Sympathy

My former parish has lost a wonderful, highly creative woman I've known for twenty nine years.  As carnations were her favorite flower, I used my carnation die for her husband's card . . .

A gently smooshed background and a few shimmers on the flowers and this simple card gets sent with love and cherished memories . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Light Rosy, Strathmore #100 Bristol     

Inks:             Distress Tattered Rose, Peeled Paint

Dies:            Goodculler Stitched Rectangles, We-Buys Cute

                     Chrysanthemum, Tattered Lace Everyday Sentiments:                                           “Sympathy”                

Doo Dads:   Past Time Stamps Multi Ultra Fine Glitter, Inkssentials

                     Enamel Accents White      

Shamrock

Faith and begorrah!  There's always something about a white and lacy piece of cardstock that seems to work so well for St Patrick's Day themes . . .

 . . . and some textured gold embossing doesn't hurt either.  What do you think?

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Jade, Strathmore #100 Bristol     

Stamps:       Studio G “Shamrock”

Inks:             VersaMark, Ancient Page Pine, ColorBox Gold

Emb Pwdr:   Baked Texture Patina Oxide, WOW Ultra High: Gold,

                     Ranger Gold

Dies:            Spellbinders Resplendent Rectangles, Poppy Crafts

                     Bunch of Four Leaf Clovers, Cugap Potted Plant,

                     Waffle Flower Lacy Layers 2                                

Doo Dads:    Pilot Marker Gold

Blossom

As feather images are a favorite of mine, I couldn't resist getting this wonderful flowery feather die:

A crisp, textured white, paired with black, and set off with a trio of colored petals and a few sparkle dots, which I'm sure the camera hasn't picked up.  Regardless, I love the fresh look this combination has and knowing me, I'm sure to revisit it many times in future!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Stedner Bright White, Strathmore # 100

                     Bristol Smooth         

Inks:             Distress Faded Jeans, Twisted Citron, Dusty Concord

Dies:            GJ Crafts Feather, DieVersions font Noodles: “Blossom”       

Emb Fldr:     Taylored Expressions Weathered

Doo Dads:    Martha Stewart Glitter Onyx          

Live

Lately, Pinterest has had a spate of interesting ways to distribute paint onto a surface.  One method looked like a lot of fun:  pea-sized blobs of thick paint were dotted over the surface  about 2" apart, and then repeatedly dabbed with a flat ended stencil brush . . .

 . . . the dabbing distributed the paint and also did a fair amount of blending.  I used the side of a palette knife to add some vertical strokes for texture.  The medium I used was different than the paint the artists used and I would like to experiment with their choices.  Meanwhile, I used what I had and thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Parakeet, Strathmore #100 Bristol          

Stamps:       Limited Edition Script 2

Inks:             Distress Faded Jeans, Shabby Shutters

Dies:            Mama Elephant Femme Frames, W-Buys Cute

                     Chrysanthemum, Memory Box Cascadia Butterfly Trio,

                     Arich Rounded Corners Stitched Rectangles, Recollections

                     Word Fetti: “Live”                  

Doo Dads:    Delta Texture Magic Spring Green, Fern Green, Bungalow

                      Blue, Stampin’ Around Gold Dust Glitter 

Bloom

After starting off with a fair idea of where I wanted to go with this design (that almost never happens), I got sidetracked and wound up with this instead . . .

I found myself in the mood to play with watercolors and thought I'd challenge myself with some rather large spaces to work with.  Those petals got bigger and bigger as I was working on them.  But I persevered anyway.  Yes, I've a lot to learn, but I'm quite a bit ahead of where I was a few years ago.   

           Onward - and hopefully upward!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Pomegranate, Strathmore #100 Bristol,

                     Nicole Black

Stamps:       Peddler’s Pack Four Daisies

Inks:             Gina K Amalgam

Waterclrs:    Gansai Tambi Mid-Yellow, Olive Green, Wine Red,

                     Deep Pink

Dies:            Frantic Stamper Bloom                  

Doo Dads:    Wilhold Glitter Black           

Happy

Happily, I stumbled onto a blog recently that featured a very clever way to work with an embossed design . . .

After putting the cardstock into an embossing folder and running it through the machine, she cut around a few of the leaves and then inserted the focal point done on a separate piece of cardstock.  I loved the idea and made my own version.  I loved the contrast and the texture and hope you do too!

Cardstock:   Strathmore Bristol #100     

Stamps:       Sweet ‘n Sassy Majestic Monarchs

Inks:             Distress Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord, Pine Needles,

                     Hero Unicorn, Black

Emb Pwdr:   Hero White

Dies:            Sweet ‘n Sassy Majestic Monarchs

Emb Fldr:     Cuttlebug Leafy Branch

Doo Dads:    Spectrum Noir Sparkle, Inkssentials Enamel Accents Black  

Memories

Concord & 9th's newest Turnabout stamp set was just released and I had to have it.  I've long wanted the ability to make a multi-image background in several colors and now I can . . .

The two embossed flowers are in honor of a wedding anniversary.  As Jack died only two months ago, this is Eleanor's first anniversary date without him.  Speaking from experience, I can attest to the fact that "firsts" are the hardest.  I hope this brings her some comfort.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Admiral, Strathmore #100 Bristol

Stamps:       Concord & 9^th Turnabout: Blooms

Inks:             Ancient Page Pine, Leaf Green, Indigo, Mandarin,

                     Distress Mustard Seed, ColorBox Gold

Emb Pwdr:   Ranger Gold

Dies:            Waffle Flower Lacy Layers 2, My Favorite Things

                     Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangle, Simon Says Fresh

                     Daisies, Goodculler Stitched Rectangles, YPP Craft 
                     "Memories”