Bouncing Brayers

Just recently I saw a gorgeous card that used the 'bouncing brayer" technique. Of course I had to google it and find out how to do it and saw many beautiful examples.  Thursday night the Cardologists played with brayers making lots of backgrounds.  Suzanne had made some delicious chocolate orange cookies for our dessert but couldn't join us.  (So sad)  But Suzanne, we didn't finish one card!  As soon as we heard the roads were icing up we closed up and hit the road. 

I made a card tonight with one of my backgrounds.  In my rush to post it and get to bed before midnight, I scanned it before the glue on the dew drops was dry.  (That's three more dew drops down and one thousand still to use.)

Stamps:  Hero Arts plant, Stampin Up hello
Dies:  Stampin Up Scallop Circle, Sizzix Circles, Heartfelt Creations posey
Distress Inks:  Worn Lipstick, Peeled Paint
Paper;  Stampin Up Certainly Celery
I wish you could see the glimmer mist that was spritzed on.  And now I must say goodnight before I turn into a pumpkin, or loose my shoe, or just fall asleep at the computer and forget to go to bed.  Hope all my friends are safe and snug in their homes. Goodnight.

Happy Valentine's Day

 We are catching the tail end of the storm that covered the country yesterday.  Luckily it didn't start until late last night so the Cardologists were able to hold their Valentine party.  Tina brought wonderful heart cookies for our dessert.  Not much stamping last night, but lots of goodies and laughter among friends.  Here is my Valentine:

 

Stamps (Retired):  Hero Arts Rose, DOTS balloon string, Stampin Up balloon
Word embossing folder and Ornament punch from Stampin Up

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's celebration - laughter among friends, chocolate, and time to stamp.

Here it is 2014.  Wishing all my friends a happy year with lots of time for stamping. 

I was on vacation this week - with electricity - but I finished only one card.  I played with Inkadinkado's Stamping Gear, a Christmas gift from Lola, one of the 7 Cardologists. 

Here is the card I made; part of the background is my attempt at using Stamping Gear; yes, I fear I need practice.  Paper and inks are Turquoise, Slate Grey and Basic Grey because I am going to enter in a challenge at Color Throwdown.

 

 

Dies:  Stampin Up arrow; Spellbinder label

Embossing folder: Tim Holtz by Sizzix

 

Have a happy and prosperous 2014!

 



Welcome to my blog on the last day of 2013.

It has been a week since an ice storm came through here and took out our electricity.  After three days it was restored - but only intermittently - until yesterday.  We are celebrating that we have had heat and running water for 36 continuous hours and counting; but also anxiously watching the weather forecast for the end of the week.  I took a lot of pictures since it is so hard to describe. We are so grateful to the many crews that have been working through the Christmas holiday to get us back online.

We couldn't stand outside without hearing the crashing of trees all around us.

 

There were five days of icy rain that built up an inch of ice.

Still driving with one eye out for branches hovering above the road.

 

 

I fully intended to post this Christmas card before the holiday, but was tending a generator instead. The idea for this card came to me in July, and as usual, I didn't start making until the week before the Cardologist's Christmas party.  

 

 

The challenging part was that children were looking in a window, but from the inside of the card they would have no faces. So I used a belly band (after tossing around the idea of cutting out faces of the cardologists and pasting them on). I stamped the children with brown ink on grey paper and colored with pencils.  The tree was stamped in green and colored with markers. It is more sparkly than it shows in the picture because it was done with the drier sheet technique. Of course I am now finding glitter everywhere!



 

 

Stamps:  Children by TooMuch Fun, Tree from a retired set by Stampin' Up

Die:  Small Madison Window by Poppystamps

Embossing folder: Tim Holtz /Sizzix

 

I wish all of you a happy, healthy New Year.

 



Happy Thanksgiving

Whew, it  has been a whirlwind since Stamp Camp; this month just flew by. I squeeze in a little time before bed each night checking out what all my stamping friends have been posting but have had no time to post myself.  I managed to get some Thanksgiving cards in the mail early this week before the holiday. People that know me were surprised.  Here I share the card that I sent to the Cardologists:

I found inspiration for the shape in a card by Nancy Riley also using the Stampin' Up set "Autumn Days", adding a sentiment from their "Happy Harmony" set.  I used the 'thumping' technique on the partridge using Chocolate Chip and Razzleberry pens although the Razzleberry doesn't show up well on the Pumpkin Pie bird.  I finally figured out how to use the Fiskars texture plate "scales" on the Big Shot through trial and error since none of the recipes I collected seemed to work with mine. The lace border is a Stampin' Up edgelit as is the label punch.  Paper colors: More mustard, Ruby red, Close to cocoa.  Some thrift store Cream,  a fall DSP and circle dies completed the card.

I am very thankful that a coworker asked me one day, fifteen years ago, if I wanted to go to a stamping party with her and meet a crazy bunch of ladies that spend all their money on stamps.  As a "habit" goes, this one is very rewarding and I have been able to meet so many very good friends.  I hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday with family and friends.