Tag Archives: thoughts and prayers

Settling into routine

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Captain Stupidhead at RestIt’s been an interesting week, this first official Empty Nest week.  The cat is doing his best to convince us that the nest is NOT empty, that he is still here and that he needs attention and he needs it now.  But clearly it’s not the same – you can’t throw a child out the back door and come back 8 hours later, lah dee dah.  Captain Stupidhead has a lot to say, but if you keep him fed the rest is easy.

Mr Maui Stamper and I are doing the same things we did when there were chickens in the nest, but it feels different now.  I’m not thinking about what the family wants or needs, I’m thinking about the present.  We were married for 6 years before we had our first child, and that BC (Before Children) lifestyle is a comfortable fit.  Of course, our kids are an enormous part of our lives, and we are in touch with them often, but they aren’t on my To-Do list now.  Well, they are of course…there’s a wedding early next year, and plane tickets for Thanksgiving…but it’s not an every day type of thing.

You would think that I would have stamped up a storm by now, but the sad truth is that my stamp studio has been a scene of absolute and atrocious chaos since before convention.  I’ve been up here a couple of times trying to make progress.  Finally last night I got serious with the heaps, bits and pieces, methodically working through the mess.  It was a late night, but I’m happy to report success.  There’s still some work to do – I have a number of brand new sets that aren’t put together – but I can think in here.

I have a card to share, too.  I didn’t make it last night, but a couple of days ago.  A friend of ours lost his dad, and though it wasn’t unexpected, the loss of someone dear weighs on your heart.  I remember when my grandmother died at the age of 92 – she didn’t remember us any more, and she wasn’t the same energetic woman I’d grown up with, but still when she died I was sad to realize we wouldn’t make any new memories together.  Fortunately, I have wonderful memories of both of my grandmothers, and those stories help to define who I am.

Thoughts and Prayers

  • Thoughts and Prayers, Artistic Etchings, and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Naturals Ivory and Soft Suede card stock
  • Baja Breeze and Crumb Cake FFIP
  • Baja Breeze Stampin’ Write marker
  • Baja Breeze Seam Binding
  • Oval and Small oval (retired) punches
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals

I’m really sorry that Stampin’ Up! retired that small oval punch, and I’m a bit stubborn about giving mine up as a result.  You could just use the regular oval and ink up the edges, but that’s not what I wanted.  Well.   And that’s that.

And here I was going to say something about embracing change…

 

 

I hope there are trees in Heaven

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I love using the image of the tree from Thoughts and Prayers for a sympathy card.  It’s a full, graceful tree that hints of a life well-lived, of abundance and generosity and beauty.

It also seems like a little piece of heaven.  Haven’t been there myself, but it seems to me that heaven must have a feeling like  being in the woods…and like walking on a white sandy beach…and like climbing tall, majestic mountains…all of those beautiful, powerful places that bring the presence of God alive in a very tangible way.  I hope this card conveys that feeling of  God’s presence to my friend.

Thoughts and Prayers Limeade

  • Thoughts and Prayers and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Lucky Limeade and River Rock card stock
  • Lucky Limeade Prints Pack Designer Series Paper
  • Lucky Limeade and Soft Suede Stampin’ Write markers
  • Lucky Limeade Classic ink pad
  • Piercing tool and Mat
  • 1/8 inch Lucky Limeade Organdy Ribbon (SAB)

I made holes on either side of the tree trunk with the piercing tool and used a big upholstery needle to thread the Organdy Ribbon through.  It’s soft and easy to work with, and I much prefer tying my ribbons onto cards instead of attaching them with Glue Dots.  Don’t get me wrong – I love those Glue Dots – but I don’t want to take the chance that the ribbon will fall off.  I’m picky that way.

 

Sending love and sympathy

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Recently I needed sympathy cards.  I try to have one or two on hand, but I much prefer making just the right card.  It allows me to create something just for the person who has lost a loved one, and I can also spend some time thinking about them and praying for them as they grieve.

These cards were made for young adults – a brother and sister who lost their dad.  This is the card I made for the young woman:

Simply Soft Sympathy

  • Simply Soft and Faith in Nature stamp sets (both hostess sets)
  • Old Olive, Baja Breeze and Naturals White card stock
  • Old Olive, Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy Classic ink pads
  • Baja Breeze seam binding

I considered adding pearls and other embellishments, but ended up rejecting all of that for the simplicity of the flowers.  I folded the seam binding in half – it’s so soft that it takes that treatment easily and can still be mailed without extra postage.

Lately, cards that can be mailed without extra postage have become more of a focus for me.  I think twice before adding buttons, big brads and other heavy bling.  I LOVE those embellishments – don’t get me wrong – but I mail a lot of cards and those extras create headaches at the post office.  I’m keeping the 3-D goodies for hand-delivered cards, and there are plenty of those, too.

Here’s the companion card for the young man:

Medallion Sympathy

  • Medallion and Thoughts and Prayers stamp sets
  • Old Olive and Naturals White card stock
  • Old Olive, Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy Classic ink pads
  • 1/2 and 1 3/4 inch circle punches
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals
  • Crystal Effects

The “brad” in the center is nothing more than a circle of cardstock covered with Crystal Effects, and I left off that girly-frou-frou ribbon stuff.

Although these cards are similar in color and general style, the fact that they coordinate was more for my benefit than that of my young friends.  As I thought of the two of them,  putting these complimentary cards together gave me a little comfort.  I hope it did the same for them.

 

A few words of sympathy

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It’s hard to know what to say when someone experiences loss.  Finding the right words is a struggle, and often the words that come to mind don’t express what we’re really feeling.  I’ve found that simple is best:

I'm so sorry

  • Thoughts and Prayers, Teeny Tiny Wishes, and French Script stamp sets
  • Whisper White and Wisteria Wonder card stock
  • Pear Pizazz and Wisteria Wonder classic ink pads
  • Pretty in Pink and Wisteria Wonder Stampin’ Write markers
  • Blender pen
  • Big Shot, Originals 3 inch Circle,  and Framed Tulips Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

I tried to add more embellishment to this card and it just wouldn’t work.  This is about as close as I get to Clean and Simple.  For this sympathy card, in this situation, it was just right.

Stacy, I’m so sorry.

A Majestic Tree

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This tree is my favorite.  I still love the retired set Branch Out and I don’t know if I’ll ever get rid of mine, but the tree from Thoughts and Prayers is really majestic.  I confess to being something of a tree hugger, and though I love all types of trees I am especially fond of trees with a big, umbrella shaped canopy – just like this one:

Manly Thoughts and Prayers

  • Thoughts and Prayers and Thank You Kindly stamp sets
  • Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, Not Quite Navy and River Rock card stock
  • Always Artichoke and Not Quite Navy Classic ink pads
  • River Rock Stampin’ Write marker and a Blender Pen
  • Big Shot and Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing folder
  • Jumbo brads in Pewter and Vanilla 3/8 inch taffeta ribbon

This card also uses my VERY favorite color combination – blue and green.  We re-painted a number of rooms in our home as part of The Renovation, and almost every can of paint was blue or green.  As a matter of fact, our bedroom is now River Rock with an accent wall in Not Quite Navy.  Seriously.

This was another card in the Manly Card series, and though I did sneak in a little smidgen of ribbon you’ll notice there’s no sissy bow.  It’s a manly Tie Your Tie sort of knot.  The tree is easy to stamp in two colors if you use an ink pad to color the leaves and then remove excess ink from the branches with a Blender pen and color the trunk and branches with a marker.

I am still putting things away in my fabulous new crafting space, and am discovering that I have kept a lot of STUFF.  Getting rid of things you don’t need any more is a wonderful feeling.  Crafting in this room is a total joy, and sometimes I stop mid-project just to look around me.  It’s pretty sweet.

When words aren’t enough

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Sometimes you need to send a hug through the mail.  You want to convey love and support and hope, but you know that right now, words aren’t enough.

When words aren't enough

  • Thoughts and Prayers and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Very Vanilla card stock
  • Soft Suede and Baja Breeze Classic ink pads
  • Stampin’ Sponges and 1 3/8″ square punch

I used the square punch to cut a rectangular mask out of a scrap of card stock.  I sponged the Baja Breeze ink evenly through the mask, then removed the mask to stamp the tree from Thoughts and Prayers.  I like the hopeful feeling that I get when I look at this card.  I hope my friend will feel hopeful when she opens it.

Mama, do you Mambo?

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I love to play with color.  I love the moods and energy it evokes, and the simple pleasure that comes from looking at a pleasing combination of colors.  When I chanced on the photo for the Inkspirations Challenge, it felt deeply feminine…like a Southern Belle sitting on a porch, all dressed up and sipping iced tea – without leaving a trace of lipstick on her glass, of course!

Inkspirations 21

Big, full pink blossoms, crystal and tapers…in pink and cream…doesn’t that say feminine to you?  Here is my response:

Thoughts and Prayers for Mother's Day

  • Thoughts and Prayers, All Holidays and Bella Toile stamp sets
  • Naturals White, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo and Close to Cocoa card stock
  • Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink and Melon Mambo Classic ink pads
  • Pretty in Pink and Melon Mambo Stampin’ Write Markers and a Blender pen
  • Scallop Trim Border and Double Rectangle punches; Rhinestone and Filigree brads
  • Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon and Vanilla Smooch Spritz

Yeah, you can see I got a little carried away with the Smooch, huh?  But doesn’t it give a nice candle-lit sort of look?  That’s what I was going for 🙂

Be sure you take a good look at that pretty little Filigree brad.  You could have a package of those (or stars, flowers or circles) for free with the purchase of select stamp sets this month from Stampin’ Up!  Check my Online Store in the Promotions page for details.

If you’d like to see what others have done for this challenge, check this post from Kirsty.  She’s helping out this week.

A Manly Tree

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The tree from Thoughts and Prayers is just right for a masculine card.  It lends itself to earth tones and has such a balanced, solid feeling that makes it so suitable for special occasions:

Stampin' Up! Thoughts and Prayers Masculine Tree

  • Thoughts and Prayers, Woodgrain, Vintage Vogue and Inspired by Nature Stamp sets
  • Very Vanilla, Old Olive and Not Quite Navy card stock
  • Old Olive, Soft Suede and Not Quite Navy Classic ink pads
  • Soft Suede and Not Quite Navy Stampin’ Write markers and Blender pen
  • Aquapainter, Stampin’ Sponge, SAMJ and Ribbon Originals Elementary ribbbon

And now the very astute of you are thinking “Ha!  The abundant sea air has finally driven this woman bonkers!  There’s no Vintage Vogue here – she is so obsessed with that stamp set that she’s hallucinating!”  Ah, my friends, behold the inside of the card:

Vintage Vogue Stampin' Up! interior

And here you have your Vintage Vogue, ever so slightly crooked despite multiple attempts AND the Stamp-a-ma-jig.  I decided it was meant to be this way.

To create the multiple colored effect with the tree and the border for the inside, I inked the stamp in Old Olive and used a blender pen to selectively remove the Old Olive ink.  It’s very simple to go back and add in the color that you want with a Stampin’ Write marker (Soft Suede for the tree trunk, Not Quite Navy as flowers on the border).  This has the advantage of being faster than inking the entire stamp with markers, and it also helps avoid the dreaded “skipped rubber” when you are using only markers and miss a spot entirely.

This card was made for my son, who was Confirmed over the weekend.  We are quite proud of him, and I thought you might enjoy one final photo:

Dad, Matt and Mom

True confession:  I made him stand on the step below us.  He’s as tall as his dad  (or perhaps even taller, I haven’t measured today).

A Fond Farewell to Lavender Lace

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OK, well maybe only kinda fond.  Lavender Lace is one of those colors that I bought as a new demonstrator because I “needed” to have all the colors.  It’s never been a color that cried out “Me! Me!” in the stamp room.  More often than not, I would use it because I felt guilty that I had neglected it.

As of June 30, I will be 100% Lavender Lace Guilt Free.

That said, I like the way it looks in this card:

Stampin' Up! Lavender Lace Thoughts and Prayers

  • Thoughts and Prayers and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Lavender Lace, Apricot Appeal and Glossy White card stock
  • Elegant Eggplant Classic ink pad
  • Lavender Lace, Apricot Appeal, and Pixie Pink Classic ink refills
  • Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware; Big Shot and Perfect Polka Dots Impressions folder
  • Double Rectangle punch and 5/8 inch Vanilla Satin ribbon

The background behind the fabulous tree from Thoughts and Prayers is the oh-so-easy Striped Wipe technique.  I am such a fan of that tree.   It’s graceful and has just enough asymmetry to give you room to embellish away without disturbing the balance of the card.

Lavender Lace looks great with Pixie Pink, which ought to give you a clue to my feelings about Pixie Pink!  I’ll miss Apricot Appeal though – my upline uses it a lot and I’ve learned to love it.

Speaking of Crystal, I saw her twice last week and got to feed baby Isaac.  He’s a man-child, always hungry.  What is it about baby boys?  It’s hard to get their little tanks all filled up.

Off to fill up my Stampin’ Tank.

Learning new things

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In stamping, as in life, there is always room to grow.  New techniques, new projects, new points of view all serve to keep me inspired and encourage me to keep my work fresh.  Left to my own devices, I suspect I would make lots and lots of cards in primarily blue and green hues with very predictable layouts.

The best way I’ve found to grow is to stamp with others.  Stamping together in person is always the best choice – I think I need another person to ignite my creative juices.  Life being what it is, it’s not always possible to stamp with another person.  That’s when online challenges come into play.

Yesterday, I posted a link to the Mojo challenge.  There are also many challenges on Stampin’ Addicts, and even more on Splitcoast Stampers. SCS has a really broad selection of challenges – techniques, product spotlights, unusual inspirations – as well as the more typical color and sketch challenges.  The Blogosphere has made it possible for anyone with an internet connection to post a challenge, and you can spend the better part of the morning cruising through all those options.  Your best option there is to find a few bloggers whose style strikes you either because it’s so unusual, it’s so inspiring, or it’s a close match with your own taste.  Once you’ve done that, subscribe to those blogs to keep updated and start playing along with the challenges.  Don’t feel obligated to post your creations, but at the same time, realize that the sharing and the interaction when you do post can be enjoyable, inspiring, and perhaps even addicting.

Yesterday Cheryl came over and we ended up abandoning our original stamping plan and playing along with the color and sketch challenges at SCS.  Here’s what I did:

Anne_SCS_CC242_SC252

  • Thoughts and Prayers, En Francais, and Linen (retired) stamp sets; Leaves a la Carte (retired) wheel
  • Basic Black, Whisper White, Melon Mambo and Kraft cardstock; retired Designer Series Paper
  • Basic Black and Sahara Sand Classic ink;  Basic Black, Melon Mambo and Sahara Sand Stampin’ Write markers
  • Kraft taffeta ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-jig and Stampin’ Dimensionals

We had such a good time stamping, although I have to admit we’re like a couple of little kids with the attention span of a pair of mosquitoes.  We kept flitting back and forth between crafting and the computer – and of course we both had phones ringing – but we finished our cards and had a good time together too.

So stretch a little – try a challenge.  If you don’t like it, remember that it’s only paper.