Cheerful Flowers Part Two

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I felt so much better today…lots of texts from my college student made it seem like she wasn’t really 5,000 miles away.  I started playing with the layout from the Stampin’ Addicts Thursday Sketch Challenge and after a couple of false starts, came up with a card that made me happy.

Sweet Stems

Sweet Stems

  • Sweet Stems and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, and Regal Rose cardstock
  • Certainly Celery Designer Series Paper (this pattern is retired, but new patterns are available)
  • 1 1/4″ and 1″ Circle punches, Scallop Edge punch
  • Bermuda Bay, Certainly Celery, and Regal Rose ink
  • Regal Rose Ribbon

I usually start by choosing a stamp set, then a principal color.  Sometimes I stick with those choices, sometimes I don’t.  This time, I reached first for the Bermuda Bay, then Certainly Celery, and finally (hey, these are flowers, you can’t have just blue and green) added the Regal Rose.  This isn’t a sketch I would have designed on my own, but it’s fun to stretch yourself with the challenges.  The end result is whimsical and fairly simple.

Sweet Stems (113726, $16.95)  is currently on the Dormant List from Stampin’ Up!   That means it’s not in the catalog, but it’s still available for purchase.  You can order it directly through me or through my Stampin’ Up! website.

I’ve spent too much time this morning reading WordPress tutorials, playing with watermarks, and studying other people’s blogs!  Time to quit laboring and get outside on this Labor Day holiday.

Daffodils to bring a smile

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Buzzin by Daffodils Ikebana style
Buzzin by Daffodils Ikebana style

We took Sara to the airport last night…she’s headed back to Boston.  I know she’s ready and I know she’ll be happy but it was still a sad good-bye.  Even though we’ll see her in October.  Even though she’s been home all summer.  Especially because she’s been home all summer!  I’m gonna miss that girl…

To cheer myself up, I went looking for flowers – and not just any flowers – I needed Daffodils.  So what if they’re out of season!  Daffodils are the cheeriest flowers I could think of and that’s what the doctor ordered.  I borrowed a concept from InkingAddict and used the ornament from Delightful Decorations to make a vase.  My stems didn’t line up so instead of a nice narrow necked vase I used the small oval punch to make mine more of a bowl.  Think Ikebana.  OK, Ikebana without the style.  I call it creative license.

  • Just Buzzin’ By stamp set
  • Delightful Decorations tamp set
  • Ornament Punch
  • Small Oval Punch
  • Whisper White, Bermuda Breeze, and Barely Banana cardstock
  • Thoroughly Modern Designer Series Paper
  • Soft Suede polka dotted ribbon
  • Soft Suede, Barely Banana and Bermuda Breeze Classic ink
  • Aquapainter and Stampin’ Dimensionals (gotta love ’em!)

Looking for inspiration?

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The Stampin' Up! Build a Bear

The Stampin' Up! Build a Bear

I’m always looking for new sources of inspiration.

Stampin’ Addicts is a relatively new forum with a focus on Stampin’ Up! products…you can visit my gallery under the screen name Hianna.

To celebrate the release of the Stampin’ Up! Build-A-Bear Workshop collection, Stampin Addicts dot com is giving away an exclusive Build-A-Bear teddy bear that was only available at the 2009 Stampin’ Up! convention. To enter all you have to do is write about it and join the Stampin Addicts forum.

Let’s get it started…

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Let’s begin at the beginning.  I’ve thought about a blog for months, but many things – not the least being fear – have kept me from publishing.  About 2 weeks ago I logged onto wordpress and signed up…and within 24 hours, I’d gotten a call asking if our family would be interested in hosting an exchange student for the school year.  Oh, and by the way, could we let them know today?  The young lady is waiting…

Our answer was yes, and what followed was an insane amount of activity based on one fact:  our new daughter is allergic to cats.  If you know me, you know that we’ve got a cat, and he has the run of the house.  Further, he sheds a ridiculous amount of hair.  After a week of vacuuming, carpet shampooing, laundering, and vigorous cat brushing, we felt as though we’d done our best.

The Feline Hair Machine

The Feline Hair Machine

To all of our relief, Kseniya and the cat are co-existing well.

But this isn’t the point of this post…it’s an excuse for its belated debut.

One of my primary purposes is to share my paper crafts.   My first love is card-making, but I do some 3-D and some scrapping.  The card I want to share today is a simple one, and it’s inspired by a sample in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog.

Bird in a Berry Christmas Wreath

Bird in a Berry Christmas Wreath

  • Real Red, Always Artichoke, Brushed Gold and Very Vanilla cardstock
  • Berry Christmas and Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp sets
  • Stampin’ Up! Perfect Details Texturz plate, Stampin’ Up! Merry Details, and the Big Shot
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals
  • Rhinestone from clear Rhinestone Brads
  • Black Stampin’ Write Journaler
  • White Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen
  • Stamp-a-ma-jig

I don’t promise to blog every day although I do have a goal of regular posting.  I also don’t promise to stick to one topic or another.  It may take me a while to find my voice here.  What I do promise is variety, whimsicality, and the occasional moment of lunacy.  Pretty much the way I live my life.