What a blessing to see both my big girls and my three littles. Here are just 3 of my most precious blessings. Iyla (2 - belonging to Daughter #2 Carissa!) Abigael and Alivia (5 and just arriving belonging to Daughter #1 Andreanna!) I miss them so much, but I cannot thank God enough for His bountiful gifts to me.

Happy Thanksgiving! And blessings on you all!

Thanks for looking!

TTFN! Artha

Friendship Gratitude

Blessings on your Tuesday! This card is again the culmination of scraps, with a thankful sentiment for my very dear friend Monica! She is a treasure of huge report and I love her dearly. She prays for me, encourages my heart at every opportunity and is such a gifted stamper herself that she is an inspiration on all fronts. It is a joy to have a friend with whom I have so much in common. When we get together for coffee, we blab at each other nonstop for HOURS and always say to one another: "You GET IT!" when we share our hearts. She is beautiful from the inside out and a dear sister in the Lord.

Every year we try to get together to stamp for a few days with other dear friends. We stay in our jammies, share meals and stamp our brains out til all hours. It is the best time EVER!!!

Need-less-to-say, I am blest with dear friends by the bunch and I am grateful for each one. Monica, aka Toots is a jewel beyond compare.

Love you Toots!

The elements of this card are just a mix from the scrap bag!

Have a great day!

Artha

In Its Time.....

Hello friends! Hope your Sunday is just restful and full of things you like to do. Todays's card is primarily using up scraps and adding a focal imager from PTI along with a profound truth from Ecclesiastes for a sentiment. Hope you are enjoying the last days of Autumn. Our tree out front is the last to color and is a beautiful orange. Jeff raked all the rest up yesterday and gave the yard its last mow (I hope!) I have had the fire on every night this week. Autumn/Winter are down times for me for some reason - time to read, stamp, move the furniture around (which I did yesterday) clean out cupboards, sort through clutter and straighten things up. Today my focus will be my stampin' studio - it IS a wreck! But thank goodness there is a homemade apple pie in the oven for a great reward!

Enjoy your day! TTFN! Artha

Counting Blessings

Happy Friday. Stampin' Friends! What a week, but thankfully it was short for me - only 4 days since I returned from OK and TX. Next week I only have 2 work days and then a short business trip and THEN turkey! I have lots of projects scheduled for both weekends, but hopefully can get some stampin' time in. I like to get up really early and make a cup of tea and sit at my desk and start stampin' like a mad woman. This weekend, I have lots of catching up to do with laundry, shopping and meal planning, but I am also determined to clean out some cupboards and am starting on a pairing down campaign. Organizers, unite!

This card uses PTI stamps, SO SOPHIE paper, my usual Hero Arts background stamp. I love Autumn and I am thankful for the blessings of family and dear friends.

Gobble, Gobble!!

Hello friends! I apologize that I have been MIA for so long, but I have a brand new granddaughter, Alivia Grace and I have been rocking and trying to help out as much as possible back in OK. I got to see all my little sweeties - all 3 Divas - Abigael, aka Big Sister (5), Iyla (belongs to daughter #2 and is 2) and then Baby Alivia. I had a blast!

Anyway - here is Iyla's Thanksgiving card. I gave it to her while I was there. I try to send all my girls a card/week. Can't always get it, but truly believe they need to hear from me on something they can pick up again, read and know I was thinking of them and love them.

I am back on board, so hopefully you haven't given up on me.

Turkey and sentiment is from Verve, colored with Copic markers, buttons are from PTI's autumn collection, paper are scraps from this and that, Cuttlebug diamond design adds some texture, I added buckles to their pilgrim hats from my stash of SU! bronze metal embellishments set.

TTFN!

Artha

The Mighty Oak's Start

Dear Friends, I hope you have had a spectacular day! It is a little on the gloomy side here in Oregon, but just right to pull it up the fire and read a good book with a great cup of Creme Brulee coffee with cream - no sugar!

My dear friend, Myrna is the most amazing hostess and woman of class and of wisdom. She loves acorns and every time I get my PTI acorn out, I think of her. So today I stamped her an acorn. I used SO SOPHIE paper from My Mind's Eye, PTI acorn from First Fruits, one of my all time PTI sets. I also used their text backgrounds for the top mounted piece. I took some Autumn Colors, adhesive backed textured paper, edged with the Fiskars Bracket edge punch. I had a little scrap folded up in my scrap sack which looked like a little gift tag. I just mounted it on the front of the card and then stamped inside it using Verve's Bountiful harvest sentiment. I Cuttlebugged the small scrap of rust paper with an embossing folder, added a little ribbon and fiber and voila! A card which I hope is as classy as its designated recipient! Love you, Myrna! TTFN! Friends, I have 2 more sleeps until I see my 2 big girls, 2 little sweeties and welcome the tiniest of all into the world on Tuesday!

The Best Blessing of ALL! !!

Hello Dearies! Stampers UNITE! Today's card is a surprise for my dear, dear husband, Jeff. He is truly a wonderful, Godly man and a joy to my heart and I am grateful that we have been married for almost 35 years. He is a BLESSING, my greatest blessing of all!

Today's card uses SO SOPHIE paper, PTI 2009 Autumn Tags, Verve Bountiful Harvest sentiment, seam tape from my LSBS. Three more sleeps til I see my girls! Can't wait!

TTFN!

Artha

Reaping a Harvest!

Hello Friends! Happy Tuesday and thank GOODNESS Wednesday is rolling in! I am so excited I can hardly wait because I am leaving Saturday to see all my girls - big and little and on Tuesday the newest and littlest sweetie will be arriving!

I have the most amazing and talented chemical engineer that works for me. She can do just about ANYTHING and I appreciate her so much! We have been working on just an IMPOSSIBLE project with IMPOSSIBLE people. I made this card for her Saturday to let her know how much I appreciate all her efforts and her great sense of humor. Unfortunately, she was in a car accident this morning, but was not hurt tho her car totaled. I had already laid the card on her desk so it was ready to greet her.

So Sophie paper, PTI Embellishments set (LOVE IT!), Verve Plain Jane (LOVE THEM ALL!), Cuttlebug Fleur de Lis embossing folder, Hero Arts script for the background behind the stamped Fleur de Lis. Is this the coolest double stitched ribbon? Found it at my LSBS. That would be secret, secret, double secret code for Local Scrap Book Store! :D)

It is a pretty simple card - my uszh (as middle daughter Carissa says.)

TTFN! friends and neighbors. I am taking my Mac Book with me, but next week there will more than likely be pics of little sweeties, not cards! Carry on Fellow Stampers!

Hello Pumpkin(s)!

Hello Friends!
I just love Autumn! It is my FAVORITE of all seasons (until Spring comes!) I also love my little granddaughters who are 5 and 2 (and there is a 3rd little Diva coming 11/2! I can hardly wait!) So I have been making them some Fall cards. I found these cute little bling pumpkins at my local scrapbook store! Aren't they the greatest? Used So Sophie Paper, some SU! stripe, plain brown Bazzill and some designer tape! The sentiment is from Verve! I also posted some pictures which show some beautiful color I had to share. This tree is right next door to us (our street tree is the last in the cul-de-sac to turn) and I have so enjoyed watching it this week. It is stunning! Also behind the house are several hundred acres of farm fields which this year were planted in pie pumpkins! They have been harvesting them this week and so I thought I would share what I see when I go upstairs and look out back. Lots of ORANGE!

Have a blest week and enjoy what God is painting with His paintbrush in creation!

TTFN!

Artha

Work just gets in the way!

Hello, Friends! I know it appears I have been MIA, but sometimes work just gets in the way. I had to travel to NY last week and I worked clear into the night and no it was not anything as enjoyable as stamping all night!

This card is another one of my quick versions - I should probably change the title on my blog to Quick Stamping or something! LOL

I used Verve's "Great Friend" flower and sentiment. I tell you that Julee is a talent and I LOVE her Plain Jane scripture verses. Affordable and so profound!

Hope your week has started famously!

TTFN! and thanks for looking!

Harvest Blessings!

Happy Sunday! It is a delightful Autumn day in Oregon! 75 degrees, just the start of beautiful colors and a nice breeze! Lovely, truly lovely!

Today's card is of the Artha Quick School of Stamping once again! I like the long, narrow cards - 6x6 inches and then fold! They fit in those cute little SU! envelopes!

I used just a scrap of DP and then a few PTI Autumn colored buttons, a sentiment from PTI and an old stamp on wood from Hero Arts for the leaf print. Snap, snap with a bow on it!

Have a blest day and thanks for looking!

TTFN!

Artha

For Andee!

Today's card is a simple reminder for my daughter Andee, just about to pop with her 2nd baby girl! This is a high risk pregnancy for Andreanna and I know that she has concerns that everything will go smoothly. I also know a God who is always present with her and will strengthen her through this! She knows Him too! So fear not, dear daughter! He is in charge.

I used Old Olive, PTI Turning a New Leaf and a Hero Arts version of Isaiah 41:10. I just stamped directly on the cream card base this time.

Hope you have an amazing weekend, enjoying Autumn! Look for the hand of God everywhere! He is easily seen!

TTFN!

For Iyla and Abby!

If you have visited my blog even once, you will know the great joy my little granddaughters give me. I made these 2 cards for them this week in my continued commitment to stamp or make a card for my daughters and my little divas every week. Lord knows I have enough paper! Both of the little girls love zoo animals so I thought these embossed die cuts would be just the ticket! Life is a jungle you know!

TTFN!

Artha

Happy Autumn!

Thanks for dropping by! This card is a 3x6 on cream card stock, My Mind's Eye dp (double sided of COURSE!), a Verve Plain Jane for the beautiful verse from Psalms, a scrap of script and the loveliest of Autumn colored buttons from PTI; and the cutest little gift tag which I turned into the focal image. I have had these little gift tags reminiscent of Mary Engelbreit for years and I have doled them out carefully. I am sure I got them at Target, probably close to 5-6 years ago. Shame on me for not using them all up. They have the cutest Autumn images on them. I am down to 3 now, but again a drawer full of embellishments does not tell those you love, you love them! Use 'em up! is my new motto! The only thing I would do differently is thread up the buttons with some twine. Hope you enjoy the look!

TTFN!

Artha

Designer TAPE!!!

Hello friends! It's been quite a day that's for sure! BUT last night I got on my Mojo wagon and cranked out about 10 cards! Woo-eee! Of course they are all simple cards as my usz. BUT a card in the envelop will tell someone I love them while my stamps sitting there undisturbed are just wishful thinking!

For this card, I used some Designer TAPE! I have had a variety of colors for (sigh) a few years, but just yanked out this wide pink print and slapped it on cream card stock. I used Verve's new flower set Great Dreams, Verve's Kind Words and the Hero Arts script as background to the flower/leaves. 1/4" pink gross grain ribbon and we're done!

A hot tip......I have a great computer lap desk which I use while I am watching TV. I slice and dice neutral card stock in standard (and non-standard) sizes which I use for my card bases. Then I just put them in my desk cubby holes and pull them out as needed. This is one way I save time when I have just a few minutes to stamp. They are already made!

Be inspired and blessed!

TTFN!

Artha

In the Pink for Twins!

Happy Monday, all! I hope you had a great weekend, doing things you enjoy with people you love or at least like! This card was the baby congratulations that went along with the name frames I made for the twins a couple of weeks ago. Again, I used ready made embellishments. LOVE that baby clothes line from K and Company and the chipboard piece, also from K and Company. The sentiment is from PTI.

Hope you are inspired to pull out a few embellishments and make a card for someone special!

TTFN!

Artha

Mimi

Hello Stampin' Friends! What an absolutely GORGEOUS weekend and I got most of what was on my plan done! All the while squiring around an international visitor as well!

This is another simple card - that's just me - simple! I'd rather have a card to send than eek out hours on end with a small throughput and miss the occasion or have toBUY a card for the occasion.

My littlest granddaughter (for about another 5 weeks anyway) is the sweetest little sweetie. Her name is Iyla, she's 2 and because she is in the military with her Dad, sometimes she and her Mom (our 2nd daughter) come and stay with us. What a joy they are! Well Iyla has a stuffed lambie which she sleeps with (along with the lovey - blankie) and she calls her Mimi. I think that is Iyla-ese for Lamb-ME - get it? Me-Me - Mimi.

Well, Iyla is stationed at Fort Hood right now and I wanted her to know Grammy misses her, so I made her a Mimi card. The ready-made lambie embellishment is from K & Company, the dp paper from My Mind's Eye and the plain from Bazzill, the sentiment is Papertrey Ink; a little Cuttlebugging on the plain as well. It's a pretty standard Artha card.

Iyla's mom, our daughter Carissa is the most creative young mom! She has degrees in journalism and advertising/marketing and you should see HER blog (here's the link - http://domiciliary-artillery.blogspot.com/) and the stuff she creates for and with Iyla! What a gifted and talented young Mom! I am so proud of her!

Hope your weekend has been perfect too!

TTFN!

Artha

Fruit Salad!

Hello stampin' friends! This card is another usual Artha quick card, using some punch not from stamps but from ready made embellishments. This card was for my dear Mother-in-Law recently widowed. She is trying so hard to be strong and brave. We just recently visited her in Lake Tahoe and she was such a great hostess, giving me a restful break when I should have been doing for HER. So I sent her a thank you. She is a red head, with such a fair complexion so these tropical colors just reminded me of her.

The dp is from My Mind's Eye - my all time favorite! The colors are so fresh. The fruit embellishments are from K & Company, another favorite of mine! The word sentiment is from Remarks.

Hope you have had a wonderful week!

TTFN!

Arth

Thank you Chickie!

This card is for my friend, Linda. Years ago she took a start from the Hens 'n' Chicks succulent garden plants which were from my Grammy's old farm in Indiana. I did not move mine from the last house before we built this one (ummmm, I think that was someone ELSE who shall remain nameless' job) but she graciously gave me a whole bunch of starts last Friday. Thank you. Linnie! When we first met these dear friends she raised her own hens for eggs and she collects chicken items, so I thought this card was a shoe in. I tried to use my Copics, but as you can see coloring is not my strong suit. I need a Copics class I think. Anywho, this is my offering to a dear friend whom I love very much!

The DP is My Mind's Eye, the sentiment from PTI and the chickie huddle stamp is "Singing Bird Trio" from Memory Box.

Hope this card has you chirping up a storm!

TTFN!

Artha

Faith is....

Stampers Unite! Today's card remains in my genre - EASY PEASY!! Scraps of designer paper, Verve single stamp - one of my favorite verses and for the focus image, a punch out die cut shape, Savannah, from Three Bugs in a Rug, Love the easy stuff - always have a card ready when it's THIS easy!

I have been in a stampin' groove lately and trying to be consistent in using all my tools, paper and stamps AND trying to send cards to those I love on a regular basis. My Mom was the sweetest and most Godly woman I have ever known. She should have owned stock in a favored card company. She sent a card for every occasion and no occasion - just because she wanted you to know she loved you and was thinkin' about you. She was an incredible nurse with the true gift of mercy. When I was a kid, we made and gave gifts to every paperboy, mail person and the Standard Oil guy who brought our oil furnace supplies. I miss my Mom and long to honor her memory by being the same kind of person with the Law of Kindness on my lips - Proverb 31:26.

Have a super Wednesday - and what's left of Tuesday!

TTFN!

Artha

Abigael turns FIVE!

My first little Granddaughter, Abby turned FIVE last week! She is my sweet Abby! She lives in OK and we live in OR so we don't get to see her very often except on SKYPE and speaking by phone. She was delivered via emergency C-section when my daughter contracted severe toxemia, but that little sweetie is a fighter and never gives up (even when she is in trouble and should! :D) I would sit with her in the nursery since my daughter was so ill and couldn't and I could hear the nurses bickering with one another that one of them could not put that baby back in the incubator correctly after they did vitals. So I started watching.....and they did put her in the incubator longways - but she evidently did not want to be in that direction. So I watched her push off the side of the incubator (at 4 lbs 8 oz) with her foot until she was crossways in the incubator and then she stopped and rested and slept. When the nurse would come in to check her again, there she was crossways in that incubator and off they went bickering again.

Abby is about to be a big sister and I believe she will be a GREAT one! My daughter is 6 weeks away from delivering another baby girl. We have watched and prayed from afar as my daughter has taken charge of her health and worked hard to stay on top of her health challenges. I can hardly wait for this new little one and am anxious to get to OK and see how this set of girls is doing (I have another set in TX! - another day, another blog to brag on that group!)

SO THIS CARD was for our Abby's 5th birthday! Happy Birthday Abs!

Love, Grammy

Name Frames for Twins

Hello Friends! I have a good friend at work who is a Grammy to an Iyla like me except her Ila is spelled differently and a year older. My Iyla has a Y. We share funny, sweet Iyla and Ila stories on our lunch hours. Her Ila just became big sister to TWIN sisters this last week. Since I also know her son and daughter-in-law, I wanted a gift with a handcrafted item in addition to the usual sweet little girl clothes. This is what I came up with - a couple of name frames. I used a selection of pink design papers, some pre-made K-Company letters and baby embellishments, Cuttlebug texture and Verve stamps. I have made several of these name plates as gifts in the past using alphabet stamps. I have stamped "welcome", last names, first names..... You name it! Pun intended! Usually I use the long narrow frames, but these I found on sale for 2/$10 at Craft Warehouse. Hope you find inspiration to use this gift idea too!

TTFN!

Artha

Simple Masculine Birthday

Hello! This card is about as simple as you can get! I made it for our friend, Max on his 70th birthday card. He is such a crack up and we love him so I HAD to make him a handcrafted card to celebrate his special day.

I am not very inspiring when it comes to masculine cards. I am never quite sure what is allowable for a guy card! :D) So I decided simple and monotonic (as opposed to monotonous!) The stamped golf themed images are from a retired SU set and the blue scrap has a Hero Arts script background stamp applied. Paper is from my scraps pile in Winter White and Bazzill blue and brown. Ink is STAZON Brown and the ribbon is my favorite Michael's Martha Stewart - kind of a country blue with brown edges. Hope this inspires you to stamp often and stamp simply! Have a great Thursday!

A True Take 10!

Happy Tuesday, Stamping Friends! Maintaining my theme of quick to the envelop, I used some So Sophie scraps to set the color palette and a couple of pieces from my Graphic 45 12x12 perforated strips. There is not a quicker card in the world. I loved the Verve Sentiment. I also loved this organdy looped ribbon embellishment so much that I went back to my LSBS and bought 3 more yards. I LOVE the Fall season and the color palette IT brings. It seems to me the leaves are changing faster in Oregon this year - they are already turning in the neighborhood.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

TTFN!

Artha

DH Birthday Card!

Stampers UNITE!! Today's card is my DH's birthday card! It is his birthday today, but shhhh, I can't tell you how old he is!! :D) However, Dwight Eisenhower was president when he was born! :D)

I love Graphic 45! If you have not seen this line, it is quite amazing. A selection of punch outs on 12x12 paper, it is 1940's/1950's prints of classic automobiles, typewriters, cameras, clocks - just like on this card. The background papers provide a interesting backdrop for the the focused images. The papers I used here were actually perforated strips all on the same 12x12 sheet.

Happy Birthday, Honey!

TTFN!

Artha

Hello stampin' friends. Today's card is a simple sympathy card using So Sophie paper, Verve's single verse and sentiment. The focus image is "Footnote" from Penny Black. The ribbon is a cool find from my local scrapbook store. It is a brown organdy looped ribbon.

Hope you had a great day today and the greatness will spread into tomorrow!

TTFN!

Artha

Fall is Here!

Hello Stampin' Friends! I hope your first regular day of this week has been enjoyable! The best part of my week is that it's short!!

I love these new fall leaves from the newest release of PTI. The sentiment is lovely and those leaves and the dimension added by the separate veins stamp is amazing! It can be embossed with embossing powder for even more dimension because it is a separate stamp. Nicole Heady and her team are so creative in separating parts of their design to allow for color, dimension and added interest. Hope you had a great Tuesday!

TTFN!

Artha

Are you Laboring?

Happy Labor Day! Hope you have had an opportunity to do things you enjoy with people you love on this extended weekend! We just rolled in from beautiful Lake Tahoe and it was a relaxing weekend. Can't say we equally enjoyed the 7 hour drive, but I am sure I enjoyed it more than DH did.

This card is another sympathy card which was quick and easy. I used So Sophie designer paper, front and back, Verve's newest release single verse and sentiment. The flourish is from PTI's Embellishment. Can't say I have been more impressed with the creativity of any other designers but these 2 gals who have made their companies exude creativity and classic design which stampers can use anywhere. These ladies are amazing, coming up with new designs monthly and enough inspiration for another universe and this one too!

I hope your new week starts well. I am already anticipating mine.........take that as you will....could be a synonym for dread or not.

TTFN!

Artha

Happy Birthday!

Happy Sunday! One more extra day to enjoy Lake Tahoe and family! This card is my mother-in-law's birthday card. She is an August baby but because we were in Europe during her birthday, we came to celebrate this long weekend. Peridot fits her and so I used that beautiful peridot green as inspiration for her card. I used Verve's beautiful newly released set, with the Hero Arts script background, some more So Sophie paper. SU Taken with Turquoise and Old Olive. Topped off with some organdy olive ribbon with satin edges. PTI sentiment for Birthday Wishes. Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you!!!

Fall is on the way!

Good morning from beautiful Lake Tahoe where we are visiting my MIL. The lake and surrounding mountains are so beautiful and always inspiring and it is GOOD to have a break!

My card today is all about Papertrey Ink's August release. I spent my inheritance on new sets last month! The focus images are from Take 3 Fall, the sentiment from Gobble Gobble and the flourishes from the PTI set Embellishment.

Hope you have a great Day!

Easy Peasy Pears

Good morning, Stampin' Friends and Happy Friday! WOW! I have needed this long weekend. How 'bout this quick card I made for Daughter #1 who is 8 weeks away from her 2nd baby girl arriving? I love to let my kids know I am thinking about them and I have tried to stamp for them regularly since they are all scattered across the country. BUT I am all about quick, easy and what I hope is classy. Just like yesterday's post, I used die cut stickers.

I live in Southern Oregon, home of some pretty scrumptious pears and beautiful pear orchards and we are moving in on harvest time, so pears were on my mind this card making day. The adhesive backed, die cut pears are from Reminisce's Autumn Forest line and the sentiment is American Craft's Remarks (just like yesterday's post!) Designer paper is double-sided from My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary and the mats are brown Bazzill from the Neutrals pad. Ribbon, Joann's organdy dot! My biggest joy in this card was the edge punch however! I have been looking for this "bracket" punch by Fiskars FOREVAH! and in my meanderings through Joann's the other day, I was stunned to silence to see just ONE waiting for me to purchase it at 30% off! Now that is having your planets lined up! I love the designer look this edge punch contributes. Hope you enjoy your weekend! God bless your day!

TTFN!

Artha

Thank You with Embellishment!

Whaddya think, Stampin' Friends? I love the newly released Papertrey Ink clear stamp set, Embellishments. The flourishes are classy! So using up some paper scraps of this and that, I just randomly stamped 3 of the embellishments in SU Old Olive, Regal Rose and a 1x stamp off in Chocolate Chip ink and mounted to the scraps. Also used the Hero Arts background script stamped in Chocolate Chip ink. My inspiration for colors was a new set of stickers I got at my local scrapbook/stamp store, Sugar and Spice in Central Point, OR. What a GREAT shop! The stickers are "Remarks" by American Craft. There is a lovely selection with some sparklies on the 2 sheets per package. Love the look!

Hope you are privileged to have some time off from "laboring" this weekend - and maybe you will be able to stamp your brains out - that's what I plan to do! More cards for posting NEXT week!

TTFN!

Artha

Quick Cards!

Does this look familiar stampin' friends? It should! This is an off-shoot of yesterday's card but with a different sentiment. Since I hate scraps and I am a big fan of a TRUE "Take 10" card, double sided 12" designer paper is my only way to go these days. It sets me up with a selection of cards which have a different look for a different occasions. I just keep flipping varied sizes of cuts and or shapes from one side to the other for a great coordinated card and of course the color inspiration is already built in. Since I have a hard time with color coordination, the DP serves as my muse and off I go! Color scheme is still Purely Pomegranate, sentiment is Papertrey Ink, flowers/greenery Verve new release and My Mind's Eye So Sophie paper, black organdy ribbon. Love the latest Verve release!! What a great bunch of new sets with amazing flexibility. Love it! Hope you do too!

The Easy Approach - Stamp up a Storm!

Hello stampin' friends! I have been on a stampin' frenzy over the weekend and so I promise to religiously post up for your viewing pleasure! This is another simple sympathy card, but as I have mentioned in the past, I tend to stamp up a whole bunch of cards from 1 double-side designer paper (this is another My Mind's Eye - So Sophie - Little Lady Considerate Tulip paper); stamp up a variety of sentiments in brown and black and navy to match just about any color combo (this is from Verve's newest release Thinking of YOU) and add another stamp focal point (Verve Great Friend smaller flower and mistletoe looking greenery) Matted with Bazzill textured Neutrals, black organdy ribbon with satin edges. I stamped the flowers with SU Purely Pomegranate (off stamped 1), used Old Olive for the greenery and used a Hero Arts script background stamp over the whole stamped up focal point.

If you take this flexible approach and stamp up some cards and add the sentiments as you need a card - you will be prepared for any occasion.

Hope this inspires you to stamp up a storm!

TTFN!

Artha

I'm Back! and I'm Stamping!!

Hello Stampin' Friends! I apologize for being MIA for so long. We were privileged to return to England for 2 weeks to see parts of East Anglia, including Cambridge. Lavenham, Lincoln, Duxford and then finally London for some really amazing theater. What a great time! Of course, in my everyday, not stampin' job, it never pays to go on vacation....there is too much catch-up to do when you return!! Why I am hardly caught up on email and I've been home almost 2 weeks!

Finally today, I was able to stamp a BUNCH of cards for catch-up in my stampin' life as well. I made this simple sympathy card to send to family back home. We lost one of ourselves a couple of weeks ago and so my thoughts are with all - and I wanted to stamp something meaningful to let them know I am thinking of them even though quite a distance separates us.

This card used So Sophie double sided designer paper, PTI's new Leaf Prints set, Verve's single stamp Psalm 46:1 and Kind Words Thinking of You has the lovely scripted With Sympathy.

Have a great start to your week!

Artha

Marley

Hello Stampin' Friends! I have been MIA for a while just trying to deal with the details of life, work, summer, vacation and whatever else hits me in the face everyday when my feet hit the floor!

Today's card is simple, but more than that it is a tribute to my friend, Marley. She is probably THE most creative and talented person I have ever known. I mean it! She can look at something and make it! When our girls were little, we frequented a dept store which had the most beautiful little girl clothes. She would yank one of interest off the rack, look at it carefully and then go home and make it. She can sew ANYTHING, bake the most amazing tasting cakes and decorate them with any design, paint, arrange flowers, GROW them first and build a house if she puts her mind to it. She is a dear sister in the Lord, a friend you can pick up where you left off at any time. In recent years, with our kids grown and other changing circumstances of life, our orbits have not been connected, except with an occasional run in at the grocery store. Recently, she contacted me on Facebook and asked if she could stop by with a "few" stamps she was divesting herself of and an incredible SU scrapbook from a few years back which has card ideas and patterns galore. Of course I said - Of course! Better than all the great stamps and pattern book she gifted me with (including this one!) was the chance to visit with this dear friend over a glass of iced tea. What an unexpected blessing!

The card has an invisible whisper white base, double sided designer paper, turquoise textured Bazill with a punched edge (Fiskars). The Thanks (Love You to Bits) is stamped in Timber Brown STAZON ink and the ribbon is a brown satin from Joann's. The little Prisma flowers have some little odd and ends brads stuck through the middle to mimic the dp flowers. The colors look a little off in this photo, but I promise they are more matchy-matchy then they look because that's just the kind of stamper I am!

Thank you, Marley for the great visit and the new to me stamps and book! I will put them to good use, I promise!

TTFN!

Artha

Carissa

I apologize to any regular visitors whom I have disappointed with no new posts this week. I am in a bit of a hub-bub. My middle daughter, who is a military wife just returning from South Korea for a year has been visiting for 6 weeks, with our sweet almost 2 Iyla, aka Cuppycake. They will be pulling out in a U-haul early tomorrow morning, towing her car since college, her purple KIA Sportage, affectionately known as "the skate." My husband and Iyla's favorite Poppy will be driving them across the country, as my SIL has already reported to his intermediate duty station, prior to deploying to Afghanistan.

Since I have been a little short on card motivation when I knew their time to leave would be eminent, I don't have a handmade card to post today, but this is my heartfelt comments to the child of my heart.

"Be strong and courageous! Be strong and very courageous!! Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Blessings on you, Carissa, as you use art from the heart to fashion your new digs into a home which honors the Lord.

Using Scraps

Happy Tuesday, Stamping Friends! This is the last day of my 4-1/2 day holiday and I am trying to focus on it and not borrow trouble from tomorrow too soon! It will have enough of its own I am sure!! LOL!

Today's card is using scraps again. Until now, I have not had a chance to use this new stamp medallion from Hero Arts called Scallop Flourish, stamped in SU! Tangerine Tango. I used some textured Bazzill Turquoise , a scrap of DP and a tangerine print from Basic Gray, all on Whisper White run through the Cuttlebug with the flowers embossing folder. Sentiment is a Plain Jane single from Verve Stamps.

Thanks for looking and have a GREAT day!

TTFN!

Artha

My Friend Monica

This card was one I made for my sweet friend, Monica. A Godly sister in the Lord, kindred spirit and my own personal prayer warrior, she covers me in prayer even when she doesn't know what to specifically pray for. She is a woman of the Word and makes Truth a priority, along with loving her family and her friends. She is such a treasure!

The bird is from Inkadinkado, colored with SU! Chocolate Chip and Mellow Moss markers, using the huffing method. I used the scalloped Nestie to cut the focal shape out and then "scuffed" the edges on the Chocolate Chip ink pad. SU! DP and the Cuttle Bug Bird embossing folder and the final element is the bow, blue silk ribbon edged in brown. The sentiment is from Verve Stamps, one of the singles Julie offers. Love all her sentiments!

Hope you are enjoying a great 4th of July, celebrating the amazing freedoms we enjoy, all at great cost. We owe so many a debt of gratitude for defending these freedoms.

God Bless America!

TTFN!

Artha