For My Friend Arline!

This card is for my friend Arline. We don't see as much of each other as we have in the past......different orbits these days; but she is so much fun, a Godly woman with a remarkable wisdom and understanding of spiritual things and have I mentioned FUN and funny!! I ran into her the other day at the local super market and she had JUST been on my mind - something funny made me think of her and miss her and then there she was! I told her I had been thinking of her and thought I will just stamp my Arline a card! (she is an avid stamper herself and boy can she churn out the cards like a mini assembly line!) I told her since I had seen her in person, I would skip the card and she said, "OH NO!! Please send me a card!" So THIS is it.

Just some DP, a SU! border punch, and a "chipboard flourish" called Pretty Poppies by Autumn Leaves. The sentiment is from PTI - one of my favorite Dawn McVey sentiment sets! Ribbon is just a $1 spool of organdy dot from Michaels.

Thanks for stopping by!

TTFN!

Artha

Today I am posting a very simple card with DP, Papertrey Ink sentiment and border stamp; a tree image from Judi-kins with a background text from SU! Cuttlebug texture on the card base of Whisper White mimics the polka dots of the DP and the PTI border stamp. Also I am celebrating big time today because we just heard that the next little grandbaby is another GIRL!! Bring on the pink!!! Out come the pink fabrics I have saved up for another quilt. I am blest to have 3 little granddaughters!! YAY! November 8th is the BIG DAY - or thereabouts.

Have a blest day!

Sympathy

Today, I am posting another sympathy card. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am trying to be more flexible in my stamping so that I actually have cards on hand to meet the need of the occasion. I stamp the focal image and build the card layers, but then often leave the sentiment until the occasion arises and that card design seems to fit the requirement. Sometimes I stamp several versions of one sentiment in a variety of basic colors - black, navy, brown - on cream or white scraps and then I can always create a mat and stick the sentiment onto a basic card layout which is awaiting a sentiment. It works for me. I started using this strategy because I missed opportunities to share hand crafted cards, never having the right card for the right occasion. I think sending a hand made card sends more than just the specific sentiment on the card. It says I took the time to make this for you, I was thinking of you when I made it or I made this just for you. When I do make a specific card for someone, I pray for them the entire time I am stamping, trimming, layering and pasting.

Hope you are having a stellar end to your weekend! It is back to the grind for me tomorrow, but I have been refreshed and am ready to roll up my sleeves!

TTFN!

Artha

Stamps: SU!, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive markers and the huffing/puffing method! Scraps of colored papers on SU! Whisper White and a Michaels sheer ribbon for the bow.

Sympathy

I know I have been MIA for a while....trying to get time to upload has been a challenge. Just a quick card for tonight.....a sympathy card for my SIL. She lost her 2nd parent today in less than a year. Her parents were delightful people and we enjoyed knowing them too.

This was a quick card using SU Designer Paper and Papertrey Ink stamps, Michaels sky blue ribbon edged with brown.

Pretty quick card to let my SIL know we are thinking of her.

Hope you found this inspiring!

Today's post is a quick card (REALLY Take Ten!) when appreciation is needed. Details are sketchy on my sources. I have GOT to get a system in place for credits. The card itself is a white base, standard size. Pink Paisley dp (Mind's Eye), pink Bazzil paper run through the Cuttle Bug and then 4 die cuts popped up. Ribbon is pink taffeta with brown edges. Sentiment is Papertrey Ink!

Happy Friday, Stampin' Friends! I hope you are ready to enjoy a fabulous weekend doing things you enjoy with people you like! It will refresh you for the coming week!

Today's card is the anniversary card I made my honey. We have been married 33 years today! I wish I had taken better note of the details. The car is part of a 12x12 sheet of double-sided dp. I took a short cut and trimmed up the cars into single units and I made a TON of cards with them. Some I did 2-3 cars, others just a single. I had a ton of birthdays, a couple of get wells and so I used my "use it up" strategy which I mentioned in my post yesterday. I like the way it turned out! Hope you are inspired!

PS Jeff says the car is a 1935 Duesenburg! YAY, it was hit!

Scraps, scraps and more scraps!!

Hello Friends! One of my most difficult challenges is using scraps. I tend to make a card for a specific person and/or occasion and have a pile of paper scraps once the card is complete! What to do, what to do? So I have recently developed a multi-faceted strategy for #1 not creating scraps and #2 using them up quickly.

1. I try to buy the small size paper pad collections. The papers are coordinated and there is less to have to use up which calculates to less scraps.

2. I always buy 2-sided paper unless it is just a piece I absolutely CAN'T live without. That is rare. This allows endless flexibility in the papers you pair together.

3. If I do buy a 12x12 of double-sided, I use it all up, making several cards at once. Since I keep several copies of sentiments stamped up ahead of time, sometimes I make a bunch of cards from the 12x12 completely EXCEPT for the sentiment and then when I need a card, I pluck the right sentiment to the occasion out of my stash and slam it on the card and into the mail!

How's THAT for managing my scraps?

Now the story on today's card: my middle daughter (and her sweet Iyla!) are staying with us for a short time since her husband is being deployed to Afghanistan. She is an incredibly talented scrapbooker and crafter (not into cards though.) I found these scraps on my work table the other morning, where she had been working the previous night. I loved the colors and just started fitting them onto a ready made card base (I cut those way ahead of time too in both cream and white while I am watching TV, so I always have a pile ready-made). Love that Basic Grey Kiyoshi! Sentiment is from Daily Bread Designs, Punch is Martha Stewart, ribbon is from my Michael's $1.00/spool stash and of course the little tear drops, how can you go wrong adding them as an embellishment? It is not obvious from the picture, but they are lavender also - found huge packs in lots of colors at Craft Warehouse! I will never run out of them - gee, maybe I need more scraps to go with the tear drop embellishments! LOL!! Hope you can benefit from my newly found scrap management plan! Have a great Friday!

Poppies, Poppies, Poppies

I started my blog with such excitement and promptly became an unfaithful blogger....bad form! Sometimes work just gets in the way of my real life!

Today I would like to share a very versatile card which could be used for any number of options: birthday, encouragement/friendship, even sympathy. The poppy stamp is a Penny Black, which contains several elements which result in a collage effect. I stamped in Tuxdo Black Momento ink and colored with my Copics (Yg63 and YR18). The color pallet was very simple. The sentiment is from Verve stamps. Just LOVE Julie's talented ways! Paper scraps run through the Cuttlebug for some texture set the background to make that poppy POP! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!