Laughter, Family and Good Times

I have two cards today that were made using Graphic 45 paper and stamps.  I really like the sentiment on this card, it states a real truth.  A fond memory that I have is from when I was a little girl.  My parents had bought a camper and we took it on a trip into the Unaka Mountains of the Smokeys where my ancestors are from.  We camped at a campsite near a log cabin that was built by my great great grandfather, Arch Stewart.  It is in the Cherokee National Forest and the cabin is maintained by the Forest Rangers.  I understand that there was a silent film made that was filmed in this area called "Stark Love" and that some of my musical ancestors were included playing blue grass music.  That night I met a lot of my North Carolina family.  I remember that they had a big campfire and had a very large tree turned on its side with one end laying in the flaming fire and the other stretched out on the grass.  As the end of the tree burned and turned to ashes, they simply pushed the tree further into the fire.  It was a magnificent campfire and lasted all night and longer.  There were many aunts and uncles there along with my grandparents who hadn't seen each other in a long time.  They were truly enjoying each other's company and as I lay in my camper bed listening to them reminisce about their earlier times, my fondest memory is of laughter and how they joked and carried on with each other.  I had occasionally seen this sense of humor in my father, aunt and my grandfather, but to have the whole family together, it was easy to see that this prankish humor was a characteristic carried in the DNA of our family.  They teased each other and laughed it up into the wee hours of the night.  The pictures below are of my grandfather's grandparents, aunts and uncles and grandparents. If they were looking down to earth that starry night, I'm sure they had a big laugh with us.

James Archibald "Arch" Stewart and Katherine "Kate" Ash Stewart.

Cabin built by Arch Stewart near Stratton Meadows in Graham County NC.

J. Arch's son John Fane Stewart with his cousins.  He is the one wearing the boots.

Dollie (Self) Stewart, John Fane Stewart's wife.  Nice fur.

Siblings, Laura (left) and Rhoda Stewart with Grant Stewart.

Grant and Elva (Carver) Stewart

Archibald Benjamin "Ben" and Mary (Carver) Stewart and Family

Dave Stewart, Sis Odum and Dave's wife Brass (Odum) Stewart.

John Wayne card made with Graphic 45 paper.

Clothes Pin Fun

A sweet little backyard scene. 
 A clothesline filled with colorful baby clothes and fun little critters.    It was embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder, then colored and airbrushed with Copic markers. The sentiment is from the Cloud 9 Baby collection.  

Our curious little woodland friends are stamps from the Art Impressions try-fold collection that were fussy cut and pop dot mounted.

The card was mounted on two layers of solid color coordinated cardstock.

Open the card to find more furry friends inside.

My Polka Dot Chair

I created a card with the Sizzix Base Card that accomodates the Pop 'N Cuts inserts.  The outside is cut without the chair or any other insert, just the plain base card die.   This snapshot is of the outside of the card which I designed to look like the outside of a house with a trellis and vining flowers.  The bricks are created with a Tim Holtz Sizzix embossing folder.   The flowers are a combination of die cuts and punches layered.  The trellis is from Cheery Lynn Designs.  The picket fence is a Martha Stewart edge punch.  The bricks and flowers were colored with Copic markers using both airbrushing and coloring.

This is the inside of the card.  The base of the card was cut with the diecut base including the chair insert.  The walls are were then cut with the base cut die and chair insert using paper  from Dear Lizzy Neapolitan Paper Pad 6 x 6 from American Crafts paper .  I'm uncertain of the name of the floor paper but it came from Hobby Lobby.  The polka dot chair paper is also from American Crafts from the paper pad below.

This is the base die (the larger black piece in the picture).  The smaller black piece is the circle insert which is taken out to cut the base of this card .

Paper used for wallpaper and chair.

Pop 'n Cuts chair insert this piece is placedn the magnetic portion of the die where the circle insert was before it was taken out.

Texture Fades bricks and wood grain.

Cheery Lynn Designs dies Ivy and trellis

Poppy Stamps die for flowers

Martha Stewart picket fence punch

Flowers are colored with Copic markers and layered.  I used the 3/16" Glue dots for the trellis and flowers.  I do wish that they made these in a smaller size.  Sometimes I cut them in half.  The QuicKutz quicker poker picker upper is a great tool for lifting the glue dots off the paper and rolling it to put on the backs of the flowers and trellis.

The sofa table, lamp, picture and throw rug are from this Sizzix embossing folder called "Foyer".  After embossing them, I fussy cut them  out and did some accent coloring and shading with Copic markers.

The girl on the horse is a stamp from Stampscapes colored with Copic Markers.

This sentiment from Cloud 9 Simple Thoughts Baby says it all.  It is airbrushed with Copic markers.

This little one gets photographed every month in her polka dot chair.  The photo was printed on cardstock and fussy cut.  The yellow scissors in the picture below are KAI.  They have the finest point that I have ever seen on a pair of scissors.  I would call them surgical quality....and have stabbed myself more than once.  However, I can cut things with these scissors that I never though possible.  I made the pillow with pop dots and the wallpaper paper.  

 Kia scisscors, Fiskar scissos, Spellbinders label and QuicKutz Quicker-Poker-Picker-Upper which is great for rolling the glue dots to fit on the back of small places..

Cloud 9 Simple Thoughts Baby

Would love to see these glue dots in a smaller size, at least half of this size.

Stampscapes stamp.