They never end...

For some reason, the need for sympathy cards this summer never seems to end. The stash I had is long gone, & I can't keep them on hand. This one is done mostly with dies. I used the beautiful lattice die from Cheery Lynn Designs along with the Honey Blossom Sprig from Memory box.  The dove is a Craft Smart stamp colored with Prismacolor markers.

I used the same sprig for the inside as well & added a sentiment from Stampin Up.

My grandson is here this week & he built me a new light box. I think it has helped a lot with the quality of pictures, although with this card it is harder to tell because of the lack of color. Aren't grandchildren wonderful? I personally think they are God's gift to you instead of winning the lottery! They are worth much, much more!!

Catch you later!

Rain at last!

After days of triple digit heat, we are finally getting a break tonite.  We got a tiny bit of rain, but even that was welcome after days without any. The areas just south & east of us look like they got a nice downpour.

I have another thank you card to share tonite.  This is one of Mo Manning's beautiful little gals. I colored her with Prismacolor markers & used a Spellbinder Fleur de Lis Rectangle die to cut her out. The paper is from Imaginations. The sentiment is from Inkadinkado & seemed a perfect choice.

It's still cloudy out & hopefully, we may catch a bit more rain before it all moves on.  I'm sure the farmers have their fingers crossed.

Catch you later!

Another day of heat!

Hi all,
The heat continues! When I left work tonite, my car temp said 107 just sitting there.  After I drove it & it cooled down, it was only 103! ha ha  I know it will cool down by December, but that seems a long way away at this point!

Today I have a thank you card.  I need several & this is the first I've had a chance to make.

The stamp is one of my favorites & one of the first I bought when I started to stamp. It is a Whipper Snapper stamp & the doily is from Spellbinders.  I used an old EK Success corner punch on the corners & the paper is from Recollections.

I hope you are all staying cool & getting at least a little rain from time to time.  We have had none & I think we are all praying for it at this point. The crops are just wasting away. And we won't talk about the lawns!

Catch you later!

The heat continues..

The heat continues.  It was officially 103 degrees here today & according to the news report, up to 109 in some parts of town. Tomorrow will be yet another day of it.  I don't remember a summer so hot.

I have a sympathy card tonite. I made this over the weekend & still need a couple more.  It has been a hard summer in our family.

The color didn't photo well on this, but is actually brighter in person. I used a Cheery Lynn French Lattice die for the background.  The flower is Memory Box's Honey blossom Sprig & I stamped the sentiment on a Martha Stewart oval. Another Martha Stewart punch for the border & that was it.

This is the inside of the card.  I used the same sprig but cut it in black.  It was an easy card & one I hope they like.

Catch you later.

Turn the heat off!!

Somebody turn the heat off!  It's 102 degrees right now and tomorrow is supposed to be "warmer" according to the weather channel.  Don't they mean "hotter", not "warmer" anyway?  I don't consider this as warm. It's plain hot, miserable, sticky, "icky" weather right now.

Enough complaining.  Today I have another guy card for work.  I don't know this guy well, but am told anything with a motorcycle on it would make him happy. Not having a motorcycle stamp, I went searching for a digi & found one at Birds Cards. I'm hoping it will fill the bill.

Again, I went with plain & simple.  The paper is from Authentique and I cut the image & sentiment with Spellbinder dies. You can't see it well, but I added a little Diamond Glaze to the red to give it some dimension. it was colored with Prismacolor markers.

Stay cool!  I'll catch you all later.

Have a picnic!

Ok, I know it is too hot to have a "real" picnic, but maybe we can have one on paper!  I have another birthday card for work & didn't want to go traditional "guy" stuff so I settled on a picnic theme. Yes, gals, I do work with ladies too! lol  Right now, it is about half & half. 

As I look at this now, I'm wondering if I made it too "girly" for a guy. I may have to rethink this one! ha ha  I fell in love with this tablecloth paper from Authentique. Wish I had bought several of these

6 X 6 pads now.  The corners are made with a Marianne Design die & the stamps were from an old Stampin Up set I rarely use. it was colored with Prismacolor markers. If you haven't checked them out lately, they now come with the same brush tip as Copics & are also alcohol based, but at a fraction of the cost.  

 Catch you later!  I think I better go work on a more "manly" card. ha ha                                                                                                                          

Happy Retirement

Hi everyone,
I hope your Monday was a good one & it's cool wherever you are.  We hit almost 100 again & tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer. This has been such a strange summer.

Enough of that.  Tonite's card is a retirement card for one of the guys at work. He isn't a fussy kind of guy so I kept it pretty simple.  I paper pieced the chair & umbrella with more of the Creative Imaginations 6 X 6 paper pad I used.  The stamp is from Studio G. I added some stickles to the sun to glitz it up a bit!  The circle sentiment is from Stampin Up. The corners are from an EK Success punch I have had for years.

Stay cool!  I'll catch you later with something different.

Continuing the theme...

Hi, everyone!

Today I'm going to continue the "quilt" look again.  I've had a chance to play with the die my daughter sent me & I think the possibilities are endless.  I used the medium die from the Spellbinders Angle Approach to make this card. I think it would be perfect for a quick thank you card, but could easily be turned into a birthday or get well card or just a thinking of you card too.  With all the delicious papers available, the possibilities are endless.

I used one of the papers from a Lily Bee Design 6 x 6 paper pad for this one.

Off to see what I can come up with for a retirement card.  Stay cool!!  I'll catch you later!

How Sweet Is This?

How sweet is this?  I came home tonite to find a package from my daughter (and chief "enabler") in my mailbox. It appears Ben Franklin has some of the new Spellbinder cut/fold/tuck dies now & I am now the proud owner of the Angle Approach model.  I really didn't have time to make a card tonite, but just had to play with it! This is what I came up with.  Extremely quick to cut & fold, really impressive & something out of the ordinary.  I love it!  This will be her thank you card so she can see it in person & up close. ha ha

Pretty awesome, right?  It looks like part of a quilting pattern that I've spent hours sewing.
There were 3 dies to the set, but I used a button instead of the third die for some added interest.
What do you think?

It's been a long day & I still have a lot to do.  Catch you later!

Am I the only one??

Am I the only one out there who hates making guy cards?  For me, they are always a struggle. You can only do so many fishing, golfing or hunting cards without repeating yourself unless you have limitless supplies of those stamps on hand.  I would much rather buy the "cutesy" stamps. The hedgehogs, cats, bunnies, kids....you get the idea.  And you can't really add much ribbon to a guy card. And certainly no lace, flowers or doily dies!  Heavens forbid!  So that leaves you dull & boring.  Having set the stage.......

Here is the front of a birthday card I need for work next week. He is in charge of our IT Dept. and this should be perfect for him. I colored it with copics & Prismacolor markers, used some Spellbinder dies to mat & added punched corners.  The paper is from a 6 X 6 stack from Recollections.

This is the inside of the card.  Simple. Manly....boring.  Luckily, we don't have too many more guy birthdays this month so I can go back to fun cards!   The guys would probably be just as happy with a piece of typing paper folded in half & "Happy Birthday" written on it!

Catch you later.

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th everyone!
I hope you are enjoying the day off & celebrating the day wherever you are.  The fireworks have been going since yesterday in my neighborhood & I can hear them now down the street.  Poor Brady will be so glad when this week is past.  His idea of celebrating is NOT to make loud noises!

Today's card is a wedding card I finished for a wedding on Saturday.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute!  It's just been one of those weeks.

This is the front of my card.  I used a Lili of the Valley stamp for the image & colored it in Prismacolor markers.  The pink doily was courtesy of a Martha Stewart punch set. The image was cut using a Spellbinder die. A few pearls & presto, I'm done!

I finished the inside with the same paper & punches and a sentiment from My Sentiments Exactly.

The heat index is over 100 again today. The humidity is 73% which is making it just miserable. My heart goes out to everyone still without power in this horrible heat.

Better get busy & quit rambling. I need to finish a male birthday card I need for work. Before I go, however, you might want to see a photo of my "helper" in action. I was emptying my waste basket in my stamp room & doing some cleaning this morning when I heard my garbage sack making crinkle sounds. Someone who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty had crawled inside & was checking out the papers  to be sure I hadn't thrown away something he liked.  ha ha

Catch you all later!

Are you tired of flowers yet?

I had planned to post a guy card tonite, but found myself finishing this flower card instead.  This is another digi from Alexandra's Art & Papercraft.  She does amazing work. I colored it with copics & used a Lifestyles Doily Oval die to cut it out. The paper is from Recollections & the ribbon is from my stash.

I was going to add more to it, but decided I liked it simple.  I guess I am still "layer" challenged. ha ha  This will be another birthday card for work.

Stay cool everyone! At least we have electricity!!  My heart goes out to those on the East coast who don't. I can't imagine going a week in this heat without it.

Catch you later.

More flowers

Hi everyone!
I think I am on a flower roll right now.  Yesterday's posting was geraniums and today's post is a beautiful cup of daisies.  My two most favorite flowers!  The stamp is from Inky Antics and I colored it with pencils & gamsol.  The gingham was punched with a set of Martha Stewart punches and the white doily behind the image is from a Spellbinder die. The small butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch & the larger one is a Cheery Lynn die.

I'm entering this card in two challenges.  The Dutch Dare Challenge and the Charisma Cardz Challenge#25-Anything Goes.

Have a great week, everyone, and try to stay cool!  

Catch you later!