Two Lily Pond cards and a thank you!

Hey there - hope you're having a great week! Today I'm sharing two cards made with a Hero Arts fancy die set. Couldn't resist it when spotted at my LSS a couple weeks ago. First, a thinking of you card for a friend & retired chorus member who fell & broke her neck - ugh! She was sooo lucky and may get away without having surgery!

Supplies: Paper - DCWV sparkle pink A2 card; Momenta Watercolor;

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Dies - My Favorite Things stitched rectangle from a retired Blueprints;

Hero Arts Lily Pond Fancy Dies

Stamps - sentiment from Mini-tag Sentiments by Our Daily Bread

Other - Copic Markers

Next, a sympathy card for a friend & former chorus member. Sandy, who directs a different chorus now, lost her husband on Tuesday - so sad, he had a brain bleed. I thought the lily pond might make a serene sympathy scene. I often use the cattails on sympathy cards so decided to include them too.

Supplies: Paper - DCWV sparkle green A2 card; Momenta Watercolor; Poptone Black Licorice

Dies - Hero Arts Lily Pond Fancy Dies; Spellbinders Cattails

Stamps - sentiment from Mini-tag Sentiments by Our Daily Bread

Other - 3M sparkle washi; Copic Markers

I probably won't blog the rest of my Ireland/England trip. My Hill of Tara pictures weren't that great; much of my photography was via camcorder. On Day 5, Heather and I went to Castletown House - a lovely Palladian style home on gorgeous grounds. We walked all around, even to the edge of the River Liffey which continues on through Dublin. In Castletown, the river seemed little more than a creek to me and was very peaceful. That night I took the family out to DaMario's for pizza - yum! The next day I headed to Manchester UK for a Sweet Adelines conference. Fabulous event, including a Rising Star contest for quartets of young women no older than 25. I was in a quartet before I was 25 but the Young Women program didn't exist back then. Oh well, I enjoyed being in all my different quartets! I returned to the US on July 29th - coming in 5 hrs later than expected so it felt like 4 am to me. Took a while to reacclimate to MN time! Thanks again to Heather and her family for hosting me, for rides from/to airport, and for the crafty goodies - still hoping Heather will blog the card she made me. Here's the card I left with the family to say thanks:

Supplies: Paper - DCWV sparkle green A2 card; Lawn Fawn & BoBunny

Stamps - Hero Arts From the Vault Flowers (plus matching die) & a retired sentiment

Dies - My Favorite Things stitched rectangle from a retired Blueprints; Hero Arts Oval & Circle

Other - Copic Marker; Michaels gems

Hope to be crafting soon with all the goodies she gave me and those I bought while there. My door is always open to her and her family but MN is probably at the bottom of their list of US states to visit!! Thanks for stopping by today!

Even more Ireland fun - Day 4

Hey all - It's Day 4 (July 22nd) of my trip across the pond. On this lovely sunny day, Heather and I traveled from County Kildare to County Meath to visit Trim Castle and the Hill of Tara.  First - a view of Trim Castle from outside its bordering walls:

The Castle is a massive 12th century Anglo-Norman edifice with guided tours available much of the year. The entire wall didn't survive as you'll see in other photos. You can see the scale of it from the bit of a parked car (not Heather's) I caught in the photo. Had to laugh - you pay to get in and I got a senior rate (age 60 - which I've achieved) but Sir at the desk was incredulous. He gave it to me but was convinced I was 50 - LOL. Must've been my youthful companion who, again, didn't want to be photographed.... Next, the castle with a view of the visitor entrance - obviously built in modern times.

Inside the entrance there was a lobby area where the Castle guests would leave their armor and weapons. Our young guide dramatically locked the huge wooden door (presumably so those who didn't pay didn't slip in!). We went into a large center area with three models of the castle with different enhancements various owners had made. I got most of this on my camcorder. We traveled to the top via a narrow circular stairway with 85 steps - luckily there was a rope along one wall to hang on!! The stairs are the size of 12th century feet; needless to say I was extra careful given my BIG feet!!

Next a couple views from the top - the first is a view of the grounds and surrounds. We parked in the you can see just outside the walls. The tan floor you see within the wall was once a banquet hall that past owners built when they needed something more grand. There's some kind of cellar at the bottom right corner; we didn't go in there!! Off in the distance you can see part of a tower known as the Yellow Tower. It was damaged back in the day by a cannon fired by Cromwell and they just left it that way!

Next, a view from atop the castle looking the opposite direction of St Patrick's Cathedral built in 1803, a new building compared to many I visited!!

Coming down the 85 steps, I was being cautious as were others. Kid about age 8 behind us with his parents really wanted to race down. "Mom, can't we go faster?" was the frequent plea. Mom nicely explained that we had to go slow so we didn't slip and fall. This same kid went to stand in the enormous fireplace in the old banquet hall. Tour guide told him he would've been roasting in a fire back in the day & he jumped right out - so cute. One last photo - a view of the back of the castle:

Wish I would've asked what those stone forms are at the base - might have been one of the defense walls to prevent intruders from putting ladders up against the side. And I believe the trench you see was called the ditch. The moat was outside the wall if I remember right. Behind me and to the right of the castle there's a small river where supplies could be delivered by boat.

Guess I'll share the Hill of Tara in another post since this one's getting full..... Thanks for stopping!

More Ireland including Best Latte!!

Back with more on my July trip to Ireland and England. I'm still on Day 3 (July 21st) and am sharing some photos my friend Heather took as well as my own. In this post I talked about St Canice's Cathedral and showed my photo of a set of its doors. Here's Heather's photo of the building, including the doors, with grounds - she had walked up a hill behind the cemetery to get this shot. She calls it one of her "where's Linda?" series (and no, I'm not sitting to the right of the cathedral - I think that's the priest!).

From the Cathedral we headed off to find the "best coffee in Ireland" about which the craft shop clerk had told us. He didn't know the name of the place but said it was a grey building just down the way. Several blocks later we finally spotted it and learned its name - Cakeface Paisserie. It was a small but charming place that included a back patio (a place for the smokers to hang out so we avoided it). Here I am eyeing the goodies like a kid in a candy store:

Oh my, what to choose?? Finally settled on a red velvet and a pistachio cake, plus a latte for me; Heather prefers tea. That latte tasted amazing and the cakes were divine too. I told the staff that it was a good thing I didn't live in Kilkenny because I'd be there every day.

I took what I thought was a darling photo of Heather at Cakeface but she didn't like it - so I'm not sharing. You'll have to settle for these photos of me... No, I didn't eat both cakes - Heather and I shared! And it was the best latte, EVER, and I've had many.

Here's another view (see mine here) of Kilkenny Castle - another one in Heather's "where's Linda?" series.

Yes, I'm the poor idiot in the foreground wearing capri pants; there weren't many dressed that way, although there were some. It was cold and rainy but I only had one pair of long jeans and they were dirty from a doggy jumping on me at Blessington on Day 2. As usual, Heather was willing to walk far enough away to get a good shot. We walked all around the building and saw a couple of rowing teams practicing on the river to the right of the castle. All that footage is on my camcorder.

I'll share an ATC I made at home for Heather and brought in my suitcase, along with a card I'd been saving in my stash for years for the right occasion. I also brought a few crafty items and Heather was sweet enough to gift me some fun stuff to add to my stash (will share cards with her gifts in future).

Supplies: Paper - DCWV shimmer paper; Michael's green; Neenah white

Dies - Tim Holtz ATC; Lawn Fawn grassy border; Momenta words

Stamps - Hero Arts From the Vault Flowers (with matching die)

Other - Copic markers

That's it for Day 3. Thanks for stopping by and I'll try to share more photos from my trip!

Twofer Nautical

Hi all - the August Twofer Challenge was announced yesterday and I had time this morning to make a couple cards for it. Here's my Twofer:

I received an Ocean Journeys set as a gift from the lovely folks at Whimsy Stamps. Thanks again!! I hadn't had the chance to use it yet so decided to use the sailboat and waves from this set as my common nautical stamps. I stamped the sailboat image twice and colored & fussy cut both. I had an idea in my mind for a little ocean scene for card one and decided on a baby boy card for #2. Not that I need one right now, but my cousin hopes to start a family soon. May as well be ready! Here's a closer look at each:

Supplies: Paper - DCWV shimmer blue A2 card; Momenta watercolor (two shades); 

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; scrap of unk blue patterned

Stamps - sailboat and waves from Ocean Journeys (retired) by Whimsy Stamps;

whale from Oceans of Joy (retired) by Hero Arts; bird from Let's Chill by Hero Arts; 

sentiment from Fancy Basics (retired) by Hero Arts

Dies - My Favorite Things stitched rectangle (retired Blueprints)

Inks - Hero Arts Navy; Salty Ocean Distress Oxide; Memento Tuxedo Black

Other - Distress & Copic Markers; googly eye; foam tape

I stamped the whale on a scrap of blue patterned paper - sorry can't remember whose. Fussy cut him, colored the flowers and added a large googly eye. Stamped, colored and cut the birdie; added him to one of my sailboats. Cut the blue watercolor paper into a stitched rectangle and part of a second rectangle in turquoise. Stamped the waves onto the turquoise piece and fussy cut, then added to the blue. Layered it all onto a blue card. Stamped the sentiment in the corner, popped the whale and boat into the waves. Done! Hope the tiny extra stitch line on the turquoise isn't too obvious. The paper comes scored at the top and I didn't realize I had cut into that part - oops! :(

Supplies: Paper - DCWV shimmer blue A2 card; Momenta blue watercolor

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Lawn Fawn Rainbow Plaid

Stamps - sailboat and waves and heart from Ocean Journeys (retired) by Whimsy Stamps; 

sentiment from CL854 Little One (retired) by Hero Arts

Dies - Hero Arts Wood Frame Infinity Dies; My Favorite Things Cloud 9 (retired)

Inks - Hero Arts Navy & Red Royal; Salty Ocean Distress Oxide; Memento Tuxedo Black

Other - Distress Markers; foam tape

I added a stamped heart to the second sailboat and decided to float it on an ocean piece within a frame. Added die cut clouds, one of which I stamped with part of the sentiment. I stamped welcome on another strip of watercolor paper and fussy cut it. Adhered it to the frame and layered the whole thing onto the plaid and card.

I really enjoyed the Twofer nautical theme. Thanks to Darnell and crew for a fun challenge and thanks to you for stopping by!!

SSS Kids Summer Vacation Challenge

Hey all - back from a quick trip to visit my parents and my sister Kari. I took along a large kit of crafty supplies since Kari enjoys crafting with her surrogate niece Jerriah, age 10. I mentioned the Simon Says Stamp Kids Summer Vacation challenge and Jerriah was eager to play along. Today was a perfect rainy day to be indoors getting crafty!! Given the drive home, I'd left all the supplies there for Kari and Jerriah to use. Kari took all the photos and sent them to me when done.

Here's Jerriah concentrating fiercely on her design. I had to laugh - Kari had predicted, when I showed the supplies I'd brought, that Jerriah would go for the stamp set with clouds!! I thought she might enjoy an old Hero Arts balloon animals set. Sure enough, the clouds won out. I also included several bottles of Stickles since Jerriah's enjoyed using them in the past. Nope - the pad of glitter paper drew her like a magnet - LOL. Kari reports that Jerriah enjoyed card-making but chafed a bit at having to do it all herself! She did it, though - so proud of her!!

Here's Jerriah proudly displaying her finished card:

And here's the finished card. Jerriah wrote it to her auntie who's raising four kids, a darling bunch of cousins for Jerriah.

Supplies: Paper - DCWV shimmer green A2 card, Paper Studio glitter paper; 

Doodlebug Hello foiled 6x6

Stamps - Hero Arts Sky's the Limit (from 2009 - retired)

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Other - foam tape; Tools - Paper trimmer, Tim Holtz Stamping Platform, & scissors

So delighted to encourage a new generation of stampers!! Thanks to SSS for hosting this challenge!

      

More Ireland and a masculine bday card

LOL - I said yesterday I was taking a break from blogging. My schedule changed a bit so I found time to make a card today and to upload some more Ireland photos. Thought I'd pop in and do a quick post. I'm waiting for Heather to share some of her photos of our snack stop during Ireland Day 3 (July 21) but I'll go ahead and post some of my Kilkenny Castle photos. First a view of the Castle:

We were standing in the field in front of the area you'll see in the next photo. I mentioned in an early post that the traffic in Kilkenny was horrendous due to a bike race. Well, we found out at the Castle that it was actually a Triathlon!! Awards were being given on the Castle grounds and many entrants were walking their bikes away with medals around their necks. Very fun. There were uniformed concert bands playing in three different locations that day and we enjoyed the music of each. Here's a view of the grounds & town from a window in the Castle.

The Irish OPW (Office of Public Works) has done extensive work on this building. On our tour we spotted photos of the renovation and Heather recognized a neighbor who, I believe, was an engineer on the project. I took a bunch of photos of the amazing interior but I'll share only two - the Moroccan Staircase and the Painted Roof. The latter enthralled me - could've stared at it for hours. The portraits around the room included many of the owners and family members.

 

Finally, I'll share a card. The August My Monthly Hero Kit came out on Monday and I hadn't done a thing with the July kit! I'll blame it on my trip - LOL. Anyway, I need a masculine bday card for later this month so I got busy with this fun kit.

Supplies: Paper - DCWV sparkle green A2 card; Momenta watercolor; 

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Stamps - July 2019 My Monthly Hero Kit (including dies) - sold out
Hero Arts Many Everyday Messages (sentiment)

Die - My Favorite Things stitched rectangle (retired Blueprints)

Inks - Distress Oxides: Tumbled Glass, Pine Needles, Cracked Pistachio, Tea Dye; 

HA kit inks; Memento Tuxedo Black

Other - ultra thin foam; Distress Markers - Vintage Photo, Tumbled Glass, Twisted Citron

I started playing with the dock - stamped two different ones and decided to use both, offsetting them. Cut a rectangle out of Momenta printed watercolor paper (LOVE it!!) and stamped the tree border with Pine Needles overlaid with Cracked Pistachio and embellished with Twisted Citron marker. I hand drew the shoreline with more markers and stamped the wavelets. Added the stamped/die cut boat and fish, hand drawing the fishing line. Stamped the sentiment - done!

Thanks for stopping by and now I really will be off from blogging for a bit. Hope to see you soon!!

Christmas Kickstart Challenge - Twofer Christmas Trees!

Hey everyone - my friend Dawn (Dawn's World) posted a card for Christmas Kickstart Challenge 16 and mentioned that Darnell (djkardkreations) who runs the Twofer Challenge is Jo's "elf" this time. I love Darnell's Twofer Challenge so just had to play for the first time at Christmas Kickstart! With Darnell's Twofer Challenge, your two cards have to be for two different occasions. But because she's elfing for Christmas Kickstart, the cards must both be for Christmas; the theme is Christmas Tree. Here's my twofer:

I just bought a new Hero Arts color layering tree set and decided to give it a play. For the first card, I stamped the background layer tree, masked it and stamped four more times. On the second card, I stamped the background layer tree and then one of the Nordic patterns over top. What to do with this tree?? I had also bought the new Hero Arts snow globe set so decided to add my tree to a snow globe. Here's a closer look:

Supplies: Paper - DCWV sparkle blue A2 card; Momenta Watercolor; black glitter

Dies - My Favorite Things stitched rectangle (retired Blueprint); Recollections Mini words

Stamps - Hero Arts Color Layering Nordic Tree

Inks - Distress Oxide Inks - Cracked Pistachio, Iced Spruce, Pine Needles, Peeled Paint, Twisted Citron

Other - Distress Markers; Picket Fence Distress Spray; washi tape; star sticker gems (thanks again Heather)

After stamping the trees with ink, I spritzed the stamp with water and stamped again. This moved the ink around a bit. I dried the trees thoroughly before spritzing with the Picket Fence Distress Spray for some "snow". The snow got a little yellow on the Peeled Paint & Twisted Citron trees even with no dog in sight - LOL!

Supplies: Paper - DCWV sparkle green A2 card; Momenta Watercolor; red glitter; 

Poptone Black; Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; 

American Crafts (Target Hotspot paper from a few years ago); 

My Mind's Eye Necessities (Woodgrain); Tim Holtz Kraft Metallic

Dies - Hero Arts Layering Snow Globe; Recollections Mini words; Spellbinders Ribbon Banners

Stamps - Hero Arts Color Layering Nordic Tree 

Inks - Old Paper Distress Oxide; Hero Arts red

Other - star sticker gem; Copic BG000 for shading

I really liked the look of the Old Paper background ink with the red Nordic stamp over it! The Nordic patterned paper went well with the red overlay stamp, I thought. Anyway, it was fun getting two more Christmas cards done, plus using some new goodies. Thanks Jo and Darnell & SSS!

Thanks for stopping by! If you're looking for Day 3 of my Ireland trip, find it here. I'm taking a break from blogging but hope to get back to it soon!