May 30, 2020

2 Cards Using Circle Dies + Some House Chat

I've got a couple of cards I made using no stamps -- just dies, paper, and adhesives.


Circle die (Hero Arts) and a Hello die from Right at Home. The Circles are popped up. Those hellos may bend in the mail, so I'll be sure to try and protect the card before I slip it into an envelop. The next size circle die was too big for 6 circles on an A2 card, so I went with the smaller one. Hope it works!


Cut some cardstock strips, die cut with a circle die and then cut the circles in half. (Note: using striped paper would have been a LOT easier.) The hello die is cut with gold glitter paper (not sure of the company that made the die).

MOOD WHEN DONE: Pondering

I like the idea of these cards, but they didn't quite meet my hopes.  I'm not sure if it is the colors or the layouts, but I'm not giving up on these geometric cards.

I've been spending a lot of time watching videos on YouTube and finally decided that IG + YouTube + Facebook + Blogs = too much social media, so I deleted my FB account. I thought about it for about 2 weeks and was concerned that I would miss it. But so far I don't. Better to spend that time on cooking videos (HA!).


And, for no reason at all, I took a picture of part of our house, which was built in 1930! I'm standing in the doorway between the breakfast room and the dining room, looking towards the living room at the front of the house. It's a sunny day, and even though no sun comes through the front, the picture is a bit washed out. I kind of like it! We were on the hunt for a painting for over the fireplace but the virus put an end to that. Someday.

In any event, that blue plastic tablecloth is on the DR table because that's where we are putting together jigsaw puzzles. Otherwise, I like to see the beautiful wood table underneath.

Speaking of art, see those 3 paintings on the wall?


They are made with encaustic wax. We bought them at a craft fair in Northern Virginia a few years ago and fell in love with the artist. I tried to take one off the wall to look for her name but they are on tight! Those walls are plaster over rock solid ship lap (or something like that). I am so tempted to buy some encaustic art supplies, but that's another rabbit hole in which I am not falling!

And that's it from Dallas. Stay safe. Stay healthy.

May 11, 2020

Memory Box English Rose Collage


Purchased the beautiful Memory Box English Rose Collage die and made these two cards. A few things  about this die --

-- I got it from Starlit Studio. This is a great shop to buy Memory Box, Poppystamps, Penny Black and a few other manufacturers. They are always sold on a discount and shipping is lightening fast.
-- I tried to link the die but no longer see it in the shop. I'm sure it is available elsewhere.
-- The die is detailed and prepare to spend some time using it. I needed a metal shim and patience!


The first time I used the die I ran it through white cardstock and then through pink, red, yellow, and green cardstocks. Adhered the white panel to a white card and then painstakingly glued each leaf and petal into the die cut spaces. Had The Godfather** on in the background and I'd say it took from the opening wedding scene until the tollbooth massacre to finish!

Since I had the die out, decided to make another card by watercoloring underneath the die.


Die cut the panel and gently placed it over a watercolor panel to eyeball where to color. Used some Zig pens to color through the design and then lifted the design to finish the watercolor. Lots of placing the die panel down, touching with color, lifting and finishing it off. Popped it up with teeny pieces of cut foam tape. Got me to end of the Baptism scene!

MOOD WHEN DONE: Great. Life goes on in this new and extraordinary way. I hope you are all doing well.



** The Godfather and The Godfather II are my favorite movies. I have them on record and often put them on in the background when I'm stamping. If you haven't seen them, get out from under that rock and watch!







May 4, 2020

Penny Black Bouquet Ballet



Last year I was privileged to do some design work for Penny Black and they sent me a generous amount of stamps. Now that I have thoroughly cleaned my craft room (AT LAST), I "found" a few things that I had forgotten about and Bouquet Ballet was one of them.


Watercolored with some long retired Ranger Adirondack Reinkers. I bought a set of 12 over 10 years ago and most of the bottles are still full. Such a great way to watercolor as the color stays pretty intense. Used ONE drop Raspberry and Sunshine for the top card, and one drop of Sail Blue reinker for the second card.





MOOD WHEN DONE:  Excellent!

We continue to be fine. Our reactions to staying at home pretty much mirror a lot of our friends -- it's old, but we are grateful for all we have.