Sparkle & Shine

There's a lot of sparkle & shine on this card, but unless you are holding it in your hand, you might miss it. So -- 

1. Stamped balloons from Everyday Doodles. Designed by Julie Ebersole, and since she is a fun stamper, it makes sense that this is such a fun set.

2. Paid attention to some design rules here -- color sets are in triangle pattern and there is an odd number of balloons. 

3. Covered the balloons with Tonic Nuvo Crystal Glaze, which DOES NOT CLOG.  100% recommend this product. Let it dry.

4. Added a sentiment from Label Love, from Altenew. 

5. Adhered a bunch of teeny tiny stars (not sure who makes them but I bought them on Amazon a long time ago).  I dotted the card with glue and then threw a bunch of stars on the card and waited to see what stuck! 

MOOD WHEN DONE: Can't Remember!  Made this a few months ago! 

I think I would like this card better if I hadn't trimmed the balloon panel and popped it up on gray cardstock. But it's still a fun card.

Well, Dallas is a dumpster fire now with respect to Covid-19, but never fear -- my fingers can still do online shopping! Hope you are all well.

Repeating Hearts

 

The little heart die is from the Essentials by Ellen Folk Hearts die collection that I used in yesterday's card.

1. Took a few ink cubes in a variety of warm colors and ran them across Neenah Solar white cardstock, overlapping the colors. I wanted some of the white to peek through. 
2. Let it dry (this takes a while). 
3. Made the sentiment and adhered it first.
4. Die cut, popped up the hearts with foam tape, added some colored gems, and trimmed and popped up on pale gray cardstock. 

Thought trimming the panel on the top and bottom would be a good idea, but now I think it makes the card look too wide. But I still like it and it will go in the mail.

MOOD WHEN DONE:  So happy I have this hobby!! 

Merry June 25th!

Since it's the 25th of the month, I decided to start posting Christmas cards on the 25th of June - November (and probably other dates as the holiday gets closer). I want to build a stash this year and not freak out on Thanksgiving.

This set is Honey Bee's Christ is Born and it's a keeper. It's versatile -- embossing, Copics, watercoloring -- lots of choices. I also have the accompanying die that I will use at a later date.

I stamped and embossed the entire image a piece of dark red cardstock with Hero Arts gold embossing powder (I've found that Hero Arts' embossing powders work best for me). Then I colored in the robes that Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus are wearing with a dark red Copic - R89. It added a little contrast.

I made quite a few cards with the entire scene (I'll post those another time), but at the last minute I decided to use the 2nd largest die from Folk Hearts. If you are looking to get some basic dies, I highly recommend this set of hearts. I love the longer heart shape and have used these many times.

Added the sentiment and few gold gems, and popped up the heart on a white base.

MOOD WHEN DONE: Happy. Glad to get Christmas cards started and I love how this turned out.

Thinking about starting your holiday cards?  Already finished?

More Friendship Blooms

Trimmed a panel of cardstock and stroked ink cubes to form the design you see. I tried out different combinations of ink pads and cardstocks, and decided that one inch ink cubes on white cardstock worked best for me. These are a combination of Hero Arts and Altenew inks. I found very juicy or dark colors didn't work well.

When the panel is dry (wait!), stamp an outline image. In this case I used the beautiful Friendship Blooms set, by Hero Arts and Gina K. Looked through my stash and found this "hi" from an older Stamp Market set and decided it was the right size. Embossed in white on black and die cut.

Added some clear gems and adhered the panel with foam tape.

MOOD WHEN DONE:  Good!

I like how this came out.

I've been making Christmas cards and hope to post a few soon. Also I'm practicing using my Hot Foil system and hope to share some cards and thoughts next week.  In the meantime, stay safe!

Mondo Yellow Daisy

Outline flowers, like this awesome Mondo Gerbera Daisy by Julie Ebersole,  pairs nicely with this gorgeous yellow cardstock (Daffodil Delight by Stampin Up).  Perfect if you don't like to color or just want a change.

BTW, thanks so much for the thoughts on placing sentiments. I think this sentiment (such a nice saying) works great right where it is.

MOOD WHEN DONE: Excellent

My long running insomnia is having a field day during this pandemic. On the other hand, it's leftovers tonight so I should just rejoice!

Speaking of rejoicing, a company is testing out a new drug for my heart condition. I tried to be part of the clinical trial but I didn't meet the criteria. The company released the first data on the efficacy and safety of the drug and so far the results are very promising. The amount of people tested was quite small (because the criteria bumped out a lot of us) so that is always a reason to be cautious, but I am very encouraged that some day there might be a drug that helps people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The test now goes into Phase 3 and then, if the results continue to be good, the drug would go to the FDA for approval. Even if I'm too old to benefit (I have no idea) I want to see others benefit, so I remain very hopeful.

Hello, Hello, Hello

Love that yellow, but decided to mix it up a bit.

And then I went back to one color. I think I prefer the one color cards.

No stamping and lots of patterned paper. So not me, but a welcome diversion. This paper is from Stampin Up Brights Designer Series Paper -- love that fun woodgrain.

The Hello Outline die is from Poppystamps. Little heart stickers from somewhere a long time ago!

I need to get back to flowers!

MOOD WHEN DONE: Great. I'll pop these in the mail soon and hopefully a few people will enjoy them.

Since it's June and I'm still very interested in legal developments, I'm reading all the big Supreme Court cases. Interesting stuff. If you ever want to read up on these cases, the best (nonpartisan) place is Scotusblog. 

Making cannoli this weekend! Hope my version is half way as good as the pastry I grew up eating. YUM.

And, since I'm rambling all over the place -- might as well make this a soap box. As long as some folks in Dallas refuse to wear masks, we remain hunkered down in our home, with minor exceptions. It baffles and maddens me, but it is what it is. So,

Sentiment Placement

I make a lot of cards that end up in the trash because I don't know where to put a sentiment. This card almost ended up in the trash, which would have been a shame because I LOVE this hydrangea. It's from the absolutely must-have-for-me Mondo Hydrangea set designed by Julie Ebersole.  (It's out of stock, but hopefully will be back soon.)

The first card (with the hello) is my final version, but the next card was my first attempt.

What do you think? The "Just Because" is ok there but it just looks like an afterthought to me. I moved it all over, but nothing looked right, but I'm not sure why.

So, I gently pulled off the Just Because and set it aside. As you can see in the top and final card, I decided to tuck a small Hello in the corner. I like it better, but since I struggle with this issue, I thought I'd ask -- where would you put a sentiment on this card?

Speaking of the card -- I added a blue reinker to a small water bottle and misted it over water color paper. It was pretty pale so I dropped some reinker and misted again with plain water. Took the panel outside and put it in the hot Texas sun and 2 minutes later it was dry!

Then I put the stamp over the parts of the panel that I thought would show variation in shade, embossed in white, die cut, and popped up with foam. Decided that it didn't need anything else.

MOOD WHEN DONE: Fine! Keeping as busy as I can. Hope you are having a good week.

Brightly Colored Lemon Lush

Used a beautiful background stamp, Lemon Lush, by Pinkfresh Studio to make this card. It took awhile but time I have!

1.  Stamped in Memento Tuxedo ink on Neenah solar white cardstock, and kept the paper and the stamp in the MISTI.
2.  Colored with Copics.
3.  Stamped with Versamark and embossed in gold.
4.  Trimmed and put on A2 white card.
5.  Added white Hello (it provided a badly needed 3rd white element). Eyes need a break from all that color.

This is crazy bright (Mike says I went overboard), but I just wanted a lot of COLOR and I like it. These background stamps are less versatile than a set with images, but they are a lot easier for me.

As you can see, I'm not the greatest at using Copics. I need to practice my blending, but it is fun. And someone is going to open an envelope to a riot of color and I do not think my friends will care that my blending is subpar. If the pandemic has done one good thing for my cardmaking it's that I'm sending so many more cards!

MOOD WHEN DONE:  Dandy!

Thanks for your comments. They make me smile! No news here, which is a good thing! Our week was calm. Turns out Coca Cola has temporarily stopped making a bunch of their smaller drinks, like Fresca. But I managed to find some and will move on when I run out, as the warehouses are empty (yes, I checked!). It's funny how we focus on the dumbest things!

Hope your weekend is a good one.

Simple, Go-to Layout

Stamp an image (or part of an image) on the top and bottom of a card + a sentiment in the middle = my favorite, simple, go-to layout. Works every time.

Used the Hero Arts/Gina K Designs Friendship Blooms set that I used in this post. Using the MISTI, stamped with pale yellow ink, and then partially inked the image with darker shades of yellow for a quick gradient look. Added a sentiment from Right at Home Stamps and a few clear jewels.

Seriously a one layer, 10 minute card.

MOOD WHEN DONE:  I really like how this turned out.

But, I'm moody. Most of the time I'm filled with gratitude and calm. Every few days I flip out for about a half hour. It feels "impossible" to basically stay inside until there is a vaccine; the country is spinning out of control, etc.; Coca Cola stopped making Fresca during the pandemic (!!!). Then I get a grip, grow up again, and go back to being fine. How are you?

Friendship Blooms

This is the Gina K Designs/Hero Arts collaboration stamp set -- Friendship Blooms. I love the fact that it is one big image -- no figuring out where to put the leaves, etc and no masking.

Stamped with assorted blue and purple inks on watercolor paper and moved around the inks with a wet paintbrush. Didn't even try to be an artist. Let it dry in the MISTI, and stamped over with Versafine Onyx.  Splattered some of the ink over the card.

MOOD WHEN DONE: Happy! Simple to make but I love how bright and colorful this is.

Stamping continues to be a wonderful way to cope with stress and escape. I'm lucky to have it. Staying at home gives me lots of time to read and think -- I am continuing my read of White Fragility (see my previous post) and I'm thinking, about myself and my country. It's never too late to grow and improve.

Uninformed and Ignorant

The tag line of this blog is "cards and talk." Today is talk.

It's hard to say anything meaningful about the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota from the living room of my almost entirely white neighborhood. The protests and riots in Dallas are a safe 5 miles from our house. I have little at risk, except perhaps my heart and soul.

I never really thought seriously about the phrase "white privilege." I think of myself as a caring, kind person (don't we all?), so I flew right past that one. But, after the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, at the recommendation of a friend, I began to read White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. DiAngelo is white and she's addressed her book to white people.  I can't comment on the book yet because I'm still reading, but here's a quote from the beginning of the book that I've been thinking about a lot this weekend.

I am a white American raised in the United States. I have a white frame of reference and a white worldview, and I move through the world with a white experience. My experience is not a universal human experience. It is a particularly white experience in a society in which race matters profoundly; a society that is deeply separate and unequal by race. However, like most white people raised in the US, I was not taught to see myself in racial terms and certainly not to draw attention to my race or to behave as if it mattered in any way. Of course, I was made aware that somebody’s race mattered, and if race was discussed, it would be theirs, not mine. Yet a critical component of cross-racial skill building is the ability to sit with the discomfort of being seen racially, of having to proceed as if our race matters (which it does). Being seen racially is a common trigger of white fragility, and thus, to build our stamina, white people must face the first challenge: naming our race. OUR OPINIONS ARE UNINFORMED I have never met a white person without an opinion on racism. It’s not really possible to grow up in the United States or spend any significant time here—or any other culture with a history of Western colonization—without developing opinions on racism. And white people’s opinions on racism tend to be strong. Yet race relations are profoundly complex. We must be willing to consider that unless we have devoted intentional and ongoing study, our opinions are necessarily uninformed, even ignorant. 

DiAngelo, Robin J.. White Fragility (pp. 7-8). Beacon Press. Kindle Edition.

I'm not sure what I will think about the rest of this book, but this passage resonates.

My dear friend Susan Raihala linked this article on white privilege on her blog. It's also an excellent opportunity to listen and learn and become informed.