Happy Anniversary - leaves in window

Hey everyone - hope you had a great weekend (including Labor Day in the USA)!! I visited my parents and my baby sister - so wonderful to see them! My poor dad was in the hospital a couple days (non-covid, thankfully) but he's home and almost good as new. 😊

When I got home yesterday I decided I'd better get busy on cards for the rest of September. I already had my September Card Chain card ready to mail and happened to have leftovers of the colors ginger and buttercup. Here's my anniversary card for a couple of friends: 

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts; Paper Studio; Bazzill & Lawn Fawn

Dies - Creative Expressions Happy Anniversary;

Pink Fresh Studio Floral Circles;

Sunny Studio Window Quad Circle;

Hero Arts Square Infinity Dies

My Favorite Things Blueprints (banner) &

Leafy Greenery (both retired)

Other - May Arts string twine

Here's a side view of the open card & one of the inside:

I got the Sunny Studio Window Quad Circle die last week and had die cut it from a scrap of buttercup paper. It was sitting there on the craft table and I thought it would look great with the Pink Fresh floral circles behind. I backed them with a scrap of acetate alternative leftover from my print-making coloring using alcohol inks. Covered the inside with a piece of Lawn Fawn watercolor paper die cut with the window too. I suppose I could've backed the leaves with more glittery die cuts but I thought the white back looked fine. Sentiment is from Taylored Expressions The Inside Scoop - Anniversary.

Thanks for stopping & have a crafty day!!

Blue Roses

Hi all - if you spotted my previous post with the raspberry/rose/cream roses, I said I'd share some cards I made with blue roses. I love the Everything's Rosy stamp set from Sunny Studio and made several cards this spring with it, along with the matching dies. First up, a card for my friend Heather who had a birthday in early May. Given the mail issues due to covid19 she didn't get it on time but it arrived before the end of May - yay!!

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts Sunshine A2 card (retired);

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Stampin' Up green;

BoBunny Boulevard & Cottontail 6x6

Stamps - Sunny Studio Everything's Rosy (with matching dies);

Hero Arts CL139 Birthday Messages (retired)

Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 20 (retired);

Spellbinders Elegant Ovals S4-425; Avery Elle Quilted Frame

Other - Michael's gems; Inks - various Hero Arts & Memento

Heather loves blue and I had some beautiful BoBunny paper with some blue roses in it. I thought blue stamped roses would be perfect with it. What do you think? Heather loved them! Since I had the set out with the MISTI, I stamped a bunch of these roses. More ended up on my parents' anniversary card - they celebrate the day after Heather's birthday. I used some of the same papers, just in a bit different way. When I cut the quilted mat for Heather's card, I had a perfect frame left over. Decided to use it on the parents' card.

Supplies: see above plus - 

Sentiment - Hero Arts CL272 All Occasion Messages (retired);

Taylored Expressions Simple Strips Die

Many companies have narrow sentiment stamps that fit the TE strips. It's so easy to retain the negative and pop a strip into its slot for stamping. I have a stack of them ready to stamp! Well, that's it for today. I came home Wednesday to a dying water heater and spent yesterday with the plumber in residence installing a new one. He did the water softener and some valves at the same time - everything looks so nice. I'll have him back next week for some other piddly replacements that need doing. Now I can work on some Christmas cards for different challenges.

Thanks for stopping and have a great weekend!!

More Small Joys

Hey everyone - hope all is well with you!! I realized the latest Hero Arts Stay Crafty challenge runs through May 28 at 5pm PDT. Had some time today so decided to make an anniversary card for my friends Deb and Dave. I was in their wedding many years ago and always try to send a special card since I don't see them very often. I have many sets with bitty hearts that I thought would work for my small joy stamp.

Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - DCWV A2 card; Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Stamps - Hero Arts CL268 Warm Wedding Wishes (retired),

CL954 Many Everyday Messages

Dies - Hero Arts DI334 Nesting Hearts Infinity Dies

DC184 Ribbon Messages Stamp & Cut

Other - Hero Arts Intense Black ink, Stickles, 

Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide ink,

Crayola markers & pencils

I combed through my stash and settled on an old Hero Arts clear wedding set with a small pair of toasting glasses as my main image. Using an A2 card (nearly the color of the bridesmaid dress I wore in the wedding), I cut a heart shaped window. I stamped the pair of glasses on the card inside through the window. I added a couple hearts (another small stamp in the set), colored them and added stickles. I drew a black heart around the window, masked the rest of the inside and inked the border. A bit of a mess there, oh well..... Next I shaded the glass and bubbles. I took a straight horizontal sentiment and curved it using a stamping tool to fit the negative of my diecut banner. Popped the banner into the negative to stamp it - I thought it fit the banner's curve pretty nicely.

Here's a view of the card's inside:

Inside sentiment - Taylored Expressions The Inside Scoop - Anniversary

Finally, here's the wedding set I used. Had to have it years ago, mainly for the wedding cake but I love the sentiments too!

That's it for today, friends! Thanks for stopping and thanks to Hero Arts for this fun challenge! I was able to use two small stamps that had never seen ink!!

Another Sweet Twofer

Hi all - hope you're having a wonderful day! From when I made a gingerbread couple card back in September, I had a bunch of die-cut kraft colored gingerbread people laying around the craft table. Decided to squeeze out another October Sweet Twofer with some of them.

 

I also had a pile of Taylored Expressions sentiment strips, among them an anniversary and a grad sentiment. My occasions were decided, however I decided to cut a single gingerbread boy in silver to match my grad papers. The couple stayed kraft - LOL! Don't ask me where the gingerbread man's stamped star buttons came from - I put the set away and am too lazy to look for it.... Luckily, the heart on the gingerbread woman came from the same Lawn Fawn set as the faces and it was still on hand! Please ignore my poor hand-drawn details & my fussy cutting on that scalloped border!! Here's a closer look with supply lists:

Supplies: Paper - Poptone Black Licorice; Doodlebug Hat's Off 6x6; 

Neenah Solar White; Curious Metallics (Galvanized)

Dies - QuicKutz gingerbread people die (long retired); Hero Arts Nesting Postage Stamps;

My Favorite Things Blueprints (retired angle panels); Taylored Expressions Simple Strips

Stamps - Taylored Expressions Simple Strips Background

Other - Doodlebug Shape Sprinkles

Supplies: Paper - Paper Studio Turquoise A2 card; 

Authentique patterned 6x6 papers (a collection); Poptone kraft

Dies - QuicKutz gingerbread people die (long retired); Taylored Expressions Simple Strips; 
Hero Arts Nesting Hearts Infinity Dies

Stamps - Taylored Expressions Simple Strips Background; Lawn Fawn Love You A Latte

Other - Distress Markers; Memento Rich Cocoa & Tuxedo Black inks;
Gathered Twigs Distress Ink; ultra thin foam tape

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping and, if you're interested, you still have time to play in this month's Twofer Challenge. Thanks to Darnell & crew for all the fun!!

Holiday treats for CAS Christmas

Hey all - I'm back with a couple cards for this month's CAS Christmas challenge to use holiday treats.

Fun theme and it gave me a chance to use a Pink and Main stamp set I bought last year. I couldn't resist it then but, as usual, hadn't made time to give it a play until now. Also as usual, I started by die cutting a bunch of the items in the set, then stamping and coloring them. With a pile of stamped and die cut images, I played around until I had some designs I liked. Here's card one:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Stamp set, plus matching dies - Pink and Main Christmas Mugs

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black and Pine Needles Distress Ink

Other - Copic Markers, Christmas Red Stickles, Glossy Accents, 

Joy Ultra thin foam, 3M Washi tape

I used three of the four mugs in the P&M set for the first card. For the next card I used some of the peppermints and candy canes, arranging them along the bottom below a couple of score lines. The sentiment is from an old Hero Arts clear set, white embossed.

Supplies: Paper - DCWV Ms Sparkle shimmer red A2 card, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Stamp set, plus matching dies - Pink and Main Christmas Mugs

Sentiment - Hero Arts Holiday Wishes (retired)

Ink - Distress Embossing Ink; Fired Brick and Twisted Citron Distress Oxide,

Other - Glossy Accents, Ranger Seafoam White ep, Joy Ultra thin foam, Stickles

Finally, an anniversary card that started out as a Christmas treat card! I was playing around with an ancient QuicKutz die featuring a string of gingerbread men and women. I thought they were linked together but they turned out to be individuals. I was trying to link them along an entire card but got off in my desired placement. I ended up with just a couple on there. Piled up nearby was a stack of sentiments from Taylored Expressions - absolutely LOVE this stamp and matching die (which will be handy for other sentiments). The anniversary one was the perfect size over my couple - boom, an anniversary card! I still have a stack of gingerbread people so may try a Christmas card yet - LOL.

Supplies: Paper - DCWV Ms Sparkle shimmer red A2 card, Lawn Fawn Knit Picky,

Poptone Kraft, Paper Studio green

Stamp plus matching die - Taylored Expressions Simple Strips Background

Die - Lawn Fawn Stitched Scalloped Borders

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Gathered Twigs Distress Ink

Other - Ultra thin foam

That's it for today. It turned out to be a gorgeous, sunny day with a high of 74F - I'm glad I managed to get out in it!! Thanks for stopping and thanks to the CAS Christmas team for a fun challenge!

Anniversary frog couples

Hi all - back after a little break. Hope all is well with you. Hard to believe it's almost Labor Day - where'd summer go?!

Earlier this month I made sympathy and thinking of you cards using Hero Arts Lily Pond die. I was going through my stash to find supplies for anniversary cards and found a stamp with a cute froggie couple. Oooo - thought of the lily pond die and off I went. Here are my froggie creations:

The froggie couple stamp (by Rachelle Anne Miller - retired) was a gift from  Christmas exchange. I stamped it in black and colored with Copics and put Glossy Accents on the eyeballs. I fussy cut two sets and kept the other in a rectangle, hand drawing a lily pad for them. On the third card I thought of another die I often use for sympathy cards - the Spellbinder cattails. I cut the lily pond in half and slipped the cattails behind. The sentiments are from a wonderful anniversary cling set by Taylored Expressions The Inside Scoop - Anniversary.

That's it for today. Hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend!! Thanks for stopping!

Twofer Challenge = Bees!

Hey there - hope you're enjoying your week! I finally had a chance to play along at this month's Twofer Challenge #17. Here's my Twofer:

I have very few stamps with bees but I picked the bee image from a bug set by Hero Arts. I had an idea to cut a beehive on the Silhouette for one card and I found a flower cluster to cut for another. I always need birthday cards so I gave the flower card a birthday sentiment. Hmmmm - what occasion could I use on the beehive card?? I finally settled upon Hello because I wanted to use a little sentiment oval. There wasn't much room for anything else!

As usual, I cut a bunch of random shapes using white cardstock so I could color them as needed. I included a Bee Mine message to get a three-fer with a Valentine card! Here's each card separately with a supply list.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid - Spring;

DCWV Ms Sparkle A2 card; Poptone Black Licorice; scrap of poppy

Stamps - Hero Arts CL953 Mason Jar Bugs (and coordinating dies) - retired and

CM336 Hero Arts Hero Greetings Occasions 

Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 20 (retired); Hero Arts DC150 Happy Stamp & Cut

Silhouette Design ID 295641 Flower Corner by Wild Pilot

Other - Copic Markers, Stickles, foam tape

Supplies: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid - Spring 6x6 pad;

Paper Studio A2 card; Poptone Black Licorice

Stamps - Hero Arts CL953 Mason Jar Bugs (and coordinating dies) - retired and

DC134 Butterflies Stamp & Cut

Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 20 (retired); Hero Arts Nesting Oval Infinity Dies

Silhouette Design ID 274645 Beehive by Miss Kate Cuttables

Other - Copic Markers, Stickles, foam tape

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Authentique Beloved Valentine 6x6 pad;

Memory Box Red Pepper A2 card; Poptone Black Licorice; scraps of red

Stamps - Hero Arts CL953 Mason Jar Bugs (and coordinating dies) - retired

Silhouette Design ID 113377 Bee Mine Card by Suzanne Cannon

Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 21 (retired)

Other - Copic Markers, Stickles, foam tape

Whew - glad to get three more cards completed for the stash. Thanks to Darnell & crew at the Twofer Challenge for another fun theme. Thanks for stopping by!!

Penny Black Birthday & Anniversary

Hi all - back with a couple of cards made with some new items to my stash courtesy of my extremely talented blogging friend Jean. Many thanks to Jean for the incredibly generous sharing from her stash - it'll take a looong time for me to use all the fabulous goodies!! I started with a darling Penny Black bicycle image over a Poppystamps die that I dry embossed.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Poptone Black Licorice

Hero Arts Pool Layering Paper

Stamps - Penny Black Touch of Whimsy

Die - Poppystamps Happy Birthday Background

Other - Copic Markers; washi tape; gems

I made this card for my baby sister who had a bday last week. She was delighted with the bicycle because it reminded her of our childhood. I used to pop her little self into my bike basket and haul off to the local swimming pool. We practically lived there all summer - this was back in the day when a 13 year old could roam the city with a 5 year old in tow.... Our other sister plus our only brother (both younger than I) joined us for the fun. Guess you could call me the leader of the pack!

Next I have a card for friends' anniversary. I flipped through more of the PB transparent sets Jean sent and found this darling pair of birdies on a floral heart - perfect!

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Poptone Black Licorice;

BoBunny Penelope Collection (green pattern); 

Momenta Marbled Pastels (blue for label)

Stamps - Penny Black All Abloom; Hero Arts CL342 Everyday Sayings (retired)

Die - Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles Two; 

My Favorite Things Blueprints 13 (retired)

Other - Copic Markers

I created this card today & had to pop it into the mail right away. Please forgive the photo colors - it was an extremely gloomy day here! I had to edit a lot to get a yellowish cast off my white; the big flower was a deeper red in real life.

Thanks again to Jean for the goodies & for her inspiration over the years!! I'm sure I'll be back to post often using fun items she sent. And thanks to you for stopping by. Happy crafting!!

Twofer Beverages!

Hi all - I'm excited for the new Twofer Card Challenge just announced yesterday. Darnell and crew would like to see beverages this month - sounds like fun to me!!

  

Of course, my mind went to the drinks spectrum of beverages - got to love me a brandy old-fashioned! Or a peach bellini, or a margarita, or a glass of savignon blanc - I could go on.... Here's my twofer:

My stamp in common was the champagne glass. In the card at left, I made it a more golden champagne for the occassion. At right I used a silver color palate among the other more colorful drinks.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White;

Tim Holtz kraft metallic; Momenta Marbled Pastels

Stamps - Hero Arts DC202 Cocktail Party Stamp & Cut;

Paper Smooches All Year Cheer

Dies - Spellbinders Elegant Ovals & Ribbon Banners

Hero Arts DI199 Nesting Circle Infinity Dies

My Favorite Things Blueprints 13 (stitched rectangle)

Xcuts Serif Numbers

I wanted to use the champagne glass because some friends have a special anniversary coming up later this month. The serif numbers for the 50 came from my friend Heather a few years ago - thanks again, Heather!! I use those dies all the time - they are the perfect size for cards.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Poptone Black;

Hero Arts Pool Layering Paper (darkest shade); scraps of yellow & orange

Stamps - Hero Arts DC202 Cocktail Party Stamp & Cut and

CL663 Thanks a Bunch - retired

Dies - sun from June 2015 My Monthly Hero kit (Hero Arts)

My Favorite Things Blueprints 20 (stitched rectangle) - retired

Other - various inks; Copic Markers; washi tape (brand unknown)

I needed a thank you card for a summer party I attended this past weekend. I thought the row of drinks would work perfectly. That's it for today - thanks for stopping! And thanks to Darnell and the Twofer Team for a fun challenge! Have a crafty day!!

Twofer Challenge #5 - Butterflies!

Hey all - I'm playing along at this month's Twofer Challenge to use a butterfly stamp. You need to use it two different ways on cards for two separate occasions.

Decided to use a neglected Penny Black stamp set in my stash called Social Butterfly. Besides five butterflies and a sentiment "Wonderful", this set contains an art deco photo corner with a butterfly. I chose the photo corner as my butterfly image to use on both cards.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Poptone Black; Momenta Marbled;

Paper Studio Teal A2 card; Authentique Latest & Greatest

Stamps - Penny Black 30-116 Social Butterfly; 

Hero Arts  CL342 Everyday Sayings (retired) & CL954 Many Everyday Messages

Dies - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Flutter of Butterflies Solid & Lace and Blueprints 20 (retired) & 13;

Hero Arts Nesting Oval Infinity Dies

Other - Hero Arts Ombre Ocean sequins; Copic Markers; 

Distress inks - Mermaid Lagoon & Blueprint Sketch

On the card at left, I stamped the photo corner twice for a tone on tone effect. Thought it would be fun to add diecut butterflies. Tried three but it seemed too many. Also need something to ground them so I used a patterned oval. Since two butterflies fit nicely, I decided to make this an anniversary card.

On the right, I stamped the photo corner twice close together to form a pyramid. It reminded me of a stained glass window so I made it into a sympathy card. Cut it into a stitched rectangle and matted over a black stitched rectangle on a white top fold A2 card. Very CAS for me!

I already needed the sympathy card since a chorus friend lost her brother last week. I'll save the anniversary card for some friends with an anniversary coming up in June. So glad to have this challenge to quickly get cards for two occasions done! Thanks for stopping by!!

Gingerbread couple for an anniversary

Happy Sunday! Here in Minnesota we're eagerly awaiting the big play-off game: Vikings vs the Saints. Since we're hosting the Super Bowl in a few weeks, we're hoping the Vikings get to play!! Meanwhile, I'm popping in to share an anniversary card I made for my aunt & uncle who're celebrating 35 years together. My aunt called to say they received the card in yesterday's mail so I'm free to post it.

Supplies: Paper - Paper Studio brown & turquoise; BoBunny Woodland Winter; Lawn Fawn Knit Picky

Stamp - Hero Arts CL272 All Occasion Messages (retired)

Dies - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 13; Hero Arts DI334 Nesting Hearts Infinity Dies

QuicKutz gingerbread people (retired)

Other - ribbon from a My Monthly Hero kit, Ground Espresso Distress Ink

Last fall I die cut a bunch of gingerbread people from some scraps of brown. Used a couple on this card, but the rest were looking for a home. I decided a couple would be cute on an anniversary card. I edged them with a bit of Distress Ink for some pop. Given a winter anniversary, I chose paper from wintery collections. Some die cutting, a stamped sentiment, small bow, & done!

Thanks for stopping & be sure to check back tomorrow to see my card for the next Merry Monday challenge. GO VIKINGS!!

Pair of Anniversary Cards

Hey everyone - back today with a couple of anniversary cards. First up, one for my brother and his wife:

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts A2 Sea card, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, scrap of kraft
Stamps - Hero Arts CM165 Color Layering Turtle (with matching dies) and
CL342 Everyday Sayings (retired); Simon Says Stamp Falling Hearts
Inks - various My Monthly Hero Kits
Other - foam tape, Duck Egg Blue Nuvo drops

D&D, as we call them, looooove turtles. When they went on a cruise recently, they were sure to take the turtle tour and made a pair of handmade drums with turtle designs for a drum contest. I couldn't resist making them a card with a pink girl and blue boy turtle using a fun color layering set from Hero Arts. I bought an extra set of the stamps and dies for Donna but I doubt she'll do anything like these crazy colors - LOL! I embellished a bit around the eyes with a calligraphy pen - too much? Anyway, definitely custom made for them!!

Next, a card for cousin Debi and her hubby:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Pop-tone Snow Cone
Stamps - Hero Arts CL945 Color Layering Goldfish, CM165 Color Layering Turtle (one of the seaweeds) and 
CL342 Everyday Sayings (retired)
Dies - Hero Arts DI348 Heart Confetti Fancy Die
Other - foam tape, Hickory Smoke Distress Ink, various My Monthly Hero inks

I was at a JoAnn's store the other day and spotted a 50% off sale on stamps so got a couple of color layering sets I had missed when Hero Arts released them, including these cute goldfish. I added some definition to the bodies with my calligraphy pen. They don't particularly love goldfish but I thought this pair would be cute kissing & with hearts going up instead of bubbles.

That's it for today and the rest of this week - looking forward to some holiday weekend fun! Thanks for stopping & I hope you'll check back on Monday for my Merry Monday post!

Anniversary Martinis

Hi all - back with an anniversary card for a pair of friends who were adopted into my family. They fit right in! For their 25th anniversary we went to Alaska, including sisters Tami and Kari and Tami's hubby. Nine years later - no big trips planned but maybe next year for 35!!

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts A2 foliage card, American Crafts plaid (from Target's Hot Spot),

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Pop-tone Black

Stamps - Hero Arts CL272 All Occasion Msgs (retired) and Impression Obsession MC185 Fore Retirement

Other - foam tape, Hero Arts gems, 3M Washi Tape, Copic Markers

Bro-in-law Doug loves his martinis and both he & Connie love golf so I thought this golf martini image would be perfect.for them. I started by cutting a rectangle of Neenah white and stamping a martini. I stamped and fussy cut a second one to pop over the first. I put washi at the bottom and then extended it with Copics to resemble  a hill. Hand snipped a banner from a scrap of white for the sentiment. The sentiment stamp comes from an old favorite set with loads of simple sentiments in various fonts - love it!! I got the golfing martini set last year, enabled by my friend Heather. If interested, check out the cute Christmas card she made with this set. Thanks again, Heather, for helping me add to my stash!!

Thanks for stopping and happy crafting!!

Another Reindeer card and a snow couple

Hi all - I was excited to come home from a meeting last night to find new goodies from Taylored Expressions in my mailbox! They had a new release last week and I ordered the Exercise Grumplings set - so perfect for those who struggle with exercise. I'm planning a birthday card for a friend who likes grumpy quips - I'll start it later today.

So... after last week's Merry Monday challenge to include a Scandinavian element, I looked at Taylored Expressions line for that theme and found a fun cutting plate and an embossing folder to include with my Exercise Grumplings order. I received them too late for that challenge but the embossing folder has reindeer on it - perfect for this week's challenge!! This is my second entry - I'm well on my way to building this year's Christmas stash. Yay!!

Supplies: Stamps - Inkadinkado 60-31349 Home for Christmas, Hero Arts CL997 Color Layering Snowy Tree (reindeer)
Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 20, Simon Says Stamp Bundle of Stitched Shapes, Hero Arts DI310 Color Layering Snowy Tree Frame Cuts (die to match the stamped reindeer)
Embossing Folder - Taylored Expressions Nordic Holiday
Paper - Neenah Solar White and Red, Hero Arts Punch; Ink - Fired Brick Distress Ink, Ranger Archival Watering Can

How cute is that embossing folder?! Just love it! Next, I have a card I sent to my aunt and uncle - their wedding anniversary was Sunday. I thought it would be fun to create a snow couple for them, using a darling retired Hero Arts clear set from 2009 - still in excellent shape due to their awesome quality!

Supplies: Stamps - Hero Arts CL368 Create Your Own Snowman & CL342 Everyday Sayings
Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 21, Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders
Paper - Neenah Solar White; Hero Arts Sea Mix Layering Paper
Other - Copic markers, Scraps of pattern and glitter paper

Thanks for stopping by and remember to check out all the creativity at Merry Monday. Have a wonderful day!

Happy 60th Mom & Dad!

Just had to do a post for my parents' 60th wedding anniversary today - congrats, Mom & Dad!! Since the 60th is the diamond anniversary, I cut a diamond shape and then 2 mats for the card base using the Silhouette (design by Jamie Koay). The beauty of the Silhouette is the ability to resize and reshape as desired - it this case, I elongated the diamond and mats from the original. I used clear embossing ink and sparkly embossing powder on the diamond shape. The banner and birdies are from Lawn Fawn (bannerific clear set) and the sentiment and #s are by Hero Arts. I hand lettered the "th" for the 60th. Here's the card:

Besides sending happy wishes to my parents, I thank them for a loving home and for raising me and my siblings to be strong, independent people. Here's to many more years together!!

Goodies from Heather and a card!

Well, it's been a while again since my last post.  You can probably tell I like posting on Sundays when I have some spare time...  I was inspired by happy mail I received from my friend Heather this past week.  Thanks Heather!!  With a new stamp from Heather, I finally made a card for an upcoming anniversary.

But first, here's a shot of the goodies:

You can see the beautiful shell card she made me, the darling die cuts, some Penny Black backgrounds, flowers to colors, a birdie Inkadinkado set, a purple bag with ribbons and embellies, an elegant embossing folder, some stickers, yummy purple flowers and some book pages she used in a card class.  Funny thing - that book is one of my favorites by Nora Roberts, "Born in Ice" about sweet Brianna who runs a B&B in Ireland.  I see many similarities between Brianna and my dear Irish friend Heather!!

And now for the card.  I started with a card I made at my friend Sue's store, ScrapBooks Too!  She ran a 5 cards for $5 last week and I made all five.  Kind of a funny story about that, I arrived 90 minutes and, as usual, I started a crowd forming of other early birds.  Sweet Sue hadn't even arrived but when she did, I helped her set up and she let me and the other eager ladies get started an hour early!  The cards featured yummy papers but I don't know the company - sorry!  I usually bring the cards home and embellish them to fit my needs.

To this card I added the stamped stitching along the die cut border (sorry - don't know which brand that die is but I love it!).  Also added the label which is from a new Hero Arts exclusive for Archiver's set; the sentiment is by Penny Black from the Gratitude transparent set.  I stamped the Inkadinkado birdies from Heather and watercolored them using Tim Holtz Distress Markers (Weathered Wood, Tumbled Glass, Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick, Wild Honey, Frayed Burlap, some greens -forgot which...).  Some Hero Arts bling and I have a card ready for my brother and sister-in-law whose anniversary is next week.  Yay!  Hopefully I'll have time later today to do another anniversary card also needed for next week.

Hope you're having a crafty day - thanks for stopping!  And bunches of thanks to Heather for the happy mail and the inspiration!!

Showtime and A Cut Above class homework

It's been a while again - oh well, I try... Thought I'd do a post including some of the Singin' part of my blog! 

Since I last posted, my chorus, City of Lakes Chorus, had a successful 60th Anniversary show "60Carat Harmony" (April 14th) at Bethel University.  Yes, the chorus (not me!) has been around for 60 years!!  What a great history of camaraderie and harmony!

We sang 12 songs, including "How We Sang Today" with any past members from the past 60 years who wanted to come onstage.  It was so fun to see some familiar faces!  My former quartet, Chord Company which retired about a year + 1/2 ago, got to sing at the after show party we call an Afterglow.  Here we are in the dressing room wearing our chorus costume.  That's a lot of glitter there! 

Here's a photo of the whole chorus, courtesy of Annette our videographer.  Can you find the 4 of us?  Hint - two are in the front row and two are in the center section.

And if you'd like to see a clip of  the chorus singing "So Long Dearie", go here.

Speaking of anniversaries, here's card I made today for my parents' anniversary next Monday.  I'm taking the latest Online Card Class - A Cut Above so I brought out a Tim Holtz die cut "Bird on a Branch".  Since it was an anniversary card, I thought it should have 2 birds so I cut a mirror image & cut that bird off its branch.  Added part of cut branch going down on the card.  The inked background used the Distress Stain with Rock Candy Distress Stickles technique I learned in Tim's Creative Chemistry 101 online class.  Very shimmery in real life.  Stamps are from my favorite company, Hero Arts.  The grey bird is stamped with the Newspaper Background; the blue bird is patterned paper from My Mind's Eye.  I doodled a bit on the branch using my new Distress Markers.  (Yes - they came into my LSS finally - the entire set!!)  I am NOT a good doodler - oh well, my parents will love it anyway :)

Hope you had a fun and crafty weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!!