I Thought of You Today Card

Time has been very precious lately.  End of the school year rush to complete homework, schedule SAT and ACT testing, prom tuxedo renting... I go on not because my increasingly independent children need anyone to help them through these activities but because I can feel time slipping away where I won't be able to claim busyness created by children.  When did that happen!!!???!!

Since the work trip, I've not fully gotten my mojo back.  This card might have been just what I was looking for in the mojo-infusion department.  Here's the details:

• The background is created using a light blue cardstock embossed with a Darice embossing folder.
• The card base and the matting are from the same piece of textured brown cardstock.  
• The patterned paper comes from the Stampin' Up Attic Boutique collection that was sitting on my craft table.  I've a few brown ink fingerprints on that patterned paper, did you see them?  I'll call them charming and unexpected.  I distressed the edge with my Tim Holtz Distress Tool.
• The border was created with a new die from Memory Box.
• The flower was first stamped with my Tattered Blossom stamps and then cut with the coordinating dies.  Wow, does that stamp and die make a fabulous flower?  I then dropped some Crystal Accents on the flower and sprinkled Krystallos Shard Glass.  This stuff creates a really sparkly result in person.  Just the right finishing touch.
•  The butterflies came from my Purple Cow CraftGeek Pin It tool.  This tool works like a stapler, but with small shaped embellishments.  It seems to work, though I'm still figuring out how to use them to best effect.

The inside of the card needed a little treatment because one can't write on brown cardstock.  I used a piece of coordinating patterned paper from the Stampin' Up Attic Boutique collection and a piece of cream cardstock.  The small flower was made with the same cardstock as the one on the front of the card.

All in all, I'm pleased with the result.  This card will go into the stash, waiting for that perfect moment to send a word of encouragement to someone.

Don't forget that I've posted a comment party for some blog candy.  Please click through the link, read about my great fortune that, in the end, I am hoping will result in a small fortunate event for you.  All you have to do is follow my blog and comment to win!

Hope your day is special, I thought of you today!

A Sparkling Hello

I had the great fortune to be blessed by one of my blog friends, Loly.  She blogs over at Card Ville.  She emailed me out of the blue one day and asked for my address.  Apparently she had somehow got her hands on duplicate set of Simon Says Stamp's Very Special clear stamps and wanted to share with me.  That is so generous and kind of her!  I promptly sent a thank you note off to her to let her know how touched I was with the gift.  Loly couldn't stop at sending me the stamp set all by itself, but instead included lots of fun goodies along with.  Isn't she grand!?

• The flower was cut from MME's Ooh La La For Her paper pack using my Heartfelt Creations Tattered Blossoms dies.  I then shaped the flowers, layering the cuts and creating a glitter center with some Crystal Accents and Peacock Feathers Distress Glitter. 
• The Hello die cut was part of the gift from Loly.  She provided a black, white and the patterned paper cuts.  I thought that the layering really added depth along with the linen background to add texture.  
• The sequins were also a gift from Loly.  She's a peach and so this card basically made itself.  

I continue to be amazed at how kind and generous blog friends are.  I'm an introvert at heart and so I make only a few close friends and stick by them with a fierce loyalty.  I'm not sure when Brandy and I started this blog over 3 1/2 years ago that I thought I would come to know, care for and be cared for by others as a part of the blogging world.  It really does make blogging a special treat and so I thank God today for Loly and her generosity as well as the other blog friends I have made.  Let's keep it going!

I'm going to link this up with Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: Journey.  It really has been an amazing journey this past 3 1/2 years.  This card is proof!  I'm also linking up over at the Inspiration Journal's April Monthly challenge: A Few of My Favorite Things.  Besides how much I love the Heartfelt Creations flower dies (one of my most favorite tools), the friends I've made blogging are definitely one of my favorite things!  Finally, I'm linking up over at Word Art Wednesday's Challenge #126: Anything Goes.  These opportunities to share my talents add to the feeling of community that blogging brings.  Come join the fun or just stop by to look at all the amazing talent on display just waiting to inspire and/or encourage you. 

Tattered Blossom Heaven

I told you Brandy had been at it again.  Heartfelt Creations has been on her mind for the past month.  We booked our annual convention fun mid-December by registering for classes at CK's Scrapbook Convention scheduled for April 12-13 right here in Mesa, Arizona.   Each year we have a classic debate.  Do we take classes?  Since we began our creative paper journey over a decade ago at the convention, we've taken a few (read *many*) classes.  Additionally, with all our friends online who blog and inspire us providing the techniques and guides, we find there are few techniques we actually need instruction on.  So, Brandy and I have agreed that taking classes is less a learning experience and more an inspiration experience.  As such, we've come to find that class projects that *by the picture alone*  do not inspire our creativity should not be taken.  Last year's Cool Closures (We thought we might actually learn some cool closures.  We were wrong!) and Digital Photography classes were good examples.  We picked these two because we thought we might learn something innovative and new.  We just learned there is really nothing new under the sun that can't be googled and figured out rather than paying somewhere between $20-$30 for the pleasure.

This year stands to be significantly different.  We've decided *by using their product* that Heartfelt Creations products and classes provide exactly what we're looking for in a class.  Their classes have value- for the $25 class fee you receive all project materials (usually to make 3-4 cards or a 2 page layout) and a voucher for a free $15.99 stamp at their convention booth.  That works out to $3 a card, the instructions (written so you can take them home) for the project, and a stamp set that is totally worth the price.  Bonus is the time spent enjoying a 1 1/2 hours with your best friend.  So this year we only signed up for Heartfelt Creations classes.  Our "class load" is heavy this year because of the wonderful timing of sign up- post birthday for me.  We decided to enjoy the Delicate Aster class, Decorative 3D Cards, Heartfelt Techniques, and Heartfelt Layouts.  I'm not sure whether we can take such heartfelt times, but we're going to give it the 'ole college try. 

Brandy will also tell you that she scraplifted the entire design for these two cards directly from Heartfelt Creations' Related Project Samples tab for the Tattered Blossoms stamp set.  The recipe can be found here.  I'll politely disagree and point out a few improvements/advantages to Brandy's design.  First and foremost to me, the use of the clear pink pearls softens Brandy's card making her design slightly more girly to me.  Also, by not using the die to cut out and emboss the sentiment, I think she's made the swirl stamp the cornerstone and star of this show.  Not that I don't love a 3D'ed sentiment, because I do.  Just that direct stamping the sentiment for me in this case makes the card more simple in one way and more sophisticated in another.  Also, the use of the die to cut out one of those tattered blossoms and 3D it off the page again, for me, draws the eye to the star of the show which is the swirl.  I also really love the soft.as.butter yellow paper used in the background layer.  Makes those flowers pop!

Brandy used her Copic markers to color in all stamps, otherwise she pretty much followed the recipe.  Here's the products she used:

Tattered Blossoms Swirl Stamp Set

Tattered Blossoms Stamp Set

Tattered Blossoms Die

I'm pretty sure the sentiment stamps come from the stash, though I don't know the maker.

Before I go, just a quick note to give the props to Kathy Roney (whom I don't know personally) who not only made the original creation but graciously shared it with us all to be copied.  By pointing out what I like in Brandy's card I don't want to imply I don't love Kathy's creation.  It is beautiful and not lost on me that she thought of it first, something I have not done.  As I continue in this disease though, I find that sometimes it helps me to think about why I love a particular card and contrasting two similar designs can really bring that out for my broken down, not so creative self.  It helps me understand what draws me in and ultimately is the only real way to release my not so inner critical, perfectionist. it.will.never.be.right old lady so that the I LOVE TO CREATE part of me can get out.  If you're secretly like me, try it.  It might help too.  If you are like Brandy, what are you doing here?  Go make something would ya, because you make great stuff!

Andie (for Brandy)