freshly made sketches #100

good morning tracey and mom...and anyone else that may have popped in to take a peak!  i thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring about what i may do...

when i am not touching all of my wonderful stamping things, i am a special education teacher.  this morning i have to get to school...get the room ready for the shiny new children that will be arriving on the 9th...but not before i quickly made a card for freshly made sketches 100th sketch challenge! 

i really thought the butterflies should come out again...but i really wanted a manly card.  this is what eventually came to life...

              

i liked the way this sketch was designed and look forward to using it in the future. it is so versatile to use with any theme and any set!

i feel a bit guilty that much of what i used is not available from stampin up right now...but you cannot go wrong with such a classic-looking truck!  the stamp set is called countryside.  i used marina mist, cherry cobbler, and certainly celery ink refills and my aqua painters.  the designer paper is from last year's brights collection as well as first edition specialty.  the cardstock used is very vanilla, marina mist, black and river rock.  i know many colors in the new catalog would work just as well!  i used the square lattice folder to give texture to the black strip and antique brads finished off this card just perfectly!

i suppose the inspiration for the card also came from georgia...where there are more trucks proudly proclaiming their roots, boasting country music as they toil down the beautiful country roads!  ahhh, America!  God bless you real good!

and i leave you with some wonderful words from a song by lee greenwood, that which will always give me goose bumps:

"...And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me..."

peace be with you

 

the paper players challenge #159

when i was in georgia a couple weeks ago, my mother-in-law was so excited for me to step inside their home.  she had beautifully added her warm womanly touch to the main great kitchen-family room with a comfy new couch, walls adorned with photograph's from their travels across the nation, and books and nests and dishes from her home in southern georgia.  funny enough, the things that caught my eye immediately were the gorgeous new drapes and tablecloth she had made out of the prettiest print...i knew i just had to turn the colors and combinations of words, swirls and insects into a card!  sometimes my inspiration comes from the strangest of places! 

 



 i decided this would be the perfect card to place in the paper players challenge #159.  ann's clean and simple one-layer card challenge should be easy, but for someone who adores her layers, it wasn't!  i saw this bordered sentiment masking technique on splitcoaststampers. when i added the black marker all around the card, it gave it a layered look...ahhh, that made me feel better!

this was fun and sooo easy to do!  i first stamped the butterflies from the papillon potpourri using black stazon ink on very vanilla cardstock. i then colored them in with copic markers, #s yr04 and yr07.  next, i stamped-off some crumb cake on the en francais background stamp.  i added the flourish from everything eleanor with chocolate chip ink, which i also stamped-off. after that, i sponged the inked parts using crumb cake and added some black accent marks with my all-time favorite retired stamp set, itty bitty backgrounds.  finally, the sentiment is from blooming with kindness, another one of my favorites!

my friend kim once said, after spending an afternoon together, that my home felt as if someone just made her a cup of tea and warm homemade cookies.  i'll never forget that analogy and have forever hoped that my friends and family have felt the same way. i believe a home is a reflection of the people who live, love, laugh, cook, talk, share and grow there.  so whether yours is filled with things from faraway places, hand-me-downs from family, antique store treasures, something new, or drapes with big beautiful butterflies on them, i hope your home is blessed with peace and joy, much love, good health and prosperity!

peace be with you

words, words, words part 2

hello, you...who may be checking out my blog!  i am thrilled you have not given up on me...as i am slow in adding to my posts.

i am finally home from a wonderful vacation with my hubby.  we spent our days riding our motorcycles on the winding roads of georgia, eating wonderful epicurean delights...whether homemade or out in a neat little restaurant, visiting little artsy towns, eating, laughing with family and eating.  i did manage a side trip to that little stamp store i mentioned...and just as i thought, i bought a few things i just had to have!

now that i am home, i have spent some much needed time with my family...especially my momma, who came to visit from florida.  unfortunately, my pop did not accompany her.  however, that allowed us umpteen hours in my woman cave creating pretty things with my stamps and stuff!  today i tried something new:  faux patina. it is a technique that creates the look of aged metal.  if you would like to try it, check it out here.  i did not use any metallic colors, but i loved it just the same. 

once i completed a few cards, as i never make just one, i asked myself...is this worthy of a challenge?  thankfully i came across words, words, words from our creative corner.  i loved this challenge because quotes are my 'thing'.  i have so many to choose from, but here is my very favorite:

did i also mention...i love butterflies? 

just in case you need to know...my inks are brown sugar, soft sky and crumb cake.  the cardstock i used is brown sugar, soft sky, very vanilla and black.  papillon potpourri is my stamp set of choice and the peace quote is from a random stamp store from long ago.  unfortunately, the embossing folder is retired and for the life of me cannot remember it's name.  oh, well...

i have to tell you...stamping with my friends this past thursday night, and more importantly, with my momma this past week, reminds me why i do what i do...quite simply-the joy it brings to others.  besides the fact that my sister, mom and myself laugh till we cry, my mom's approval and accolades always makes my day!  there is nothing better than to hear that what you do matters to your mother...

...so it is only appropriate i leave you with this quote from abraham lincoln:  "all that i am or ever hope to be, i owe to my...mother".

peace be with you

what was i thinking?!

i guess it was a terrible idea to begin blogging when the following week i would find myself in canton, georgia, visiting my wonderful father-in-law, john the elder,  and his lovely wife, patty.  john and i loaded up the motorcycles and headed to the north georgia mountains.  i can think of no other roads, at least ones that i have ridden on, that compare to these.  it makes me wonder... if God rode a motorcycle, would the roads in heaven be just like georgia's?

as much as this is a vacation geared for hitting the pavement, i have to say, i wish i had packed some stamp stuff to play with!  i keep receiving all these emails...with all these challenges...wishing i was in one of them!  well, i guess i will just have to satisfy my stamping jitters with a visit to one of the best stamp stores in roswell, georgia, called impressive ideas.  i'm quite sure there is a little something there that i must have!

i promise when i return home, i will stamp like a woman possessed and get some samples up on this blog o mine!  until then, i leave you with this quote by desmond tutu:  "you don't choose your family.  they are God's gift to you, as you are to them".  enjoy your family...be joy to your family...

peace be with you