I Wave the Flag

John Wayne was right . . .

Wave that beautiful flag!  May we stand strong and prevail over those who would destroy us.  And most importantly, let us return to the rule of law and free enterprise that made us the greatest country in the world. 

Cardstock:   Strathmore Bright White, Generic scraps Navy

Stamps:        Our Daily Bread God Bless America, Patriotic Eagle 2,

                            Impression Obsession I Wave, Eureka Fireworks

Inks:               Adirondack  Denim, ColorBox Silver

Emb Powder:   Sweet Stamps Fine Detail White, Delafield Silver

Watercolors:    Inktense Poppy Red, Zig Clean Color Geranium Red

Doo Dads:    USArt Quest Crystal Effects

Your Special Day

A dear friend of ours is an Australian and I thought that along with the bird, he would especially enjoy this image of a kangaroo.  It's done in the aboriginal dot-painting style – I wish someone would design more stamps in this charming and distinctive form . . .

I picked out some of the details with a white pencil, which helped the animals to stand out against the busy background.  Fussy cutting was easy, as most of the edges are only slightly curved.  All in all, I was happy with this layout and made five of them for some of the nicest gentlemen in our lives! 

The inside message reads, "It's your birthday - GO WILD!"

Cardstock:   Neenah Desert Storm, Generic Black

Stamps:        Judikins Aboriginal People, Hero “Your Special Day”

Inks:               Hero Black, ColorBox Black

Emb Powder:   Judikins Detail Black, Cloisonné Smoky Obsidian

Colored Pencil:  Prisma White

Dies:              Sweet ‘n Sassy Grass Border (negative waste), Tim Holtz

                           Tattered Banners

The Tide Recedes

When a dear friend from my Flight Attendant days lost her husband last week, this lovely sentiment from Technique Junkies was the perfect one to use . . .

Peaceful colors and gentle flowers pulled it all together.  

Rest in peace, Louis . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Leapfrog, Tim Holtz Watercolor paper, Generic

                           textured White

Stamps:        Technique Junkies Something Beautiful Remains, Art

                           Impressions Background #2

Inks:               ColorBox Black, Distress Bundled Sage, Tattered Rose,

                           Weathered Wood

Emb Powder:   Judikins Detail Black, Pipe Dreamink Opals Eucalypt

Dies:              Mama Elephant Femme Frames, Simon Says Fresh Daisies,

                           Memory Box Prim Poppies

It's Your Day

For my adorable niece Rebecca's birthday today, I present Kraft, Black, and Cream – a color combo that's hard to beat . . .

  . . . of course, Kraft with just about anything is hard to beat, in my opinion!

Mixing text, a music score, and butterflies is something I never would have thought to do when I first started stamping 16 years ago.  But I came across a blogger last week who had done just that, and it looked so good that I wanted to give it a try.

I'll be doing this combo again, for sure . . .

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Strathmore Soft White, Generic Black,

                           Pre-printed Vellum

Stamps:        Starving Artistamp Pansy, Stampendous Music Score,

                           Great Impression Script Background, Impression Obsession

                           Lace Butterfly, Lace Butterfly Profile, Too Much Fun “It’s

                           Your Day”

Inks:               Hero Black, ColorBox Black, Frost White

Emb Powder:   Judikins Detail Black, WOW Seafoam White

Dies:              Spellbinders Petite Scalloped Ovals Large, Impression

                           Obsession All-in-One Frames Rectangles 2, Repeat

                           Impressions Flip Stitch, Lil Inker Stitched Mats Rectangles,

                           Stitched Mats Squares, Memory Box Butterfly 

                           Isabella

Doo Dads:    Viva Pearl Pen Cream

Family

My dear friend and stamping buddy Carol recently gifted me with a booklet on Asian embellishments and accents for cards.  Among its many wonderful ideas, I found a simple Mizuhiki knot I thought would be fun to try . . .

 Once you get the knot fashioned from a single cord, the rest is easy:  you just thread succeeding cords right next to the previous one.  I used four cords on this one which made the knot just wide enough to handle the 1/8" red liner tape I used on the back to stabilize the knot and fasten it to the card front.

As for the corrugated strip, I wondered what would happen if I ran it through my die cutting machine.  Voila!  Lots of texture remains, but with way less bulk.

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Bazzill Juneberry, Generic Kraft Corrugated paper,

                           Washi paper

Stamps:        Judikins Teachings of Buddha, Zum Gali Gali Oaks, Unknown

                           Chinese “Love”

Inks:               Hero Black

Colored Pencil:  Prisma Framboise

Dies:              Lil Inkers Stitched Mats: Rectangles, Wplus9 Banner Trio,

                           Repeat Impressions Flip Stitch Set

Doo Dads:    Mizuhiki cords Black, Inkssentials Enamel Accents Black

Birthday Cheers

The need for a guy card recently arose and I quite naturally gravitated towards black ink paired with Kraft and cream cardstocks.  This color combo isn't exactly written in stone for guys, but it does make for a nice place to begin . . .

This is one of those layouts that somehow grew – just like the fictional Topsy.  A little something here, a pop of something there, and oh!  How about a little piece of this over on the side?  And then I decided I was done.  Well, except for the postoids.  And then the striped strip.  And then the black glitter , , , and then . . .

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Strathmore Ivory

Stamps:        Stampers Anonymous Newspaper Scraps Background,

                           Impression Obsession Bark, Studio Borders L2E

                           Studio Borders VI, Stampin’ Up Trefoil Border, Ornamentum                            Cancellation, Hero December Mark

Inks:               Hero Black, Distress Brushed Corduroy

Dies:              Lawn Fawn Say Cheese, Simon Says Cheers!, Tattered

                           Lace Everyday Sentiments: “Birthday”, Impression

                           Obsession Flags

Doo Dads:    May Arts Jute, Distress Stickles Black Soot 

A Day to Celebrate

Here's another example of a bright idea that looked great in my head, but the reality came out vastly different . . .

My plan was to stamp an all-over image in VersaMark and then randomly overstamp it with my favorite splotchy image inked with a few bright colors.  I'd forgotten that die inks will never reproduce well over colored cardstock.  So my next attempts will be done on white or cream cardstock.  Stay tuned . . .

Cardstock:   Marcos #110 Jute, Bazzill Purple

Stamps:        Judikins Esponge Background, Alias Smith & Rowe

                           Flowers/Swirls Background, Art Impressions

                           Background #2, Hero Day to Celebrate

Inks:               VersaMark, Hero Black, Brilliance Sunflower Yellow,

                           Victorian Violet, VersaColor Baby Blue, ColorBox Black

Emb Powder:   B’Muse Monterey Blue, Deep Indigo, Brilliant Yellow,

                                UTEE Black, Judikins Metallic Bronze, Detail Black,
                                 Stampendous Pearl Lustre Emerald, Amethyst

Dies:              Mama Elephant Femme Frames, Simon Says Fresh Daisies,

                           DieNamics Labels and Tabs, Memory Box Cascadia
                           Butterfly Trio

Watercolors:   Inktense Pencils Iris Blue, Sicilian Yellow, Apple Green,

                              Dark Purple

Doo Dads:    Gold cording

New Home

Our exceedingly dear family friend Susi has made the difficult decision to move from her heart's delight adopted state of Georgia back to her home state of California.  It was a tough decision, but strong family ties have drawn her homeward and I thought her return warranted some cheerful greetings . . .

The die for this little house with its cute windows and mansard roof includes almost everything needed.  I used my tiniest hole punch to make a doorknob and then decided that adding a bit of white Victorian gingerbread trim would not be amiss.  In my stash, I found a "waste" strip left over from a package of white trims, and its narrow width was perfect for this layout. 

Moral of the story:  never throw anything out!

Cardstock:   Generic scraps Brown, Blue, Yellow, Silver

Stamps:        Love You to Bits Speckle, Meer Image Speckle Strip

Inks:               Ancient Page Chocolate, Hero Black, Distress Weathered

                           Wood, Pumice

Dies:              Cottage Cutz House, Mama Elephant Peek a Frame,

                           Impression Obsession Plane with Banner, Savvy Tree,

                           Fiskars punches Clouds

Doo Dads:    Decorative trim scraps White

Faith, Peace, Encouragement

It's been awhile since I've done an Asian theme, so I had an especially good time on this layout . . .

This card is going to Ellen Tessler of Tessler Crafts, who suffered a dual tragedy late last year when she had a massive aneurysm, followed 12 days later by the death of her husband.  She is being well cared for by her loving family, is making wonderful progress,  and expects to be back on the stamp show circuit as soon as possible.

Ongoing prayers for her full recovery are gratefully accepted . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Leap Frog, Strathmore Soft White, Generic

                           Asian paper, Black scraps

Stamps:        100 Proof Press Old Japanese Text, Stampin’ Up “Faith”,

                            “Peace”, “Friendship”

Inks:               Hero Black

Dies:              My Favorite Things Vertical Stitched Strip, Mama Elephant

                           Peek A Frame, Repeat Impressions Flip Stitch

Doo Dads:    Red eyelets, Black cording