Aviary Thanks

I just dusted off another wonderful stamp set from the current catalog - Aviary. I think those bird cages are simply irresistible! I found this card on SCS today and couldn't wait to case it, but I wanted to make it even easier than Grandma Overboard did, so I simply stamped the most ornate cage on the right side of a a piece of patterned paper that has a bit of a bolder pattern on the left side. This is probably the simplest card I've ever made! My birdcage stamp fell of its block mid-stamp so it didn't quite meet the stand, but I fixed that right up with a little bit of tangerine grosgrain ribbon. Don't ever think of a mistake as a mistake - simply an opportunity to embellish!

Thoughts and Prayers

My dear friend, Karen, who I mentioned yesterday, ordered six sympathy cards and six note cards, so I immediately looked on SCS for all the projects using the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set. There's just something about trees, greenery, and foliage that lures me in every time. This stamp set has beautiful images and heartfelt sentiments and I just love how the tree looks in this card that I found online. I was so thrilled that I had the Labels 4 Nestabilities set that Diamond Angelfish used on her card! Usually, I have to improvise, but not this time!! The technique is so simple that even with my rusty skills, I figured it out right away! After you cut out the largest label from the set, leave your paper in the die, turn it over, and sponge on the ink color of your choice (I used So Saffron), using the die as a mask, which leaves a crisp white border around your image.

Welcome Home, Wayward Stamper!

I am beyond thrilled to finally be posting papercraft projects again!!! I have MISSED stamping so much in the months since Morgan was born in September. I think I've had performance anxiety coupled with the fact that my craft room looked like a tornado blew through!! I have been scrapbooking a lot, but I haven't put ink to stamps to paper since last year. A dear friend of mine ordered a dozen cards last week and that order was the inspiration I needed to clean up my craft room (a gigantic task!) and get out all of those wonderful stamp sets and beautiful ink colors that I love so dearly. My first card was inspired by this lovely card on Splitcoast Stampers. Since it was been so many months since I've created anything stamped, I felt obligated to consult SCS, and I'm so glad I did. I had forgotten how many amazing stampers there are out there and how much I love "stalking" their blogs and checking out their work. So here's the first of what I hope will be many more posts in the coming days and weeks!!