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Happy Retirement

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It's that time of year, and two people I've worked with are retiring in June. The first is the program secretary at the Presbytery office. Jan has been a huge help to me during the six years I've served on Presbytery committees, and especially the three years I was chair of one of the committees. A group of us took her out to dinner a week or so ago, and I made this card for her.

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Embossing and then doing a watercolor wash is becoming a favorite (and quick to do) technique. This time I used Dylusion sprays. I dipped my brush into the spray and applied it to the watercolor paper. I love how bright (almost neon) they are. The sentiment is an old wooden stamp by PSX. It's been in my collection for a very long time. The assortment of sequins came in a kit, but I'm not sure which one. I'm entering this card in the Less Is More challenge:  Watercolour.

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The second card is for our Assistant Music Director at our church. I was on the hiring committe that chose Chris nineteen years ago! My original idea for this card didn't work out, but the end result is one of my favorites in quite some time. Totally CAS, but elegant.

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I almost didn't purchase the "Life is Beautiful" stamps and die from Papertrey Ink, but they are already a favorite. The sentiment is from a Papertrey set, "Congratulations," that I've never used before, but it was the perfect size and font.

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Here you can see the beautiful vellum, streaked with silver glitter from Cosmo Cricket's "Simple Surfaces" paper pack. The glittery enamel dots are from MME. The gold paper has been in my stash for a long time. This is the perfect card for the Fusion part of the CAS(E) this Sketch collaboration this week.

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I'm also entering both cards in the Simon Says Monday Challenge:  Anything Goes.

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Happy Father’s Day

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Today is Father's Day in the US, and I know three of the greatest dads around. My husband, my son, and my son-in-law couldn't be more conscientious, loving, and devoted fathers. Watching them with their child(ren) is such a joy, and the love they give is returned in kind. I'll be home from Detroit in time to celebrate with Tracy at Matt and Betsy's house for dinner. 

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This one, needless to say, is for Tracy. Most of the products on the card are from the Simon Says April Card Kit. The stencil is from Crafter's Workshop. I added bright yellow acrylic paint to some transluscent embossing paste. Before I layered on the embossing paste, I did cut a circle mask to save the spot in the middle for the light bulb from "Watts Up" by Simon Says. None of the sentiments in the set were quite what I was looking for, but after searching through my collection I found the perfect one from an old Unity stamp set, "Shine On."

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A closer look at the dimension created with the embossing paste.

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I was excited to finally get out this cover plate die (Simple Stars) by Papertrey Ink for Matt's card. I colored the cardbase with Copic markers to create the ombre stripes behind the stars. The sentiment comes from an older Papertrey set "Star Prints."

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I added some glossy accents to accent the sentiment star.

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I used the Simple Stars cover plate to emboss the top portion of Adam's card. The sentiment is from WPlus9's "Super Star" set. It appears that set is no longer available so I'm glad I bought it when it was released several years ago. This might be the third Father's Day that it's seen action, and all three of the inside sentiments were stamped with the Happy Father's Day sentiment from that set.

All three cards use Simon Says "Sunshine" and "Lipstick Red" cardstocks as well as Papertrey Ink's Select White.

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads who make such a difference in their children's lives!

Something Simple: Two Anniversary Cards

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I sent off two anniversary cards the end of May. I'm entering the first one in Curtain Call's current challenge "Something Simple." 

Something simple

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This card was made with the wonderful die (Simon Says) I won on Melissa's blog several months ago. I sprayed a piece of watercolor cardstock with Dylusions sprays and then added a spray or two of Sheer Shimmer Spritz.

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I cut a piece of the cardstock and put it behind the three die cut hearts. Sadly, I couldn't find any light that really showed the glimmer of the red watercolored piece. 

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I add three die cut hearts (Simon Says) cut from metallic gold paper and finally the sentiment from "Round and Round" by Papertrey Ink. The cardstock is a textured one from my stash—probably American Craft.

The second card is a total CASE of a card on Danielle Flander's blog so I won't be entering that in any challenge. It's such a great design, however, I thought I'd share it for those who don't follow Danielle's blog. She's a wonderful designer, not only of cards, but of scrapbook pages as well.

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The black die cut is Papertrey's Building Blocks coverplate, layered over Select White with another metallic gold die cut heart (Simon Says). The sentiment is the same as the first. 

We're off to Ithaca tomorrow for our annual spring trip to the Farmer's Market. We're hoping to visit the Johnson Museum on the Cornell campus as well, but just discovered it's reunion weekend there so we may not find anywhere to park! I'll be trying to finish my last assignment for my photography course, and maybe a few photos for Rinda's scavenger hunt.

Just a Note: Three Challenges

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Yesterday I received an email saying a gentleman who serves with me on a Presbytery committee had been admitted to the hospital. I wanted to get a card and note off to him.

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This card actually fits three current challenges, although I didn't start out to meet the requirements of any of them. The first is one I've never entered before, "The Card Concept." There's an inspiration piece and in addition, you need to identify your card by type. This card fits the "Clean and Layering" category, and includes the following color challenge:

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The CAS-ual Friday challenge is to create a masculine card with the following catch: no kraft cardstock, and you must use some ribbon.

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And finally, the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge is to create a masculine or Father's Day card.

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I started out with the cute Savvy die cut typewriter which was  already in my die cut basket. I pulled out an Avery tag, and used some Tim Holtz Distress Ink with a Crafter's Workshop stencil to createsone interest on the tag. The sentiment on the tag was stamped with Papertrey Ink's "Just The Ticket." When I looked through my patterned paper I found the perfect match for that from Pink Paislee's "Vintage Vogue" collection. After tying on some gray grosgrain ribbon, I layed the tag on the patterned paper and realized I needed some plain cardstock between it and the patterned paper. I hand cut a larger tag with Simon Says "Smoke Gray" cardstock, and adhered it all to a Rustic White cardbase (Papertrey Ink). Since the sentiment wasn't stamped perfectly in the center, adding the yellow enamel dot emphasized the sentiment, and was the final color needed for the Card Concept challenge. I hope it cheers up my friend, Ben.

May Papertrey Ink Blog Hop Challenge

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Not that any month seems to drag along any more, but May has really flown by. We spent all day yesterday helping Matt and Betsy move to a new (to them) house just five houses away from their previous home. They're expecting #2 in November (!!!!) and this house has quite a bit more room, and a fabulous, huge, fenced-in yard. They're going to love it there. We'll be back there again today helping them get settled. When I got home last night, I had time to play around with some watercolor techniques and a new stamp and die set from Papertrey Ink.

This month's blog hop challenge was a color challenge: Aqua and Melon.

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My first card meets the challenge with both colors. 

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I love this new butterfly set, "A Beautiful Life." The darkest of the butterflies was die cut from a piece of Bristol paper on which I did a watercolor wash with some Peerless watercolors. The other two butterflies were stamped after coating them with Gelatoes and spraying them with water. Then I die cut the stamped images which were amazingly easy to line up. The sentiment is also from the same set stamped in Aqua Mist.

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I decided the butterflies were a bold enough statement that they didn't need any other embellishment.

My second card is my favorite, and although I tried adding some melon accents I really like it better without them. So here it is, even though it really doesn't meet the challenge.

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I stamped the butterfly image with Aqua Mist on a piece of Tim Holtz watercolor paper, and then "bled" the ink around the image much the way Betsy Veldman did here. Then I added a butterfly die cut from dotted vellum, and a die cut from an aqua watercolor wash with Peerless watercolors. This time a few white sequins seemed in order.

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Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! 

Watercolor for Card Makers & A Challenge

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Today is the last day participants in the Online Card Class can post their work to the galleries. Today I found time to finish two cards I had already started and create a third one. Each one uses a different medium for the watercolor.  I've taken several of the Online Card Classes and loved them all, but this one rates an A+. Each lesson was loaded with content and inspiration, and the techniques varied from beginner to very advanced. I'll be working on the techniques for weeks to come, but I'm already more comfortable with many of the watercolor mediums now than I was when we began. One thing I've learned (which is not easy for me) is that you cannot hurry watercolor. It takes time!

All three cards qualify for the new CAS-ology Challenge: Flowers, so I'll be linking them up there.

Week 96 - Flower

My first card is based on a lesson for Day 2. Jennifer McGuire demonstrated how to use art masking fluid (or rubber cement) to seal the stamped image. Once it dried, it was easy to add a water color wash over it.

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After the watercolor dries, you can easily rub the masking fluid off the stamped image. I added a die cut from Simon Says and put the watercolor panel on a card of Raspberry Fizz (PTI) and added some thin pieces of black card stock to set it off.

On Day 4, Shari Carroll used Gelatoes directly on a stamp. She used a red rubber stamp, so I wasn't sure how it would work on a clear acrylic stamp, but my test sample came out just as I hoped, so it ended up on the card! My purple Gelato is one of the metallic ones, and so the flower has a subtle sheen to it.

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The stamp is from a rather neglected set by Papertrey Ink called "Life." I do believe this class will breathe new life into some of my older, less used stamp sets. The sentiment came from "Winter Hills," also by Papertrey. Here you can see the subtle shine of the Gelato.

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The last card was based on another of Jennifer McGuire's cards on Day 6 where she watercolored a white embossed stamped image. She used some Sparkle mist as her water, but I didn't feel the tulips were a great subject for that, so I stuck to water. This one took a lot of time. It was very difficult to see the white embossing on the watercolor paper. I taped it down on a clipboard and by tilting the clipboard to the light was able to get it watercolored. I used Tim Holtz Distress Markers for this one.

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I do love these soft colors, and it was worth the time it took. 

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The tulips are from Friendship Jar Spring Fillers, and the sentiment is from "Wishes Come True," both Papertrey Ink sets. 

More Watercolor

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I've fallen behind in the Watercolor for Cardmakers class. The featured cards just get more and more beautiful every day, and I'm a bit overwhelmed by all I want to try. I do have a couple cards to share. The first one is watercoloring a stamped image from Jennifer Razsa's lesson on Day 5. In my desire to use some of my older wooden stamps I chose "Happy Birthday Topiaries" by Uptown Rubber Stamps. I don't even know if they're in business anymore. Every time I purge my stamp collection, this one makes the cut. It's whimiscal nature gets to me every time. 

I used my Inktense watercolor pencils for this one, and it was definitely a learning experience. I'll be giving it another go once I've tried some of the other techniques.

BirthdayTopiaries

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The next card was also a learning experiences from the lessons on Day 3:  watercolor stamping. This involves applying ink directly to the stamp and then adding water to the stamped image. I followed along with a video by Dawn Woleslagle on her WPlus9 blog to create this card. She's one of the instructors for the class, as well.

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I used another older wooden stamp by Judith for the mason jar. It's a bit bigger than I would have liked so I'll search through my acrylic stamps next time for a better choice. The flowers, foliage, and sentiment are all from Dawn's "Fresh Cut Flowers."

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I'm anxious to try this again soon, as I think I know what I what's needed to improve the watercoloring here. I'm hoping to find time today to watch the last three days worth of videos for class so tomorrow I can give another technique a try. I've always thought these classes were well worth the money, but this one far exceeded my expectations. I'll be working on these techniques all summer!

 

Happy Mother’s Day & Watercolor #4

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Today is Mother's Day in the States, and I've had quite a lovely one. Before I share a little bit about my day, I thought I'd share the cards I sent to my daughter and and gave to my daughter-in-law. Sarah's been spending a lot of time in her yard, so I sent her a gift certificate to a lovely nursery around the corner from their house. A floral card seemed appropriate. One of my goals this year is to use some of my older stamps and decide if they are ones I want to keep. The stamp collection is the one thing I really didn't spend a lot of time purging in January, although I did give a nice sized box to the charity shop. I decided this stamp of tulips by Lockhart is a keeper.

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I colored it with Copic markers, adhered it to a Paper Source embossed flat card, and then to a card made with Simon Say's new Fog cardstock (a new favorite.) The sentiment is from Avery Elle.

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Betsy's card is another card for the Watercolor for Card Makers class. I posted another card using this technique earlier. This time I was quite happy with the way the Distress Inks stamped off the acrylic block.

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The die cut is from Simon Says "Happy," and the rest of the sentiment from Winnie and Walter's The Big, The Bold, and The Happy. After mounting it on Papertrey Ink's Tropical Teal card, I added two gold die cut hearts left over from a previous project. 

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This is also the week of my birthday, and I took some money I've been saving and purchased a fixed aperture 17-50mm lens for my camera. We're finally having some splendid spring weather, and the Lilac Festival in Highland Park opened on Friday. This morning Tracy and I walked through the park and I had a chance to try out the new lens.

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This is just one section of a huge pansy bed they plant for the festival each year. The design is always different.

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Despite a lot of rain Friday night and some pretty strong winds (we were in the park for Tracy's brother's band performance), the magnolias have survived rather well.

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My main motivation for purchasing the lens was to improve my ability to take photos in low light situations. I'm asked pretty frequently to take photographs at Presbytery events, usually in a church where I'm uncomfortable using my flash. And then, more importantly, I'd like more consistently good shots of grandchildren indoors. But I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the way the lens performed outdoors today. It's the heaviest lens I own, but wasn't a problem during our three mile walk.

After lunch, we went to the nursery and purchased the geraniums for our patio bed, and a flat of marigolds to plant along the driveway. Tracy bought me a beautiful hanging pot of geraniums, vinca, and lobelia which is hanging by the front door. (Forgot to take photos of these!)

Matt, Betsy, and Skylar came for dinner, and we had a nice long Face Book session with Sarah, Adam, and Caleb. I couldn't have asked for a nicer day!

 

Watercolor: Part 3 & CAS(E) This Sketch

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Back again with yet another card from the techniques introduced on Day 1 of the Online Card Class. This time it was the embossed resist technique which I've done before on a smaller scale. I didn't have a background stamp with the open spaces they recommended but I thought this one called "Tiny Flags" by Hero Arts might work.

Anniversary

I embossed it with gold on the smooth side of Tim Holtz's watercolor paper, and used Distress Inks to watercolor diagonal stripes, and adhered it to a card made with PTI's Raspberry Fizz cardstock. The stamp is a very old wooden one by Savvy Stamps. I needed an anniversary card for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and this looked appropriately festive. The card design is based on this week's sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch. It couldn't have been more perfect!

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Here's a closer look at the watercoloring.

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We're off in just an hour or so to celebrate Mother's Day with Tracy's mom and siblings. We're celebrating a day early since his brother, Greg, who's band was inducted in the Rochester Music Hall of Fame last week, flies back to Texas tomorrow.

Watercolor for Card Makers 2

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This was the first technique taught in the Online Card Class on watercolors. Once you've painted a watercolor background, you lay a stencil down on it, press it in, and when you lift it up here's what you see.

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I absolutely love this technique and will use it again, I'm sure. Luckily it worked well on the first try!

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I used my Winsor and Newton travel watercolor set with the Crafter's Workshop "Mini-herringbone" stencil on Tim Holtz watercolor paper. My favorite thing about this watercolor paper is how white it is. Both my cold press watercolor pad and my regular watercolor pads are more cream colored. I bordered the watercolor piece with a piece of Worldwin "Light Terrific Teal" cardstock. I used to be able to buy this paper locally. When the last of the local shops went out of business I stocked up on a lot of colors, but they're beginning to dwindle. I love the range of colors and it's a great weight for matting. 

The sentiment ("Oh, Happy Day" by Avery Elle) was stamped on vellum, layered on another piece of cardstock and stitched down. I'll enter this in Virginia's View Challenge:  Stitching, even though there's not a lot of it!

Watercolor for Card Makers 1

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As soon as I saw it advertised I signed up for the Online Card Class:  Watercolor. I've tried nearly all the techniques from Day 1, and have four cards I'll share here over the next few days, but today is Day 4, and the list of things I want to try is LONG! Like every other Online Card Class, this one is packed with techniques, videos, and great tips that apply to more than just watercolor. I thoroughly enjoy these classes.

My first attempt at using Distress Inks and an acrylic block to stamp some intense watercolors wasn't a total success. I wasn't really happy with one of the colors I chose, but when I cut the piece into strips and alternated them, I ended up with a card I like.

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The die cut & stamp are from "Wonderful Words: Thank You" by Papertrey Ink, and the cardstock is Papertrey's True Black. 

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I was happier with the second attempt, but I'm saving that one to post on Mother's  Day. Off to see the videos for Day 4!

Thinking of You & Anything Goes Challenge

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Here to share two cards created for the same friend. One was sent a couple of weeks ago, and the other just yesterday. Around Christmas, she fell and broke her wrist so severely that she still is unable to drive, open her mail, or do many of the ordinary things we take for granted. It's been a long haul, but she is one of those "glass half full" people who downplays the whole experience.

The first card is a lift from one of the inspiration pieces from the February Simon Says Card Kit.

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Everything except the gems in the center of the flowers came from the kit.

The next card is quite unusual for me. I took a variety of art materials to Chicago with me, and one day was playing around with some watercolors. I was also doing some doodling for an art journaling class I was taking, and created these flowers with watercolors on a piece of Tim Holtz watercolor paper and some Molotow paint markers.

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I cut the same "Simply Framed" die I used on one of my recent Project Life cards to cut a black frame and the watercolor piece. Then I cut the new Phrase Play #3 die and used just the "Hello" from it over the watercoloring, and the coordinating "A Warm . . . " from the accompanying stamp (all Papertrey Ink). Simon Says' new cardstock, "Audrey Blue," was the perfect match for the card base.

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The Online Card Class: Watercolor began today, and although I watched all three videos, and have multiple ideas percolating in my head, there wasn't any time at the creating table today. I am linking these cards up to the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes" Challenge, for which I see there are already over 700 entries! There's no lack of inspiration for card makers on the internet.

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Two Cards for Keep It Clean and Simple

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I have two cards today for the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge:  Keep It Clean and Simple. Most of my cards would fit this challenge, but these latest two—one for a friend's birthday and the other for a friend whose husband entered hospice are definitely CAS.

First the birthday card. I bought a new stamp set by Penny Black , "Blooming Garden," while we were away. When I first started stamping years ago, I owned a few wooden stamps by Penny Black, but this is my first acrylic set. It's all florals. I'm taking a watercolor card class that starts next week, and I think the images will be perfect for watercoloring.

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I love these poppies, and this time I colored them using Copic markers. I added a little Wink of Stella glitter to them as well, but try as I might, I could not get it to show up in a photograph. The sentiment is also from a new stamp set I found in Chicago by Avery Elle called "Oh, Happy Day."  The font for these sentiments if very different from anything else I have.

The next card was inspired by this one Cristina created for last August's Papertrey Ink release of "Mum's the Word. "I started with an embossed flat card by Paper Source, and masked the border to stamp inside.

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The mum was stamped once, and then again without reinking. The sentiment which seemed perfect for this sad occasion is combined from "Boutique Borders: Sympathy" and "Winter Hills." All three sets are by Papertrey Ink.

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When I heard about our friend entering hospice, it occured to me that we always seem to have at least one friend or acquaintance with serious health concerns. It's probably a function of our age, but too many of them are younger than we are. I count my blessings every day, and continued good health is top on the list.

Make It Monday: Water Splats

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Given that Papertrey Ink is my favorite stamp company, and I own more of their stamps than all the rest of my rather extensive collection combined, I thought I'd be participating in the Make It Monday challenges on a regular basis. But it hasn't happened. I was intrigued, however, by Nicole's video this week about using stamp pads to blend inks, and then adding water to make "water splats."

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I ended up really liking this process, and the final card, which will be in the mail for my niece who turns 21 next month. I used Orange Zest, Raspberry Fizz, and Summer Sunrise for the ink blending.

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The Wet Paint stamp set works wonderfully with this technique. I mounted the final piece on a piece of gold cardstock, then on a Raspberry Fizz card. The star die cuts are new ones I picked up this month from Memory Box, and they'll be getting a lot of use!

ETA: I'm entering this in the Moxie Fab "Hip on Handwriting" challenge.

April Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

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Being away for 10 days meant the month of April just flew by. Here it is, the 25th already. We've finally had a few spring-like days and are beginning to see the green buds on trees and bushes. What a relief! We planted some pansies yesterday, and we have a bouquet of daffodils from our yard on the kitchen table. This month's Papertrey Ink Blog Hop challenge was to find a piece of embroidery to inspire a card, and I was anxious to use some new floral images I got in my last Papertrey Ink order.

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Although there's plenty of inspiration in this inspiration board, I went off to Pinterest to see what I could find. I knew from the start that I wanted to use theBotanical Blocks stamps to create my cards. The bright colors against a black background attracted me to this piece.

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The orange, yellow, and greens seemed perfect for the sunflower image in Botanical Blocks.

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I embossed the sunflower block with Memento Luxe Ink and colored it with Copic markers. The sentiment is also from Botanical Blocks, and I added just a narrow cardstock frame and two A Muse black pearls to finish it off. Here's a closer look.

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Next I found this piece with a much different color palette.

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I decided to try watercolors for the image of the rose, and again embossed it with the Memento Luxe ink. I love that you still get the fine detail of the stamp after embossing.

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I chose the purples and greens from the inspiration piece as well as the pink border. I added a few white highlights with a Molotow paint pen in the center of the rose. I dry embossed the border with a Spellbinders Matting Basics die which made the perfect frame, then hand cut the sentiment and popped it up with a piece of adhesive foam. The Soft Stone card base seemed perfect for the watercolored piece.

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I'm linking both cards to this week's CAS-ology Challenge:  

Week 92 - Garden

 

It was fun to play around with a new product, and it's good to add a couple cards to the stash for the long list of May birthdays on my calendar.