Sunshine and Smiles

While New Orleans is being flooded with too much rain, here in Missouri we're praying that there will be some rain left as it heads our way--and soon. The county where I live has missed most of the meager rainfalls that surrounding counties have had. I think that's why I've been looking for the usual wild sunflowers that bloom here in August and I don't see any.  So I decided to make my own sunflowers this week with cards. The image and sentiment for this one comes from Clear Dollar Stamps. It's called Sunshine and Smiles. I chose the words that say, "Sunflowers are God's way of saying "Chin up!" They really do turn their "heads' to face the sun as it moves across the sky. So do my daffodils in the spring. I thought that was a great analogy.

 

I used this great sketch from Fetch a Sketch, making it rectangular.

 

I scissor distressed the edges of my image, added one row of stitching with embroidery thread on the left side of the mat. (Wow, I actually could see the hole in the needle to thread it!!) I tied organdy around the punched border and topped the bow with a wooden button tied with embroidery thread.

 

Now I'm turning my head up like the sunflowers and praying for some of that rain!

 

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Crafting for All Seasons  Challenge #34 - Stitching Real or Faux (mine are real)

Crafty Creations Challenge #185 - Summer Scene
Fetch a Sketch Challenge #31
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge #154 - Punches, dies, or shapes

5.5" x 4.25" Encouragement Card Recipe:
Paper - The Paper Studio "Simple Elegance," Close To My Heart White Daisy, Olive, Honey cardstock
Image - Clear Dollar Stamps Digital "Sunshine and Smiles"
Markers - CopicsY17 (Golden Yellow), E33 (Sand), E25 (Caribe Cocoa), BG10 (Cool Shadow), N02; CTMH Alcohol markers Creme Brulee, Olive, Light Olive, Black
Accents - CTMH Goldrush organdy ribbon (retired), Chocolate wooden button; white embroidery thread
Tools - Martha Stewart border punch, CTMH ruler (with holes - to punch for sewing) needle for hand stitching, scissors for edge distressing


 

Masculine Encouragement Card with the Deconstructed Sketch

My mind is still thinking about the wonderful times we had taking the grandchildren to the ocean for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Something about watching the waves continually roll in and seeing the water going as far as the eye can see gives me an appreciation of the immense power of God. There's also something soothing to the soul to hear the unstoppable rhythm of the waves, puncutated by the occasional calls of birds.

I wanted to work with an image of the sea, so I decided to use this lovely lighthouse and matching papers from Clear Dollar Stamps, "Sheltering Lights." I chose a sketch from the Deconstructed Sketch #62.

I printed the papers that accompany this digital image on 4x6 Colonial White cardstock, instead of the 8.5 x 11 that was the default size. The way you do this in Photoshop is simply to change the image size. That made the stripes and waves a great size for a small card. I wanted the card to be 4.25 x 5.5" so I can eventually send it to Stars and Stamps Operation Write Home. I also tried to keep the embellishments rather flat so it's easier for the service men to mail.

The blue ricrac is under the image instead of over it, but I liked the way it resembles the theme of ocean waves. I chose yellow for the photo corner on top to resemble the light given by a lighthouse. I added streaks of glitter glue as an extra source of light and embellishement.

For additional encouragement, the inside uses one of the verses that comes with this set of images:

"I am the light of the world; he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 8:12 

May God's Word be a source of encouragement for you as you make decisions and may He comfort as well as guide you during difficult times.

Challenges for this card:
The Deconstructed Sketch #62
Stars and Stamps Operation Write Home - encouragement
Crafting for All Seasons #32 - Splash Me
Crafty Ribbons Challenge #24 - The Sea
Alphabet Challenge Blog -  M - for Men
Hand Stamped Sentiments Inspiration Challenge #128 - Beach/Pacific Coast Highway
Going Grey with Scrap-Creations Challenge - Water

Perfect Sentiments Father's Day Card

This week the challenge at Perfect Sentiments is to make a card with a sentiment for Father's Day. The twist is to use this color story as inspiration for your card.

My husband loves car shows and vintage cars, so this card is definitely for him. I used this sketch from Sketch Saturday Challenge #211 for the design of this card.

I embossed both the red background and the grey strip using Clockworks. It reminded me of the gears in a car. I carefully lined up the gray strip across the middle of the embossing folder so that I could match it to the embossed design on the red background. The main image was stamped three times with different colors of ink and pieced back together so that each part showed up more. There was a title on top that said, "Enjoy your special day," but I covered it with the Father's Day sentiment that came with the stamp set. I retraced the words with a darker marker so they would stand out and pop dotted it on the black background. The three pewter brads on the bottom are all different and show up better in this photo:

Our wonderful sponsor is Shelley's Images. Please join us in making your own card with the perfect sentiment for Father's Day!

Challenges for this card:

Sketch Saturday Challenge #211 - sketch

Celebrate the Occasion #66 - Fathers Day

Cooking It Up with Katie #97 - Texture, Metal, and Masculine

Crafting for All Seasons #29 - for a man

One Stop Craft Challenge #186 - Father's Day

 

5" x 6.5" Father's Day Card Recipe:

Paper - My Mind's Eye "Kraft Funday - Everyday Fun;" Close To My Heart Cranberry, Gray Flannel, Colonial Whte, and Black cardstock

Stamps - CTMH "Vintage Father's Day" (retired)

Inks - CTMH Black, Brown Bag, Gray Wool

Accents and Tools - CTMH Black Hemp, Pewter Designer Brads; Cuttlebug "Clockworks" Embossing folder