A Heartfelt Thank You

Dear, Blogland, y'all are some incredibly compassionate people. Over the past month I've received countless notes of encouragement, thoughtful (and beautiful) handmade cards, and little acts of kindness that have warmed my heart and kept me afloat. I owe all of you a hefty debt of gratitude. The last few weeks have served to reinforce my belief that the handmade community (be you of hobby or profession) is mostly composed of truly good and kind people that care about one another. Thank you for caring about me; I never expected the support I've received. I'm completely humbled.

I want to share a card today to thank those of you that I can't reach with a physical address. You have all been so wonderful and I hope you can feel the gratitude. The card may be virtual, but the sentiment behind it is very, very real.

I started by die cutting the vase, hydrangea bloom, and Photo Finishers strip and stamping them with their corresponding images (the vase was stamped with the crackle background that had been stamped off once to soften the color). Next, I stamped the stem and leaves and texturized the Aqua Mist layer. The sentiment strip was adhered to that panel before being added to a white base. The vase and hydrangea bloom were then added with foam tape. Finally, the bloom was embellished with a few rhinestones (colored with a marker to match).

Recipe:
Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Soft Stone - Papertrey Ink; white
Stamps: Happy Hydrangea, Faux Ribbon (stem), Think Big Favorites #19, Crackled Mini Background - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Winter Wisteria, Plum Pudding, Simply Chartreuse, Aqua Mist - Papertrey Ink
Other: Mega Gracious Vases Die, Happy Hydrangea Dies, Photo Finishers Dies, Tin Types Impression Plate - Papertrey Ink; clear rhinestones - Darice; purple marker - Sharpie; foam tape - Scotch

Papertrey Ink September Release Countdown - Day 5

Well, Blogland, here we are on the fifth and final day of this month's Papertrey Ink release countdown. I've had so much fun sharing my projects with you this week. Sharing is good for the soul, I think. Thank you all for spending this week with me. But it's not over yet! I still have a handful of cards 'n such to share so let's get started!

My first two cards today once again incorporate heat embossing on cork. One additional tip I wanted to share in regards to this technique: have a white pen handy to fix any imperfections in the embossing. Cork is inherently a smidgen pitty and uneven, so you're likely going to have a few little spots that would benefit from some touch-up action.

The first card focuses on the ginger fella from Gingerbread Lane. He was stamped and die cut (following the same method I outlined yesterday) before being adhered to a Tag-its #2 circle and set aside. Next I worked on stamping the pattern on my Half & Half die. First, I trimmed the edges of the die about 1/16"each and then I stamped the small loopy image from the set along with a narrowish line image from Faux Ribbon. I love the resulting pattern. It feels both Christmassy as well as a little barber pole-esque. Fun! I adhered my patterned Half & Half die to a full-size Pure Poppy piece and set that aside for a moment.

Next, I stamped the polka dots on my card front and heat embossed the sentiment. Twine was wrapped around the base a few times before being tied in a bow below the sentiment. The Half & Half strip was added to the card front with foam tape and the gingerbread circle was mounted with more...you guessed it...foam tape. I should buy stock.

My second card today features the house from Gingerbread Lane on a windowy construction. I began by measuring and cutting my window in my base and the corresponding layer. Tip: It's easier to get even borders if you cut your layer just a little bit big. That way you have wiggle room to trim as needed.

Next, I lightly traced the outline of the window into the card's interior so I would know where to do my additional stamping. I stamped my grounding shadow (sort of a Rock & Roll technique with one ink color on only the edges) and my interior sentiment before erasing my tracing lines. I stamped and die cut my house and colored in the door and roof tiles/gumdrops with a marker. Then I adhered the house to the inside of the card, right in the middle of the grounding oval.

Stamping the front layer was next. I started with the dashed lines in A Little Argyle and then overstamped with the snowflakes in Snowflake Medley (available September 15th). My sentiment was stamped after the snowflakes had a moment to dry. That whole layer was then mounted to the front of the card with foam tape. I added bits of Loop de Loop border and a couple of pearls to finish the card.

My final project of this countdown is a poinsettia pillow box made with the Essential Pillow Box die and Lovely Layers. I've wanted to create something like this since the moment I first saw Lovely Layers.

I started by die cutting my box from Kraft cardstock and stamping it with Background Basics: Wrought Iron. Next, I cut two of the largest flower layer from Pure Poppy stock. I stamped those with the leaf vein image and attached them together with large glittered brads (that were originally silver, but I colored them with a marker - they aren't quite so orange in real life). Then I stamped the vein images onto the Spring Moss leaves and adhered those to the back side of the flower. I curled all of the petals and then adhered it to my pillow box.

Then I cut a sentiment banner and stamped it with a greeting from Wreath for All Seasons. I adhered one end under the poinsettia and curved it into an "S" shape so it would look like it was flowing. I anchored it with Scor-Tape ever so slightly at the fold so it would be more secure.

Well, that's all for me this countdown. I truly hope you've enjoyed spending time with me this week and I hope to see you all again soon. Have fun shopping tomorrow night. I'll be somewhere around hour 13 of a street festival when the release goes live, so think of me, half-asleep under a vendor's tent, while you're comfortably shopping from home. Ha! I kid...sort of.

And make sure to visit with Nichole Heady, Heather Nichols, Dawn McVey, Betsy Veldman, Melissa Phillips, Maile Belles, Ashley Cannon Newell, Cristina Kowalczyk, Danielle Flanders, Erin Lincoln, Jess Witty, Melissa Bickford, and Tiffany Pastor for more inspiration.

Have fun and I'll see you soon!

Recipes:
Christmas Wishes Card:
Cardstock: Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink; white
Stamps: Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th), Faux Ribbon, Polka Dot Basics, Tag-Its #2 - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Pure Poppy, Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss Pigment - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: Rustic Jute Button Twine, Gingerbread Lane Dies (available September 15th), Half & Half Dies - Papertrey Ink; Cork; Foam Tape - Scotch; White Embossing Powder - Filigree; Circle Dies - Quickutz

Cork House Card:
Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Rustic White, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink

Stamps: Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th), Snowflake Medley (available September 15th), Sunflower Bouquet, A Little Argyle - Papertrey Ink

Ink: Fresh Snow, Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist Pigment - Papertrey Ink; Burnt Umber - Palette; VersaMark - Tsukineko

Other: Gingerbread Lane Dies (available September 15th), Loop de Loop Die (available September 15th), Mat Stack 3 Die, Mat Stack 3 Layerz Die - Papertrey Ink; Pearls - Mark Richards; Red Marker; Cork; Foam Tape - Scotch; White Embossing Powder - Filigree

Poinsettia Pillow Box:
Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Pure Poppy, Spring Moss - Papertrey Ink; white

Stamps: Lovely Layers, Wreath For All Seasons, Background Basics: Wrought Iron - Papertrey Ink 

Ink: Scarlet Jewel, Ripe Avocado - Papertrey Ink

Other: Essential Pillow Box (available September 15th), Lovely Layers Dies - Papertrey Ink; Glittered Brads - Making Memories; square punch; Scor-Tape; Yellow Marker - Copic

Papertrey Ink September Release Countdown - Day 4

Hello again, Blogland! Here we are on Day 4 of the Papertrey Ink countdown. I'm so glad to hear that so many of you are enjoying my projects this month. Gingerbread Lane and the Loop de Loop border die are truly so super versatile and I'm having so much fun showcasing them for you. Speaking of, let's get on to a few more projects, shall we?

First up today is a little friendship card featuring the ginger gal from Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th).

I wanted to try a different material with her to see what sort of texture I could achieve, so I pulled out a bit of cork and gave it a whirl. I started by heat embossing with white powder and then die cutting. The cork I have is self-adhesive, so if I were to die cut first I would have an exposed, slightly sticky edge that would pick up all sorts of stray powder. Rather than deal with that mess, I used a negative from an earlier cut to place my die and then taped it into place with a bit of painter's tape. I know I've seen this technique other places, but you can find it on this Make It Monday video by Erin Lincoln if you'd like a visual. After cutting, I colored in her piping with a white pen and her buttons with a marker.

I stamped my newsprint pattern onto Fine Linen cardstock and then layered it with a Quatrefoil Cover Plate that had been cut from Linen vellum. That piece and a strip of polka-dotted Pinefeather cardstock were adhered to a white base. The sentiment and heard were stamped onto a Photo Finishers strip and adhered to the card front. I stuck my cork lady to a spare die cut and then mounted her over the sentiment strip with foam tape. Done and done!

My next project today is another card featuring the gingerbread couple. On this card I stamped just the solid images with Burnt Umber ink and filled in their buttons with a bit of Simply Chartreuse.

The couple on this card seems to be plotting their decorating plans (so many houses, so little time!) as they hold sparkly candy canes. I started by stamping the house outlines and windows over the entire card front.

Next I attached a Loop de Loop strip and stamped my sentiment. Then I stamped and mounted my gingers before adding my glittered candy canes.

Today's final project is a birthday gift box made with the Essential Pillow Box die. I began by die cutting my box shape and adding texture with the By The Numbers impression plate.

Tip: It helps to impress the back side of your box first so the front of your box won't lose its texture on the second pass through the machine. If you do the front first (like I did - don't be like me) your impression gets a little flattened when you send your box back through the machine.

Next, I die cut and stamped my cupcake parts and loopy border. I then adhered the border to the box with a glue pen and set it aside while I assembled my cupcake. The last step was to adhere the cupcake panel to the box (which I did with a bit of Scor-Tape just across the center) and add a little glitter to the button.

Okey-doke. That's the last of my projects for today, but I'll be back tomorrow with one last batch of papercrafty goodness. In the meantime make sure to check in with Nichole Heady, Heather Nichols, Dawn McVey, Betsy Veldman, Melissa Phillips, Maile Belles, Ashley Cannon Newell, Cristina Kowalczyk, Danielle Flanders, Erin Lincoln, Jess Witty, Melissa Bickford, and Tiffany Pastor for more inspiration. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you tomorrow!

Recipes:
Holiday Friends Card:
Cardstock: Fine Linen, Pinefeather, Linen Vellum - Papertrey Ink; white
Stamps: Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th), Background Basics: Newsprint, Polka Dot Basics - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Pinefeather, Scarlet Jewel - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: Quatrefoil Coverplate, Photo Finishers Dies, Gingerbread Lane Dies (available September 15th) - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape, Vellum Tape - Scotch; Dark Red Marker - Copic; White Embossing Powder - Filigree

Deck The Halls Card:
Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Simply Chartreuse, Rustic White - Papertrey Ink

Stamps: Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th) - Papertrey Ink

Ink: Fresh Snow, Simply Chartreuse, Terra Cotta Tile - Papertrey Ink; Burnt Umber - Palette

Other: Loop de Loop Border Die (available September 15th), Gingerbread Lane Dies (available September 15th) - Papertrey Ink; Fine Crystal Glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts; Foam Tape - Scotch

Cupcake Pillow Box:
Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss - Papertrey Ink; white

Stamps: Cupcake Collection - Papertrey Ink

Ink: Spring Moss Pigment, Sweet Blush Pigment, Berry Sorbet - Papertrey Ink

Other: Essential Pillow Box Die (available September 15th), Loop de Loop Border Die (available September 15th), By The Numbers Impression Plate, Fresh Snow Button - Papertrey Ink; Circle Dies - Quickutz; Green Embroidery Floss - DMC; Frosted Lace Stickles - Ranger; Foam Tape - Scotch; Scor-Tape

Gingerbread Lane Day 3

Hello, Blogland! Thank you for joining me for Day 3 of the September Papertrey Ink Release Countdown. I've really enjoyed sharing projects with all of you this week. It's so exciting (and a little bit relieving, too) to be able to show you what I've been doing lately. That said, I have a couple of additional treats to share today.

This first project shows how you can use the Essential Pillow Box for something other than typical gift giving (though it is great for that, to be sure). Today I'm using it as a placecard (with a special message inside)!

If you please, kindly ignore any visible water spots.

I started by cutting my pillow box and then adding texture with the Herringbone Impression Plate. The box is a smidgen too big to be textured in one pass, but the center score line is the perfect place for an impression plate seam so you can do it easily in two passes. I added leaves and an acorn from Autumn Acorns as well as a name plate made from Fillable Frames #8. I used Fresh Alphabet for my fella's name, but you could just as easily handwrite the names (especially if you have some long ones). A little twine bow finished off the outside nicely.

Inside the box is a small card stamped with lines from Desktop File: Inspiration and a sentiment from Think Big Favorites #19. These placecards would do double-duty on your Thanksgiving table: letting everyone know where to park it and letting them know exactly why you think they're so special. Awwwww...

Next up today is a batch of gift tags featuring imagery and sentiments from Gingerbread Lane as well as the super fun Loop de Loop Border die.

I used the same handful of supplies for all of the tags so they would coordinate. Every Christmas I use Kraft wrapping paper and red ribbon to decorate our gifts. The solid paper makes wrapping a snap and I can do whatever I want with my tags without having to worry about them clashing.

The smaller images and corresponding die cuts work perfectly on the Fillable Frames #9 shape (the Framed Out #5 image fits almost perfectly on Fillable Frames #9; I trimmed a tiny bit off of the straight ends to make it work).

The Loop de Loop border is wonderfully suited to decorate the holes in the ends of the tags or add a sort of papery fringe.

The larger Gingerbread Lane images are sweet-as-can-be on the Tag Sale (#4 above & #5 below) shapes. By using the same basic supplies, the tags can all be different while still remaining cohesive.

That's all for me today, but I'll be back tomorrow with Day 4 of the countdown. In the meantime make sure to check in with Nichole Heady, Heather Nichols, Dawn McVey, Melissa Phillips, Ashley Cannon Newell, Melissa Bickford, and Tiffany Pastor for as much inspiration as you can handle. I'll be back tomorrow with even more gingerbready fun. See you then!

Recipes:

Acorn Placecard Pillow Box:

Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Rustic White - Papertrey Ink

Stamps: Autumn Acorns, Fillable Frames #8, Fresh Alphabet, Desktop File: Inspiration, Think Big Favorites #19  - Papertrey Ink

Ink: Ripe Avocado, Canyon Clay, Classic Kraft, Terra Cotta Tile - Papertrey; Burnt Umber, Congac - Palette

Other: Herringbone Impression Plate, Autumn Acorns Dies, Fillable Frames #8 Die, Jute Button Twine - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape - Scotch; Corner Rounder

Small Gift Tags:

Cardstock: Rustic White, Classic Kraft, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink

Stamps: Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th), Framed Out #5, Polka Dot Basics, Background Basics: Retro - Papertrey Ink

Ink: Classic Kraft, Spring Moss, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink; Burnt Umber - Palette

Other: Fillable Frames #9 Die, Loop de Loop Border Die (available September 15th), Gingerbread Lane Dies (available September 15th), Dark Chocolate Button Twine - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape - Scotch

Large Gift Tags:

Cardstock: Rustic White, Classic Kraft, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink

Stamps: Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th), Polka Dot Basics, Background Basics: Retro - Papertrey Ink

Ink: Classic Kraft, Spring Moss, Pure Poppy, Fresh Snow - Papertrey Ink; Burnt Umber - Palette

Other: Tag Sale #4 Die, Tag Sale #5 Die, Loop de Loop Border Die (available September 15th), Gingerbread Lane Dies (available September 15th), Dark Chocolate Button Twine - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape - Scotch; Cherry Baker's Twine - Divine Twine; Colored Pencil - Prismacolor

September Papertrey Ink Countdown: Gingerbread Lane Day 2

Good morning, Blogland! From the sounds of things you're all as excited about this month's release as I am. Thank you all for your comments and kind words. I have even more surprises to share today, so how about we get down to it.

My first project is a card that shows the versatility of the little house in Gingerbread Lane (releasing September 15th). You can achieve a completely different look simply by shaking up your color choices.

I stamped my house onto the Kraft card base and added color to the roof and door with the corresponding fillers. The rest of the house was colored with a subtle blue colored pencil for a nice, soft, wintery look. I added the loop de loop image (look a little familiar? just wait, you'll see) to look like smoke coming from the chimney and embellished that with a stardust glitter pen.

I then took the In The Meadow snowdrift die cuts and sponged them with Spring Rain ink, shimmer sprayed them, and texturized them with the Woodgrain impression plate. I layered the final pieces to the card base and stamped the sentiment as a finishing step. The card is so sparkly and tactile in real life.

My next project for today is another sweet (literally) pillow box.

To get the masked label area I first drew an outline of my die on my cardstock. That allowed me to line up where I wanted to stamp my label and the outline isn't a big deal because it's going to get cut off eventually anyway. I then covered my label with a post-it mask and stamped the rest of my background.

Die cutting was next (I used painter's tape to keep my die in exactly the right spot when it was run through my machine), followed by embellishment with the small candy images and sentiment from Gingerbread Lane. The final step was glittering the candy bits. Now this box is all ready to give someone a treat come Christmas time.

And my final project of the day (along with my final introduction of this release) is a happy little gift bag.

Do you see my last surprise? The Loop De Loop Border die (available September 15th)! This die is a much larger version of the loopy image in Gingerbread Lane. It's about 3/8" tall and 8 1/2" long with open ends, so you can make your loop...uh...loop on forever. Or at least long enough to embellish scrapbook pages and gift wrap and whatever your heart desires. The loops are also slightly irregular so the border has a little bit of a whimsical, hand hewn look about it. I love it and I hope you do too!

Anyway, details about the bag...I started by stamping the herringbone pattern on my bag bases (the front and back are decorated in almost exactly the same way) and trimmed two white fronts to be just long enough to accommodate the height of my gingerbread people. Those white pieces were first stamped with the dashed background and then with the ginger folks and hearts. The white pieces were mounted to the green pieces and the borders were attached with a glue pen.

The sentiment panel was die cut and stamped with the frame from Fillable Frames #7, sentiment from Believe (an oldie, but a goodie), and a tiny heart from Gingerbread Lane. That piece was attached to the bag with a bit of foam tape. Finally I embellished the gingerbread people's buttons and the tiny heart on the sentiment panel with a bit of glitter (apparently I'm on a glitter kick this week). The bag looked a teensy bit empty, so I randomly stamped the gingerbread people outlines onto tissue paper. Much better!

I hope you've enjoyed today's projects. Make sure to visit Nichole Heady, Heather Nichols, Dawn McVey, Danielle Flanders, Jessica Witty, Melissa Bickford, and Tiffany Pastor for even more inspiration. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you again tomorrow with a handful of additional projects. See you then!

Recipes:

Home for the Holidays Card:
Cardstock: Classic Kraft - Papertrey Ink; white
Stamps: Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th) - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Spring Rain, Blueberry Sky, Classic Kraft - Papertrey Ink; Burnt Umber - Palette
Other: In The Meadow Dies, Woodgrain Impression Plate - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape - Scotch; Colored Pencils - Prismacolor; Stardust Pen - Sakura; Shimmer Spray - Tattered Angels; mineral spirits


Candy Cane Pillow Box:
Cardstock: White
Stamps: Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th), Fillable Frames #7, Polka Dot Basics - Papertrey InkInk: Simply Chartreuse, Sweet Blush Pigment, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink; Burnt Umber - Palette
Other: Essential Pillow Box Die (available September 15th) - Papertrey Ink; Crystal Fine Glitter - Martha Steward Crafts; glue pen


Gift of Friends Gift Bag:
Cardstock: Simply Chartreuse, Terra Cotta Tile - Papertrey Ink; white
Stamps: Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th), Background Basics: Retro, Background Basics: Herringbone, Believe, Fillable Frames #7 - Papertrey InkInk: Simply Chartreuse, Classic Kraft, Terra Cotta Tile, Aqua Mist Pigment - Papertrey Ink; Burnt Umber - Palette; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: Front & Center #1 Die, Loop De Loop Border Die (available September 15th), Fillable Frames #7 Die - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape - Scotch; Crystal Fine Glitter - Martha Steward Crafts; glue pen; lunch bag; tissue paper

Introducing Gingerbread Lane & the Essential Pillow Box

Greetings, Blogland! Today begins Papertrey Ink's September countdown festivities (the new products being shared today will be available on September 15th at 10:00pm). I have a few goodies to share with you this month, so let's get to it!

First, let's take a look at Gingerbread Lane! This $24 set (and coordinating dies) celebrates the sweetness of the holiday season! The set includes gingerbread people and a customizable house with both outline and solid stamps for maximum versatility. You can embellish to your heart's content with confectionery details or keep things simple for quick and easy projects. The set also includes sentiments perfect for every need, ranging from treat packaging to holiday cards and gift tags. The possibilities are truly endless!

How about we start with a simple, easy-to-mail Christmas card. I love sending cards at the holidays, but dealing with a large number of cards that all need special postage (during the postal system's busiest time of year) does not sound like my idea of fun.

This little ditty is a breeze, incorporating just a single layer of 1/16" foam tape and dimensional glaze for a bit of texture. I die cut my ginger lady and then used the outline, solid stamp, and button stamp together to whip up this quickie. I colored in her piping with a white colored pencil (a white pen would work well too) to add a little contrast and then added the aforementioned glaze to her buttons.

The sentiment (also from Gingerbread Lane) was stamped inside the chevron frame from Fabulous Frames. A little foam tape, impression plate/corner rounder action, and this card was ready to share.

Next up we have a wine bottle tag featuring the little house from Gingerbread Lane. I started by die cutting and stamping the house's outline and then filling in the main house image. Then I filled in my roof. The set includes both a full strip of gumdrops as well as a single gumdrop so you can go with a single color or multi-colored arrangement. Tip: the gumdrop at the very, very peak of the roof is slightly concave, so the single gumdrop image works best if you do a smidgen of masking. It's not totally necessary, but I wanted to give a heads up. No masking needed with the full strip of gumdrops.

I further embellished my house with the solid (square and roundy topped) windows, candy canes, door, and loop de loop images. The gumdrops and candy canes were then given a healthy dose of glitter. They look so real I started giggling like a five year-old. It's hard to show in photos, but it's awesome. I promise.

The banner at the top of the tag features one of the sentiments from Gingerbread Lane. There are both "from our" and "from my" sentiments in the set so you can send a gift/card/what-have-you from however many people you choose. Handy, no?

And last but not least is one of my very, very favorite contributions for this month's release. I give you the Essential Pillow Box. I love this pillow box. I designed this shape several years ago when I couldn't find an existing pillow box die that would fit a standard gift card. Everything on the market was just barely too small. So I put pencil to paper (so to speak) and here we are. I'm so excited!

Here are a few features of this new die:

• Fits through most of the popular die cut machines available these days. If your machine has at least a 5 1/2" opening you're in good shape.
• You can get two boxes from a single sheet of cardstock.
• It fits a standard gift card/credit card, but it's also a great size for all sorts of tiny treats.
• There are finger cut-outs in the inside flaps so it's nice and easy to get to the treat inside the box.

For my box today I began by stamping a half-sheet of white cardstock with Background Basics: Medallions. Then I die cut my box (if you cut first you may have trouble stamping on the debossed score lines). Another tip: I like to pre-fold my score lines before taping my box together because it just seems to close more smoothly.

Then I embellished the box with some Pinefeather saddle stitched ribbon, a bow from Bells & Boughs, and a little "just for you" sentiment. The button on the bow was stitched on with a little bit of metallic embroidery floss for just a bit of fancy-pantsyness.

Alrighty. That's all for me today. I hope you've enjoyed today's post. Make sure to visit with Nichole Heady, Heather Nichols, Dawn McVey, Betsy Veldman, Erin Lincoln, Cristina Kowalczyk, Melissa Bickford, and Tiffany Pastor for more countdown action. I'll be back tomorrow with more gingerbready, pillow boxy fun. See you then!

Recipes:
Sweet Season's Greetings Card:
Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Classic Kraft - Papertrey Ink; white
Stamps: Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th), Fabulous Frames - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Simply Chartreuse, Classic Kraft, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink; Burnt Umber - Palette
Other: Fabulous Frames Dies, Linen & Canvas Impression Plate, Gingerbread Lane Dies (available September 15th) - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape - Scotch; White Colored Pencil - Prismacolor; Glossy Accents - Ranger; Corner Chomper - We Are Memory Keepers

From Our Home To Yours Wine Tag:

Cardstock: Rustic White, Classic Kraft - Papertrey Ink

Stamps: Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th) - Papertrey Ink

Ink: New Leaf, Pure Poppy, Fresh Snow, Classic Kraft - Papertrey Ink; Burnt Umber - Palette

Other: Gingerbread Lane Dies (available September 15th), Wine Bottle Tag - Papertrey Ink; Glue Pen; Crystal Fine Glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts; Foam Tape - Scotch; Red Nail Heads - Mark Richards

Just For You Pillow Box:

Cardstock: White

Stamps: Bells & Boughs, Background Basics: Medallion, Framed Out #3, Fillable Frames #9 - Papertrey Ink

Ink: Scarlet Jewel, Pinefeather - Papertrey Ink; Noir - Palette

Other: Essential Pillow Box (available September 15th), Bells & Boughs Dies, Framed Out #3 Dies, Pinefeather Saddle Stitched Ribbon, Scarlet Jewel button - Papertrey Ink; Metallic Embroidery Floss (Precious Metals E168) - DMC; Foam Tape - Scotch; Scor-Tape

Thank You & A Sneak Peek

First, I want to take a moment to thank all of you that took a moment to reach out, either here or elsewhere. Your kind words and bits of joy mean so very much to me. I know that, in time, things will get easier, but in the meantime your shared happiness is keeping a light burning. So many of your comments made me smile and those smiles soothe. Thank you.

In happier news, I have this little ditty to look forward to sharing soon:

I have a few other tricks up my sleeve too, so please make sure to check back in the coming days. Thank you for stopping by today and thank you for sharing your joy.

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