Feminine Sympathy

 Today I am sharing the cards I made for my hubby's Step Sister and a lady in our church who lost her last Aunt that she was very close to.  I went with the same thing I did with the guy cards, made two very similar just changed them up a bit.

I used some ephemera pieces and framed it with a die I cut from Vellum. 

• Tim Holtz - Botanical Layers, TH93554
• Carta Bella - Metropolitan girl papers
• Hot off the Press - 4 Lacy Rectangle Frames die
• Vellum
• Spellbinders - Oval die
• Stamped sentiment

On the next card I used the center portion of the frame above and used that for the base of the flowers.

• Tim Holtz - Botanical Layers, TH93554
• Kaisercraft - Sweet Pea paper
• Hot off the press - 4 lacy rectangle frames - Vellum
• Recollections - lace on a roll
• Ki - Black gems
• Spellbinder - oval die
• stamped sentiment

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and letting me know you have,

Connie

Sympathy prayers

 I am saddened to tell you that there has been 3 more losses to Covid.  A friend from church had 5 people in his family get it and 2 passed away.  His brother passed away first and by the time I could get a card made and write inside it his Dad passed away, 36 hours apart from one another, so heart breaking for his family. His mom, his brothers wife and he niece have seemed to recovered.

My husbands step sister and brother lost their mother to Covid too.  The sad thing is they were eligible for the vaccine and had decided not to get it, this has my husbands step sister so upset.

Since I had a couple of these to make and I like to get them out in the mail quickly, I heard a little voice of Donna Phelan telling me to make the same type of card :)  I used different papers and layout but it helped using the same image to go faster. One I stamped in browns and the other in black ink.

• $ store - praying hands stamp
• Spellbinders - Lg. Deckled Rectangle and Classic rectangle lg dies
• Our Daily Bread designs - Vintage Ephemera paper
• Taylored Expressions - Care & Comfort II stamp set

• $ store - Praying hands stamp
• PPD - Distressed Edge Rectangle die
• Memory Box - Stitched Rectangle Layer die
• Best Occasions - Mixed media paper
• Stampendous - Sincere Sentiments stamp
• Spellbinders - Grommet tags
• Recollections - Brads

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Earth day challenge

 Our card making group had an earth day challenge to use those items we usually throw away, since organizing my room I couldn't find some of the supplies I had saved but I had some more calendar images like I used on a card not too long ago, these are were on the back to show what each calendar page looks like. I can't remember if this banner sentiment was from a bag of goodies at the yard sale or if it was given to me, I just cut a tail on the end and cut off the string they had on it.

• Old world stack paper
• Butterflies from back of calendar
• Thanks banner
• sequins

I keep our cat Opie out of my craft room because he likes to chew on my clear stamps and other things, I have never had a cat that chewed on things like this one does.  Hubby came in to talk to me one day while I was making cards and Opie jumped up where I take my pictures, so hubby took a picture of him, he was on the move trying to figure out how to get down and away from my hubby so it is a bit blurred.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and I hope the week ahead is a good one!

Connie

Basket of Tulips

 I went to my first store since surgery, hubby suggested a place were I wouldn't have far to walk from the parking lot, and what I like to look at is right up front so we went to Barnes and Nobles, he knows I love to check out the stamps and dies magazines from the UK.  When I saw this spring stamp set with the little basket, I had to get it.  I have a couple other baskets but they are much bigger.

I stamped, colored and cut out 4 sets of tulips to put in the basket but ended up only using 3 it was just a little too much with 4.  The handle at the very top is very thin so that was a little tricky for me to cut out, and then the flowers ended up covering most of it in the end.

Just before making the card I had done a zoom meeting with my stamp group and we were doing backgrounds on the Gelli plates, and this one didn't work out like it was supposed to and it was laying on my desk and I had put the basket on it, while I was getting other supplies and came back and thought it didn't look to bad so I decided to use it and wanted to add a little something so I got out my embossing folder and made a frame for it.

• Crafts Beautiful magazine - March 2021- Spring stamp and die set, colored w/markers
• Stampin up - Frame tulips embossing folder
• Prima - 8 point doily die
• Vellum tag
• Queen & co. - Gold Jellies

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,

Have a wonderful weekend,

Connie

To have and to hold

 A young lady in our church is getting married soon and the church had a wedding shower for her this past Saturday, I did not attend it but did give her this card along with some money for their honeymoon on Sunday after the service.  It was so good to be back in church after 5 weeks, I am so thankful that I can watch the services on line but there is nothing like being in a room with your fellow believers praising God together.

I was totally stuck on what to do for their card when I remembered this birds stamp I had, I have used it before for my Daughters anniversary card.  I picked out the paper I wanted to use so I just took from those colors for the stamping.  The die cuts I used for framing the image and sentiment are from the same set.  There was a bit more white space then I would like so I added a few leaf die cuts to finish off the card.

• American Crafts - Seeds stamp
• Gemini - Torn edge circle die
• Spellbinders - Splendid Circle dies
• Basic Grey - Periphery paper
• Fiskars - Just Married Quotes sentiment stamp
• Tim Holtz - Funky Foliage dies

It felt so good to get to my die cutting machine again.

We ended up with half an inch of snow, a few times it was coming down in thick, big flakes, it was pretty, but the snow has melted and the weatherman has assured us that should be the last of the snow we see this season.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Hibiscus

 I am sharing another stamped image that Birgit sent me, I wasn't quite sure what kind of flower this was supposed to be, hubby said it looks like hibiscus to me, so I googled and found some pretty yellow ones with red centers so I went with that color theme, well as you can see I didn't do well with my blending of the colors at all, but after I let it sit for a day and came back I thought it looked Ok :)

• Hibiscus colored w/markers
• Sassafras - Mix and mend paper
• EK Success- corner punch
• Gina Marie stamps - Birthday words stamp
• Nuvo - gloss on berries
• Spectrum sparkle pen - clear on flower centers

I have such a deep brown cardstock that most of the time it looks black in the pictures, but it is a nice dark brown.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today, hope your week is off to a good start!  

We have chance of snow today, it hasn't snowed in April for 70 years they said, hoping all the flowering trees and bushes aren't effected too bad.

Connie

Best day ever

 There were a few sales on line while I was recovering and couldn't get up much, I ended up placing an order and one of the things I purchased were these rub ons, I thought they were so pretty, only really saw them on scrapbook pages but knew they would look great on a card too.  I paired them with some ephemera I already had to make this card.

I first started out by applying some ink very softly to the background, then I laid out how I wanted it to look and then added the stitching, leaves and beads (bottom right) rub ons.  I added foam tape to the flowers and the banner that came from the ephemera pack and lifted the wings a bit and added that directly to the card.  Topped it off with some green bling.

• 49 and Market - Vintage Artistry, Blush & Sage rub ons
• Simple Stories - Bits & pieces, Simple Vintage Garden district ephemera pack
• Green gems
• Peeled paint distress ink on background

 

 I so love how this turned out.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today and say Hi,

Connie

Sending Sunshine

 I am sharing another image that Birgit sent me.  It was probably meant to send to someone going through something but I am using it for a birthday card.

I colored it with markers, a little bit of diamond stickles on the bees wings and nuvo drops on the flowers.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Connie

Praying for you

 I am using more of the die cut stickers I picked up at Hobby Lobby awhile back for my card today.

• Paper studio - Die cut stickers
• ODBD - Mini tag sentiment stamp
• Ribbon

Doctor report yesterday is that my foot is coming along good, I still have a lot of swelling, especially at the joint so he said at least 2 more if not 3 more weeks in the boot to keep everything stabilized.  He will see me again in 3 weeks. I am just to keep doing what I have been, do as much as I want but as soon as I start feeling the pain, up my foot goes to relieve the swelling.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,

Connie

Wonderful Birthday

 I received a bunch of stamped images from Birgit to color while I am recovering from my foot surgery and I have been busy coloring them :)  If they work for the upcoming birthday or other cards I need I will be making them into cards.  This one is going to my girlfriend that loves succulents, I am not sure what kind of flowers these are supposed to be but I colored some of them as succulents and hope that is what she thinks they are, my hubby wasn't so sure ;)

I added a birthday sticker to it, and some nuvo drops on the stamens. Popped it up on some foam tape and attached it to a piece of paper that looks like watercolor.

It feels good to be back in my craft room and hubby took me on a little longer drive yesterday since I can keep my foot down for a longer period of time.  So good to feel like things are getting back to normal.

Hope your week is off to a great start too!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Bird in nest

 Before my surgery I bought some cheese cloth, I have seen many use it in their creations and I thought why not give it a try, it took Esther sending me this sweet bird already colored and ready to use to give it a try, I inked it up with a few colors of my distress inks and pulled it apart and then bunched it up again and glued it to a piece of packaging from a recent order.

I added a border I punched from a Martha Stewart punch and added some Black enamel accents to the centers.  That is the same stuff that I usually use for my birds eyes but I see Esther uses a little gem, I will have to remember that for my next birds I do :)  The sentiment circle is another Martha Stewart punch and I stamped the sentiment.

Update, I have been able to sit in my craft room for 30 minutes at a time now, for the past two days, not too much pain when sitting, I just get a burning feeling in my big toe after that much time so I come back out in the living room and put my foot up, getting excited that I have seen big improvement this week, a month after my surgery.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today and hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Connie

Flowers for you

 These flowers were given to me from a long time friend in my craft group.  The backs of them had a pattern on them so I think they were from a pattern paper pack, but they colored up nicely I thought.

I stamped my sentiment on a Martha Stewart tag and then colored the top and added some nuvo crystal glaze.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Flowers and Bees

 It sure doesn't take the insects long to come out after it starts warming up does it.  I have been touched by a few friends here and from blog land that gave me a few goodies to help me with my cardmaking while I am recovering from my foot surgery.

A friend from Church gave me a few calendars she had as she knows I use them to make envelopes.  And today I am sharing one of the die cuts that Esther friend from my blog sent.  These little images were from the calendars I cut up for envelopes and the doily is from Esther.

I am able to go in my craft room for at least 5 minutes at a time right now, hubby is trying to figure out a way that we can move things around to make it easier on me, so I will be soon getting in my room and have a little more access to things.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Happy Easter

 He is Risen!!!

I am sharing another calendar image I used for my daughters Easter card.  I had other plans but was too much so I will save the idea for next year when I will be able to get around better. I colored it with markers.

Wishing you all a wonderful day as we Celebrate our Risen Lord!!!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today!

Connie

Good Friday

 I told you in my last post that hubby helped with this card.  Our friend from church lost his Dad within a month of learning he had cancer.  I was telling hubby I wanted to make him a card but just didn't know what to do.  

A few years ago when hubby was going to my stamp stores with me he saw that they had some cool dies that he could create with and bought a few and made some projects with, some he saved that he didn't end up using and this piece is one he made.  Of course he doesn't save what the names of the dies he used but he remembers that this cross was made from a square background die that he cut apart to make a cross, then cut the inside squares from patterned paper that has a bit of glitter on them. He mounted it onto black card stock and used a corner punch for the corners.  All I had to do is put some foam tape on it so it pops up.  I used two different patterned papers for the background, I cut along the circles on the one piece to give it a little more than just a straight cut.  

Hubby also brought out some stamps for me and some ink so that I can stamp my sentiments now :) Our living room is starting to look like a mini craft room :)

I am starting to do a little better so I was able to go in and take my own pictures of my cards.

May we all take time today to remember the gift of our lives that Jesus gave us when he died on the cross for our sins.  All we need to do now is believe in him and we will be saved!!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today, 

Connie