Softer side of Sympathy

A friend's card led me to a new challenge blog, new to me, called Shabby Tea Room. (sorry, forgot the link earlier). This week they have posted a challenge photo as you can see, and I loved the colors, the blue, tan, cream, pink and green, and the patterns in the fabric. Plus, the entries in the challenge are all of a style that really appeals to me, I found a lot of inspiration last week looking at the other players' cards.


So I made this as a sympathy card and was really questioning myself over using this as a sympathy or switching it for another purpose. Showed it to middle DD, "Mom, people are sad enough already, they don't need a lot of darker colors when they're sad." I hope she's right.

I have admired the background people make with giga guidelines and the guidelines two sets, so I tried my own using PTI Spring Rain, SU Certainly Celery, Creamy Caramel and Pretty in Pink to mimic the colors in the photo. That was kind of fun, I think I'll be trying it again with different colors. I sponged the edges with Ranger Distress antique linen. Rest is self explanatory. Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Giga Guidelines, Guidelines Two, Simply Stationery, Verve plain Jane, SU Flannel Plaid BG
Ink: Ranger Vintage Photo, Antique Linen, Papertrey Ink Spring Rain, SU Certainly Celery, Creamy Caramel, Pretty in Pink
Paper: PTI vintage cream, SU Certainly Celery, random sheet of blue
Other: Martha Stewart edge punch, nestability, sponge, primas roses, silk ribbon from Flourishes, pearls

Papertrey Ink April Blog Hop

***this is my second post for the day, if you're looking for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ post, see just below, P.S. it also happens to use PTI products this week***


When I heard the challenge for this PTI blog hop included tissue, I struggled for a bit trying to imagine how to incorporate it into my card. I know a lot of folks are probably going to create stunning tissue flowers, but I don't own the right dies.

Then when I read that you could stamp then crumple the tissue it all became clear to me and I immediately reached for the set "Enjoy the Ride." I love my children, I really do. But having led three of them through driver's ed training, I might rename the set, or at least name this card, "Survived the Ride . . . so Far."

Each one of them has left a distinctive individual 'mark' on our family vehicles. There was the famous 'right turn on red Mom!!!' incident when my daughter swerved, without a pause, at a t-intersection, into heavy traffic on a road with a 50 mph speed limit. This was followed up by a left turn on red incident at that same intersection just a few weeks later because 'you make me so nervous Mom!!!" Ah yes, even though I was the passenger and not the driver, somehow it became my fault.


Backing out of the driveway is always an interesting learning experience for young drivers. . . I think we've lost no less than three side mirrors that way.

Food, too, can cause its own unique set of complications. . . we learned that diving for a poptart that falls to the passenger side floor while driving a vehicle can cause an unexpected and sudden intimate meeting with a street sign. Score: Street sign -- 1; car -- 0. At least I wasn't in the car for that one.

If you couldn't already tell, I used the tissue paper on the car. It crumples nicely, similar to a car's front panel that meets a post in the library parking lot (don't ask me how I know that one . . . ask child number two). After crumpling, I glued it to a cardstock cut-out of the car, tore and reglued the side mirror and played around with a brad to recreate a headlamp hanging down in a rather forlorn manner.

But, if you're familiar with that age, you know that life returns to sunny pretty quickly in the teenage driving world and my kids are more valuable and important to me than a piece of metal. No one was hurt in any of these incidents, they were just expensive driving lessons. So the rest of the card is bright and cheerful because we can smile over these times already and hopefully, it made my kids better drivers in the long run. :)

I found the sketch on a web site called the Shabby Tea Room. My stamping techniques on this card might not fit the 'shabby' style, but I can assure you our family vehicles most certainly do.

Thanks for looking.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Enjoy the Ride, Through the Trees, Verve (sun)
Ink: orange, black stazon, smoky shadow
Cardstock: smoky shadow, Hawaiian shores, white, DP from Hobby Lobby
Other: copic markers, brads (SU), prima flowers, rhinestones, cuttlebug edge embossing folder

Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 36 -- Mother's Day

Happy Sunday stampers! Time for a new challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ! This week's hostess is junior breadstick :) Randi, who selected the verse from Exodus 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days my be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you." And her challenge is the make a Mother's Day card for your mom or someone special you would like to honor this Mother's Day.

I saw a cute project that Betsy Veldman had on her blog to make a gift certificate holder for a graduate. I liked that idea, its always fun to find a pretty, new way to hold a gift card for someone special, so I modified it just a bit for this project.

If you don't have time to check Betsy's blog, the basic instructions are to take the desktop template from Papertrey Ink and reduce it to 65% of its normal size. Then you cut a 9 1/4" x 3 1/2" strip of cardstock to use as the cover, scored 4 1/4" in from each end. Decorate it as you see fit and glue the desktop template box inside your holder.

Betsy made a little pocket for the open left front cover to hold the giftcard, I made a mini-card to hold the gift card that fits inside the box and saved the open left hand side to write upon.


For my closure, instead of using cardstock I used some of the vitage cream ribbon, and I wanted to create a knot/rose type closure. I double tied a very tight knot in the end of my ribbon and snipped off the end. I'm using glue dots to help hold it closed until the recipient opens it. If you use a cardstock closure or larger ribbon you could hold it closed using velcro or some other method.

I didn't have the mat stack die so I sort of traced around the scalloped stamp onto a piece of cardstock to I had something to trace around for the green part. Hope you have someone special in your life to honor this Mother's Day, it isn't too early to be thinking about it. And if you get a chance to play along this week, be sure to link your card or project to the Stampin' Sisters in Christ blog. This week's sponsor is Sofpencil Digital Stamps, which is donating a $15 gift certificate to its store found here. One lucky winner will have a great time shopping there. Thanks for looking.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink 2009 Anniversary set, Women of Life (sentiment), Turning a New Leaf
Cardstock: SU Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Regal Rose, PTI Vintage Cream, vellum
Ink: white craft, vanilla craft, HIbiscus Burst, versamark
Other: Vintage cream satin ribbon, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, 1/8" scor tape, SU dazzling diamonds glitter, Fiskars corner punch/embosser, vintage tintype impression plate (PTI)

(Here is a side view, so you can see a bit of the box insert and the way I attached the ribbon)

Compose a Card . . . Tea Time (challenge nine)

Becky Oehlers has another challenge listed on her blog and this time I am squeaking in under the wire. Busy, busy times here, we're packing up the house and trying to get it ready to list to sell . . . . talk to me in four months I'll probably be saying the same thing yet then, but still, lots of work!

The inspiration piece was so colorful and everyone has lots of scraps sitting around, I know I do, so it was a great way to use some! The hard part was figuring out which to use! I tried to balance out some texture with color, that quilt was so colorful! And I need a cheerful get well card, so the challenge helped fill the bill nicely. I know I usually fuss too much but it looked like it still needed something so I added the white scrolls in the corners to mimic the scroll on the teapot. Thanks Becky for another cool challenge!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Tea something name
Ink: Black and Hawaiian Shores, white craft (sponged the edges of the kraft paper but you can't tell)
Paper: Kraft, white and assorted
Other: Cuttlebug vintage die, white gel pen, rhinestones from Mike's, 1 1/4" square punch

Feeling blue. . . Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 35

Happy Sunday stampers! Its time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ. This week's lovely and talented hostess is candid Candace! She has selected this verse from Isaiah 40:8 "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." The challenge this week is to use flowers on your card or project.

I have some lovely flowers on my dining room table and was looking for a project involving a container to hold some chiffon flowers and found this adorable template on Splitcoast Stampers for a watering can. The trickest part of this particular project was figuring out a stem for the chiffon flowers . . . so this is the 'sticky' project. There are glue dots and pieces of tape everywhere . . . if someone has a good idea for a flower stem for these, PLEASE post it! The tutorial for making these chiffon flowers can be found on Priscilla Styles blog, I found it months ago and it is one of my favorite techniques.

The paper is blue, the flowers blue all because a friend of mine is feeling very blue and I was thinking of her as I made this project, to make something to help cheer her up. Blue can describe our mood but blue can be beautiful as well, something I was trying to convey through these flowers. Again, while making these chiffon flowers, the song "Beauty for Ashes" was running through my mind . . . if you've made these flowers you know you have to sear the edges of the chiffon to hold its shape. But that verse stamped on the watering can promises that God will bring beauty form the ashes of the fires that can consume our lives sometimes. That is my wish for this friend of mine, that out of the difficulty she is now experiencing, that beauty will come out of the ashes.

There are so many comforting verses in the bible and that's what Candace's selected verse reminds us. That the Word of God alone is eternal, His promises are true and never fail. All the things of this earth will fade away, but we can trust in God eternal and HIs word to guide us through any situation.

Our sponsor this week is the art of Michelle Perkett found here. Thanks for looking. Hope you can play along this week.

I also decided to play along with a few other challenges:
CCEE 1015 to make a 'get well' style card . . . this card is meant as a get well or feel better project for my friend
Cute Card Thursday challenge 108 'Touchy Feely' . . .you want to touch those chiffon flowers, they're so much fun to hold, I had a tough time getting a pic and telling my daughter to please leave it sit for a minute, then she could touch the flowers!

Stamps: Verve (plain Jane), Magnolia Tilda
Ink: Black stazon
Cardstock: white, olive green, Melissa Frances Leah, Paper Studio
Other: chiffon, reinkers, aquapainter, pearls, prima leaves

Teapot Tuesday with Speedy the Cat

Teapot Tuesday hostess Kelly decided to feature Speedy the Cat, or rather Faith, his owner, this week at the Teapot Tuesday Challenge. Speedy causes Faith all kinds of difficulties while she's trying to stamp so to take a break she is going to send him to a watercoloring class . . . but he's being stubborn, the story goes, and refusing to leave!
Well, Speedy is actually getting a very bad rap. Here you see he's visiting a sick friend, his friend the bird lives in that little house. And considering proportions I don't really believe Speedy is up to any mischief because the birds who live there could arm wrestle him and win any time!

I actually made this to console my middle daughter. Yesterday our cat went missing. She is an indoor cat but likes to prowl the porch and relax in the sun in the warmer weather. I didn't catch her in the act, but I believe when someone opened a door yesterday she got out and didn't come back home. Pair that up with the fact that we have seen a fox in our back yard the past week and I think she isn't going to come home. So DD is not only very sad, she is also home sick from school. So I tried to color in the cat to slightly resemble our kitty and made it in the hopes of cheering her up slightly.

This also fits the color challenge on Splitcoast today and Terri's Papertrey Peeps challenge to create a 3-D item . . . you might recognize the birdhouse as one of the early PTI templates! Thanks for looking.
Stamps: Papertrey Ink Tiny Treats, sentiment from Autumn Abundance
Ink: black stazon
Paper: white, coral, rose, blush, olive
Other: lots of punches

Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 34 -- Peace

Happy Sunday stampers! Its time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ. This week's hostess is the lovely and talented Lisa who selected the verse from Phillippians 4:4-7 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Her challenge to you is to make a card or project about prayer and/or peace.

I thought of a lot of images that might portray peace or prayer and settled on this one, which might seem an odd choice. Years ago (too many years ago) our high school choir took a trip through Wisconsin and Minnesota visiting various places and singing along the way. One place we stopped was this fabulous church with soaring ceilings. The entire interior was paneled in a light wood and huge windows made it feel so airy and peaceful. I've forgotten what denomination it was, I've forgotten what town it was in, but I've never forgotten the feeling I had when we stood in the sanctuary, that God was present, that He inspired this beauty and this flood of peace.

For some reason this stamp just evokes for me memories of that trip, that church and that peace that I felt. This was released by Flourishes last month I think? And the minute I saw this stamp memories of that trip and that church flooded my mind and I had to order it right away! Don't ask me why a straw hat with ribbons eminded me of that church, it just did. :) I paired it up with a verse from Thessalonians . . . for as long as I've been going to church since I was a bitty girl, there is always a benediction at the end, the priest, pastor or worship leader offers final words of peace and encouragement to the congregation as you leave to face the world, wishing upon us Christ's peace.



Because that is where our peace comes from, from Christ Jesus, amen? It doesn't matter what denomination you attend, we're united in Christ Jesus and that is our common bond. I wish you all that sense of peace from our Lord and Savior this week.

Our sponsor this week is Simon Says Stamp! They have a lovely selection of so many things, go check it out here. And please join in our challenge this week, using Mr. Linky (if he's feeling cooperative) and posting your card to the main Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge blog here.

I don't know why I waited so long to try an easel card, what fun this was! And I tried and tried to add some ribbon to match the ribbon on the hat, but the ribbon I chose kept overwhelming the image. I am in looooove with the new impression plates from PTI, I only own this one vintage tintype but I can see adding more to my collection. Thanks for looking.

Other Challenges:
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday FTTC61 use it! challenge (I used my new PTI template and my new Flourishes stamps)

Stamps: Flourishes, computer generated sentiment
Ink: Brown Stazon
Paper: watercolor, SU Pink Pirouette and Regal Rose, PTI vintage cream, yellow gingham (Hobby Lobby)
Other: reinkers for watercoloring, aquapainter, Tintype impression plate from PTI, Fiskars corner embosser, vintage corner adorner thingie plate/die, pearl, butterfly, glitter, threading water punch

Hemidemisemi . . . you know! Challenge 8!

No, those aren't my cuties, but they belong to Becky Oehlers (and one day I'm going to ask her how she pronounces her name! :)) She is using her darling daughters' Easter dresses as the inspiration this week for her challenge. I chose the top dress, black and white polka dots with New Leaf! Had fun with that color combination and the great thing about pushing yourself to try new challenges is it gets you out of your stamping 'box.' I normally wouldn't reach for those colors, I trend much more to pinks and cream and such. So this was fun! Thanks Becky!

Here is my card, I chose one of my favorite and early PTI sets, Green Thumb for those cute boots, cannot get enough of those garden boots, along with a new set, the Dahlias. I think I just like those boots so much because I really enjoyed puddle stomping when I was a little girl. My daughter has the cutest little set of pastel striped rain boots herself . . . ahem! Have to pass these traditions along you know!
My struggle was incorporating the button in a good place and I'm still not completely happy with it, but there you go. I stamped the toe and top portion of the boot in versamark and embossed it with irridescent ice EP for some shimmer, did the same thing on the New Leaf scalloped circle behind it, stamped it with the tiniest set of dots from the Polka Dot I set and embossed it just for a little added interest. Thanks for looking and hope you can play this week too!
Stamps: Papertrey Ink Dahlias, Polka Dots, Green Thumb
Paper: Black, White, New Leaf, PTI DP
Ink: white craft (someone please make me order a new reinker, I'm out!), versamark
Other: Irridescent Ice EP, white detail EP, white ribbon, PTI new leaf buttons, petite scalloped circle nestabilities

Candace's birthday blog hop!

Welcome to a birthday blog hop for Candace, one of the design team members on Stampin' Sisters in Christ! One of her favorite things is seafood, she's a Mississippi girl, so I am bringing a big platter of Louisiana seafood to the party (she lives right on the border of the two states). For some reason I cannot get the picture to get any larger, so just imagine it as a big platter!


And for the card, most folks seem to like butterflies, so I made this birthday card to wish her a very special, very happy birthday.


For the next stop in the hop, check out Randi's blog here. Have a great day!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Say it with Style, Turning a New Leaf set
Ink: black craft
Paper: Hawaiian Shores, black, gray, SU DP in a coral tone
Other: Martha Stewart butterfly punch, PTI tintype impression plate, Hawaiian shores buttons

Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 33 . . . And Happy Easter!

Happy Sunday stampers! And the best Sunday of the year on my calendar, Easter Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!!
This week at Stampin' Sisters in Christ our lovely hostess is Kathy, who selected the verse from John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever should believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Her challenge this week is on your card or project have the word Love or something that symbolizes love to you.
Our sponsor this week is Inktegrity, or Digital stamps by Joni, found at this address, http://www.shophandmade.com/store/joni, and she is donating a $10 gift card to one lucky winner who enters our challenge this week!
My card uses one of her cute little digital stamps. Thanks to a tip from a design team sister, Kris, I was able to get my cranky printer to cooperate. First she suggested, print the image out on a plain piece of paper, then tape a piece of cardstock over it and reprint it. It worked! So then I printed out portions on different piece of patterned paper to paper piece the digital image.
The little 'love' stamp is from Rubber Stamp Tapestry and this card is for my DH's grandmother who celebrated her 96th birthday on Saturday! She is a master at spreading love among her grandchildren.
And as for the verse for this week, there is no verse in the bible that more succinctly describes God's love for us. If you have any questions this Easter Sunday about the sacrifice Jesus made to save us from our sins, contact any member of the design team and we'd be happy to share our personal story of His redemptive love in our lives. Thanks for looking.

New Faces at Stampin' Sisters in Christ

Good morning! Wishing you all a fabulous Good Friday!

This morning the Stampin' Sisters in Christ blog bids farewell to four of the lovely ladies who designed with us and shared their hearts for the Lord the past six months.

Today we welcome three new sisters in Christ whose work is absolutely beautiful and whose hearts are filled with love for Jesus. If you click on this link you'll be directed to the main blog for the announcement and you can take a glance at the list of names on my sidebar if you're just too curious to wait another second!

Memory Lane

I'm going through the trunk at the foot of my bed and I'm finding the outfits I used to bring the kids home from the hospital (my oldest baby turns 22 today), and bits of yarn and fabric meant for that project 'some day.' And then I came across this tea towel. I'm going to make you date yourself because it would be fun to know, do any of you have any relics like this in a closet from your childhood?
When my mother was little, little girls were taught to embroider and you were to learn to edge handkerchiefs and make tea towels and dresser runners for your home. So when I was a little girl, she taught me how to embroider as well and I always had a dresser runner on my dresser in my bedroom. I know I was very proud of myself for making all of those French knots! You can see them in the closeup, on the bonnet and in the skirt and on the flowers. I don't remember the names of the variety of stitches I learned, I haven't embroidered in years. And I never use this for real tea, I just put the cup there for reference!
When my girls were young I was a single mom and didn't have spare time to teach them these types of things. A while ago this was all still considered so old fashioned. The schools dropped classes like sewing and home ec long before any economic downturn. This summer though, my high school senior wants me to teach her how to quilt. Her sister will be home from college too and I think we'll do it together. I'm really looking forward to it. I've seen a huge resurgence in crafts and creating the past ten years and it is beautiful to see the lovely things on blogs all over the web.
But question time now . . . how many of you were taught to embroider when you were small? And do you have any pics of what you made that you can share with the rest of us? :) I'd love to see it!