My Life is Changed Forever

  Six months today, I said "good bye" to my favorite person, my dearest friend, my husband.  He died suddenly.  After having him as my "better half" for 51 years, I am truly now just half a person.  There is no way to describe the loss, the hole in my heart, the hole in my life.
  Things that were important to me aren't any more.  Things that held my interest bore me.  I used to spend hours looking at blogs, reading blogs, looking at cards by other card makers, entering challenges.  I haven't made a card these six months.  I used to make several a week but I can't conjure up any creativity yet.  I can't even get myself to color with my Copics.
  This grief process is hard and long.  I wonder daily how am I going to live the rest of my life without him.  I miss him and I miss what we would have shared together.  But in my intense grief, I take refuge in the Lord.  He is my Comforter.  He is the One I turn to multiple times each day.  He knows my pain;  He empathizes with me.  I know He will take me through this Valley of the Shadow of Death and eventually I will come through the valley to joy again.  The journey is hard.  I don't like it but God has allowed it, so I do choose to not give in to despair. 

  I'm not sure I have any followers left and because I am not entering a challenge, most will not even read this post.  But I'm posting anyway to let you know why I have been away from Blogland.
  I will be back - some day.  Just not yet.

It's Been A Long TIme

It has been almost a month since my last post and that long since I've made a card.  Say what?  Quite a bit going on in my life lately, not to mention that the MoJo is gone.  So I made a card today to send to a friend.  Not crazy about it but hopefully I can get back in the groove soon.
I am tired of winter - wind, snow ice.  Yesterday was the first day in three weeks that the wind wasn't blowing us off the planet so I walked a bit outside.  Hyacinths and Tulips are up out of the ground.  How do they grow in freezing temperatures?  Autumn is my favorite season until I go through Winter and then Spring is my favorite! haha
All that to say that I wanted to make a Spring card to send to my friend in another state and I always think Daffodils when I think of Spring.

The image is a Power Poppy Digital Stamp which I colored with Copics and Prisma pencils.
I don't use ribbon very often but I used two strips of grosgrain to highlight the yellow of the flowers.

Hope you are seeing signs of Spring where you live. The wind is back again today but the sun is out.

Simon Wednesday - anything
House that Stamps Built - anything
Allsorts Challenge - favorite season
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Power Poppy - use a PP image
Words 2 Craft By - best friends
Creative with Stamps - friends

Another Masculine Valentine

After I broke my two fingers a few weeks ago, I didn't think I would be making the 26 Valentines that I wanted to make.  But I really do like making one for each of my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren so I forged on.  A few are very simple but because I like to make these cards special every year, I just worked a little slower than usual.  (I should have thought about the word slow a few weeks ago.  But my daughter-in-law said it was a great impression of Superman - just no altitude!) Anyway, I am finishing up with the Valentines - only two more to go.

The heart and the ticket are both Unity stamps.  The background and wood grain paper are both patterned paper. 

Challenges:
Power Poppy - love
Allsorts - love
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Double D - hearts
Stamploration Love Bloghop

Stamploration theme - hearts

Kat Scrappiness - use at least one heart

Floral Valentine

Only a few more Valentines to make.  I'm in LOVE - haha.  In love with making these cards!  But by the time I get done with them, I will probably be sick of hearts.
For this card I used my new stamp by Stampin' Up! , my freebie during the Sell-a-bration sale.  I really like this stamp; I will be showing more cards with this stamp in the near future.

 After stamping, I cut out the front panel with a Stamploration Wavy Stitch die.  After I adhered  the hearts ( another Stamploration die) onto the card, I saw that it was not centered so I cut out another strip of hearts, cut off a few and added them to the left side of the full die cut.  (That probably doesn't make sense unless you see the original die cut. If you can't stand the suspense, go to the Stamploration online store and look it up. 😀)
Image is colored with Copics and Prisma pencils.

Challenges:

Power Poppy - love
House That Stamps Built - pink or red
All Sorts Challenge - love
Double D - hearts
Stamploration Love bloghop -

Stamploration theme - hearts

Stamploration - Cutploration

Stamploration Never ending Challenge

Kat Scrappiness - use at least one heart
Die Cut Divas - love is in the air
Word Art Wednesday - anything

Super Feminine and Fun Card

Try and try again.  That is what I have to remind myself when it comes to shaker cards -  my track record has not been so great.  But I'm happy to report that this one is actually a success - the sequins insides actually move around!

 The heart is an un-named die which I cut out four times, adhering the window piece between two layers and then using two more cuts to raise it up off the card.  The patterned paper is digital paper by Doodle Pantry.  I cut the arrow and the "you" with MFT dies.  Lace around the heart covered up some of the layers of the heart and is adhered to the card with score tape.
I think my granddaughter will like this - very girly and fun.

Challenges:
Simon Wednesday - anything
Die Cuttin Divas - anything
Die Cut Divas - love is in the air
Dies R Us - use red
Stamploration - theme/hearts

Stamploration - love blog hop

Word Art Wednesday - anything
Time Out - photo inspiration
Kat Scrappiness - use at least one heart
Simon Monday - use red

Many Uses of Hearts

Valentines Day is not the only day for hearts.  I needed an encouragement card today so I made one with a heart, capitalizing on that word in the verse.

Today is busy with cleaning and caring for grandkids so I went with a simple card using the sketch at House that Stamps Built.

The patterned paper lent itself nicely to strips so I cut three and layered them onto Rose cardstock.  The heart frame is made by using two heart shape dies (unknown brand) . 
The card seemed too plain so I adhered a strip of gems and put two single gems on the heart.

Challenges:
Simon Says Monday - Love is in the air
Simon Says Wednesday - anything
Die Cuttin Divas - anything
Die Cut Divas - Love is in the air
Allsorts - love
Time Out - photo inspiration
Stamploration - theme

Stamploration - Love bloghop

Kat Scrappiness - love, use at least one heart

Valentines for Boys

Here is another Valentine for another grandson.

The center panel that I cut with a Die-namics Stitched Rectangle die is a digital stamp by TLCreations.  I blended two Copic colors to try to match the dots on the designer paper.  The black hearts are punched, the dots are cut with an Elizabeth Crafts Design die.

Challenges:
Simon Monday - love is in the air
Die Cuttin Divas - anything
Power Poppy - masculine
House that Stamps Built - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Crop Stop - anything
Stamploration Love Blog Hop

 Stamploration CAS

Simon Wednesday - anything

Valentines and Polka Dots

It is always a challenge to make Valentine cards for the grandsons.  Even using just black and white I'm not sure this card is masculine enough with the polka dots.  Hope so.

The border is Washi tape.  I cut the heart out of the white cardstock with an un-named die, then made the black frame with that die and the next larger one. A piece of the polka dot paper in the shape of the heart is adhered to the back of the white cardstock negative space.
Sentiment is embossed onto a strip of black cardstock.  I then cut that strip with the die so the edges were exact shape of the heart edges.
MFT sketch

Other challenges:
Stamploration Love Hop

Simon Monday - love is in the air
Simon Wednesday - have a heart 
Cut It Up - hearts
Word Art Wednesday - anything
House that Stamps Built - anything

First of the Valentines

Valentine's Day will be here soon.  These are my favorite cards to make all year.  I send one to each of my grandchildren (14) and until this year each of my children (6)and their spouses(6).  I broke my ring finger on my left hand and sprained my middle finger on my right hand last week so I am having a bit of trouble working on cards right now so the adults might not get cards this year.  Hopefully I can still get them done.  Might just have go CAS with most of them.
Here is one in that category.  Minimal coloring with Copics of the beautiful digital image (free) by Stamplorations.  Thank you Shery Russ - you are so generous.

My inspiration was from Shery herself with this beautiful card:

Challenges:
Simon Monday - use alcohol inks
Crop Stop -anything
House that Stamps Built - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Stamploration Never ending challenge

Stamploration CAS

Stamploration Blog Hop

One More Card with Same Sketch

The current MFT sketch worked really well for many of the  CAS cards I've been putting together with the left over pieces in my stash.  Here is one more which I am holding out of the box that I am sending to SendASmile4Kids because I need valentines for my grands.

I really like this digital stamp by TLC Creations.  Even though the heart is gray in the digital form, I was able to color it with Copics and match the colors to the pink on this very old patterned paper.  I put Cantaloupe Liquid Pearls on the dots on the image to tie in the orange.  The stamped piece and the orange backing are both cut with Die-namic Circle Stax dies.

The sketch:

Challenges:
Time Out - loving
Word Art Wednesday - anything
MFT - sketch

A Baker's Dozen

I was able to pump out 13 cards the last few days using up left over pieces which is part of my goal of cleaning, tossing, and finishing things this year. (Clean, Toss, Finish)

 

 For most of the cards, I put them together with old sketches or at the least very CAS layouts.

  For this one I used the current sketch at MFT. 

I shudder to think of how long I have had these pieces (truck, sentiment, and background paper) in my stash; at least three years.  So good to use them up.  They are all digital stamps from Doodle Pantry.  The truck image and the red backing are cut with Die-namics Circle Stax dies.
MFT sketch:

Challenges:
Kat Scrapiness - anything
MFT - sketch
Power Poppy - masculine
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Crop Stop - anything

Clean, Toss, Finish

It is time for me to de-clutter (again!)  I am going through each cupboard and closet in my house sorting and tossing.  It will take awhile. My goal is one a week. 
Working in my craft room, I am faced once again with a ton of images that I have printed or stamped but never assembled onto a card.  Some are even colored but there they sit waiting to be used.  Most of them I will just put to use without following any challenge (hard for me because I am addicted to them) but I sketches really help me and I have saved a lot.
For this card I used a current sketch at MFT and yes, I will enter that challenge!

MFT Sketch:

The designer paper and the lace are OLD items in my stash.  The sentiment is Our Daily Bread cut and embossed with a Stately Lace Spellbinder die.
Lace is adhered with Score tape, everything else with Tombow Multi.
Easy, fast.  I like that right now.

Challenges:
MFT sketch
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Dies R Us - anything
Crop Stop - anything
Kat Scrapiness - anything

Several New Things

As I am making my thank you cards for Christmas presents received, I am also playing with some of my newly acquired stamps and papers.  This card is a combination of new things, thankfulness, and friendship.

The new stamps are from the JustRite Peonies set.  The words "Thankful For" are part of the jar stamp and then there are various words to choose from to finish the thought:  you, hugs, kisses, your kindness, flowers, laughter, family.
I wanted to try my hand with the MFT color challenge so the jar is stamped with antique gray. 

This beautiful gray patterned paper is a new Recollection pad.  I put streaks of aqua blue (Prisma pencil) in the flowers and on some of the leaves.  The twine and flower are done with Copics.  Panel is cut with a Stamploration Wavy Stitch die. Card base and backing panel is Night of Navy (SU).

Challenges:
Simon Wednesday - something new
Simon Monday - something new
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Kat Scrapiness - anything
Stamploration - Never ending anything goes