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With Sympathy

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One of my dearest friends passed away late last week. She was just 58 years old, and lost a two-year battle with a brain tumor. Although she and her husband had lived here for over 20 years, her funeral and burial was in New Jersey where all of her family lives. Five of us drove down for the calling hours on Sunday, and back home on Monday following the service. I was so glad I was able to go. She has three wonderful siblings, including an identical twin. Yesterday I had a chance to make some cards to send to each of them and her husband.

CS3_paticipant

 

The first two were made using a technique (Inlaid Die Cuts) featured on Day One of the Online Card Class: One Layer Cards. It's a technique I've used before, but like always, I learned some good tricks which made them much easier. 

InlaidTree

I used Simon Say's woodgrain card stock for the tree ("Arbosecllo Tree" by Memory Box) and inlaid it on Papertrey's Select White cardstock. The sentiment is from Papertrey's "Birds of a Feather."

InlaidTreeClose

The next card uses a die I've had for awhile, but never used. I love how it came out.

MorningGloryInlaid

I die cut the Morning Glory Vine by Memory Box with Memory Box's Parsley cardstock and inlaid it on a Paper Source embossed flat card. The inlaid lavender paper and the lighter green for the leaves came from my scrap folder.  The sentiment is from Papertrey's "Sending You" set.

MorningGloryInlaidClose

I had die cuts left over and decided to use them to make another card. It's identical except it's not inlaid, and the greens are reversed.

MorningGlory

MorningGloryClose

Marie was a gardener and a plant lover so these die cuts would appeal to her. On this card I used the white tree I cut from the Select White on Card #1. It ended up being one of my favorites.

Tree

I love the white tree against the Soft Stone cardstock by Papertrey Ink. The sentiment is the same one I used for the first card. I'm entering this card to the current CASEology challenge: Roots.

Week 86 - Roots

I ended up with one extra sympathy card. This one uses another die I've had for awhile but never used. It's the "Leaf Column Outline" by Simon Says, and the sentiment comes from "With Sympathy" by Papertrey Ink.

Vine

I didn't do any stamping on the inside because I'll be writing notes to each person. As Tracy pointed out, this is the first of our friends our age (actually younger) who has passed away. We are grateful that she didn't suffer, and was never in any significant pain, but it still feels unbelieveable.

 

Two Cards, Two Challenges

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The Hero Arts blog is having a big birthday celebration with a five category challenge for birthday cards. I recently purchased the Hero Arts "Five Line" Background stamp and made two masculine birthday cards from one piece of paper embossed in gold. I'm entering both into the "metallic birthday card" challenge.

BDTag

The first is a simple card made by punching two tags from the Tag Sale #5 one in chocolate brown and one from the stamped piece embossed in gold. I added some American Craft Thickers for the sentiment and a simple gold brad to connect the tags. I'm also linking this to the new Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Tag It!

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BDWishes

For the second card, I cut a strip of the stamped piece and adhered it to a Hero Arts kraft card. I embossed a tag from Papertrey's 2012 Birthday Tags in gold for the sentiment. Here's a closer look:

BDWishesClose

My brother-in-law and my niece's husband both celebrate their birthdays this month, so now I'm all set for both occasions.

Welcome, Baby!

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BabyClose

It's not often I have reason to create a baby card, and even less frequent that it corresponds with a current card challenge. But this week's challenge at Addicted to CAS is "BABY," and the daughter of a good friend of ours has just had a darling baby boy.

Baby

I used a premade Archivers square card for the base. The paper-pieced elephant and sentiment are from "Bitty Baby Blessing" by Papertrey Ink, and the balloons and die from "Heart2Heart: 2," also by Papertrey. Clean and simple, for sure.

Happy Birthday, Matt! and December Project Life Finale

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Today is Matt's 31st birthday. I'm not quite sure where 31 years have gone—passed by very quickly! I'm having lunch with him today, and we're celebrating with him, Betsy and Skylar at his favorite restaurant tomorrow night.  I'm so grateful to have them just around the corner. 

For his birthday card, I pulled out a new cover plate die from Papertrey Ink. The die is meant to be horizontal on a portrait card, but I wanted to use it horizontally. It was easy to cut it down for a 4-bar card, and I was really pleased with how it came out.

MattBD

I die cut the cover plate first in Soft Stone cardstock, then four more times in Vintage Cream, Fine Linen, Classic Kraft and Smoky Shadow to inlay the stripes. I saved all the extras and I'm sure I'll come up with some way to use them. The stars were cut with the Large Holiday Shapes die from Simon Says-it's getting to be a real favorite. A couple of AMuse pearls finished it off. It may be a bit strange to submit a masculine card to a challenge on pearls, but it fits Simon Says' Wednesday challenge: Anything Goes with Pearls.

We've come to the end of the December Project Life pages. It's unlikely I'll have another month as full as this one for many months to come. Rest assured today's post is much shorter.

The day after Christmas we left for Chicago. We drove as far as Port Huron, Michigan the first day, and arrived in Chicago at Sarah and Adam's on the 27th. We celebrated Christmas with them that afternoon.

DecPg12

Every year the Hess gasoline company comes out with a different truck at Christmas time. Tracy couldn't wait to get one for Caleb, and its battery-operated lights and power were a huge hit with Caleb. The next day we took off for the Chicago Botanic Gardens to see the Wonderland Express. We'd been to the Model Railroad Garden in September, but for the holiday they move the trains inside and decorate for Christmas. It's much harder to take good photos as it's much more crowded. In fact, you get timed tickets for the event. I included one of the tickets with some Washi tape as a border.

DecWonderlandExpress

You can tell by the looks on Caleb's face and his Grandfather's face that the crowds did not diminish their enjoyment! We were lucky enough to be there for an ice carving event as well. The last photo shows Caleb helping to put away the Christmas decorations. Caleb turned two on December 30th and Sarah was determined to put Christmas away before we celebrated his birthday.

DecCalebBirthday

This might be one of the busiest PL pages I've ever made. The title page was created with a Simple Stories journaling card, some stamps and die cuts from Papertrey Ink and two candle stickers from Michaels. The banner on the photo below it was also a die cut I found in my stash, stamped with a sentiment from a Papertrey Ink set. Caleb woke up to a huge banner Adam made and hung on the stairs for his birthday. The biggest hit of the birthday presents was a garage Sarah and I found at Pottery Barn Kids for 50% off the day before Caleb's birthday. It's provided hours of enjoyment since. 

In some ways, I prefer the stand-alone Christmas Journal, but I know I can't do that and Project Life. Since this format works so well for the rest of the year, I'll probably continue to document our December journeys in the Project Life album and forgo the Christmas Journal. I admit to mixed feelings about it, but the continuity is more important to me in the end.

A Challenge, and Feeling Lucky

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I have a thank you note to share for the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Get Krafty. As I was looking through some paper pads for a piece of patterned paper, I came across this polka-dot pattern from Fancy Pants' "Ectera." As soon as I saw it I remember the "Get Krafty" challenge. I wanted it to be CAS and this is the result:

ThankYou

After I’d glued down the banner, I wished I had die cut the “thank you” from it as well, and done an inlaid sentiment, but I wasn’t willing to try to pull it off. 

It’s not often that I win anything, but recently I’ve been lucky enough to win not one, but three, awesome prizes through blogging and the internet. The first was a seat in the BPC, Organizing FUNdamentals on the Simple Scrapper site. This class was the impetus to totally purge my studio. I didn’t participate in the class actively after the purge since I'd already given a lot of thought to how I work and how I wanted my supplies to be organized. Their excellent worksheets simpy confirmed my decisions.

Now that I've purged so many of my supplies I have some empty drawers and a lot of empty containers, so I was able to make better use of my space. For example, my acrylic blocks for stamping used to be in a basket (which occasionally dumped itself onto the floor), and now they’re in a drawer right under my work table. Perfect! I’ve been working with the new organization for a week or so now, and I’m really happy with it. I was able to make better use of some of my empty containers, and  the only products I bought were these from The Container Store. 

PLStorage

I had the drawer and top unit on the right, and knew that I could organize everything I have for Project Life by adding the middle unit and another small “shelf” and drawer unit. It holds all my Project Life supplies, some office supplies, and memorabilia I may want to add to the album. As an added benefit,  each component is easy to move to my desk while I'm scrapping.

My second lucky win was on Melissa's blog where I won a lovely new die from Simon Says. I quickly made a card with it to send to her, but didn't take the time to photograph it as we were leaving for Florida the next morning. 

Then Saturday I scored a big win on the Papertrey Ink site during their big anniversary release party. I love making cards for their anniversary challenges, but we were away for nearly the whole party. Nonetheless, one of my comments was randomly drawn for a $70 gift certificate. So now I have a few new goodies that should be arriving by the end of the week!

In the meantime, I'm continuing to purge. This month's project is our guest room. I've cleared out one cupboard and two drawers. This month is flying by, so I'm going to have to dedicate some serious time in there!

Valentines

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It's just a week now to Valentine's Day, and typically I'd wait until then to post these, but since there are not one, but three, heartfelt challenges going on right now, I'll post them early. All of them meet the requirements for Simon Says Monday Challenge: Love Notes,

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the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Have a Heart,

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and finally, the Addicted to CAS challenge: LOVE.

ATCAS - code word love

When I opened the January Simon Says card kit, I didn't think I'd ever use the main image, a little googly-eyed monster. Then I remembered I have a two-year old grandson who loves monsters. Tracy wonders what he'll think of it. I hope he likes it. All the materials for the card except the "Bubble Talk" dies and stamps by Papertrey Ink are from the January kit.

Eyes

EyesClose

I didn't think Skylar would be particulary charmed by a little monster, but I did think she'd like a shaker card. I followed the directions Laura Basson gave in her video here. It wasn't anywhere as near difficult as I expected, and I'm really pleased with it. I used the Spellbinders "Nested Hearts," and a new die from Simon Says "XOXO Border." The patterned paper is from the "Simple Valentine" paper pad by Papertrey.

Shaker

ShakerClose

Last, a card made with my newest stamp set by a new company Winnie and Walter. As soon as I saw "The Big, The Bold, and The Happy" set I knew I get a lot of use from it. They offered free cut files with the stamp set and I used both for this card. It was really hard to photograph, but I hope you can see the beautiful metallic red paper I used to cut "happy."

Happy

HappyFlat

I used another new die from Simon Says for the inside sentiment.

HappyInside

 

And since each of these cards uses a new product (#1 stamps, #2 XOXO die cut, and #3 stamps and cut file), I'm linking up to the new Simon Says: Work It Wednesday Challenge: use something new.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stenciled with Some Challenges

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The Online Card Classes are always excellent, and "Stenciled" is no exception. It's been a long times since I used stencils on a card, but I've had them on hand for awhile, and recently purchased a few new ones. In addition to many techniques using stencils, I've picked up some other handy card-making tips as well. These classes are always well worth the fee!

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My first card uses a Simon Says stencil that came with one of the monthly card kits. I used a mist to create the stenciled pattern. I'll be linking this card up with Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: use twine or string, and the Addicted to CAS: Love. 

ATCAS - code word love

Stenciled1

I cut a double tag because I had this darling vellum with tiny hearts on it that I wanted to use. The vellum alone just didn't look right so I backed it with a pink cardstock tag. It's still hard to see the hearts in the photograph, but they're there.

Stenciled1Detail

 

The next two cards meet the new Addicted to CAS challenge: Love as well. The first one was made with a DIY stencil. I used a Papertrey Ink coaster and die cut it with the Tic Tac Toe die from Simon Says. I wanted to create rather thick hearts using embossing paste.

DYIStencil

Here's the card:

DYICard

Although I let the embossing paste dry for well over an hour, it still must have been damp because I got some bubbles in the hearts when I embossed them. (Jennifer did warn us about this!) The hearts were covered with red Zing embossing powder. Here's a close look at the dimension. 

The last card for the Addicted to CAS challenge: Love used Gesso and the Falling Hearts stencil by Simon Says. I stayed with white on white for this one and cut down a vellum envelope for the stamped heart that I cut out by hand. I finished it off with a strip of patterned paper and a Doodlebug heart pearl. 

Stenciled4

 

Here's a peek at the inside of this card.

Stenciled4Inside

 

I created the last card for this week's challenge at CAS(e) This Sketch:

CTS_Sketch_62

I masked off the diagonal stripe with post-it notes and used three different Distress Inks to ink up the Tim Holtz "Bubble Stencil." Then I laid down two thin strips of cardstock along each edge. (Another trick I learned from Jennifer McGuire in an earlier Online Card Class.) The sentiment was embossed in gold and I added two flat sequins by Kelly Purky.

Stenciled2

Although I meant to use a slightly different technique on this card, I like how it turned out. I'll try out that technique next time.

Stenciled2Detail

It's been fun to have a day to watch class videos and play at my desk. The great purge turns out to have added benefit—I found all kinds of supplies I'd forgotten about, and I knew just where to find them!

Card Recipes:

Card #1:
Cardstock: Neenah Select, and pink from the scrap folder, vellum from stash
Stencil: "Moroccan" (Simon Says)
Mist: Creme de Rouge (Tattered Angels)
Dies: Vine Border, Tremendous Tags, & Double-ended Border (trimmed down) (Papertrey Ink), "You" (Simon Says)
Stamp: "You" (Simon Says)
Twine: Valentine collection (Doodlebug)
Pink pearl: Michaels

Card#2:
Cardstock: Select White & Pure Poppy (PTI), silver (Paper Source)
Stamp: "Celebrate Everyday" (Hero Arts)
Embossing powders: Zing (American Craft), silver (B Muse)

Card #3:
Cardstock: Select White & Pure Poppy (PTI)
Patterned Paper: Simple Valentine (PTI)
Vellum envelope: Impress
Stencil: "Falling Hearts" (Simon Says)
Heart pearl: Doodlebug
Die (inside card): Nested Hearts (Spellbinders)

Cartd#4:
Cardstock:  Select White and Orange Zest (PTI)
Stencil: "Bubble" (Tim Holtz)
Stamp: "Fresh Florals" (WPlus9)
Sequins: Kelly Purkey

 

 

Two Birthday Cards

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It was finally a bit warmer today, and I took advantage of it to visit a friend in rehab, have lunch with Matt, and get some errands run. Tomorrow I hope to get to my crafting table now that I'm back in business. I did need a couple of birthday cards during the great purge and thought I'd share two of them.

One of my best friends had her birthday soon after we returned from Florida. I wanted to give her a cheerful, springy card to ward off the chill of our January.

MaryBD

I used a combination of stamps and dies on this card. One of my favorite floral sets is WPlus9's "Fresh Florals," and the coordinating dies. The mason jar was stamped on clear cardstock, and fussy cut with a bit of blue stamping behind it for the water. The shadow from folded banner hides that in the photograph. Here's a peek at the inside. 

MaryBDdetail

The sentiments in Papertrey's "Stylish Sentiments: Birthday" are among my favorites.

The next card was for one of our male friends. As soon as I get this posted, I'll be making a similar card for another of our friends who has a birthday next week. This one was cased from one of my favorite card makers, Laurie Willison.

RickTagCard

This has to be one of the most versatile designs ever. Just changing the patterned paper and cardstock colors would make it work for either gender and any age.

The rest of the supplies I needed for the Stenciled class arrived today. I have the whole day free tomorrow though the gym has really missed me for the last two weeks, but I hope to be back this weekend with some cards inspired by the class.

Card Recipes
Birthday Wishes:
Cardstock: Select White and Spring Rain (PTI)
Stamps: Fresh Florals (WPlus9), Friendship Jar Fillers Summer (PTI), Stylish Birthday Sentiments (PTI)
Dies: Fresh Florals (WPlus9), Small Folded Banners (Simon Says)

Happy Birthday:
Cardstock: Classic Kraft,Vintage Cream (PTI)
Patterned Paper: February 2013 Card Kit (Studio Calico)
Dies: Tag Sale #5 (PTI), Happy (Simon Says)
Brad from stash

 

January 2014 Papertrey Blog Hop and Stenciled!

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Last week was one of the busiest weeks ever, and I totally forgot that today was the 25th and the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop. Before I left for Dining Room Ministry this morning I got this card started, and finished it when I returned. I combined one of the techniques from the Online Card Class "Stenciled" Day 1 with the blog hop inspiration. The very first day of class featured several techniques for using stencils, and I have tried almost none of them. It's going to be a great class.

Here's the inspiration piece for the Papertrey Blog hop. The charge was to create a card using just a variety of pinks. Neutrals like white, black and silver are allowed.

Pti January Blog Hop

I first cut a mask with my Spellbinders Nested hearts, and used it to apply both Spun Sugar and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks over the Hero Arts "Tweed Pattern" stencil on my heart which I then die cut. 

PTIBlogDetail

Next I cut the next size heart from Raspberry Fizz and layered them. I tried a variety of card bases and didn't like any of them. So finally I pulled out my Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Creme de Rouge. For once I got the spray just the way I wanted it. 

PTIBlogHop

The sentiment combines the stamped word "love" from Rustic Branches and a die cut "you" from Wonderful Words. A few scattered pink and silver sequins and it was done. The first of the valentines completed!

Card Recipe:
Cardstock: Select White, Raspberry Fizz (PTI)
Stencil: Tweed (Hero Arts)
Stamp: Rustic Branches (PTI)
Dies: Wonderful Words (PTI), Nested Hearts (Spellbinders)
Sequins: Michael's

Die Cut Challenge & Anything Goes

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We've been home just a few days, but I needed to get to the crafting table for several cards. All four of them used die cuts. I'll be posting two tonight, and two tomorrow for the Die Cut Challenge at Addicted to CAS. They'll also qualify for the Monday Challenge at Simon Says:  "Anything Goes." 

The first card was a negative die cut. Tracy needed a thank you note to send to his brother-in-law.

Thanks

Several months ago I picked up a paper pad at Michaels, not really paying attention to anything but the printed designs. It turned out to be a pad of cards which made this a quick and easy one. I've seen some folks post cards at a 10 minute dash challenge, and this would have definitely qualified! Simple and masculine.

The next card was for a friend of mine who became a grandmother on Monday. To say she's excited is to put it mildly!

LittleOne

This one used a premade card as well, the last of a pack I purchased at Impress years ago. The die cuts are Nestabilities Label 11 by Spellbinders.

Card Recipes:
Thanks:
Card: MAMBI Cards (Me and My Big Idea)
Cardstock: Classic Kraft (PTI)
Die: Thanks (Memory Box)
Enamel Dots: My Minds Eye

Little One:
Card: Impress Rubber Stamps
Cardstock: Sweet Blush (PTI)
Dies: Label 11 (Spellbinders)
Stamp: Baby Button Bits (PTI)
Button: PTI
Twine: Doodlebug

Snowy Thanks

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We woke up to 3° this morning, and another inch or two of snow. Snow must be on the mind of the challenge creators this week.
 
WinterThanksDetail
 
I needed a thank you card, and when I finished it I do believe it qualifies for six separate challenges:
 
CTS_Sketch_57
 
 
I started with my favorite sketch challenge: CAS(E) this Sketch.
 
ATCAS - code word snowflakes
 
Cfc123
 
I love CAS-UAL Fridays challenge site, and here's the snowy reference.
 
And then there are the two Simon Says Challenges. Wednesday's is "Let It Snow," and Monday's is "Use a Stamp."
 
I pulled out my shimmer card stock for this one: both blue and white, so the colors and snowflake also match the inspiration piece for the Case Study challenge.
 
CSC170_zpsf72b1dd0
Finally, here's the card.
 
WinterThanks
In the detail photo at the top of the post, you can see the beautiful textured silver paper I picked up yesterday at Michael's. I wish I'd bought more than one sheet. I stamped the snowflakes from Wplus9's Folk Art Flurries and embossed them with Winter Wonderand embossing powder. The die cut "Thanks" is from Simon Says.
 
Hope it's a bit warmer where you are. I'm off to have a cup of soup, and get busy baking cookies!

Thanks, Again!

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I needed two more thank you cards today, and had quite a bit of fun pulling them together. It was nice to have some uninterrupted creative time. The first one is for the amazing woman who planned all the meals for the youth retreat, purchased all the ingredients, cooked the Saturday night casseroles (delish!), and supervised the rest of us in the kitchen for the weekend. I cased this card design from a card I pinned here quite some time ago.

YouAre

She is indeed, all of these things! Here's a peek a the inside, which I kept small and tidy as there will be multiple signers!

YouAreInside

The next card is a thank you to Betsy's parents who had us to brunch yesterday. Paul made amazing scrambled eggs with cream cheese (I think) and brocolli. 

3Thanks

I found the Spiral Notebook die laying on my desk and started with that. Once I found the striped paper, the rest came together quicking. I'm a huge fan of these word dies. I have several from Simon Says and a few from Papertrey Ink. They just make a card pop!

ThanksDetail

I'm linking both these cards to the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge:  Thanksgiving/Thanks.

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Card Recipes:
Card #1:
Cardstock: Select White, Hawaiian Shores, Pure Poppy (PTI)
Stamps: You (Simon Says), Movers & Shakers & Around and About Sentiments (PTI)
Dies: Get to the Point (PTI), You (Simon Says)

Card #2:
Cardstock: Select White, Raspberry Fizz, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise (PTI)
Patterned Paper:  Snap! (Simple Stories)
Dies: Thanks (Simon Says), Spiral Notebook Page (PTI) 

Get Inky!

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Another post for two challenges, one of which closes in just a few hours. Both are Simon Says Challenges: the Monday Challenge: Got Ink? (which closes tonight) and the Wednesday Challenge: Thanksgiving/Thanks.

Earlier this year I enrolled in Claudine Helmuth's Big Picture Class, Technique Toolbox. I have hardly touched the content of this class, but it's not because I lack interest. The first technique was Photocopy Transfer, and she provided the handwriting copy to use on the tag. I used some paints, stencils, and Distress Inks as well. Definitely "inky!"

ThanksTag

I separated the tag, and inserted the Thanks die cut from Simon Says, added an arrow (PTI) and a heart (Simon Says). The ribbon was in my stash, and once again, I have no idea where it came from or how long I've had it. The three little black pearls are my favorites from A Muse.

TagThanksDetail

It's always good to have a thank-you card in your stash!

Card Recipe:
Cardstock: Parsley (Memory Box)
Manilla tag (Avery)
Distress Inks and Paint: Tim Holtz
Stencil: Balzaar Designs
Dies: Hearts & Thanks (Simon Says), Get to the Point (PTI)
Ribbon: from stash

 

CASology: Triangle & A Bit of Holiday Joy

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This week's challenge at CASology was just perfect for creating Christmas trees, and I'm still in need of some Christmas cards. Once again I finished this right under the wire!

Week 70 - Triangle

Although I could have easily cut a couple of triangles, I knew there were at least a couple in my collection of dies. These came from matching dies for Papertrey's "Hello, Sunshine," and "Tranquil Triology" stamps.

Joy

I thought I had the right little star for the top of the tree among my gems, but nothing really worked. Then I remembered the gold mirror paper I've had for ages and used the Simon Says "Holiday Shapes" die to cut the star. That die gets a lot of use! The gold twine is as old as the mirror paper, and I wish I could remember where I bought it. Fortunately, the quantity on the spool is very generous and it's unlikely I'll run out anytime soon.

JoyDetail

I'd hoped to get the focus on the star; didn't work, but there's no time to retake the photo and get this up before the challenge closes.

The youth retreat was a huge success, and I'll have a few photos later in the week. The adults were exhausted by the end of the weekend, but I'm sure the teenagers were doing fine today.

Card Recipe:
Cardstock: Select White (PTI), Bazzill Textured green from scrap drawer, mirror gold (unknown)
Card: Paper Source
Patterned Paper: "Christmas Cottage" (Teresa Collins)
Twill: Scarlet Jewel (PTI)
Stamp: "2008 Holiday Tags" (PTI)
Dies: Holiday Shapes (Simon Says), Tranquil Triology, Tag Sale #6 & Hello Sunshine (PTI)

Happy Mail

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A while ago, I returned a set of tape runners by American Craft which had broken almost right away. They are my favorite tape runner, and I haven't had too many bad experiences with them. I usually order them in bulk from Amazon, and this particular batch was not good. I filed the email away, and forgot about it.

Then one day I was cleaning out that email folder and realized I'd never heard from them. I sent a second email, and got a very prompt and apologetic reply. Evidently the woman I had corresponded with the first time had left the company. Within just a few days, an amazing package arrived on my doorstep with a note saying they'd thrown in a few goodies for my patience.

TapeRunners

First, the replacements (more than I returned).

Tape

ACGoodies1

ACGoodies2

When I opened the box, Tracy and I were both amazed by the amount of product they sent me. The best part is all of it is stuff I'll definitely be able to use. This might be the epitome of good customer service! 

I've made two cards with these goodies. The first one I posted here, for a Moxie Fab challenge, using the Washi tape and one of the metal rimmed tags.  Here's the second one.

AllAboutYou

The patterned papers are from the paper pad they included and I attached the frame with one of the tiny clothespins. I especially like the birthday text paper.

AllAboutDetail

Needless to say, I use the tape runners every time I sit down to make a card or complete a scrapbook page. I'm know I'll find lots of uses for the rest of the product as well. 

I'll be off the grid for most of the weekend. Our Presbytery is hosting a four day event with Mark Yaconelli, a gifted workshop and retreat leader who specializes in youth ministry. Turns out he lives in Ashland, OR and is a friend of Sarah and Adam's. Today is a conference for adults at Northeastern Seminary, and tomorrow night a retreat for youth begins at the Rotary Sunshine Camp until Sunday morning. I'm on food detail. We hoped to register about 100 youth for this event, but the final count was close to 200 from 20 different churches across the Presbytery. That's a lot of subs to make for Saturday lunch! I'm not sleeping at the camp, but expect to be there most of the time.