Sep 25, 2019

So Mini Hellos on the Foiled Fox Blog

Sharing 3 cards on the Foiled Fox blog today. You can find the post here. They all use a set I love, The Stamp Market's So Mini Hellos.

Had a lot of fun with this set and you can read all about it and some tips on using it.  Thanks for checking it out!!


Sep 23, 2019

Autumn at the Dallas Arboretum

The calendar says it's autumn, but Dallas has its own ideas! It's still hot and sunny. No complaints though - after watching what is going on in Houston and the Bahamas, I don't think I'll be complaining about the weather again.

When we moved here last year someone told me that the trees would go from green to brown and that there would be no fall colors. That certainly wasn't true in our neighborhood -- but not until mid November. Since September has been warmer than usual, I'm not sure we'll get enough cool weather to turn the leaves this year, but it will be fun to wait and see.

In the meantime, there's the fall festival at the Dallas Arboretum. The arboretum is our favorite place in the city. Dallas isn't a tourist destination -- it doesn't have the natural beauty that other places have. But it does have White Rock Lake and the Arboretum that runs along the side of the lake.

Mike ran a race there the other day, and instead of running (never going to happen),** here are a few pictures I took.

An arch of crepe myrtles.


Pumpkins line most of the main walkways.


There are numerous sculptures of children throughout the park. I think they are all for sale. So fun!


Another mini waterfall tucked away off the main paths.


There's a Pumpkin Village with a Charlie Brown theme that is darling and perfect for kids (and adults!). Open for the next few weeks.


Gourds everywhere.


Lucy's on the job.


I do wonder how all these pumpkins and gourds will withstand the hot sun, but in the meantime, they are beautiful.

MOOD WHEN DONE:  Grateful!

It's been a year since we moved into our house. It's been a bumpy transition year, but we are so happy to be near our son. That has really worked out well.

I hope to be back soon with a card, but only after I can take a decent photo. None of them are coming out - grr.

** Have you seen the movie Brittany Runs a Marathon? Highly recommend and based on a true story.


Sep 17, 2019

Hello (Rainbow Style) on Foiled Fox

I'm on the Foiled Fox blog today (Tuesday) with this little number. You can find the post here.


Fun to make and fun to write about it. Hope you check it out! Thanks.

MOOD WHEN DONE:  Well, happy! Hope you are too.

Sep 10, 2019

Copic Colored Thank You (Power Poppy)



I still had the Power Poppy Strong and Beautiful set on my table, so why not make a couple of more cards? Used a sentiment from Penny Black.



Stamped with Memento and colored with Copics; masked and blended some pale blue ink over the card, particularly near the flowers.


Also colored this with Copics and then colored the background with a blue Copic. I wasn't 100% happy with the background so I blended some blue ink over the background (and a bit of the flowers).

MOOD WHEN DONE:  Happy! I'm not sure about the pink and blue combination. Part of me loves the bright fun colors, and the other part feels like it's too much pastel in one card. Got an opinion?

These both took awhile to make -- but even longer to photograph! All my cards, regardless of light source, camera or phone camera, white settings, etc. have a gray cast. I finally started using the Dodge tool in PicMonkey and my pictures are improving and look more like the cards themselves. It's a work in progress.

In addition to working on photo editing, after years of floundering, I am getting my Copics in shape and using them! Most were dry, and/or the nibs were no longer working well. Little by little, I'm getting reinker$ and new nibs. Focusing on a relatively small number of colors, as trying to collect all of them and keep them all inky is ju$t too much. I'm using colors recommended by Yana Smakula in this post.

Later this week we are going to Fort Worth to see a Monet exhibit. It's the last few days of the exhibit and we would be foolish and sad to miss it, so I am glad we cleared our calendars to make time.

And that's it! Hope you are having a good week.



Sep 1, 2019

Have an Incredible Birthday


Totally inspired by Yana Smakula and some floral cards she's made recently. Here's one example. Love, love, love, her cards.

Copic-colored this beautiful image from the Strong and Beautiful set by Power Poppy. Marcella Hawley draws the most gorgeous florals -- I want them all (but no, I will not have them all). Sentiment is from the same set.

Isn't that shade of yellow fun? It's from somewhere. I really need to organize my cardstock when I get it....

MOOD WHEN DONE: Happy. It was good to be back in my craft room. I need to spend more time with floral stamps!

Can't remember whether I've mentioned it, but I started volunteering at the Dallas office of the International Rescue Committee. It's good to get out and feel more connected.

Speaking of Dallas, we left Northern Virginia a year ago this weekend. It's been great being closer to our son, but man it's hot here!! HA.