Night and Day Rich Razzleberry

I saw a version of this card on the blog "Just Sponge It! by Cindi" and decided it was a neat way to use the Night and Day dsp, which is black and white. I had some pieces left after a Twilight project last fall and decided to use a scrap on this card. I sponged a little Rich Razzleberry in the flower centers and around the edge of the oval and card front, stamped and punched the sentiment, added ribbon and I was done! Easy-peasy. The whole card took make 10 minutes to make and would be a fast card to mass-produce for a gift.

Supplies:
Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry cs, Night and Day dsp
Rich Razzleberry ink
Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set
Scallop and large oval
sponge
Rich Razzleberry polka dot grosgrain ribbon

Ice Skating in Bermuda Bay

I made this as a last minute addition to my Christmas cards, but since it is more winter-y that Christmas-y, I thought I could sneak it in now. :) It is CASEd from somewhere, and the only thing I changed was the snowflake--I used the Winter Post snowflake rather than the simple snowflake with the punch. I like my version just as well, though! What drew me to the card initially was the unusual color combination--I've not done well using Bermuda Bay in very many cards, and this was a nice bright happy card. The finished card measures 4.25x4.25 and fits great in a standard A2 envelope.

Supplies:
Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Real Red cs
Winter Post stamp set
Whisper White craft, Bermuda bay marker, Real red classic ink
Clear rhinestone brad, paper snips, scallop border punch, Bermuda Bay polka dot grosgrain ribbon

Kickin' It Stampin' Pretty Style

It's a bright day here (contrary to what some might think, it is most certainly *not* always sunny--we actually get more rain than Seattle!). Despite the sun, I'm getting a slow start today. Had a sleep study done night before last and let me tell you, that was miserable--talk about sleep interference! So I'm still getting caught up on sleep--I'm starting to be convinced that parenting is some kind of weird sleep deprivation study and I'll never catch up until my kids are in college! I even slept so long on one side last night that my leg fell asleep so that when I got up at some point to use the facilities, I fell down the stairs. Oops. Gave my hubby a heart attack, but I was fine. I caught myself with my hands and it was more a slide down two steps. Bruised my ankle and my ego, but nothing else. I did that a few times when I was pregnant with my 2 year old and scared the pants off myself and my husband! But enough about that--you want to see a card, I know!

This is copied from a card that Mary Fish posted sometime last fall. I actually CASEd a few of Mary Fish's cards last month, using borrowed sets from here and there. This card convinced me that the Embrace Life stamp set needs to be pretty high on my wish list! I've got a lot of ideas for it I love the clean look that Mary used on her card. I changed the black ribbon for vanilla, but otherwise kept everything else the same. I kind of like how the ribbon change lightens up the card.

Supplies:
Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Melon Mambo cs
Embrace Life stamp set
Basic black ink
black brads (vintage brads set)
very vanilla ribbon
modern label, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" square punches
Paper piercing tool/mat pack

Inspired by Nature Emboss Resist

I made this card in mid-December following a tutorial from Maryann Scott. I didn't have all the ink pads that she used, so I had to tinker a bit, but I think this card turned out well. I ended up sending it as a sympathy card to a friend from college who lost her grandmother just before Christmas and was quite bereft. It was nice to be able to send an extra special card to her and it reminded me of why I like doing this--being able to send the right card to someone when needed is a great gift that allows me to exercise my creativity.

One little technical note that I thought was a cool idea: the base of the embossed panel is Old Olive brayered over with close to cocoa, chocolate chip and Not Quite Navy. That is how the coppery patina is achieve on the background and was the thing that attracted me to this card initially.

More Black Magic

Okay, I think this is the last Black Magic card for a while. This one is again based on a card from Aunt Karen, I think I just changed the color of the brads. This card made me long for a Big Shot to cut out the ovals perfectly for me--I used a template and cut all but the Black Magic piece by hand. Can you say aggravation? At least the black magic part could be punched with the wide oval. The other nit-picky thing about this card was that I didn't have Ruby Red ink in a pad (only the marker) so the background took a LONG time to complete.

Supplies:
Charmed stamp set
Ruby Red, Whisper White, Chocolate chip ink
Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip Whisper White cs
Whisper white grosgrain ribbon
wide oval punch/oval template
colored pencils/white gel pen
pewter brads (non-SU!)
paper piercing tool

Thinking of You in Pink Pirouette

I sent this card along with one of the bereavement blankets in early December--I'm finally through the massive list of requests (whew!) and am not planning to take any more requests for a while. When I first started making them last summer it was a great way to pay forward a few of the many kindnesses we received in the wake of Philip's passing.

Since late summer, however, I've had some trouble with my hands since (they are very dry and cracked) and knitting has gotten extremely difficult for me. Until that clears up (and none of the doctors I've seen about it can seem to get to the bottom of it) I think my knitting needles will have to take a long rest.



I love the pink and black combination--the basic layout and color scheme is based on a splitcoast stamper's card, but I changed a few details like the background and stamp set used. I again used the Charmed medallion to make my own dsp (thanks for the ideas, Aunt Karen!) and Black Magic on the flower. I'm slowly working my way through the scraps of Pink Pirouette I have left (I love that color! I wish they would bring it back...sniff, sniff) and am now down to a few card fronts and some smaller scraps that I'll have to be creative to use.

Remembering Philip

Today we remember our first born son, Philip, who went to be with the Lord three years ago today.

Memory Eternal!