With Sympathy

Today I'm sharing a set of Sympathy card that I made using MTME's Pretty Pattern's sketch.  This week's sketch is one of those that I'll probably use again and again.... it's also easy to produce in mass quantities (that is if you consider 4 a mass quantity - lol).  Sympathy cards are not something that we like to think of wanting to have to us but we do need them.  I wish I could say that I made these cards to put away for when I need one but unfortunately I'm going to use all four today.  My sister's husband's mother passed away and today is her funeral.  Even though she was not my family member or in-law, she made me feel I was.  Her name is Maria but was known as Manoni to everyone.  Manoni was warm and friendly to me and my family ever since my sister married to her youngest son almost 18 years ago.  We would see each other on many occasions such as family birthday parties.  Manoni and my daughter, Jessica, were friends too.  Jessica would always tell me how beautiful Uncle Chuy's mom was after these get-togethers and tell me what Spanish words she had used in order to communicate with her.  Manoni loved Jessica and would often ask my sister how Jessica was doing   Manoni lived a full life, she was almost 88 years old when she passed away.  She will be missed.  I hope she gives Jessica a big hug for me now that they are together again.  At least now neither of them are in pain and are no longer sick.

These cards are for Manoni's children (and families) who have been so good to my family (and who even came to Jessica's funeral 7 months ago).  Of course one of those families are my brother-in-law & sister.

Here's the set of four: 

I used My Time Made Easy's Sentimental Occasions.  Here is version one:

A thought just ocured to me:  A side view of a person is called a profile... so is the following photo a profile of the card?  I like to do this shot on all my cards... a fun way to see the different layers.

Here is version two.

Another "profile" view.  Let me tell you a little secret... the flower made of bling wasn't in my original design - or even in the first set of pictures.  I accidentally got a little smudge of black in on it so I had to hide it somehow.  Sometimes being a Klutz pays off!  lol

Here is the inside of the card.  The "Faith - Hope - Courage - Strength" is from MTME Bold Botanicals. 

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope you will join us in this week's sketch.  Don't forget to see what the rest of the Pretty Pattern Sketch team has to share for you today.

Missing My Honey

I’m so excited about My Time Made Easy’s latest release!  The hardest part of making my card this week’s card was choosing which stamps to use!  I chose the beehive image from Bee Loved digital stamp set.  I also used Bee Mine and Buzzy Blooms digi papers.  Aren't they gorgeous?

Close-up of the beehive.  What's really great about the digital images is that I was able to resize the bees so they were the right size for the hive.  They were originally much larger.  I was also able to place them around the hive anywhere I wanted.  

I colored the image in copics and made the clouds with blue ink, sponge and template I made by punching out a scalloped circle using a Stampin' Up punch.

This set has some great sentiments - isn't this the perfect one for the beehive image?  I love my nestabilities... a fun way to add some fun to a sentiment.

I really like how this week's sketch has a long narrow area for a tag.  This one was so much fun to make!  Hope you like it too.  

The bee on the tag is still a smaller version of the original size of the digital one.  Such a cute bee - and there are several to choose from!  

Add a little ribbon, heart button, heart charm and leaf dies and viola' - a fun card!

This is the great sketch we are using this week.  I hope you will play along!

Thank you for stopping by.  Your comments are truly appreciated. 

MTME Pretty Pattern #6

I chose to do a belated Easter card because I found the cutest easter digi Stamps at My Time Made Easy.  I figured that it's still April... I can still post Easter stuff.  *grin*

Here is my card for this week's Pretty Pattern Challenge #7:

Here is this week's sketch:

A side view... see the shiny ribbon?  Oooohhh, shiny!  

I'm so proud of myself - I am new at digi stamps and working with digital images so I'm tickled pink that I was able to use Harriet (the bunny) from this digi stamp set:  Harriet Hop-Along Basket Single and the basket of eggs in this digi set:  Some Punny Easter and merged them together so that Harriet is holding the basket of Easter eggs instead of a basket of flowers.  I had to errase the basket of flowers first then re-size the basket of Easter eggs then put the Easter eggs basket where the other one used to be.  I didn't think of the one egg printing up in all black though.  Next time I'll have to color it before printing... that is after I learn how to do that.  :) I colored her with copics and sponged the edges with SU Pink Piroette (where I accidentally smudges the black ink from the printer... I'm still learning!) 

I also used this image from Some Punny Easter digi set.  So cute!  I colored it with copics too.

Instead of adding rick-rack underneath the two images I chose to cut the dp with my Grand Labels Four along the bottom edge.  By the way, the designer paper I used is Wildflowers.  It's one of my favorites! 

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you will join us in this challenge.  I can't wait to see what you make!

Easter Blessings

Happy Belated Easter Blessings.  I apologize for not posting this before Easter... instead of posting the Easter card that I made for my in-laws, I went with my husband and sons to their house and spent some quality time with them.  I took a long weekend off from blogging and blog-hopping in order to spend time with family, go to church and express my gratitude to the Lord for his sacrifices for me.  I'm so very thankful for the opportunity I will have of seeing my daughter and living with her again someday.  We went to the cemetery to honor her.  We sure miss her sweet smiles and laughter.

For my card I used Joan's recipe challenge #15:

• Color challenge : White and Gold
• Use some Embossing
• Keep it simple with out any or very few embellishments
• Easter Card

And here is what I came up with:

I used the Textile cuttlebug embossing folder for the bottom part of the card.  I scored two lines on the back of the card just above the folder embossing and just below the top of the card.  I hope you can see it in the close-up.  I used "super fine detail" gold embossing powder for both the sentiment and the frame.  Around the edge of the oval I used a Gold Leafing pen... I tried to get it as even as I could but it has been a long time since I used it and the tip had dried paint in it... I'm not sure if I could safely rinse it out?  I don't have much experience using it.  I was surprised to find that the tip is more like a brush than a marker like I was expecting. 

 

See how shiny the gold is in the light?  ooohhh, shiny!  (That sure doesn't help those of us with ADOS syndrome = Attention Deficit OOOOHHHH, SHINY!!!)  And trust me - I have it BAD!

 

I made the bow out of white seam binding... it was a little wrinkled but not like the antique stuff I've been using.  I felt that this card needed a more crisp look.  The plastic flower center is a button!  I love buttons!  I will usually stock up on them when I see them on sale so I'll have them on hand when I'm crafting in the middle of the night.  

 I also used WaltzingMouse Stamps' Sketch Challenge:

 

The Waltzing Mouse Stamp sets I used are:

Holiday Labels #14

Spring Baskets

Other great challenges:

 Paper Play Challenges:  Easter/Spring

Craft Your Days Away:  Easter

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you had a Blessed Easter!

Happy Birthday to my friend Lee!

I'm so excited to participate in a special blog hop to honor Lee Murphy's birthday today!  I didn't know about this fun event until yesterday so I've been busy stamping!  I've been very busy the last few days!  If you are looking for My Favorite Things Pretty Patterns sketch challenge then either scroll down or click here.  If you are looking for Taylored Expressions April blog hop then scroll even further or click here.
Here is the card I made for Lee: 

For the main image I used Lovely Labels 1 by Nina Bracket.  I embossed it with clear embossing powder and then heated it.  I also tried to gently watercolor the leaves and petals with SU.  I was hoping for the slightly softer look but it's fine the way it is.  (I guess.. lol)  Below is a close-up of the watercoloring.  The sentiment was stamped, cut and embossed with Spellbinders.

 

Here's a side view so you can see some of the elements such as the dragonfly and bee.  They are so shiny that they are hard to photograph but they sure look cute in person!

The designer paper, dragonfly and bee are all KC & Company.  Aren't they just gorgeous?  I can't wait to use the paper and other goodies again!

 

Little dragonfly up close:

The bow is made out of some hand-died seam binding I purchased online.  I found another pretty button to add to the center. 

Lee is such a sweetie - she made a card and sent it to me shortly after my daughter, Jessica, passed away last October.  I appreciate it so much!  She is talented and generous... we love you Lee!

Here are the ladies who are participating in this surprise hop - please visit them and give them a little love.

Alison 

Carole

Christi

Crafty Math Chick

Joanne

Lori

Lydia 

Misti

Nancy  ~ * you are here!***

Paula





 I hope you have a great birthday, Lee!   To everyone, enjoy your blog hop!
As always, your comments are greatly appreciated. 

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to ME and my husband!  We've been married 26 years now.  Wow!  Where did the time go?  I have to say that The day that I got married was the best day of my life.  I'm so thankful for the wonderful man who loves me through thick and thicker.  ;)

Here's the card I made in honor of our special day. 

  I used My Time Made Easy's Pretty Pattern's sketch.  These sketches get better and better, don't they?  I used MTME's digi papers Fresh Cut Expressions © Collection 1  and Fresh Cut Expressions © Collection 2

Here's an angle to show the layers and other fun elements on the card.

I used Sentimental Occasions Labels for the sentiment.  I love this set!  I'm not sure if you can see it clearly or not but the mini pearls just above and below the sentiment have a purple tinge to them.  I colored them with my copic #B63.

I love this edge punch by Martha Stewart - and added the mini pearls for that special touch.  The large pearls are the element in the sketch and I think it works quite well.

I just happened to have the perfect ribbon to match the paper.

Thank you for stopping by.  I love to hear from you so please leave a message.  I hope you visit the other Pretty Patterns design team's blogs and see what they've prepared for you. 

Taylored Expressions April Blog Hop

I'm happy to be able to participate in Taylored Expressions Blog Hop again this month.  Since this Sunday is Easter I decided to make an Easter card.  I did not use the optional sketch because I found the directions on how to make a "Center Step Card" that I wanted to try.  It was a lot of fun!

(as always, click on images to enlarge)

I used Taylored Expression's Favorite Peeps for the cute images.  I really thought that the sentiment "you're one of my favorite peeps" was so cute with all the little chicks looking at it. Here's a side view of the card... you can see the "steps" a little better. 

I really like the cute Easter basket which I fussy-cut out and tied with a few strips of tulle.

Thank you for stopping by.  Enjoy the rest of your blog hop!

MTME Pretty Pattern #5

I made this card using MTME digi paper Warm Serenity and Cherry on Top. I also used the image "Love" from Sentimental Occasions Labels... which has 38 images!  It's a beautiful set.

I used Spellbinders for the lacy cut-outs behind the "love" sentiment.  I added some hand-dyed wrinkled seam binding (that I bought online) and a heart button and viola'! 

Here are a couple of images that show the dimensional aspects of the card.  I really enjoyed working with this sketch - very easy and fun to use!

The neat thing about digital stamps and papers is that you can  easily change the size.  As you print the paper smaller the design on the paper becomes smaller too... which is perfect for card making.  The larger size can be used for card making too or scrapbooking, making flowers or any other papercrafting idea you may have.  This is all new to me so when I say, "if I can do it - you can do it" I really mean it! Here is this week's sketch:      I hope you will visit all the other design team member's blogs and see what they have for you today.  Start your hop at My Time Made Easy Blog.  I also hope you will play along this week.  If you play every week you will be entered into a drawing for a cool prize.  Check out the blog for details!  Oh... and if you ever go to the MTME blog and get lost (meaning you can't find the challenge) then look to the right side of the blog and you will find both a Pretty Patterns challenge and a Pretty Palette challenge.  Just click on those images to go to the current challenge.   I chose the colors for my card from this weeks'  CR84FN challenge.  LOVE thos colors and the MTME digital papers fit the bill perfectly. 
   Thank you so much for your visit!  Every comment is greatly appreciated.

Wedding Cake anyone?

I'm so excited to be on My Time Made Easy's Pretty Pattern design team.  Today is my first official post as such.  Here it is:
(as always click on image to enlarge)

I used MTME digi stamps on this card.  The ones I used are: So Sentimental and On Display.

I used copics to color the wedding cake and added some little pearls for extra charm.  I used Spellbinders four to cut out the cake image and Spellbinders Floral Doily Motifs for the sentiment.   Here's a close up of the cake image.  I think the hardest part of this card was lining up those little pearls.  They did not come on an adhesive strip but most did have adhesive on the back... but some liked to pop out from my fingers and run around my desk.  hehe!  

 I used  Linda's Easy Apple Blossoms Tutorial to make the flower.  My flower is larger than hers because I used the largest flower from the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die.  I had ordered the fabric (crinoline) from Linda but just yesterday I went to JoAnn's and found out that they have the crinoline in stock.  Their Tulle is also on sale so I stocked up on it too.   

Here is a view of the bow, flower and cake image with a pink paper in the background so you can see the 3-d effect the flower has.  

 I used MTME's Wistful Wonder digi paper... I think I just found my newest favorite paper!  The great thing about digi paper is if I run out I can just print up more!  You'll never run out.    

Here is this week's sketch:

I hope you enjoyed your visit and will play along with us at My Time Made Easy Pretty Patterns!  Thank you for visiting! 

So Fortunate

I've been pretty busy lately and hadn't had time to post this cute card I made for last week's My Time Made Easy Pretty Patterns challenge.  I used two digital images from So Fortunate stamp set.

(as always, click on images to enlarge)

Isn't the Asian girl cute?  I haven't used digi stamps before so I'm learning as I go.  I chose which stamps I wanted to use - and also chose other digi stamps that I want to use later - and placed them all on one page and printed them up.  I had to figure out how to space them out so I would have room around each image to cut using different Spellbinders. After I printed them, I cut them out and colored the Asian girl with copics.  I used Stampin' Up ink on the sponging but found that the ink from the printer smeared a little bit.  I am going to try to heat set the ink the next time I want to sponge over a digi stamp.

Here's the sketch I used:

I used My Time Made Easy's digi papers too.  I used MTME Fun and Fortune and Wildflowers.

I added a silk blossom from a stem of blossoms I found at Michaels for about 88 cents - I love getting good deals!  I also added some bling and ribbon and viola!  My card.

I hope you enjoyed your visit.

I have another blog post coming up for this week's My Time Made Easy's Pretty Patter challenge. I hope you join us!  We are having a great time!