Teapot Tuesday's Scripture for Jean

Happy Wednesday!  I want to start by sending out a big "Hello!" to all of you, and a big "Welcome!" to my new followers!  It is always a joy to read your comments, and I love hopping around to see your blog posts, too.  My kiddos have really kept me running at full speed this week and I've fallen behind.  If I haven't made it by to visit your blog in the past couple of days, don't worry, I will be catching up in the next day or two!

Over at Splitcoast Stampers, our Teapot Tuesday recipient this week is a sweet lady who is battling cancer.  In addition, she has macular degeneration which prevents her from doing the knitting and crafting she has enjoyed in the past.  We were encouraged to use flowers or a cactus on our cards (if you squint really hard, you might be able to see the flowered outlines on the blue patterned paper), and we were told she would enjoy Scripture.  I wanted to use cheerful colors, so I reached for a sunny yellow and sky blue combination.  Only after I finished the card did I remember that the inspirational teapot was green and pink (yes, it's been THAT kind of week!).  But I did see a tiny bit of yellow on the teapot, so I'm going to call it good!!

Here's my card:

This is one of my favorite Bible verses.  I memorized it when I was a teenager and it provided great comfort during the "dramatic" teenage years!  Now as an adult, it provides me with lasting comfort in the midst of life's difficulties.  Last year, Our Daily Bread Designs asked stampers for suggestions of Bible verses to include in their upcoming Scripture stamp series.  I suggested this one, and they chose to include it in their Scripture Series 3 set (and I received the set free!).  I use this verse (and others in the set) quite often on my cards.

To create this card, I cut panels of two-sided patterned paper, wrapped baker's twine around the smaller panel and attached it to the larger panel.  I attached the panel to a heavyweight white card stock base.  I stamped the verse on white card stock in Versamark and Memento Tuxedo Black (I find this makes the text a bit darker) then die cut and embossed it.  I die cut a scalloped circle from the patterned paper and attached the sentiment using dimensionals.  I attached the scalloped circle over the baker's twine with dimensionals, then die cut two flourishes and attached them behind the scalloped circle.  Finally, I added Stickles to the flourishes for dimension and texture.  And just for good measure (and to cover an ink spot!) I fussy-cut a flower from the patterned paper and attached it to the back of the card, using Stickles on the flower center.

I wish I could see the looks on the faces of the Teapot Tuesday recipients when they open their mailboxes to find them full of cards from all over the world.  What fun that would be!  If you want to check out the current Teapot Tuesday challenge, just click on the link above and jump on in...you're always welcome!

I hope to get a couple more cards made and posted before the end of this crazy-busy week I'm having!  Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you'll visit me again soon!

Products Used:

Stamp: Scripture Series 3 (Our Daily Bread Designs)

Paper: Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb. card stock (Neenah); 110 lb. white card stock (Wassau Paper); 
two-sided card stock (unknown)

Ink: Versamark and Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)

Tools and Accessories: Nestabilities Standard Circles Large and Classic Scalloped Circles Large (Spellbinders); Scribbles Swirls Sizzlits (Sizzix); Crystal Stickles (Ranger); Daffodil Baker's Twine (Strands Etc.); 
Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

Twins and Teapotters

Happy New Year!  I was lucky enough to kick off 2013 with some gorgeous snow which really put me in a festive mood.  It made for a beautiful start to the New Year!

Today's card is a Teapotter's Challenge card at Splitcoast Stampers.  This week our cards are celebrating the birth of fraternal twins born to a sweet couple, Andrea and Erik.  They've been married for 19 years and have suffered through miscarriages until finally, at the age of 44, Andrea gave birth to twins.  Yay!!  Every time I hear a story like this, it makes me smile all the way from my heart.  I know quite personally how hard it is to go through a pregnancy after miscarriages, and I know the amazing joy of bringing a child safely into the world after months of waiting and worrying.  So I am thrilled to send this card to Erik and Andrea with my very best thoughts and wishes:

 

I just love this image of a mother cradling her child.  I used this image and sentiment on the cards I sent out to family and friends after my daughter was born.  The sentiment is a Christmas one (I'm sure you recognize it as a movie title), but I think it fits perfectly.  My daughter's birthday is in December (and Andrea's twins were born in December), so the sentiment suits the season well.  I feel such deep and utter contentment when holding my children and I know that really, truly, my life is wonderful and amazing and blessed, and this stamp really puts my feelings into words.  Since these babies are boy and girl twins I had to include some pink and blue on my card, which I used in the background.  I kept the baby's blanket a neutral yellow so it could symbolize either baby in her arms.  I wanted the focus to be on the image and sentiment so I kept this card free of embellishments. It is a simple card, but I hope it conveys my heartfelt joy at the birth of these beautiful, much-anticipated babies.

I started by stamping my image and sentiment on Solar White 110 lb. card stock, then used watercolor crayons and brushes lightly dipped in water to color the image.  I inked the edges of the stamped panel with Rich Cocoa and set it aside.  I used the direct-to-paper method to add blue and pink ink to another panel of Solar White card stock and adhered the stamped panel to the inked one.  I attached pink and blue patterned papers to a Solar White card base, then added a satiny white ribbon to cover the seam.  I attached the stamped piece to the card base to complete the front of the card.  I also stamped a sentiment on the inside which reads, "It's the smallest things that fill your heart."

I never get tired of making baby cards!  Since I took a short break from stamping over the holidays, this challenge gave me a happy excuse to get inky again.  Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you have a Happy New Year!

Products Used:

Stamps: Sketches (Stampin' Up!); sentiment from Hampton Art

Stamp on Inside Panel: Smallest Things (Stampabilities)

Paper: Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb. card stock (Neenah); Clouds (Paper Pizzazz);
Baby Girl Elephant (Reminisce)

Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Summer Sky and Angel Pink (Tsukineko)

Tools and Accessories: Watercolor crayons (Staedtler); ribbon (Offray)

Embossed Snowflakes CASE

How can we be approaching the middle of November already?  What a month it has been!  My baby has gone from taking just a few steps at time to practically sprinting everywhere, keeping this mama running from one end of the house to the other all day.  While she's wearing me out, she's also wearing herself out, which means she's sleeping better and I can get a little more crafting time in at night.  So there is a silver lining!

Today's card is for the Featured Stamper challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.  For this challenge, we pick a card from that person's gallery to CASE (Copy and Share Everything).  We are asked to make at least two changes so the card is not an exact duplicate.  Here is a link to the card I chose to CASE:  Embossed Snowflakes

And here is my card:

While I kept the overall design and color scheme of the original card, I made a few changes.  I used a different snowflake embossing folder because I don't own the one she used.  Her embossing folder left a flat area for stamping in the bottom right-hand corner, but mine does not, so I stamped my sentiment on a label and attached it to the panel.  I sponged ink around my sentiment to add dimension to the label against the white background.  I didn't have the sentiment she used so I chose a different one, and instead of pearls in the centers of the snowflakes, I used White Enamel Accents. 

I started by dry embossing a piece of Whisper White card stock with an embossing folder in my Big Shot.  Next I stamped my sentiment on another piece of white card stock.  I didn't like the color I was getting with Night of Navy by itself, so I inked my stamp first with Cobalt and then with Night of Navy.  This achieved the deeper color I was looking for.  I cut out the sentiment with a labels die in my Big Shot, sponged around the edges with Night of Navy, then adhered the sentiment to the white panel.  I attached the white panel to the Night of Navy card base, then added White Enamel Accents on the snowflake centers, which I left to dry overnight.  This card was quick and easy to put together, and I love the colors for winter.  I could easily change the sentiment to something "not-Christmasy" for a winter card that could be used throughout the season.

Here's a tip for using an embossing folder in a die cut machine (such as the Big Shot): If my card stock isn't getting as deep of an impression as I'd like, I mist the card stock with a bit of water right before putting it in the embossing folder.  I will sometimes run the folder through my machine more than once, but I usually find the water mist does the trick with just one pass through the machine.

I have a few more cards in the works and hope to post another one tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by!

Products Used:

 

Stamp: WordPlay - Joy (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Whisper White and Night of Navy card stock (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Ancient Page Dye Ink in Cobalt (Clearsnap); Night of Navy Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)

Tools and Accessories: Big Shot (Sizzix); Snowflakes #9 embossing folder (Sizzix); Nestabilities Labels Eighteen (Spellbinders); White Enamel Accents (Inkssentials)

Our Fairy Tale

It's finally Friday!!  This has been one very busy week at my house.  I am looking forward to a weekend of...cleaning and organizing.  Ugh, doesn't that sound like fun?!  But I will be grateful for a little time to get it done (and for a husband who will spend some quality Daddy time with our kids so I can have some time to work uninterrupted...or at least "mostly" uninterrupted!).

I am trying to make several Valentine's and love-themed cards for Operation Write Home this month, and I've been challenging myself to use colors other than the traditional red/pink/white combinations.  Today's card uses navy blue and white, although in the picture the navy blue looks more like black.  I used a very special stamp for the sentiment on this card.  It's a stamp I used for my wedding several years ago, and it is still one of my favorite stamps.  I like to use it for weddings as well as love cards, and I'm happy to have a reason to ink it up again!

Here's my card:

I started with a Night of Navy card base and used some patterned paper from my stash (I'm really working hard to use more patterned paper on my cards).  I had to get a little crafty to get the patterned paper to work just right.  I really wanted the navy blue stars to border my sentiment, but when I placed the panel on the paper it just didn't fit right (the light-colored stars were bordering on one side instead).  So I cut the patterned paper panel and rearranged it to fit behind my sentiment panel, then adhered my sentiment panel with dimensionals so you cannot see the "missing" patterned paper behind it.  Because I used thin dimensionals (1/16"), the sentiment panel is close enough to the card base to completely disguise the missing patterned paper behind it.  Easy fix!  

I stamped the sentiment in Night of Navy on white card stock, but the white was just too stark against the background, so I sponged Not Quite Navy chalk over that piece.  I like it much better that way.  I added white and Night of Navy card stock layers behind the sentiment to really help it stand out.  I considered adding embellishments but felt that if I left it as is, it could be used for a man or a woman. 

I like this sentiment so much that I plan to make a few more OWH cards with it using other papers and colors (and maybe I'll make a "girly" one so I can add a little bling!). 

I hope you have a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

 

Products Used:

Ink: Night of Navy Classic (Stampin' Up!)

Sentiment: Stamper's Anonymous

Paper: Night of Navy card stock (Stampin' Up!); white card stock (Wausau Paper); patterned paper (unknown)

Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals and Not Quite Navy chalk (Stampin' Up!)