August Card Chain Challenge

Hello, friends in blog land...

Here it is the first of September. I can't believe it. 

Fall is just around the corner. 

It's been so hot here in Ohio for most of August and, I hate to admit it, I'm looking forward to some cooler weather.

I love summer though, so I know I will miss that warm weather soon enough.

My life has become quite different since my husband died, and as you can imagine, the worst part is being alone 24/7. I have a dog, and that helps a lot, but I am so extremely grateful for my God whose presence is always with me. And for my card making, that keeps my mind in a happy, creative place. It would be so much harder if I didn't have a place to go to where I can relax. Let my mind go to wonderful places and beautiful colors.

So here is the card I sent to my assigned recipient:

      I used Bristol extra white paper and colored with several different colors of blue and teal until it came out to a teal background. I wanted it a little more green than what I got but I did not have a green that worked.  

      Next I used Versafine ink to stamp Poppies Background by Simon Says and then emboss with gold. I love gold embossing on flowers. 

      The die cut leaves are from Simon Says too and I just love them. They are the Eucalyptus leaves. They're so delicate with those lines in them. But I had a heck of a time getting them cut out. Some of my gold turned out to be a two layer thin paper that fell apart with this intricate die. And some just weren't bright enough. I ended up covering them with Versafine and embossing with a clear, kaleidoscope powder. They are much prettier in real life than in the picture.

      The Hello and the thin frame were cut from a gold paper.

      After that I was stumped. It just needed something and I couldn't figure it out.

My daughter came in and after looking at it said, "it needs something deep blue!'

"What?" deep blue??? How does that work with teal??? I was looking through my butterflies at the time and found this dragonfly in a deep blue and a teal inlay!!! Couldn't believe it!!! There it was... PERFECT!!!

I love it when it all comes together like that!!!

If you have not tried this Card Chain Challenge I hope this encourages you to do so. It's really fun sending an actual card to someone you don't know and receiving one from someone else.

I'm also entering this card into this challenge:

https://daringcardmakers.blogspot.com/

Thank you for coming by,

For My Friend...

Hello again,
I guess I'm on a roll. I have another card that is ready to post, and I'm going to get that done while I have the chance.

The funny thing about this card is that I started out not liking it at all. I had seen a design using that lacy half of a circle and I really liked it so I thought I would give it a try. I bought my Gemini Junior not too long ago and that lace design came with it. So it was a perfect time to make that card.

I'm not sure I have ever made a gray card before. It seemed kind of dreary to me. And I actually like the color gray, but in a card it just wasn't doing it for me!!! I wasn't happy with it until I got all the pieces cut out, colored and laid out on the card front.  At first, the word "Friend" was cut out from holographic paper. Somehow, that just didn't fit, so I cut it in white (to go with the lace) and that was the right thing to do!!!  I liked it YAY!!!

So here's my card:

>  The rainbow background was made a while ago when I was trying different distress ink backgrounds.
>  The lace piece was cut on my Gemini Junior. I cut two and glued them together.
>  The flower is from Altenew Flower Garden. I really like that set because it has several different designs of flowers in different sizes. Perfect!!! I colored it with my watercolors and then added that darker shade of orange with my chromo pencils.
>  The center of the flower is black micro beads. I LOVE that. It is so striking against the orange background. I've done all kinds of flower centers before, but I think I like the micro beads the best!!!
>  The greenery at the bottom is a Tim Holtz die of different ferns. Love that die. Does not have to be used just for winter.
>  And the "Friend" is cut on my Cameo. (I cut it in triplicate and glued together for extra thickness.) Mine is still the original Cameo and I had to update it because it stopped working with my Windows 10. But the update worked great and it's up and running  again!!! Whew!!! I would hate to have to purchase another one right now....

I am entering this card into these challenges:
https://rainbowcardchallenge.blogspot.com/ pastel rainbow
http://pennyblackatallsorts.blogspot.com/  favorite stamp (Altenew flower)
https://timeoutchallenges.blogspot.com/  photo challenge

So there you have it...
I hope you enjoyed my ramblings and my attempt to make a pretty card for my friend. She's the one I have alphabet challenges with and this one is for "F".

Please leave me a comment. I would love to know you were here,

Be Still and know that I am God!

Hello there,
Whew... long time since I have had the opportunity to write on my blog. My husband has become very ill and time has been at a premium. Taking time out to spend with my Savior is always a priority, but I also need time in my craft room to get my creative juices flowing.  I believe God gives us the gift of creativity to keep us balanced. We cannot help others from an  empty bucket. And we all know how quickly our bucket gets empty!!!

The card today is one of my favorites from the last few weeks. I had seen two of my favorite designers (Mindy Eggan and Sandy Allnock) feature a new way of doing alcohol ink. I love, love new techniques. That got me all excited and I spent a week making different colors and swirls on paper they suggested and I already had in my stash!!! (If you're interested in trying this technique, please read their blogs first. They both have tons of information and it's much different than what we used to do with alcohol ink!!!)

So, here's my card:

I used a new stencil from The Crafters Workshop. Love the stencil and I have already used it several times.
I applied black ink with the dome applicators.
Peacock Feathers Distress ink was applied to the word "love" and the butterfly in the middle.

I cut the heart out of one of the practice pieces of my alcohol papers.
Then I used a portion of an old stamp to apply Versamark ink and emboss with teal embossing powder.
I backed the heart with matching teal cardstock to make those colors come together.

The right side of the clock just needed something to make it come together and somehow, it felt like a bee would be the perfect addition. I actually cut the bee out of a brochure I had from a trip to the San Antonio Meijers Gardens.

So there it is.
I really enjoyed making this card. Probably because I had not worked with stencils for a long time and it's fun to see them come back. The new designs are just awesome and our imaginations can go in all kind of fun directions.

I am entering this card into these challenges:
http://mmmchallengeblog.blogspot.com/  Use stencils (my background)
https://shoppingourstash.blogspot.com/  You're so sweet ( the heart)
http://sirstampalotchallenge.blogspot.com/  Make it colorful

Thank you so much for stopping by.
I would love to see your comments.

Flowers for Spring... they still come up!!!

Hi there,
Yes flowers are still coming up and we have two flowering trees right across the street, I LOVE IT!!! Corona virus or not... God's world keeps on doing it's thing, no matter what virus is running around!!! So I believe that God is in control and will lead us to find a vaccine. He says in His Word:
           2Chron 7:14: "If MY people who are called by MY NAME, will
           humble themselves, and pray and seek MY FACE, and turn from
           their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive
           their sin and HEAL THEIR LAND".

So I am here to show you a flower card that I couldn't wait to work on. I've been working on my water coloring and wanted to try one of these curvy full of greenery and flowers stamp. This is The Altenew "Just Because" stamp and it gave me quite the workout!!! I confess that I am just learning my water coloring. I am taking classes and loving every moment. I don't know if you are like this, but I keep thinking it's not good enough!!! But I am trying and that's the good part, RIGHT???? It's the process and the enjoyment I get out of finishing a project!!! I LOVE water coloring and plan on continuing and growing!!!

So I stamped the flower stamp on watercolor paper (I use Bristol 100 lb or Arches 140 lb) and then started coloring. Figuring out where one flower ended and another one started was the hardest part. But I prevailed and then colored all the leaves. Trying to get the leaves in different colors was hard because some of them are so small. 

The purple glitzy half a circle was a leftover from a full circle I had bought a long time ago. I love using up old stuff, but sometimes I have just too much of it and it gets overlooked for the new stuff I buy.

I glued it all on to a mustard yellow card stock cut to a A2 card size. Added a purple frame to tie it all together.

I am entering this card into these challenges:
http://mmmchallengeblog.blogspot.com/  the theme is "spring"
https://shoppingourstash.blogspot.com/  The theme is "happy Easter,
      happy spring"
http://theflowerchallenge.blogspot.com/  Theme is "Spring/Autumn"
https://thecardconcept.blogspot.com/  Theme is "Spring" I believe my card fits          either the CAS style or Classy and Elegant.

So that's it for me.
Thank you for visiting and please leave me a comment. I would love to hear you have been here!!!

Thanks,