Thankful for YOU!

This card is for each of you that stops by my blog and visits me each week. I am so truly appreciative of your friendship and support!!

I love the Live Your Dream set and had a hankering to use it this week. The layout was totally inspired by Jessica's layout that she used on last week's PPS challenge card. I'm sure I'll use it again and again! One of the NYE challenges was to create an easily mailable card - less than 3 layers and no lumpy embellishments.

1. Create standard size top-fold card base from Old Olive.

2. Cut patterned paper to size. Run narrow strip through scallop punch.

3. Color stamp with Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Regal Rose markers. Overstamp lines in Going Gray. Stamp sentiment in Chocolate Chip. Mount on Chocolate Chip panel.

4. Add stickles to highlight flower centers and to mimic brads. My "brads" aren't very big...it seemed like my stickles were clogged and nothing I did enabled them to really "flow". I gave up and just used a small little bit.

Have a beautiful day girls!!

Bluebird of Happiness

One of the NYE challenges on splitcoast was to create an Asian themed card. I combined it with challenge to create something using 'new' product (my first time using Pacific Point - not sure if I like it or not). I just got this stamp set in and as I was pondering what exactly to do with it, I remember a book I read long ago that talked about the bluebirds of happiness. I had also just finished reading "The Magic of Ordinary Days" (which is a great book and an even more wonderful Hallmark movie). In the book. there is descriptions of the Japanese American interns and the simple, but lovely life they lead. Asian is not really a stamping theme that I have a lot of supplies for (I have 1 stamp and wasn't interested in digging for it) so I decided to create a card that embodied the principles of Asian design: clean, graphic, nature elements and asymmetrical.

Even though this card is nothing like the cards with all the fluff, I am so proud of how it turned out!! First, for the tree, I knew I wanted some shading in it so I inked it with Close to Cocoa and then just randomly tapped my Chocolate Chip marker on it. I also used the marker and went along some of the edges of the image for shadowing. My bird (from Live Your Dream) is inked in Baja Breeze and then Pacific Point. I used the happy sentiment from Define Your life.

I hope that the Bluebirds of Happiness visit you often in this new year!! Thanks for stopping by - I love all the sweet things ya'll have had to say!! Have a beautiful week!