In Search of Joy

Good evening, Blogland. I don't often share these sorts of things, so please bear with me. It's been a long, hard summer. Sure, there have been some wonderful highlights, but there has also been a good deal of pain (both physical and emotional). Most of those things I haven't mentioned here, but I'm really struggling with this most recent low and I could use an assist.

About two weeks ago, we unexpectedly lost my 24 year-old brother. His death came as a shock and I don't think any of us is even close to regaining our bearings. Some days are better than others and I'm hoping that an infusion of everyday joy will buoy me on the not-so-good days. So I'm going to ask for a little bit of help from you today. I'm hoping that those of you that read and generally keep to yourselves (I tend to be one of those readers, too) will do me a favor and share a little bit of recent joy from your life.

As for me, tomorrow I'm going to try and focus on our wedding anniversary. I've had eleven special years with the fella I love and we are celebrating our nine years of marriage by floating down a river in a canoe. It may not be fancy, but being alone in nature with my husband sounds almost perfect.

I made him a card to commemorate the occasion. Just a little something to let him know how much he means to me and how much I adore him (both on our anniversary and every other day of the year). He has been a source of strength and comfort in the past weeks and I truly don't know how I would have coped without him.

So here's his card. I used a birdhouse image from Bird Watching and the clouds from Up, Up, and Away (I rolled the ink just on the edges so they would be a little lighter). I colored it with pencils, but didn't pay much attention to light sources or shadows or any of those sorts of things. Just let it happen. The sentiment is from Love Lives Here. I hope he likes it.

Thank you for checking in today and please feel free to share your stories of happiness and joy. New baby? Reached a milestone? Heard a great joke? Bring on the happy.

Thanks, all. I'll be back soon.

Recipe:
Cardstock: Kraft, Simply Chartreuse - Papertrey Ink; white
Stamps: Love Lives Here, Bird Watching, Up, Up, and Away - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Spring Rain - Papertrey Ink; Burnt Umber - Palette
Other: Picnic Plaid Impression Plate, Linen & Canvas Impression Plate, Pinked Edge Die, Lemon Tart Saddle Stitched Ribbon - Papertrey Ink; Colored Pencils - Prismacolor; Mineral Spirits; Adhesive Pearls - Mark Richards; Foam Tape - Scotch

Bridal Shower Blessings

Good afternoon, Blogland! How are you all today? I hope you've been having a good week. It's been a full one around here, but all good things. One of my cousins is getting married later this summer and her bridal shower is this weekend. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend, but I made sure to send a gift and I'm planning to pop today's card in the mail this evening.

The card is pretty similar to a card I made during the March Papertrey Countdown, but I switched things up a little bit. I filled the polka dots on the umbrella with the smallest dot in Polka Dot Basics (the first one) and and added Glossy Accents to each dot for a little texture. The rest of the details are in the recipe below. Let me know if there are any questions.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. See you again soon!

Recipe:
Cardstock: Berry Sorbet - Papertrey Ink; white
Stamps: Scattered Showers, Polka Dot Basics - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Yellow, Pink, Silver pigment inks - Hampton Arts
Other: Herringbone Impression Plate (totally love this, by the way), Linen & Canvas Impression Plate, Mat Stack 4 Layerz Die, Fillable Frames #7 Die, Scattered Showers Dies - Papertrey Ink; Glossy Accents - Ranger; Adhesive Rhinestone - Mark Richards; Embroidery Floss - DMC; Foam Tape - Scotch; Corner Rounder

A Masculine Birthday

Happy weekend, Blogland! I don't happen to live in a world where weekends mean days off, but cheers to those of you that do. Get outside and enjoy the sunshine!

Anywho, I wanted to share a masculine birthday card with you all today. Masculine cards are hard for me (like, stare-blankly-at-my-workbench hard) and I know I'm not alone. Dudes are tough. I once had a friend tell me, "We just want something simple with a clearly stated message." They don't appreciate any of the things we ladies have come to embrace in card making. No glitter, or ribbon, or rhinestones, or flowers...what gives?! Full disclosure: I've totally put at least three of those four things on a card for a fella, but usually it's my husband and he's man enough for a little sparkle now and again. There are other men in my life that I would never even consider giving a card with a rhinestone attached. Know your audience.

So I've come up with a few go-to embellishments and images for myself on manly cards. Typically they involve materials derived from nature (cork, jute/hemp, metal, wood). Sports aren't bad either (at least for the men I give cards; again, know your audience). Today's card incorporates cork.

I wanted to use the bamboo as my main image, but it wasn't quite tall enough for my layout until I tweaked it a little. First, I stamped the bamboo and sentiment and attached my cork frame. Then I laid my framed piece on my card front so I could see where I wanted to stamp the bamboo so that they would line up. The bamboo is a pretty linear image, so you can continue the visual line relatively easily, but it's not straight up-and-down so you can't just stamp directly below it or the angles won't work. You have to finesse it a little bit. In order to do that I took my uninked stamp not on a block and laid it over the framed piece. Then I took a gridline block, aligned it to the edges of my cardstock without moving the stamp, and then pressed down to attach the stamp to the block (I really hope this is all making sense). I was then able to ink my stamp and use the gridlines on the block to stamp the image exactly where I wanted it.

Afterward, I stamped a subtle background and texturized the card front with an impression plate. I sponged the edges a smidgen and added some stitching to the cork frame before attaching it to the card with foam tape.

Alrighty, well that's all for me today. Have a beautiful weekend and I'm sure we'll see each other again soon. Take care!

Recipe:
Cardstock: Simply Chartreuse - Papertrey Ink; white
Stamps: Peaceful Garden, Background Basics: Retro - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Spring Moss - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: Mat Stack #1 Die, Fillable Frames #7 Die, Linen & Canvas Impression Plate - Papertrey Ink; Cork Sheet - Darice; Dark Brown Perle Cotton - DMC; Foam Tape - Scotch; sponge; needle

A Couple Of Quickies

Greetings, Blogland! So, you wouldn't know it by the pace around here, but I'm making things all.the.time. For example, I make cards for a local restaurant company. They truly care about their employees and they want to show it by sending them cards for things like birthdays, employment anniversaries, weddings, babies, and not-so-fun things like a loss or an injury. All in all I put together about 50-100 cards a month just for that one company. I thought it might be fun to share a couple of those today (as proof that I do, in fact, stamp on occasion).

They like their cards pretty bare-bones. They're sending so many cards that specialty postage or handling are out of the question, so I keep it pretty simple.

This first one is a congratulatory card made with Natural Beauties. I stamped the frame first and then masked off the inside to keep it free and clear of polka dots. The flowers and leaves are hand-cut and the flower centers are glittered.

The second one is another congratulatory card made with Hello, Sunshine and Pretty Peonies. I just used the sunburst on the top of the card to suggest a new day/horizon/beginning. Probably a detail that no one would have noticed aside from me, but now I've mentioned it so you can all "ooh" and "ahh" at my genius. Ha! Right.

Well, that's all for me today. Thank you for stopping by and I'll have a new post up for you in the coming days. Have a lovely afternoon!

Recipes:
Floral Congratulations
Cardstock: white
Stamps: Natural Beauties (Stamp-A-Faire set), Happy Hydrangea, Polka Dot Basics, Scattered Showers, Label Basics - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss, Ripe Avocado - Papertrey Ink
Other: Xyron Machine; Glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts; Foam Tape - Scotch

So Happy For You
Cardstock: Aqua Mist - Papertrey Ink; white
Stamps: Pretty Peonies (anniversary set), Hello Sunshine, Scattered Showers - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Ocean Tides - Papertrey Ink; Silver - Colorbox
Other: Pretty Peonies Dies - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape - Scotch; Tiny Rhinestones - Mark Richards; corner rounder

A Get Well Card

Hello, Blogland! I've been busy, busy, busy over here, but I wanted to pop in for a quick moment and share a card I made this weekend. I was in the mood for a "get well" card and I thought Dawn McVey's Candy Cane Christmas set would be just the ticket. I love that mug! It's so versatile. In addition to the peppermint stick images Dawn includes in the set, you can also make your own tea tags, stir sticks, and spoons for use all year round. Anyway, on to the card.

As usual, it's all pretty self-explanatory. I created my own patterned paper with Faux Ribbon and Background Basics: Retro. The tag is one of the small images from Butterfly Kisses punched out twice with a small circle punch and adhered on either side of a bit of perle cotton. I also flocked the steam to make it just a touch softer.

Thanks for checking in today! I have a couple of additional posts in the pipeline, so be sure to visit again soon. Have a wonderful day!

Recipe:
Cardstock: Spring Rain, Spring Moss, Linen Vellum - Papertrey Ink; white
Stamps: Candy Cane Christmas, Framed Out #5, Background Basics: Retro, Faux Ribbon, Butterfly Kisses - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Spring Rain, Spring Moss, Winter Wisteria - Papertrey Ink
Other: Small Scallops Die, Candy Cane Christmas Die, Winter Wisteria Twill, Linen & Canvas Impression Plate - Papertrey Ink; Circle Dies - Quickutz; White Perle Cotton - DMC; White Fun Flock - Stampendous; Foam Tape - Scotch; glue pen; circle punch