A huge "Arggh!"

About my clutter...

Yes, I poked at it and it didn't attack me, so I investigated a bit further.  You know how it is, you poke the beast, the beast is sleeping and you keep going.  Well, I made a discovery (besides the one that it isn't only crafting stuff that has wound up piled in my room).  I've ordered a number of kits over the past year or so.  I've also ordered a number of My Paper Pumpkin kits.  To date I have completed precisely one of those kits.  Appalling?  I would certainly agree.  I can see where I will have to either stop ordering kits altogether or begin completing them so that, at the very least, they afford me an example to show to my customers.  So far just showing them a full package has sold precisely none.

I guess I'm just not a "kit girl".

Anyone looking for kits that aren't available any longer?  I may just have one...or two...or...

*sigh*

Stop the world and let me catch up!

I can't believe it's already June.  Where has time gone?

In April I managed to join some challenges but a lot of my energy was taken up with Khali Kho.  Poor little furry girl had major dental issues.  Who knew that a cat can have its mouth begin to treat the teeth as if they are the enemy and begin to "resorb" the teeth?  Of course after the veterinarian mentioned that, I had to research the condition on the internet and soon discovered that, yes, the condition exists.  More importantly (as well as more frightening) it occurs much more frequently among cats than one would think.  Upwards of 50% of dental problems are probably caused by resorption.

There is no cure.  There is no medicine one can give the cat to stop the condition.  The teeth will be slowly resorbed but during this time, with the enamel disappearing in "girdles" around the teeth, eating and even day-to-day life becomes very, very painful.   Poor Khali Kho is such a lightweight to begin with and began wasting away in front of me, spending more and more time sleeping.

And so I followed the vet's advice and the advice given on the various sites that I had researched, and had her teeth removed.  Initially it was to be all the back teeth, but under closer examination, during the surgery, the vet determined that the top canines were also affected and so my little furry girl only has her bottom canines and the tiny little front teeth that are barely visible under normal conditions.  She was such a trooper.  Now, a month later, she is happily eating (soft food) and playing.  She has regained her weight and is up to just over 7 pounds---yes, just a little furry girl.

Looking at her one would never guess she's virtually toothless. 

May has been a crazy month.  Of course there is the whole retiring list from Stampin' Up! which has left me with even more "stuff" and no place to stash it.  And don't get me started on the Sneak Peek which has added even more products.  I have to somehow dig myself out of this clutter of products before there is either an avalanche that causes me physical injury or a notification nailed to my crafting room door by the local health inspector saying it's not habitable as is.  *sigh*

Who has time to de-clutter?  It seems that May barely came before it went and I'm now into June, waiting for my first order from the new Annual Catalogue.  Where will the products go?  I have absolutely no idea.  Is it time for an intervention?  I am guessing it probably is.  *double sigh*

Well, that catches me up to today.  Was my post uplifting?  Doubtful.  But at least I've posted again and don't have that little voice nagging at me any longer.

FM206 --- A Rainy Day

So far this April our "rainy" days have been rather white instead of wet.  Thankfully that white stuff only lasts a day or two before it melts but it's almost the end of April and all I can say is "Enough already!"  The rainy day theme from the Friday Mashup really appealed to me.

A couple of years ago we had the prettiest Designer Paper with little umbrellas all over it.  The colours really made me think of Spring and those umbrellas---perfect for this challenge.  Of course I used it for the background of my card.  For the stamping inside my shaker window (I'm going to miss those Windows framelits) I simply inked up the umbrella from the Life's Adventure Hostess stamp set along with its sentiment.  Since April is usually a windy month, I've also got that stamped umbrella flying through the air.

The polka dot edge along each side?  I used my 1/16 inch hole punch.  I love the simple but elegant finish it gives, don't you?  

For more great rainy day cards, check out the Friday Mashup.

Happy Mother's Day -- Two Challenges

I haven't been entering as many challenges lately.  Life gets busy and some things have to give.  When I saw the picture inspiration over at the Stampin' Royalty Challenges, however, I knew I would be making a card for it.  The colours are, after all, my mother's favourites.  She may be gone but she will never be forgotten.

Mum loved flowers and the soft tones similar to Coastal Cabana.  For my base, therefore, I used the Coastal Cabana cardstock.  I added a layer of Gold Foil and then a layer of Shimmery White which I had first heat-embossed in gold using the Corner Garden background stamp.  I coloured some of the flowers and leaves with a light wash of Coastal Cabana and Pistachio Pudding ink using my Aqua Painter.  For the sentiment I cut out the "happy" from more Gold Foil and then stamped the "Mother's Day" using Coastal Cabana.

A few sequins scattered around with rhinestones in their centre, a double butterfly made from Coastal Cabana and Gold Foil, more rhinestones, and  my card was complete.

One thing that isn't visible in the photo is the Shimmery White paper on which I've stamped my images.  In real life there is a shimmery "sparkle" to the paper that makes the soft colours simply beautiful.

For more cards using this photo inspiration, check out the Stampin' Royalty Challenge.

And of course I had to enter my card into the Just Add Ink Challenge since I've used so many sequins.  For more of their wonderful cards, check out their site here.

FM203 -- Critters and colours!

I really enjoy the challenges at the Friday Mashup.  They're inventive and lots of fun, especially when one decides to do both parts of the challenge.  That would be option three.  It really adds to the challenge.

Create a project using " So Saffron, Calypso Coral & Pool Party*"

Create a project using "Easter Critters"

or Mash it Up! and create a project with "Easter critters and the colors above"

Right from the start I knew I wanted my card to be whimsical.  What could be more whimsical than an owl wearing bunny ears?  Luckily I could use the owl stamp that I carved and then, after hunting through my stamps, stamp the bunny ears from the Happy Easter Bunny stamp and cut them out.  Of course I decided to colour my owl and those ears with the Pool Party and Calypso Coral.   If you're going to be whimsical, you may as well go all the way, right?

I've used two retired stamp sets for this card:  Easter Blossoms for the eggs and Take Care for the branch and nest.  The Happy Easter sentiment is from the current Indescribable Gift stamp set.  The owl, as I mentioned before, is my own carved creation.

I began with a base of Naturals White and then added a layer of Pool Party.  Then I added a layer of Calypso Coral after embossing it using my Spring Flowers embossing folder.  I stamped the branch and the nest on a piece of Whisper White using Soft Suede and coloured the nest with my So Saffron Stampin' Marker.  Then I used my second to largest Ovals Collection framelit  to cut out the image.  After that I used a sponge to add So Saffron to the perimeter of the oval.  It added some nice dimension to the shape.

After stamping my owl on a piece of Whisper White using Memento black ink and the eggs on the same piece using Calypso Coral ink and Pool Party ink,  I cut out the images with my Paper Snips.  After cutting out the bunny ears, I coloured them using my Calypso Coral and Pool Party Stampin' Markers and mounted them on Calypso Coral cardstock.  I cut around them, leaving a narrow border.  To that border I added a layer of Dazzling Details and also to the little "head-band" that connected the bunny ears.

You can see all the details in my card.  The final touch of the Rhinestone in the middle of the Pool Party egg finishes off my creation.

I've also entered my card in the Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge for their special Holiday Challenge as well as the Paper Plunge for their Easter projects.

FM197 --- Party Animals

*So excited to be a Friday Mashup Glamette for this card.*

I've  been busy lately and haven't entered as many challenges but when I saw the one at the Friday Mashup Challenge Blog I knew I had to make a card for it.  After all, I had bought the From the Herd stamp set and what better opportunity to use it than this?

It's all about farm animals and bling, with bonus points for a goat.  Well, of course mine would have a goat.

I decided to make a tag with only the goat and the crazy chicken.  They were side by side and so inking them up with my Stampin' Marker was easy.  I used my Scalloped Tag Topper punch to cut the top of my tag and then used the Project Life corner punch to round the bottom corners.  After colouring my tag with my Blendabilities, I mounted it on Smoky Slate and cut a small border around it.  

My base cardstock is Smoky Slate followed by a layer of Naturals White.  Then I added a layer from the Adventure Bound Designer Series Paper Stack.  The grass image was the perfect background for my tag.

It's almost impossible to tell from my photo but the "Happy Birthday" is cut from the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper.  For some additional bling I also added a red rhinestone to the goat's bell to make it look more like a ruby pendant.

I couldn't resist using the retired Googley Eyes for the goat.  

For more cards with this theme, check out the Friday Mashup.

Twitterpated --- the best way to be.

*Thrilled to be picked "A Cut Above" for the Paper Players*

Get ready to hear all about what I love.  There is so much in this card that makes me smile.  Isn't that the best way to feel after creating something?

Those owls---I love them!  They are my creations.  I didn't just stamp them and colour them---well, yes, I did.  But besides stamping and colouring those adorable owls, I created the stamp from scratch.  Yes, I did!  I used the Undefined Stamp Carving Kit and my sketch and, after some heavy-duty carving, wound up with an owl stamp that makes me smile each time I use it.  What could be better than that?

The sentiment---I love it!   Twitterpated is a word with which I fell in love the first time I saw Bambi.  To have it as a stamp just rocks my world.  Don't laugh!  Maybe my world is easily rocked but I embrace the feeling.  In this case I heat-embossed the sentiment on the retired Designer Series Paper using my Early Espresso embossing powder.

The branch?  I just winged it and cut it out of a piece of Early Espresso Core'dinations paper after first putting it through my Woodgrain embossing folder and lightly sanding it.  The heart?  Thanks to my Hearts Framelits and my Silver Glimmer paper, the heart makes a perfect frame for my owls.

My base is Early Espresso and my next layer is Marina Mist.  For a bit of added texture, I used the Filigree Frame embossing folder on the Marina Mist.  As a final touch, I scattered some pink and red glimmer hearts across the card.

This was such fun to create!  I hope you love it as well.

I've entered this card in the Paper Players Challenge which is all about "critters" and Valentines.

I've also entered my card in the Dream Valley Challenges.

And, finally, I've entered my card in the Paper Plunge.

Hugs & Kisses

February is the LOVE month.  You go into the stores and everywhere you look there is the red and white that defines Valentine's Day.  Hearts abound!  You can buy kisses everywhere---well, chocolate ones, anyway.

My card is all about kisses---well, hugs and kisses.  I've embraced the huge Ampersand embossing folder and really made it show off by using a piece of the retired Real Red Core'dinations paper.  Sanding the raised image slightly makes that ampersand something special, indeed.  I wanted to keep things simple and so used the Good Greetings stamp set and inked up the "hugs" of the hugs & kisses stamp with some Whisper White craft ink and stamped it at the upper left of the ampersand.  Then I inked up the "kisses", inked it using the same craft ink and stamped it at the lower right of the ampersand.  Simple but very effective.

I decided to use my Hearts Border punch along the top of the Real Red piece and then mounted it on a base of Naturals White.  Just for fun I punched out one extra heart from my Silver Glimmer paper and glued that into the second heart from the left.  To finish off I added three Rhinestones alone the left top margin and then another three along the right bottom margin.

For more cards using the code word Hugs and Kisses, check out Addicted to CAS.

For more projects including Valentine Wishes, check out SUO Challenges.

For more cards including hugs and kisses, check out the Curtain Call Challenge.

Dare to Dream

I love the new stamp sets in the 2015 Occasions Catalogue as well as the wonderful new Designer Papers available.  I also love some of the stamp sets that have retired as well as some of that wonderful retired Designer Paper.  What really gives me a lot of pleasure is when the new works beautifully with the "old".

For my card I've dipped in to my older stamp sets and have used the retired Loving Thoughts set along with the current Papillon Potpourri set from the Annual Catalogue and the Butterfly Basics set from the current Occasions Catalogue.   I also decided to use a piece of the Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper from the 2014 Sale-a-bration brochure.

Stamps:  Butterfly Basics (Occasions 2015), Papillon Potpourri (Annual Catalogue), Loving Thoughts (retired)

Papers:  Naturals White, Basic Black, Whisper White, Vellum cardstock, Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper (retired)

Inks:  Memento Black, Crisp Cantaloupe, Hello Honey, Versamark & Black Embossing Powder

Embellishments:  Rhinestones, In-Color Sequin Assortment, Essential Wooden Elements, Dazzling Details

For more cards using this design, check out the Friday Mashup Challenge.

A flood of Valentines

Sometimes it's about Challenges.  Sometimes it's about Valentines.  Sometimes it's about a little six-year-old girl named Daphne who is going through chemo right now and wishes she could be flooded with Valentines.  This will be in the mail to you on Monday, honey.  Stay strong!

Stamp sets:   Zoo Babies, You Plus Me, Confetti (retired)

Papers:  Real Red, Pistachio Pudding, Whisper White, Shimmery White, Red Glimmer Paper,          Stacked With Love

Inks:  Real Red, Old Olive, Pistachio Pudding

For more projects created with a Love/Valentine's theme, check out Stampin' Royalty.

To share a card with Daphne or send her greetings, check out her page on Facebook.

Guy Greetings meets Stacked With Love

The countdown has begun for Valentine's Day.  It's time to make those Valentine cards again.  This year there are some great "guy" themes in the stamps and papers of the new Occasions Catalogue.  I decided to make a tag with the muscle-man from Guy Greetings and then used a piece from the Stacked With Love Designer Series paper stack for my background.

I threw in some white, some Calypso Coral, a bit of Real Red some black and touches of gold.  I love the effect!  That gilded pocket watch was such fun to heat emboss using the retired Clockworks stamp set.  The scalloped polka dot Black ribbon is also retired but works beautifully for the top of the tag.  My sentiment is from the Good Greetings stamp set.

I've entered my card into three challenges.  It's perfect for the sketch in the Just Add Ink Challenge.

I've also entered my card into the SUO Challenge which is all about Valentine wishes this week.

And finally I've entered my card into the Stampin' Celebration Challenge which is all about love this week.

I hope you'll check out these challenges to see what others have submitted.

So Sweet --- FM194

I love the Friday Mashup because it mixes things up.  This week, for example, they are challenging people to create a project that combines baby with the colours tangerine, aqua and brown (plus a neutral).  Well, my neutral was easy enough.  White is one of my go-to colours, especially where baby cards are concerned.  The tangerine gave me a few second thoughts until I decided that, for baby especially, Crisp Cantaloupe is a washed-out tangerine.  The rest, Coastal Cabana and Baked Brown Sugar were easier to choose.

For my stamping I used the adorable little bunny from the Baby, We've Grown set as my image and the Hello Life set for my sentiment.  As an added mix-up I also entered the "Less is More" challenge for my sketch.

                                      

My base is Whisper White with my next layer being the wonderfully versatile Irresistibly Yours Designer Paper available through Sale-a-bration.  I sponged the edges with alternating Crisp Cantaloupe and Coastal Cabana to showcase the stars.

I decided to use a long strip of Vellum cardstock for my sentiment and first stamped it with the "so sweet" stamp using Baked Brown Sugar and then stamped right over it using my Versamark.  That way I was able to heat emboss the sentiment with my Clear embossing powder.  The Photopolymer stamps make exact stamping over an image as easy as can be.

For more cards using the baby theme and/or the colour scheme, check out the Friday Mashup.

For more cards using this sketch, check out "Less is More".

Amazing --- FM192

Have you tried stamping with your embossing folder?  If you haven't yet, you've missed out on some great background opportunities.  I've used the Lovely Lace embossing folder and my brayer to "stamp" a piece of Whisper White with the design rather than embossing it.  I love the wonderful background that it gives me, especially inked in Strawberry Slush.

For a fun play with shapes, I stamped the "scalloped" flower from the Crazy About You stamp set using Strawberry Slush Ink, off-stamped once, and then cut it out using my 1 3/4" Scallop Punch.  Then I used my retired Blossom Party originals Bigz die to cut another flower from Strawberry Slush cardstock.  My final floral layer was the little flower from the retired Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, cut from Hello Honey cardstock.  The centre of the flower just called for a Rhinestone.

I added leaves cut from Pistachio Pudding cardstock using my retired Secret Garden framelits, placing them over the "stamped" leaves of the background design.  For my sentiment I used the Painted Petals stamp set and Strawberry Slush ink on Whisper White.  After cutting it out using my Apothecary Accents framelit, I cut a Pistachio mat to complete it.

A heart cut from the Silver Glimmer paper topped by the bow from the Wonderful Wreath framelits, cut from Strawberry Slush cardstock, centred with a large Rhinestone, finished off my card.

My card perfectly follows the parameters of the Friday Mashup into which I'm entering it.  It uses the embossing folder stamping technique as well as having a mixture of shapes.

I'm also entering my card into the Paper Plunge challenge since it is almost entirely dependent on a variety of dies.

Just be happy! --- SUO #113

There are some great designs and products in the Project Life line.  Did you know that you don't just have to save them for your Project Life albums?  Those products are great for making a quick card.  Just check out the one I've put together here:

I used the large diagonal journalling cards, cut them and then flipped one over and glued them together to get that "chevron" look.  My base is Naturals White, then a layer of Basic Black, then the "chevron" piece, then a layer of Strawberry Slush and finally pieces of two smaller journalling cards.  I love what they say together and the rainbow effect of the colours makes me smile.

For a bit of fun I added the retired Googly Eyes, a bow in Strawberry Slush and an arrow from the Project Life embellishments.

I hope you'll try making something that isn't scrapbooking with your Project Life products.

For more cards made from Project Life products, check out the SUO Challenges.

A "blissful" combination!

Of all the Stampin' Up! colours with which I've worked, Summer Starfruit has had the most intense emotional reaction.  People either love it and find it elegant or they detest it (notice I've used a stronger word than merely "hate") and compare it to baby poop.  There are very few reactions that could be considered neutral.  This is a colour that evoked strong reactions from the moment of its introduction.

I am one of the people who considered it elegant, especially when paired with certain colours.  Although it has been retired, Summer Starfruit is still a colour to which I turn for some projects.  The  following special fold card for The Paper Plunge Challenge is one of those projects.  In this case I've paired it with the new Blackberry Bliss.  The result is "blissful".

For the side "wings" I added a layer of Blackberry Bliss and then for my next layer, used some of that wonderful new Sale-a-bration Irresistibly Yours Designer Paper, sponged with the Summer Starfruit.  The sponging really helped the glossy stars to show up.  To dress them up a bit, I used my Confetti Stars Punch to cut some stars from a piece of Blackberry Bliss cardstock and added a few to the white stars by gluing them down uring my Tombo adhesive.

For the centre "diamond" I added a layer of Blackberry Bliss cardstock and then a piece of Whisper White which I first sponged around the perimeter using Summer Starfruit ink and then stamped images and the sentiment from the new Butterfly Basics stamp set with Summer Starfruit ink and Blackberry Bliss ink.

A little vellum butterfly from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set, stamped with Blackberry Bliss ink and coloured with my Summer Starfruit marker finished up the special fold card.

For more special fold cards, check out The Paper Plunge.

The elegance of silver and grey

I love the soft, almost dove-grey of Smoky Slate.  It's a beautiful, subtle grey.  I decided to mix it up with the Basic Grey because the two greys compliment each other so well.  Add in some silver and you have a very elegant, subtle card.  It may not be what some would consider Christmas colours, but as I've said before, I don't believe that Christmas is any set colour.

I used the Smoky Slate as my base and then added a layer of Basic Grey that I embossed using the beautiful Filigree Frame embossing folder.  I added a bit of Encore Silver ink which I sponged over the raised design---not a lot, but enough to pick up the embossing just a bit more.

Inside the embossed frame, I added a piece of the pretty Smoky Slate and white design from last year's Winter Frost Specialty Designer Paper cut with a Deco Collection framelit.  I sponged the perimeter using Basic Grey before adhering it.  I used Dimensionals to adhere the Basic Grey piece cut using my Chalk Talk framelit to the centre of that after heat embossing the bottom with "christmas" in Silver embossing powder.

Then I cut out a piece of Silver Foil using the retired "Merry" thinlit and also heat embossed two copies of the holly from the top of the Christmas Bauble using Silver embossing powder onto a piece of Smoky Slate.  I used Tombo glue to attach the "Merry" and then fussy-cut the holly pieces after colouring the berries with the lightest of my Cherry Cobbler Blendabilities.  I sponged a bit of Encore Silver ink over the leaves and berries to turn the colour into more of a blush and then attached them using Dimensionals.

A scattering of tiny Jewel Basic Rhinestones finished off the card.

The only thing wrong with using silver and subtle colours is that photos are difficult to take.  Without a flash (above), the embossed "christmas" and silver embossing around the holly is difficult to appreciate.  With a flash (below), the colours are slightly "off".  If you can imagine a mix of the two, that would be my card.

For more cards using the elegant greys and silver, check out The Friday Mashup!  I decided to mash my card up by using both heat and regular embossing.

For more cards conveying a feeling of happy or merry, check out the SUO Challenges.

Snowflakes

Sometimes we get so busy with our images that we forget how important the words are that we choose.  Today my card is all about the words.  Yes, there are images.  It would be a bit boring with nothing but the words, but the real emphasis of my card is on the words.

My sentiment is from a Stampendous stamp set that I picked up during the Boxing Day sales last winter.  This will be their first use and I love the way the card has turned out.  I've used one of my favourite blues, Marina Mist for the base and then added a layer of Whisper White and then a layer of patterned paper from the Santa & Co Designer Series Paper.  It's all about snowflakes.  That's what's on the paper and that's what is key in my sentiment.

I used the negative framelit die from the On Film set to frame my sentiment.  It is cut from Whisper White cardstock and centred with a piece of Marina Mist cardstock on which I've heat embossed the words using my White Embossing powder.  Just for fun I cut out two snowflakes from Whisper White cardstock and added them around the frame.  To finish the card off, I added one of those wonderful metal All Is Calm snowflake embellishments to the negative frame using white Baker's Twine.  The added rhinestones sparkle just like the snow does on sunny days.

I think we forget to have simple fun as we get older.  Like the sentiment says:  Take time to chase snowflakes.

For more cards that make you take notice of the words, check out The Paper Plunge.

For more cards all about the weather and with a metal embellishment, check out the Friday Mashup for which I have also included my desire to be on the Design Team.

Baby it's Cold Outside --- A study in purples

You've heard of people being blue with cold, right?  Well, this card is purple with cold.  I'm not entirely sure if that's a step up from being blue with cold or a step down.  Either way, baby---it's cold outside!  Here, outside my snug little crafting room, I look out on the wind whipping snow through the air and, according to the forecast, it's a chilly minus 21 out there (that's minus 6 Fahrenheit for those who don't live in Canada).  I don't care how you measure your temperature, by any standards that's darned cold!

The challenge at Sunday Stamps this week is for a card made using purples.  I decided to marry that challenge up with another one, from SUO, which is for markers.  I thought that using the wonderful Blendabilities alcohol markers for a marbled background technique would be just the right look for a snowstorm.  Along with that I used the adorable snowman from the Best of Snow stamp set and cut him out using the second smallest snowflake framelit from the retired Festive Flurry set.  I coloured his hat, nose and scarf using my Blendabilities as well.

Then I stamped my sentiment from the Project Life Holiday Cheer stamp set using Perfect Plum and cut that out using the smallest framelit from the Festive Flurry set.  I sponged the sentiment snowflake using Wisteria Wonder ink and the image snowflake using Perfect Plum ink.  After attaching both snowflakes to my marbled background, I used Snail adhesive to attach it to the base card.  My base is Wisteria Wonder followed by a layer of Perfect Plum.

It's a simple card but definitely gives me the impression of what I'm seeing from my window---swirls of snow.  I'm glad I'm inside.

For more cards using markers and marker techniques, check out the SUO challenges.

For more cards that feature purples, check out the Sunday Stamps challenge.

Joy in White, Black and Red

I love the look of white, black and red.  I can't remember a time when I didn't love the combination.  How happy I was, therefore, to find the new challenge at Make My Monday to be:

BLACK, WHITE AND A SPLASH OF
RED

The other challenge that I had planned to enter, the Paper Plunge, was asking for a clean and simple card.  Of course I combined the two.  They were a match made in heaven.

I began with a base of Naturals White, then a layer of Basic Black and then a layer of Whisper White.  I embossed the Whisper White with a Tim Holtz embossing folder of pine trees and sponged them lightly with black to emphasize their texture.  Then I stamped the deer from the retired Winter Post stamp set in Memento black ink.  I added a red nose with my Stampin' Real Red Marker and then added a bit of dazzle with the Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details.  Finally I stamped my simple sentiment from the Endless Wishes stamp set using Real Red ink and jazzed up the dot on the "j" by turning it into a star with my marker.

For more cards using these colours, check out Make My Monday.

For more cards that are clean and simple, check out The Paper Plunge.

     Stamps used:  Winter Post (retired), Endless Wishes
     Paper used:  Naturals White, Basic Black, Whisper White
     Inks used:  Memento Black, Real Red
     Tools and Embellishments:  Big Shot, Sponge, Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details,
         Stampin' Marker Real Red, Tim Holtz fir trees embossing folder

A Kraft Christmas triptych

It must be hard to be a weather forecaster.  Sometimes I think their job is along the lines of gazing into a crystal ball.  This time of the year, in my area of the world, checking the weather forecast becomes a nightly routine.  You want to know what to  expect tomorrow, whether it's because you have to go to work, leave on a trip, or simply go shopping.  Last year by this time we already had two feet of snow and bitterly cold weather.  So far this year we've had about six inches of snow and, while it's cold, it's not bitter.  Believe me when I say I'm not complaining.

The problem is with the forecasts.  We had to get our daughter and  her family to the Calgary airport on Saturday morning.  The forecast was for freezing rain followed by snowfall.  An hour and a half on the freeway in that type of weather was a daunting prospect, but family does what it must for family.  Saturday morning was clear, no rain, no freezing rain and no snow.  Again, I'm not complaining but we worried (a lot) for nothing.  Really, it's hit and miss with those forecasts and sometimes I wonder if they need a brand new crystal ball in the weather offices since their current one appears to be broken.

I like Kraft paper.  It has a colour all its own---something like a brown paper bag but nicer.  When the challenge from the Card Concept came along, a Kraft Christmas, I was delighted.  Making Kraft the "star of the show" was going to be fun.

I also love a nice triptych.   Being an avid photographer, I've mounted a number of photos in the form of a triptych because it can really make a statement.  And so my layout follows the sketch in the Just Add Ink challenge.

I decided to use the "Merry" from the thinlits that retired last year.  I love the script and thought it would make a great sentiment coupled with the "Christmas" from the Endless Wishes stamp set.  I used a base of Naturals Ivory and layers of Kraft paper and Cherry Cobbler.  The Kraft strips are cut with the retired Lace Ribbon Border punch which makes a festive pattern against their mat of Cherry Cobbler.

For more cards using Kraft as the star of the show, check out The Card Concept.  My card would be considered "Clean and Layered".

For more cards with a triptych layout, check out Just Add Ink.

     Stamps used:  Endless Wishes

     Papers used:   Naturals Ivory, Kraft, Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green (retired)

     Inks used:   Cherry Cobbler

     Tools and Embellishments:  Basic Pearl Jewels, Stampin' Trimmer, Expressions

          Thinlits Dies (retired), Big Shot, Holly die, Lace Ribbon Border Punch, Snail

          Adhesive, Tombo glue