CAS-ual Fridays Sentiment

Here is a clean and simple version of my last post. I wanted to draw attention to the sentiment, which is the challenge this week at CAS-ual Fridays #43, "For Sentimental Reasons," making the sentiment the focal point.  CAS means Clean and simple, without a lot of patterned paper or design elements, leaving a lot of white space. This time the lightly embossed flowers show up. I used the same pre-embossed card on my last post and they didn't.

My one thin strip of patterned paper runs horizontally under the sentiment, hopefully drawing the eye to the words. My image stamp is a large Sweet Leaf green design that I stamped in 2nd generation before I stamped the words in black. It's very faint, but should also draw the eye right to the words. The ribbon and felt flower and heart were added as the simple embellishments. In the English language we read top to bottom, left to right, so the flower draws the eye to the starting point for reading and the heart goes with the sentiment's meaning and is the final punctuation. OK-enough description from the retired reading teacher!

Like I said in my last post, I pray that you have friends who touch your heart and that you can be that kind of friend to others.

5.5" Square Card Recipe:
Paper - Prima "Madeline;" Bazzill light blue cx
Stamps - Close To My Heart "Friendship" (February 2011 stamp of the month)
Inks - CTMH Sweet Leaf, Black, Tulip
Other - CTMH Juniper loopy ribbon (from Creative Basics Wings collection), Chipboard hearts; felt flower from my stash, unknown

Sketchbook Saturday #51 - A Friend Who Touches Your Heart

Recently I had a friend give me a gift that amazed me, like she'd done many times in the past. She's gone through many trials and financial loss the last four years, but continues to be the most generous person I know. When I was young I used to tell the giver, "Oh, no. You shouldn't." I didn't want to be selfish or greedy, or I was overwhelmed by the generosity. But I learned that it's more important to be a gracious receiver, which blesses the giver. For this friend a simple thank you card seemed like a weak substitute for what I felt. So I chose a quote that says a lot more for this card. I know the message of this sentiment will cheer her heart and let her know how important her friendship is not only to me but to many others as well.

Chupa designs beautiful sketches and cards on her blog. She's also gracious in allowing us to make changes to her sketch. I used her sketch this week, #51, with a minor change. I made the sentiment the main image and used a small piece of design from the paper to embellish it where the text would have been.  Here's her sketch:

I used a card base embossed with flowers but they didn't show up this time in the photo. The stamp set I used has several large and medium sized images like the one I stamped in Sweet Leaf behind the sentiment. I hadn't used that set that way before so I think I'll make a few more cards like this.  I hope you have a friend like mine and that you can be that kind of friend to others. And may God bless you!

This card is linked to the following challenges:
Sketchbook Saturday #51 at Random Acts of Creativity
Sentimental Sundays - #92 Words of Encouragement

5.5" square card recipe:
Paper - Prima "Madeline", Bazzill light blue cardstock; CTMH Hollyhock CS
Stamps - Close To My Heart - Friendship (Feb.2011 stamp of the month)
Ink - CTMH Sweet Lear, Black
Other - CTMH Red Button collection, Sweet Leaf Ribbon Collection, Chocolate Waxy Flax; wired ribbon

Winter Scene for Christmas Challenges with Sketches #21

This stamp set was included in a set of winter stamps that I got a couple of years ago. I hadn't used this one yet, but when I saw the sketch at Christmas Challenges with Sketches and their challenge to make it for winter, I knew I could use this stamp and combine it withWinter Wonderland's challenge to make a winter scene. Since the house looks a lot like our brick home (minus the garage) I thought this would be a good card and message to send either to our daughter in Ohio or son in Kansas to remind them of home. The house with sidewalk is taller than any of my other stamps for a scene. I stamped it on Colonial White and again on White Daisy. I used the Colonial White image as my base, then did paper piecing from the White Daisy to add snow to the bottom. I stamped the snowman and tree on the main image. The tree trunk overlapped the snowman, but that was OK because I stamped him again on White and cut out the snowman body and hat and glued it over the first image. All of the snow in the image and the three snowflakes were highlighted with a Sakura Glitter Gel Pen, but they don't seem to show up in the photo.



5" x 6.5" Christmas Card Recipe:
Paper - My Mind's Eye Lost and Found "Portobello Road;" Basic Grey "Little Black Dress;" Bazzill (teal cardstock); Close To My Heart Chocolate, Colonial White, White Daisy cardstock
Stamps - Close To My Heart "Homeward Bound"
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Other - Copic Markers, Martha Stewart snowflake punch; Close To My Heart baker's twine; Sakura glitter gel pen; Cuttlebug (large, snowflake) embossing folder

Perfect Sentiment for 52 Christmas Card Throwdown

This week our Christmas cards for 52 Christmas Card Throwdown use a CAS sketch, meaning Clean and Simple. By the time I added my sentiment, I'm not sure I left enough white space, but, oh well, that's the style I'm still trying to learn.  I resisted added more than one embellishment, which was the baker's twine bow. Here's the 3rd sketch for this year:

The Perfect Sentiments Challenge #22 is to use a Christmas sentiment. I love this sentiment, so I looked through my stamps for borders that would go with it. I heat embossed each row of gifts with Versamark ink and embossing powder. I tried to mat the sentiment with shapes the same color as the gift borders for more interest and added a bow on top so it would also look like a gift. To keep it Clean and Simple I had to resist the temptation to add more bling, but maybe on a different card. . .

6.5" x 5" Christmas Card Recipe:

Paper - Bazzill and Recollections cardstock

Stamp - Close To My Heart "Holiday Trinkets"(gift border), "Christmas Magic" (retired sentiment)

Inks - Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black

Other - CTMH embossing powders - Cranberry, Crystal Blue; Stamp 'n' Stuff Topiary; Baker's Twine; Spellbinder's nestabilities

Our Daily Bread Designs - Birthday Dogwood

The buds on my fruit and flowering trees are getting fat and my daffodils are in full bloom. Spring seems like it's already here! In Missouri, our state tree is the flowering dogwood. Where I live, I don't see wild ones, but my favorites in yards that I pass are the pink dogwood. Our Daily Bread Designs Shining the Light Challenge #99 is to use stamped flowers on your card. They have a beautiful dogwood flower stamp in their set called Grow in Grace. I combined that flower image with two birthday sentiments from the set called Birthday Blessings to make this card. I used the deconstructed sketch #42 for the design.

I colored the floral image with copics after stamping with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The birthday sentiment was actually written in one line, but I used Scotch tape to cover one word at a time to get it to fit in a circle. You put tape over a word before inking, pull off the tape, then stamp, then clean the stamp so that the first word doesn't show up when you stamp the second word. I love that trick! I also love mixint stamps from different sets. Using the beautiful dogwood image on a birthday card for Virginia ODell next week was perfect for a lady turning 87 years young. Here's what the inside birthday sentiment said:



Using the uncolored image and Proverb together still gives me plenty of room to write my own addition to the greeting. I'm linking this card to Birthday Sundaes for challenge #46 this week - to show a birthday sentiment.

6.5" x 5" Birthday Card Recipe:
Paper - Basic Grey "Curio;" My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose "Mabel" (tiny floral and solid brown strip)
Stamps - Our Daily Bread Designs "Grow in Grace"(dogwood), "Birthday Blessings"
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Vintage Photo, Close To My Heart Brown Bag, Honey
Other - Cuttlebug "Kassie's Brocade" embossing folder; Spellbinder's Lacey Circle and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities; circle punches; CTMH blush ribbon; lace unknown

Beauty for Ashes - MOJO Monday 231

About 15 years ago I adopted Isaiah 61:3 as a life verse. After going through a lot of difficulties, I felt my life was greatly blessed. I even made a layout of photos taken in my garden which I titled Beauty for Ashes. I made this card with that verse from Verve, hoping to pass that great truth on to someone else. I used the beautiful color combination suggested by the Color Throwdown Challenge #182 using the papers from MyMind's Eye Stella & Rose-Mabel collection.

The MOJO Monday Sketch #231 worked well with this verse and these colors.

With this special scripture, I'm linking this card to Scripture Thursday #19 at Little Birdie Blessings. I'm currently encouraging another young woman who's facing many trials. I love the part of the verse that says "a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." It goes along with a hymn I think of a lot "Count Your Blessings." You hear a lot of people say that you should count your blessings, but this hymn says to do this while you're going through the trial and you'll be singing and getting help and comfort.

When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

• Count your blessings, name them one by one;
  Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
  Count your blessings, name them one by one,
  And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold.
Count your many blessings, money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your Lord on high.

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey's end.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/707#ixzz1oYPDRBhv

5" x 6.5" Card Recipe:
Paper - My Mind's Eye -Stella & Rose "Mabel;" Close To My Heart Colonial White CS; Bazzill CS (brown)
Stamps - Verve "Isaiah 61:3 Plain Jane," "Hope Blooms"(flowers)
Ink - Ranger Vintage Photo; Close To My Heart Cranberry (sponged around text semi-circle, flower edges)
Other - Close To My Heart Cranberry brads, Buttons Red Collection, Waxy Flax- Chocolate, Juniper ribbon

Age Is Just a Number - Frosted Designs Challenge

I love this birthday sentiment from Close To My Heart: Age is just a number . . . Yours will remain unlisted! It's perfect for my girlfriends, over 60 but still think we're 18.  Here's my card for the Fabulous Friday Challenge at Frosted Designs. I used Graphic45 "Fashionista" paper.