Fishing Fathers

I made a new discovery at Cricut.com a few months ago.  They have card creators on Cricut Craft Room that create cards and let you download the file free for one week.  

I was searching for a Father's Day card when I found this beautiful "Cut it Free" link here http://www.cricut.com/home/free-images. 

 Silhouettes have always been a favorite art form for me and I have fond memories ( and a good story or two!) of my husband taking my sons fishing. 

So, this seemed like a perfect Father's Day image choice for my card.  You can see there was a little smudging problem on this one.  I had a little difficulty finding an adhesive that I was happy with for this intricate card, but I was thrilled with the intricacies of this silhouette beauty.  I wouldn't mind trying this again and cutting it out in black with a beautiful airbrushed sunset over the water.  

Pumpkin Patch for Stampin Chix

Stampin Chix had a card swap last Saturday.  The theme was fall.  I had previsouly posted a similar pumpkin patch card that I created for a blog hop.  That card became the prototype for the swap card that I made for the swap. So today I thought I would share the final outcome.  I decided to go with a little more contrast and not use the square behind the circle.  I thought about trying this with Copics, but decided to stay with the Pan Pastels.  I used VersaMark to stamp and then chalked over the image.  I think it adds a nice effect on the pumpkin.

Pumpkin Patch with Pan Pastels

Welcome fall, it has been a long hot summer! Today's card was created with Pan Pastels and a variety of stamps.  I began with Stampscapes "soft light" and my very favorite Stampscape stamp called "pebbles". I stamped with VersaMark and then blended several colors of Pan Pastels to create the background above and below the fenced area.  The ivy background leaves is a stamp from All Night Media.  The pumpkin isThe picket fence is a Martha Stewart punch. The pumpkin was also stamped with VersaMark with Pan Pastels blending and then I fussy cut around the pumpkin and leaves.The Fluorish is a Cricut cut out.  This card follows the sketch posted on Lisa Somerville's Friday challenge.

Enjoy the Ride !

• Sentiment and embellishment are Cricut Cutouts Graphically Speaking and Street Sign
• Ink is Memento and Copic Markers and Airbrushing
• Cryogen white cardstock, with black and brown layering
• Stamp vendor unknown, please let me know if you recognize it.

Enjoy the Ride, Bob!

A dear friend of our family has retired and I created this card to send him off on a joyful journey of fun and relaxation.  Bob loves trains.  He belongs to a train club in northeastern Ohio.  He and his wife Linda have traveled the U.S. to see train exhibits, track engineering phenmonen through mountain passes and view other train memorabilia that exist in our countrysides.  Bob is an industrious fellow and a few years of ingenuity, elbow grease and tender loving care with nuts, bolts and steel plates out in the family barn has resulted in a small scale model train that is large enough to ride.  My husband and I have had the pleasure of a twilight train ride through the woods on a moonlit night on Bob's treasured train.  Bob's wife Linda says that she finds the evening rides so restful.  I would have to agree.  Thanks Bob, we enjoyed the fruits of your hard work!

Happy 100th Birthday Aunt Mary!

• Memento Dye Ink
• Copic Markers and Airbrushing
• Cricut Cartridge "A Child's Year
• Spellbinders Corner Die
• Stampendous background stamp
• Rubber Stamp Tapestry Butterfly
• Sentiment -unknown
• Black and White Photo

The card and 1st layer were cut with the Cricut cartridge then stamped with a roller (unknown)  and a Stampendous Faux Finish Quad  cube.  I airbrushed the edges with Copics. The picture is edged I with the Making Memories Distress Edger  The picture is a black and white of me that I colored and air brushed with Copic markers.  This was my first attempt at coloring a black and white photo and I have to say it is an amazing experience. It is like coloring the best rubber stamp image ever created.  I just couldn't believe the way the skin looked so natural.  I do see where I could have done better, but all in all, I though it came out well.  Copics blend so nicely.  Another item worthy of note, is that I did this on regular cardstock that you buy for your computer printer.....the cheap stuff, and it blended and absorbed nicely, no blurring of computer ink (I have a Canon). 

Copics used:

• Card background and Layer E31, E55, E25, E27, E13 (love this one), E37, E55, E19
• Skin E00, E02
• Hair Y21, E00, E31, 0, E40
• Butterfly stamped with Memento Tuxedo, E00, E13
• Birthday Cake E00, E25, RV13, Y08, YR16
• Wash Tub E40, C0, C2
• Air Brushing edges and corners of card E13, E31, E35, E25, E27, E19

Happy Birthday Aunt Mary!

When I was a little girl, we used to go on vacation in July and frequently we would visit the Cook family who lived on a farm in Chattanooga TN. The Cooks had raised a very large family of 6 children who were married with children of their own by the time that I became one of their visitors.  Their household was always active with lots of people around doing fun things.  I tasted fresh cows milk there for the first time. OH! and chocolate gravy too!  Those visits to the Cook farm were a highlight of my childhood.  Theirs was a faithful Chrisitan family and spending time with them increased my faith as I noted the good examples that they modeled.  It just so happened that my birthday fell in the middle of a few of our visits and one one particular visit, my loving Great Aunt Mary asked me what kind of cake I would like her to bake for me. Of course, there is only one kind of cake to my three year old mind (and yet today) and that is chocolate! Aunt Mary baked me a chocolate cake several times for my birthday. Part of the birthday ritual at the Cook household was to go outside in the yard and turn the wash tub upside down and set the toddler on it to take their birthday picture. This year it is now time for Aunt Mary's birthday and she is 100 years old!! Aunt Mary's heart will truly stay young because she has such a loving heart. And doesn't she look great too! 

Love Card

Last month Stampin Chix met and we made some awesome cards. So far, the only pictures I have are of the card that I made. I was trying the new Paper Blossom punches from McGill. These punches are designed to make three dimensional flowers. They were a big hit with me and I expect that you will be seeing many more of them adorning my paper crafts in the near future!  The belly band was made with a Martha Stewart punch.

The word love was cut with a Cricut cartridge.

Love Card

Stampin Chix met for our monthly card and scrapbooking event and we worked on several different cards.  It was great to have new visitors from Malaysia!  Our three new friends embraced paper crafting with a lot of talent and energy.  Everyone enjoyed the day and had a great time.

I did more teaching than crafting on this particular day which was fun. 

I made a card for my husband, it has a flower made using the new Petal Blossom Punches from McGill.  These punches were a big hit and I expect to use them often.

Now and then, you get a paper combination that is just good enough to eat...I think this one could taste like black cherries!!!
The flower is coredinations gemstones pink diamond. Paper Pizazz Burgundy Suede and Pink Flouishes from Hot Off the Press.

The punches work best with two sided paper as the flowers are three dimensional and you can see the backside of the paper.  I want to try some patterened paper next!

 Family Camp will be coming in July and I am already thinking of fun projects for this year! Next post, I will announce the theme for camp and the speakers.  I'm truly excited about our morning speaker.  He is exceptional and I look forward to hearing him again.

A Cup of Encouragement, Just for You.

Gifts of Encouragement

Does someone in your life need to be encouraged? I have been thinking for a long time about how I can be a better encourager.  The first two cards that I made for someone elicited a very emotional response.  The first person was in tears and the second gave me a hug.  They were totally surprised that someone had their welfare in mind so much that they took the time to make a home made card.  That was a long time and many cards ago.  Today, sometimes I am better at making cards than I am at giving them.  I'm working on that. :)  Thoughts of encouragement are what inspired today's craft.  This was made with a cup from Michaels and the Cricut cartridge "Just Because".  A little styrofoam and a wooden skewer.  I have a few more pictures to follow.