Thoughts of a Grasshopper

I needed cards for thank you notes and I sent them off to arrive just before Valentine's Day, so I decided to use the Greeting Card kids set.  What you can't see from this picture is the letterpress template I used on the vanilla cardstock, stamped with VersaMark.  I saw a similar card on Pinterest and went with the design and colors.  The card I saw was a little more snazzy but I needed it to be flat enough to mail and the flowers on the other card were too 3D for the mail unless a bubble envelope was used. Stamps:  Greeting Card Kids and Hand-Penned Holidays CS:  Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, VV Ink:  VersaMark, Stazon Black Misc.:  Flower Punch, 2-1/2" circle punch, Large Delicate Doilies sizzlet, dimensionals, Fancy Fan Letterpress, Basic Pearl, mini Glue Dots

You're probably thinking "Valentine's Day . . . Seriously?!" It seems like the focus just turned to Christmas and now I'm fast forwarding a couple of months. The reason for this jump is that for the troops overseas, the deadline for us to make Christmas cards for them to use has come and gone. If you plan to make Valentine's Day cards for Operation Write Home (OWH ), the deadline is January 7th. I have two Valentine's Day cards to share today. Stamps: Greeting Card Kids, Well Scripted CS: Rose Red, VV, Elegant Eggplant, Soft Subtles Patterns DP Ink/Markers: Baja Breeze, Elegant Eggplant, Rose Red, Blush Blossom, Crumb Cake Punches: Heart border, large oval, decorative label Misc.: Deck the Halls designer button, Basic Pearl Jewels, dimensionals, glue dots, Victoria ribbon This next card is pretty much a case of Ilina Crouse. I used different DP and colors but the layout is hers. Stamps: I {heart} Hearts, Tiny Tags CS: VV, Riding Hood Red, Basic ...

October ended up being a crazy busy month but it is behind me now. It seems odd to think that it is slowing down when preparations for the holidays begin, but seriously, it was THAT busy. Since my last post, this is my favorite card I made. I love the sparkle of the Smooch Spritz on the bashful blue cardstock. It looks really nice with the metallic thread around the main image too. I'm breaking my arm patting myself on the back on this one. It is a simple card, but it looks so pretty in person (not too shabby here either). If you click on the picture, you will see hints of swirls in the picture (the top right shows it best). I used the Northern Frost Strip to cut out the snowflakes from a cereal box. I placed some snowflakes on top the texture plate before putting my cardstock on and running it through the big shot. I wanted the illusion of snow falling and the wind blowing. I had to choose, show you the sparkle or show the swirls when I took the picture and I'm all a...

I'm loving 4-day weeks. The kids had yesterday off and it was a nice day. We didn't do anything grand. The kids cleaned their rooms, I did some laundry and we had company for dinner. I tried out a new recipe for chicken tacos. I can't say I enjoyed it but I have enough left over meat and rice that I'm going to use it for enchiladas. I've had this card base sitting on my desk since last week when I totally boogered up the coloring on the hydrangea and made something else. I thought I would give it another go today. I managed to color the hydrangea, mounted it on the top note die and had one of those smack your head moments. This is a square card and the way I did the hydrangea, it wouldn't fit on the card. I pulled out the trusty Greeting Card Kids set that is ideal for square cards. I think I will stick with the traditional sized cards for a while, I'm not a square card kind of gal. I tried coloring the pearl jewels with the SU marker but the color...

The swap I participated in had you pick a card from the catalog and either change the set or the colors. I changed out the set. I couldn't find the recipe on the SU site for the catalog, so I kept it the same color scheme. I'm guessing Pumpkin Pie was used but I liked the Peach Parfait with the taffeta. The card I used as my template is found on page 140 of the current catalog. Stamps: Greeting Card Kids, Priceless, Teeny Tiny Wishes CS: Confetti White, Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait Ink: StazOn, Basic Black, Pear Pizzazz Markers: Pear Pizzazz, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Peach Parfait, Crumb Cake Misc.: Pumpkin Pie Taffeta, dotted scallop border punch

I have this mini milk carton die since it came out and today was the first time I've used it. I had it in my head that it was bigger but it is a nice size for favors, something to hand out in class. The pixie sticks would look cute coming out the spout but they would be quite a bit larger than the carton. The black cardstock under the main image is cut 1-1/2" x 1-7/8" to give you an idea of how big this is. Stamps: Greeting Card Kids CS: Pumpkin Pie, Elegant Eggplant, Basic Black, WW Ink: WW Misc.: Watercolor Crayons, Dimensionals, Pumpkin Pie 1/8" taffeta ribbon, mini library clip, glue dot (to hold the ribbon in place)